Three Sides of the Tracks Read Online Free PDF

must be something very
serious.”
    “You’re not using that as an excuse, are you? And what Jessie Whitaker
gives to the church certainly doesn’t add up to what the families you’ve
insulted give. Mine included. And, damn it, Holcomb, the Sunday school building
is named the Hathaway Building; Belinda’s grandparents built it. How could you
forget that? Just because Belinda’s parents don’t come here anymore, it’s not
because of the church.”
    “Oh no, no, no, no, I’m not excusing it, absolutely not. Forgive me or
excuse me if it sounded that way. I’m just reliving how it was and what was
going through my mind. It was hard to think with Jessie right in my face and shouting
like he was.”
    An expression of utter distaste came on Martin’s face. “I’m surprised
that man has the audacity to step foot in a church, much less ask for someone
else to be removed. From what I understand, he’s totally despicable.”
    Holcomb nodded. “Well, I do hear things, and yesterday, the stale whiskey
on his breath . . . whew.”
    Martin stopped glaring for a moment, and his eyes turned pensive. “What
did Belinda say when you told her Danny had to leave?”
    “I don’t . . . she couldn’t believe what was happening, I think. She just
fainted. She was stunned, as I am now when I reflect on what I’ve done. How
could I let that man bully me like that? I’m ashamed of myself beyond words,”
he said, lowering his eyes.
    “Well, that’s a good thing, Reverend. You should be. How’d the boy take
it?”
    “With remarkable restraint, I’d say. Especially when Jessie came out
after Belinda fainted. He made some very unkind comments, and the boy reacted,
but then held himself back. I remember him saying his mother wouldn’t want him
fighting in church.”
    Holcomb remembered the scene and the expression on Danny’s face, the
unusual shade of blue in his . . . The eyes. He looked quickly at Martin.
     

 
    4
    Reacquainted
     
    Martin paced the front porch after the customary three knocks. He hadn’t
seen Belinda in over a year, much to his surprise when he tried to remember the
last time, which to the best of his recollection had been at a fundraiser to
keep the local playhouse open. He was stunned when the chairperson of the local
arts committee broke down the cost of putting on a play.
    The door opened a crack and eyes peered out, then the door flew open and
Belinda grabbed Martin’s arm, pulled him inside and hugged him tightly, all
without saying a word.
    Martin wrapped his arms around her and squeezed Belinda to him. Their
clenched bodies did the talking, and they held each other and swayed back and
forth as if in a slow dance.
    “I hear you had a rough time, yesterday,” Martin whispered after a few
moments. 
    After a throaty chuckle, Belinda said, “Is there no end to people’s
stupidity?”
    “Not as far as I can tell,” Martin replied. “I don’t mind it so much as
long as it’s not harmful, but this fool preacher asking Danny to leave church
might just be the icing on the cake.”
    Belinda turned her face to Martin, her cheek rested on his shoulder. “He
called right before you knocked. I gather you weren’t very kind to him.”
    “He did? What did he say?”
    “Oh, he rambled on about how sorry he was and ashamed for being so weak.
Then, well, frankly, he was rather odd. Asking about Danny and then going on to
say that he didn’t realize or know that you and I—”
    “That was partially my doing. Without going into any details, I just told
him you and I had a relationship that went way back and that—”
    Belinda put a finger to his lips. “Come sit down. It’s time I told you
something.”
    The creases on Martin’s forehead couldn’t have been much deeper. “I hope
it’s not another surprise like the one yesterday. Much more of that . . .”
    Belinda guided him to the sofa and sat down beside him, her mood changing
perceptively, and Martin knew that what came next wouldn’t be