The Pastor's Daughter

Chapter Three

Finally the door creaked open. The light from the lamp inside shadowed Brixton's face slightly. He was old, sixty two by my reckoning. It was the first time I'd ever seen him up close, and I could see the wrinkles on his face. His skin was really translucent, even more up close.
"Hello, Reverend," I said, swallowing my trepidation.
" I am here to take Hayley to the matric dance."
H" Of course," he said "but first I have to talk to you."
"Yes,sir. That's why I came early."
"Come in."
In church Brixton was a fairly snappy dresser,but right now, dressed in overalls and a t-shirt, he looked like a farmer. He motioned me to sit on the wooden chair he'd brought in from the kitchen.
"I'm sorry it took a while to open the door. I was preparing for tomorrow's sermon,"he said.
I sat down.
"That's okay, sir." I don't know why,but you just had to call him sir. He sort of projected that image.
" All right then, tell me about yourself?"
I thought it was fairly a ridiculous question, him having such a long history with my family and all. He was also the one who baptised me,by the way, and he'd seen me in church every Sunday since I'd been a baby.
"Well, sir," I began,"I'm the RCL President. I don't know whether Hayley mentioned that to you."
He nodded. "She did. Go on."
"And... Well, I hope to go to NMMU next year. I've already received the application."
He nodded again. " Anything else?"
I had to admit I was running out of things after that. Part of me wanted to pick up the pencil off the end of the table and start balancing it for him the whole thirty minutes worth,but he wasn't the kind of guy who would appreciate it.
"I guess not, sir."
" Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"No, sir."
He sort of stared at me, as if thinking about it.
" Why did you ask my daughter to the dance?"
" You're not planning to... embarrass her, are you?"
"No,sir." I said,shocked by the accusation.
" I needed someone to go with , and I asked her. It's as simple as that."
" You don't have any pranks planned?"
"No sir, I wouldn't do that to her..."
This went on for a couple more minutes-his grilling me about my true intentions, I mean- but luckily, Hayley stepped out of the back room, and both of us turned our heads at the same time. Brixton finally stopped talking and I breathed a sigh of relief. She'd put on a nice blue skirt and a white blouse I'd never seen before. Thankfully, she left her sweater in the wardrobe.
What she was wearing wasn't too bad, I had to admit, though I knew she'd still be underdressed compared to others at the dance. As always, her hair was pulled up in a bun. Personally, I think it would've looked better if she kept it down but that's the last thing I wanted to say. Hayley looked...well, exactly as she usually did, but at least she wasn't bringing her bible with her.
That would've been so much to live down.
"You're not giving Ryan a hard time, are you?" she said cheerfully to her father.
" We were just talking," I said quickly, before he had a chance to respond.
" Well, we should probably go," Hayley said after a moment. I think she sensed the tension in the room. She walked over to her father and kissed him on the check.
" Don't stay up too late working on the sermons, okay?"
"I won't," he said softly. I could tell he really loved her and wasn't afraid to show it, even with me in the room. It was how he felt about me that was the problem.
We said goodbye,and on our way to the car, I handed Hayley the corsage and told her I'd show her how to put it on once we got in the car. I opened the door for her and walked round the other side, then got in as well. In that short period of time Hayley had already pinned on the flower.
" I may be naturally blond but I'm not really a dimwit, you know," she said. "I do know how to pin a corsage."
I started the car, and we headed towards the high school, the conversation I'd just had with her father running through my mind.
" My father doesn't like you very much," she said as if knowing what I was thinking.
I nodded without saying anything.
"He thinks you're irresponsible, and he doesn't like you dad much either."
I nodded again.
" Or your family"
I get the picture
" But you know what I think?," She asked suddenly
" Not really," by then I was pretty depressed.
"I think that this is all in God's plan somehow. What do you think the message is?"
Here we go, I thought.
I doubt if the evening could've been much worse. Most of my friends kept their distance, and Hayley didn't have many friends to begin with, so we spent most of our time alone. Even worse, it turned out my presence wasn't even required anymore. They'd changed the rule owing to the fact Kyle couldn't get a date, and that left me feeling pretty miserable about the whole thing. But because of what her father said to me, I couldn't exactly take Hayley home early, now wouldn't I? And more than that, she was really having a great time. She loved everything about the dance, she liked the decorations and the music. She asked me whether I might help her decorate the church some day for one of their dances. I said she should call me, and even though I said it without a trance of energy, Hayley looked at me with a smile on her face and thanked me for being so considerate. To be honest, I was depressed for atleast the first hour, though she didn't seem to notice.
Hayley had to be home by eleven pm, and hour before the dance ended, which made it somewhat easier for me to handle. Once the music started, we hit the floor, and as it turned out she was a pretty good dancer- even better than some of the others- and that helped passed the time. She followed my lead very well through a dozen of songs, and after that we headed to the tables and had what resembled an ordinary conversation. Sure, she threw in words like helping the orphans, but she was so damn happy, it was hard to stay down for long.
So things weren't too terrible at first. It wasn't until Lunga, Zinzi's boyfriend, showed up and everything went sour.
He was wearing that stupid shirt again, Peter Stuyvesant's in his sleeve, and a chiskop on his head. Zinzi was hanging all over him,and it didn't take a genius to realise she'd had drinks. Her dress was really flashy, and I noticed she'd picked up that ladylike habit called chewing gum. She really worked that gum, chewing it almost like a cow working her curd. Well, good old Lunga spiked the punchbowl, and a few more people started getting tipsy as well. By the time the teacher's found out,most of the punch was gone, and people were getting those glossy looks in their eyes, though you could tell it would take, and when I saw her gobble up her second glass of punch, I knew I should keep my eye out for her. Even though she dumped me, I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. She was the first girl I'd ever French kissed, and I still had feelings for her.
So there I was , sitting with Hayley, barely listening as she described the wonders of bible School, watching Zinzi out of the corner of my eye, when Lunga spotted me looking at her over the table, giving me one of those looks that means business.
You know the one I'm talking about.
"Are you staring at my girl?" He asked, already tensing up.
"No"
"Yeah, he was," Zinzi said, kind of slurring out the words.
"He's my ex boyfriend, the one I told you about."
Lunga's eyes turned into little slits.
"So you're the one," he said.
Now, I'm not much of a fighter. Usually I didn't have much trouble staying away from things like this because of my passive nature, and besides, no one ever messed with me when Siya was around. But Siya was off, with Bronwyn, probably making out somewhere.
" I wasn't staring." I said finally " and I don't know what she told you, but I doubt if it was true."
Lunga's eyes narrowed. "Are you calling her a liar?"
I think he would've hit me right there, but Hayley suddenly worked her way into the situation.
"Don't I know you?" She said cheerfully, looking right at him. Sometimes Hayley seemed oblivious to situations that were happening right infront of her.
" Wait- yes, I do. Your father's name is Joe, and you and your grandmother lives on Edward Road by the rail crossing."
A look of confusion crossed Lunga's face.

" How do you know all that? What'd he do? Tell you about me too?"
"No," Hayley said. " I saw your picture in your Grandmother's house. I was walking by, and she needed help bringing in groceries. You picture was on the mantelpiece."
Lunga was looking at Hayley like she had cornstocks growing out her ears.
Meanwhile, Hayley was fanning herself with her hand.
"Well, we were just sitting down to take a breather from all that dancing. It sure gets hot out there. Would you like to join us? I'd love to hear how your grandmother is doing?"
She sounded so happy about it that Lunga didn't know what to do. Unlike those of us who were used to her, he'd never come across someone like her before. He stood there for a second or two,as if trying to decide whether to hit the guy with the girl who'd helped his grandma. He finally skulked off without responding, taking Zinzi with him.
Hayley and I watched him go, and when he was at a safe distance away, inexhaled. I hadn't even realised I'd been holding my breath.
"Thanks," I mumbled sheepishly, realising that Hayley- Hayley!- was the one who'd saved me from grave bodily harm. Hayley looked at me strangely.
"For what?' she asked, and when I didn't exactly spell it out for her, she went right back into her bible story stories, as if nothing had happened at all. But this time I actually listened to her. It was the least I could do.

It turns out it wasn't the last we saw of either Lunga or Zinzi that evening.

Hayley, as faith would have it, was the one who who found Zinzi in the bathroom, and even to her,it was obvious that Zinzi wasn't doing too well. The only option was to clean her up and take her home before the teachers found out about it. Getting drunk was kind of a big deal back then, and Zinzi would be looking at a suspension, maybe even expulsion, if she was caught.

Hayley, bless her heart, didn't want that to happen any more than I did, and she took immediate charge of the situation. The two of us eventually located Siya and he agreed to stand guard at the bathroom door while Hayley and I went in to tidy up. Zinzi had a marvelous job,I tell you.The puke was everywhere- the walls, the floor, the sinks. I was perched on all fours, cleaning up puke at the matric dance in my best blue suit, which was exactly what I had wanted to avoid in the first place. And Hayley, my date, was all fours too, doing the same thing.
I could practically hear Kyle Adams laughing a squeaky,manical laugh somewhere in the distance. We ended up sneaking out  at the backdoor of the gym, keeping Zinzi stable by walking on either side of her. She kept asking where Lunga was, but Hayley told her not to worry. She had a real soothing way of talking to Zinzi, though Zinzi was so far gone I doubt if she even knew who was speaking. We loaded Zinzi into the backseat of my car, where she passed out immediately. When we got to her house, her mother answered the door, took one look at her daughter, and brought her inside without so much as a word of thanks. I think she was embarrassed, and we really didn't have much to say to her. The situation pretty much spoke for itself.

By the time we dropped Zinzi off, it was ten forty five, and we drove straight to Hayley's. I was really worried when we got there, because of the way she looked and smelled, and I said a silent prayer hoping Brixton wasn't awake.

I didn't want to explain this to him. Oh, he'd probably listen to Hayley if she was the one who told him about it, but I had a sinking feeling that he'd find a way to blame me anyway. So I walked her to the door, and we stood outside under the porch light. Hayley crossed her arms and smiled a little, looking just like she'd come in from an evening stroll.
"Please don't tell your father about this," I said.
"I won't," she said. " I had a great time tonight. Thank you for asking me to the dance."
Here she was, covered in puke, thanking me for the evening. Hayley could really drive a guy crazy sometimes.