“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.
James used his most gentle tone. “We’re working on it. One way or another, the wedding will go forward. Holly, Howard, Daniella, and I are all figuring it out.” James motioned toward the door. “Everything is going to be beautiful, and Holly is going to be married. Things will work out.” James only wished he knew exactly how that was going to happen. “There’s nothing you can do at the moment, but we thought you should know what was going on.”
She sniffed and dabbed her eyes with a tissue she always seemed to be able to produce from somewhere. “You never liked the reverend, none of you kids did.”
James nodded. “True. It was the girls who thought there was something wrong, and it turned out they were right. Mom, I’m a cop, and I see this all the time. Don’t misplace the blame for this. It belongs with the reverend and no one else. All the hurt feelings and inconvenience and worry should be placed at his doorstep and no one else’s. He’s the one who did something wrong, not Holly or Margot, and not me. Just remember that.”
She shook her head as though she were going to argue. “So help me...” Anger welled up again.
“Don’t worry, Holly has already threatened to rip his nuts off if she sees him again.” For the first time his mom smiled.
“That’s my daughter.”
“Come, Grace. We can go back to the party and leave the details to the young people.” His father led his mom back inside, and James took a deep breath of the crisp night air before rejoining Daniel inside.
“How did it go?”
James put an arm around Daniel’s waist. “Better than I expected it to. Mom wasn’t happy, but she calmed down. What’s happening here?”
“Margot is just about to give her talk.” Daniel held his hand tightly as she made her way to the front and cleared her throat.
“I’m Margot, Holly’s younger sister, and I thought I’d share a few memories with you tonight. See, growing up with Holly wasn’t easy. I was always the disappointment, or it felt that way. Holly was the perfect one. Mom and Dad told me more times than I could count that they wished I could be more like her. That really sucked.” James turned to Daniel, wondering where this was going. Daniel patted his hand.
“Until I realized that Holly was someone I should look up to. She’s kind and warm, and always made time for me. Even when I was a little brat being a pain in the butt.” A chuckle wound through the room, and James squeezed Daniel’s fingers. “When Holly went away to college, she invited me to come visit her for a weekend, and all her friends were nice to me.” She quirked her eyebrow. “One of them even gave me my first taste of beer. Don’t worry, Mom, I didn’t like it...much.” Another laugh, and James relaxed.
“I was lucky to have a big sister like Holly, mainly because she paved the way and wore Mom down.” She slipped Holly a thumbs-up. James rolled his eyes as his smile grew bigger. “And now she’s found Howard. I hope the two of them will be happy together as they go out into the world to build their own lives.” She moved closer to the table. “And, Howard, I want you to know that if you don’t make Holly happy, you’ll have to answer to me.”