Daniel smiled, and even though they were in a room full of people, that smile was only for him.
“James,” his mother said from behind him, and James immediately tensed. He knew that tone. “Something is going on and your father won’t tell me what it is. Holly is avoiding me, and so is Margot, which can only mean that they are hiding something. Every time I ask, they look toward you.” She folded her arms just under her bosom.
“They’re serving the drinks and will be bringing out dinner soon. I’ll explain everything after we’ve eaten. I promise.” James smiled, and she seemed satisfied, returning to where his father waited for her.
* * *
“All right,” James said after he hung up the phone, unable to eat the last of his dinner. Pushing his chair back, he motioned to his father, who got his mother and joined him before they all left the room and went out into the main restaurant. James led them through to the large wooden front doors and outside. “I’m going to make this brief and as truthful as I can.”
“I’m waiting,” his mother said, her gaze hard.
“Before I begin, there is nothing you can do or could have done, and the problem has been handled.” He took a deep breath. “The man you know as Reverend Peterson isn’t a reverend at all. He’s a fraud. The local police have contacted the church, and now the good reverend is apparently nowhere to be found.” That had been one hell of a call to receive during dinner. “He was a fraud and took someone else’s identity in order to lead this congregation.”
“But… Those accolades…”
“All fake. Everything about him was a lie. He has left the church and the police are looking for him.”
“How could you?” his mother demanded. “He’s the best minister we’ve ever had.”
“Mother,” James snapped. “He isn’t a minister at all. He’s a fake, someone who stepped in off the street…a nobody.” Part of him knew this was why they had never told her, but it still hurt that she took the reverend’s side over his, and ignored the fact that he had uncovered someone who was only going to hurt everyone badly in the end.
“Let me get this straight. Reverend Peterson is gone?” his mother said levelly, and James nodded. “The night before your sister’s wedding?” James nodded again. “You couldn’t have waited?” The fire in her eyes and the way her hand clenched and opened again told him she was about to explode and things were going to get really ugly, like mama tiger ugly.
“Grace, it’s going to be fine. Think about it. If he wasn’t a minister, then would the marriage have been real in the eyes of god?” his dad asked, and that seemed to give his mom pause. “Sure, the ceremony could have happened, but would it have meant anything?”
And that was when she turned on him. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“Now, Grace. You need to calm down and remember that we have to go back in there and face the wedding party and Holly and Howard’s friends, as well as Howard’s parents. There is nothing that you can do about this. It’s done. Getting angry isn’t going to help.” Somehow Dad kept his cool, and Mom calmed down. “This isn’t your fault.”
“No.” Her stare clearly communicated that she thought the fault rested with James.
“It’s not his either, so don’t do or say something you’ll regret. He didn’t bring this about—the reverend did when he lied.” His dad took his mom into his arms, holding her tightly. It was one of the most tender things he had seen his father do in years. James turned away to give his parents a moment of privacy. “We all know what hurt a lie can wrought. It can tear everything apart, and the reverend was lying to all of us. He lied to the church, and everyone is going to be just as hurt as you are.” James couldn’t help drawing a comparison between the reverend’s lie and how he wasn’t being truthful with his family about who he was.
People came and went from the restaurant, pretty much ignoring his mom and dad, thank goodness. “Phillip, I really don’t understand all of this.”
“None of us do. And everyone at the church is going to have to deal with it eventually.” He broke the hug, but held her hand. “We need to be strong so we can get through this, all of it. The church and everyone who is part of it are going to need our strength.”
“But the wedding…？” she said, her shoulders slumping, though she didn’t seem as fragile as she had.