Southern Greed Read Free

asked me if I thought I could find you.  I’m in real estate.  I sell houses.”
    “How did you know to come to Rehobeth , of all places, to look for me?”
    “That was pure luck.  I was going through your charming town and saw you coming out of the local drugstore.  I got a room at the boarding house and I have been watching you.
    “I thought you looked so much like the five year old Kathy, I could pass you off as her, with some g reen contacts, which reminds me we have to get you some green contacts.”
    I nodded and then asked, “Who else lives in the mansion?”
    “Well, there are all the servants, too many to name but there’s the housekeeper who is over all of them, her name is Mrs. Dover.  She’s been with Miss Gracie since Miss Gracie first inherited the mansion, about 35 years.
    “Let’s see, then we have Professor Murphy, Eugene.  He’s there to write Miss Gracie’s memoirs.  He has a son, Ronnie, age five, who is a holy terror.”
    “I like kids.  I teach Sunday School,” and as I said that I began to feel guilty for leaving my class.
    “Don’t feel guilty, Belinda,” He said like he could read my mind.   “You know, I already feel like I know you, and I really like you, I like you a lot.”
    That made my heart speed up and I reached for the red wine.  I sipped it and liked it better than the white.
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
    I had slept like a log.  It must have been the wine.  I learned something about drinking.  It broke down al l inhibitions.  You didn’t have to monitor what you said.  It seemed to give you courage.  I like it.  I like it a lot.
    Adam was waiting for me when I came out of my room.  He had already ordered breakfast.  I had never been big on breakf ast but the bacon, eggs, cheese grits, and coffee was delicious.  It was my first cup of coffee and I liked it as much as the wine.
    Adam encouraged me to talk about myself and I told him about my limited experience in life.  When I told him about the reverend Jacobs raping me and no one believing me, he stopped me.
    “You mean to tell me that this son-of-a-bitch raped you and they believed him over you?   Doesn’t that make you angry?”
    “You’re not supposed to get angry.  It’s sinful,” I said and he actually snorted.
    “What a bunch of crap.  Let me see if I got this right.  You can’t have your feelings, s omeone can abuse you and it’s supposed to be just hunky dory.  No wonder you’re so uptight.  You must have so many pent up emotions, it’s a wonder you don’t have ulcers.
    “Do you realize you can sit here and tell me all these horrors about your life and you’re totally detached?  Do you realize you have been brainwashed?”
    He had been holding my hand and I pulled it back.  I didn’t know why but I felt threatened.  He was questioning the very core of what I knew to be true, or thought I knew to be true.  But did I?   Was he right?  Was I brainwashed?   I only knew one thing for sure and that was that I was totally confused.
    What I’ve since learned is that when you start questioning things that you just took for granted in the past, that’s when you start to grow.  But back then I knew nothing about growing as a person.
    If Adam hadn’t come into my life I would have probably spent the rest of my life stuck in a small Georgia town, working, worshiping, eating and sleeping.  I might have eventually married someone from the church wh o was equally unenlightened as me and never know any difference.
    We talked as we continued on our trip and I learned more and more from Adam.  He became like a mentor to me and I loved him for it.
    He too k his time getting us to Savannah .  We stopped and stood looking at breathtaking views, visited shops, stopped for coffee and then lunch and then later, coffee again and the whole time, we talked.
    Before the day was over I trusted Adam and loved him with all my heart and hoped he was falling in love with me too.
    Every time we