Chapter 56
“Pray for me.”
The invitation from Lucas was a godsend. Johnnie had spent the day trying to figure out how she was going to get out of the house. It hadn’t occurred to her to use Lucas as an excuse, but when he called and asked Johnnie to meet him at Napoleon’s Bayou, she felt a sense of relief. She told Benny and Brenda about a date with Lucas, and that they were meeting at the Sepia to see a movie. The couple didn’t believe her. They knew she was going to see Earl. If Johnnie saw Lucas at all, it would be after she saw Earl.
Benny saw the opportunity to get away from Brenda for awhile to see Sadie, but told Brenda he was going to follow Johnnie to see where she was really going. He also told Brenda that if Johnnie saw Earl, he would have a talk with him after Johnnie left. Brenda knew Benny was mainly interested in spending some time with Sadie. She wanted him to know that she knew. She was getting tired of his philandering. Just as he opened the front door to leave, Brenda decided to speak her mind.
“Benny?”
“Yeah, Brenda, baby. What is it?”
“Just so you know, you and Sadie ain’t foolin’ nobody. I guess what I don’t understand is why you’re disrespecting me by making it so obvious.”
“What are you talkin’ about?”
“You know what I’m talkin’ about, Benny! Are you going to stand there and tell me you’re not going to see Sadie tonight? Your foolishness gon’ end up being a curse on our children.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your runnin’ around, Benny. You think you just out there havin’ the time of your life, but have you considered the fact that your waywardness could be manifested in one or all of our children? What if the next one is a girl, Benny? You know what they say; the apple don’t fall far from the tree. How you gon’ live with yourself if our daughter end up being a whore like you and the women in your family? What if she ends up dead, killed by her white lover? How you gon’ live with yourself?”
“That won’t happen, Brenda.”
“Oh? And why not?”
“ ’Cause you a good Christian woman. God won’t let that happen for your sake. Me? You knew how I was when you married me. I cain’t help the way I am. And you right. It’s in my family. I come from a family of whores. In fact, a whore, who’s dead now because of it, raised me. But that ain’t gon’ stop me from talkin’ to Earl tonight. Now, I gotta go before Johnnie gets too far away.”
“Benny, if you just accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, he can change you, if that’s what you want.”
“Well, pray for me, Brenda,” Benny said then gently closed the door behind him.