The Meek Shall Pt. 05

"Immerse me in the flow of your Jordan," Pat joined the game that seemed to be appropriate in a church and she ground back hard against his cock as she pinched his nipple. "Tap the wellspring of pleasure."

"Praise God," the shouts echoed through the sanctuary and they came in unison at the crescendo of this coral masterpiece as Frank's organ played the last high chord and they shared the gentle denouement together.

"Good God," Pat exclaimed.

"We said that already," Frank said. The pair lay gasping and basking in the glow.

"Love may not be necessary for good sex," Frank said, "but I can't tell the difference."

"Carol's motto is 'Love grows'," Pat said. "I think we just planted in the fertile ground."

After many minutes of light kisses and gentle touches, they sat up. Frank enjoyed Pat's naked loveliness, and she examined his face. Frank's hurt seemed to hide at the moment.

"You know, Laurie and I have been sharing Carol's bed each night. We have had no physical loving then with her, but wanted to lead her to feel the love and care without the physical. That abhorrent pastor for his own debauchery had misled her into thinking that love, sex, and faith must be together."

She looked into Frank's eyes.

"We think tonight you should join her in sleep. Can you do that without trying to fuck her? She isn't ready for that and it would just confuse her. Laurie has her convinced that fucking a sinner is okay. Carol has accepted a good screw from this non-believer," Pat smiled and tapped her naked breast, "but she has spent two years fearing her lust for you would send her to hell. God, I hate that bullshit. You need to make her feel that your love is not sinful. You must be gentle and patient."

"I've spent those two years just wanting to feel her genuine nearness. I obviously like to fuck, but I'm no longer a school idiot horn-dog. If I have to, I'll just go home in the morning and fuck my pillow." Frank laughed.

"Pillow and Pat both start with P," Pat said.

They spent another half-hour proving her last claim.

Frank had not wanted to just fuck Pat. He wanted to make love to her, not because she replaced Carol in his heart, but because she worked so hard on trying to restore Carol into his heart. Pat had separated sex from love, but she and Laurie had also united the two as well. His relationship with the two women, but especially also his bond with Carol, did not depend on physical love, but it ran deeper and was more precious.

With Carol, he needed to replace her judgmental condemnation with empathy, caring and trust. He needed to restore these things in himself. These were the hard things to build and accept for both of them. Frank needed to trust that she would not once again throw him aside for a greater love;here, for her god. He believed she still cared for and loved him. Frank did not think he had reached that place of acceptance, and he was not sure if Carol had or at least wanted it. That was up to Laurie and Pat and eventually Carol.

That night, the trio confronted two problems. The first was to normalize Frank and Carol sharing the same bed for the first time in over a year. Laurie had discussed it with Carol, and she agreed that as long as they did not make love, she would try it. While her relationship with Laurie had grown to where they both could fall asleep together, even without fucking beforehand, accepting Frank would be gradual.

The second issue was to let Carol know she was in Grandview. She knew the town from the many visits she and Frank had made to the Connors, so if she wanted to flee, she had a good idea of the way out. It was a risk.

That evening, after Laurie had tucked Carol into bed, she joined Pat and Frank in the kitchen.

"Mom and Dad want us all to come for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday." Frank said.

"We need to let Carol know where she is," Pat said. "Do you think she might run for it?"

"I don't think so," Laurie said, "but she is still fragile. She seems to trust us, even you, Frank."

Frank winced slightly, but that had remained after two years of conditioning. He had to fight that gut reaction.

"We have worked with her for a month," Frank said. "I don't think we can go much further. Carol has to do that; Carol has to choose."

"That's my thinking," Pat said.

They developed a plan. If Carol discovering Frank in her bed in the morning did not alarm her, they would be hopeful. It was Wednesday night. Saturday night, Sunday morning would be the test. If all went well, they would feast on Mom Connor's turkey on Sunday, or be grieving.

Pat and Laurie departed for the manse and Carol's bed. Frank slipped in beside the sleeping Carol and resisted touching her. Surprisingly, he fell asleep easily, almost happily.

Frank awoke with Carol's hand grasping his cock.

"Damn," he thought, "I can't yet."

He gently lifted her hand off his hard cock and kissed it, and then rolled slightly and kissed her cheek.

"Good morning, darling. Thank you for sharing your bed."

Frank slipped from the covers. He wore his most conservative flannel pyjamas. His smile washed Carol, and she smiled back. She said nothing as Frank left. Then she made an enormous sigh, and she rolled over to sniff the scent of her husband on the pillow.

The same thing happened on Friday and Saturday morning, although Carol had sensed that Frank might not want her hand on his cock, so he always woke with her hand on his chest and her lips brushing his cheek. The trio thought Carol felt love in all that and had made progress. Laurie confirmed it in several discussions and prayer sessions with Carol.

Frank spent the days in his office at home, servicing clients, chatting with Trish about business and Lover Boy Ted, and Frank finished his video presentation. He titled it, "Fucking for God" on blazing red over the opening scene of the pastor sucking a cock in the El Paso manse.

The thumb drive had arrived with the other set of access codes, and Frank explored the El Paso sanctuary video set up. It pleased him that the FBI had taken the church office computers, but had left the Wi-Fi intact and ignored or did not see the computer connected to the sanctuary. Frank easily hacked into the system.

From the recorded video, and the church service's internet stream, he knew that the youth pastor Gord had assumed the role of lead pastor, considering both the head pervert and his assistant, Peckeros Pete, were still in jail as flight risks. They released the church secretary as an unwitting dupe in the financial crimes. She had turned state witness. The cops had so far not discovered the sexual deviancy and her eager participation in the worship at the manse. The congregation would soon know. By Saturday, Frank was ready to rain fire and brimstone onto the abhorrent church.

Saturday night and Sunday morning would be the big test for Carol. Frank wrapped up his apocalypse preparations by noon, and as planned, met the women at the house. He asked Carol to go for a walk with him. She had not been outside since she had arrived and eagerly said yes.

"Frank," Carol exclaimed, half a block down the street. "We are in Grandview."

Her shock and her smile fought for space on her face.

"Where are Mom and Dad? When can I see them?"

Carol's smile had won. Frank took her hand and brought her to a stop.

"We are planning to have Mom's Thanksgiving turkey tomorrow, if you want to."

Carol flashed a sudden panic. Her treatment of Frank and his family over the past two years made her afraid. She had had bitter words with Frank's mother the final time they had visited.

"How can I face them?"

"They love you," Frank said. "It will be fine."

From Carol's look, Frank was not so sure of her being able to meet.

"Mom will serve turkey, not crow." Frank laughed.

Carol blushed and the word atonement came to mind.

Laurie had devised a simple plan to test Carol's commitment. That night, after she fell asleep, as Frank prepared to slide into bed with her, they placed Carol's purse, credit cards, passport and 1000 dollars cash on the bedstand.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Carol kissed Frank, and he slid from the bed.

"I hope to see you later," Frank said, and left. His fear of what might happen in the next few hours hurt. If Carol ran, he would not chase her.

Laurie and Pat shared breakfast in the manse, on the opposite side of the church from where Carol stirred. Frank stuck his head in to say Carol was awake and he headed home. Laurie reviewed her notes for the Thanksgiving service and Pat quietly sipped coffee. She had been here with many patients, on the brink of a breakthrough or disaster.

Carol stared at the top of the nightstand, slipped on her robe, and went to the kitchen and found the coffee ready. She ate an egg and toast and sipped. She would need strength.

Frank arrived home to the smell of a roasting turkey and his mother softly singing in the kitchen.

"God," he thought, "how many times as a kid did I experience this?" He felt happy despite his fears.

Dad was in the bathroom shaving. That was unusual on a Sunday.

"What's up Dad?"

"Getting ready for church,"

"What?" Frank exclaimed.

"This is in honour of those gals over there you've been loving; your mom and I want to show solidarity. The turkey is in the oven. She baked the pies, getting the potatoes and turnip ready."

Frank absorbed the shock as he made his way to his office. He logged into the El Paso sanctuary and examined the video programme for the worship. Someone had cued up the song file to send to the projector and waited to start the video. Frank's video would seize control of the machine and only killing the power would stop it, but he disabled the power settings on the computer. Unplugging the wall circuit would be the only thing, but the uninterruptible power supply that actually fed the computer needed the power cable to be yanked from the machine. Frank hoped the operator would never think of that until the video had played. Everything would happen with no more input from Frank. He left to accompany Mom and Dad to church.

Carol returned to her bedroom. She dressed in comfortable clothes and her walking shoes and placed the wallet, the credit cards, passport, and money into her purse. At the front door, she slipped into her light jacket, hung the purse from her arm and walked out into a glorious Thanksgiving morning. She smiled as the sounds of the opening hymn came from the church.

The sanctuary held more people than a normal service. Laurie's attractiveness and heartfelt sermons had attracted more than a few weak believers back to the fold. Laurie gazed over the crowd and felt regret that they would soon lose their local services and have to drive half an hour to the nearest church. She knew that a few of the middle-aged men were more hedonistic than holey and undressed their pastor in their prayers. Pat's arrival had stirred rumours about her sexual preferences and not a few of the women held some carnal longings. The rest did not seem to find any contradictions in their faith in all that. This was the liberal United Church, after all. Laurie smiled when she saw Pat and Frank sitting near the back with Frank's parent.

"Maybe I should believe in miracles," she thought.

As her prayer of thanksgiving ended, she said, "Please rise and join in our first song of thanksgiving, 'Rejoice, the Lord is King'"

Mrs. Singh rolled through the introductory bars, and the congregation rose and found their place in the red book. The pianist was a Hindu, but loved playing the piano, and this was the only gig in town. She loved Laurie and the people, so it was a pleasure she donated to the cause of the Grandview community. She taught piano and music at the high school.

The first stanza had just reached the words, "Rejoice, give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore."

The doors to the naïve opened and Laurie almost burst into joyous laughter. Carol stood in the entrance, tears in her eyes and frozen to the spot. Laurie nodded at Frank, who turned. He rushed to the door, embraced Carol, and gently escorted her to her seat. She stood beside Mom and then he stood on Carol's other side. Mom reached out and took Carol's hand. Both women cried. Carol set her purse on the seat near Frank, looked at him with teary eyes, and smiled. The rest of the service passed in a blur. Laurie struggled to remain professional. Her only slip was to shout, "Praise the Lord" in a rather strange departure that made the room seem more charismatic than the staid confines of this traditional church normally reflected.

Frank left the women at the manse and rushed home. They would arrive for dinner about 1 PM, but Frank wanted to watch the video results of the mayhem in El Paso. The sanctuary camera had deposited everything in the cloud. He frowned when he saw so many youngsters who would always leave for Sunday school after the worship songs. They would receive sex education sooner and in more graphic detail than their prude parents intended.

Pastor Gord opened the service in the usual long-winded prayer and then called the gathering to worship. The little group of musicians played. The blue tooth to the large speakers amplified their music and filled the four corners of the room. Gord nodded towards the sound-control booth and the elder clicked the play icon. The first verse of the song displayed, but then the image faded to the head pastor sucking cock in the manse beneath the "Fucking for the Lord" overlay. The blue tooth replaced the music to the sounds of fucking in three-dimensional high fidelity.

Frank knew the video, so he concentrated on the congregation. The confused look on Gord's face paid the price of admission and when he turned around, just in time to see him fucking Carol and sucking a cock, Gord collapsed behind the dais. The screams from the congregation drowned out the sounds of fornication from the screen. Frank had neatly labelled the characters, except Carol's washed-out face. The next part featured the visitors to the orgy the night of the big dinner party. As mother's covered children's eyes, and some rushed to the exit, the screen showed a fat man, perhaps the richest man in El Paso, buck naked and fucking their Sunday school leader, Fran, from behind. Several other pillars of the El Paso elite followed, including some wives.

The incongruity of "Fuck me" interspersed with "Praise the Lord" poured from the speakers. The sanctuary cleared long before the video climaxed. All who remained were the sinners who had just performed for the faithful. Fran knelt and cried, unconcerned with her husband, who still lay motionless before the altar. The prime show was over and Frank turned off the playback. He would wait until later to see what happened in the aftermath. He rightly concluded that the church was no more.

The three women arrived, arm in arm, just before 1PM. Pat carried wine while Laurie had cheese. Carol knew Dad better and had a six-pack of Sleeman's Amber. Frank kissed them all on a cheek and said to Carol that she should have brought a two-four. A Texan should not have known what a two-four was, but Carol knew Dad.

"Next time," she said. "I'm carrying too much baggage to handle that big a load at the moment."

"Let me lighten your load." Frank fixed his eyes on Carol as he took the beer. They both knew the weight of the load.

There is something that having a belly full of turkey, mashed vegetables and gravy does to a person. That and a couple of Sleeman's had Dad snoozing on the couch. Laurie and Pat formed a languid couple on the living room rug and Frank fought dozing off in Dad's lazy boy.

"I need some fresh air," Mom said. Somehow, the food and wine never seemed to slow her down.

"Dad won't need this," she said, and twisted the cap off a Sleeman's. "Carol, please keep company?"

In his stupor, Frank did not understand what Mom had planned. Carol and Mom disappeared out the front door to the porch. It was a bright October day, and the porch was out of the wind.

"Carol, sit beside me," Mom had settled on the wicker love seat.

"I want you to know I love you, always have and always will, no matter what happens."

Carol sat and sipped wine. Mom drank the beer from the bottle. Mom's words sounded ominous but not threatening.

"I love you, Mom," Carol said. "I have always, long before God told me to love everyone."

Mom winced slightly, but Carol missed the look.

"Carol, Frank has told us everything. You know he loves you too, and he just wants your unconditional love."

Carol blushed, even though she thought the carnal worship rituals had been holy.

"Oh, I love him too," Carol gushed. "I love him more than anything."

"Anything?" Mom asked. She knew how to turn the screws.

"Except God," Carol said. "You must understand."

"I'm a sceptic, Carol. You know that. I love my family before all. No, I don't understand."

"God demands we love him above all else." Carol fought anger.

"I don't respond well to demands," Mom said. "I love Dad because he deserves it, because he is Dad. He doesn't demand my love, nor do I require his in return. We give our love freely without it being required. If he demanded it, I would never have fallen for him. I'm sure not going to kiss his ass to get him to love me."

"But it says in the Bible," Carol began. Mom tried not to show her annoyance.

"It says we must love God first and forsake all others to live with him in heaven."

"So, you forsake Frank's love and make him feel unloved."

"A lover of God cannot share carnal desire with a sinner," Carol said.

"Who said that?" Mom asked.

"Pastor..."

"Who told your pastor? Is that in the Bible?"

Carol could not answer. No immediate single passage came to mind, only the preaching of the pastor.

"Apparently, your pastor also said you could fuck any believer, any way you wish, man or woman."

"Not exactly... and please don't use vulgar language," Carol said. "We never..."

"You all did anyway, including your pastor, and with lots of vulgar language. I have seen video, Carol. Dad and I saw things we never would have thought of doing. Dad said he never heard language like that outside the barn. Sadly, we are now too old to try, but you all did it while praising God and begging for earthly pleasure, begging to be fucked."

Mom had used the word fuck today more than perhaps her whole life.

"It is worship, not pleasure," Carol said. She gulped her wine all at once. Pastor Laurie had been gently leading her to see alternatives within her faith. Mom had actually taken a more direct approach in questioning the basis for the church's actions and those of the pastors. Laurie's work had raised some doubts and beliefs in Carol that kept her from rushing off the porch in anger.

"It is simple hedonism," Mom said. "The old Hebrew history preached against hedonism. That's what Sodom and Gomorrah were all about, although I've read a theory that is a myth based on a volcano destroying a couple of Arabian villages."

"I'm not here to question your faith, but I say that you can love your God and seek heaven. You can believe all you want, but you need to understand that you don't have to be perfect in this world to get to your nirvana."

"Pastor Gary said we are to forsake even our spouses if they are not believers and, therefore, sinners. It's in the old testament."

"Pastor, pastor, pastor, he is a man, Carol, and what was the good news that your Christ delivered in the NEW testament? He said that God's grace replaced the Hebrew laws. It was his to judge, based on your heart, not your actions. In your case, it means that if you love your God as required, it makes no difference if you love and fuck a sinner." Mom hoped Carol would not remember the sin no more in the scripture.

"From what I saw on the video, your pastor distorted that to get fucked."