Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by ABC. No money is being made and no infringement is intended.
Chapter 5
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Shirley woke up early the next morning just as the sun began to rise. She heard the sound of heavy slow breathing and turned to head to see her oldest son, Keith laying in bed asleep next to her. The events of the previous two days then came rushing back - her seducing Keith Friday night after he came home early from his date, then having sex with Reuben her manager, Mr. Kim her Korean tailor, and Duncan the big black mechanic yesterday, and then finally ending with a marathon session in bed last night with Keith. As she looked at her son sleeping next to her, she felt a pang of guilt. After all, he was her son. But every time she tried to stop things over the weekend, she gave in to her body's impulses and ended up in bed with him. She needed some help but where?
The house was quiet. The rest of the children were away with grandparents and friends and wouldn't be home for a week. The mother of five mulled over the issue in her mind but couldn't seem to get anywhere. Then she remembered it was Sunday. Shirley rarely went to church these days because of their touring schedule and was not much of a church goer even before. But today, she thought she might find some answers there. She quietly and quickly showered and dressed in a very conservative navy blue dress that came down to her knees with a white belt and left the house without waking her still sleeping son.
Shirley slipped into the back of the church just as the music started. The Reverend Richard Stout stood behind the pulpit, dressed in a burgundy suit and plaid tie. He was a tall lean man in his 40's with stern eyes behind his horn rimmed glasses. He gave a sermon about how Satan uses the temptations of the flesh to lure people to sin and that all Christians must guard against Satan. He ended by saying that the next Sunday he would tell the congregation specifically what they must do to resist these temptations. Shirley couldn't wait a week - she had to get some answers now. As the reverend stood at the door saying goodbye to his flock, she hung back so that she was the last one out. The reverend furrowed his brow when he saw her.
"Good to see you Shirley," he said as he shook her hand. "It's been a while."
"You're right," she replied, "but we've been on tour for months and have just returned for a break."
"Now that you're in town, I hope you'll be more consistent with your attendance," he admonished.
"Yes, I'll try. Your sermon today was very interesting. It made me think..." she hesitated.
"Is there something bothering you?" he asked.
"I've just got something on my mind."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Maybe. Do you think I can make an appointment to talk to you sometime soon?"
"How about now?" he suggested. "I'm done for the day and everyone has already left."
"I don't want to bother you," she began.
"Nonsense. Come with me to my office."
The reverend led her into the now empty church through the back hall and into his office. He had noticed her enter the church, how could he not? She was the most famous member of his church, a beautiful woman, mother of five and a widow. But he also knew her type. She acted and dressed like a conservative suburban mother but that couldn't hide her voluptuous curves, her sensual mouth and flirtatious mannerisms. As much as she tried to hide it, he knew there was evil in her. She was a woman seething with sexual energy that she would use to destroy the lives of men who were pulled into her sphere of influence. She was Satan's soldier, a seductress and temptress, sent to ruin men and their relationship with God. It was up to him as a man of God to neutralize the sexual energy of this Jezebel so that she would tempt no more.
He had her sit in the chair across his desk and closed the door to his office so they wouldn't be disturbed. He then sat across from her. She sat nervously on the edge of the chair, legs crossed, her hands nervously fiddling with the strap of her purse. He noticed how she let her skirt ride up to expose her knees. "Ah ha," he thought to himself. "She is already trying to work her evil womanly wiles on me. But I will prevail and defeat her."
"So what's on your mind?" the reverend asked.
"Well, it's about... my friend," she began vaguely. "She is in a situation and when I heard your sermon today, I thought she would benefit from your advice on how to deal with the situation she is in."
"What kind of situation?" he asked, knowing that she was probably talking about herself. Most times when people asked him for advice for a "friend" they were talking about themselves.
"It has to do with temptation... of the flesh."
"By this, you mean she has uncovered the nakedness of a man who is not her husband?"
The young mother, eyes downcast, nodded her head.
"Then she is an adulteress," he said, his voice rising in indignation as his face flushed.
"Not an adulteress because her husband is dead," she corrected.
"Then she is still guilty of fornication," he shot back. He knew now for sure that she was talking about herself.