Freedom

            Freedom, Oklahoma, Queen City of Cimarron, population 271, Adlai Jonas had been a resident of Freedom his whole life. He was born here, raised here, and would probably die here. On second thought, he would definitely die here. Adlai saw no reason for what he considered “worldly corruption” like universities and machines of mass consumerism. He was the preacher at the local Baptist church, the largest church in town; which is not saying much considering that according to the Census Bureau the town spans across a 0.3 square mile radius, or five football fields. Adlai and his wife, Martha, have two beautiful children, Timothy is 27 and Janna is 22. The family had been one unit up until about five or six years ago when Timothy left for Atlanta. Unlike his father, Timothy had had enough of the celebrity of a small town, and longed for a place where not everyone knew his name. Janna had stayed behind and was now a school teacher at the local elementary school. Adlai and Martha insisted that she stay with them until she had saved up enough money to buy a little place of her own, and Janna accepted, begrudgingly. Martha, also a school teacher, works at the local high school, and has for 26 years now. Every Sunday Adlai stands at the podium and delivers his sermons, and every Sunday Martha and Janna watch from the front row. To the residents of Freedom, they are the perfect little nuclear family, a son away doing great with a successful business, a smart and beautiful daughter, a loving and doting wife, and of course the local preacher as the patriarch to cement this status. Little did anyone know, that on the outside they were perfect, but inside the walls of the house a storm was, and had been for quite sometime, brewing.

            You see, Adlai wasn’t just your typical Baptist preacher; he was the leader of a radical and strict faction of the Baptist church, which preached what most would consider hate rather than forgiveness. The church sat just off of Main Street, and offered a stark difference from the traditional “wild west” buildings lining Main Street. In fact, that is one thing that Freedom is well-known for; the traditional Western feel that exists through out the town. However, Adlai’s church was different; Freedom Baptist Church was a one room white building with heavy wooden double doors, painted red, a beautiful stained glass window, and steeple that housed the bell that governed the activities of the town. Among this nostalgic image of the “wild west” and the peaceful ambiance of life in a small town stood Adlai and seven other men of the church with their messages and warnings to those who drove through town on their way to other places or the truckers who used Highway 50 as a cut through to Interstate 64.  Adlai and his followers stuck out like a sore thumb, holding signs professing God’s hatred for homosexual’s, bastard children, and adulterous partners; “God Hates Fags!”, “Bastard Children Go To Hell”, and “God Will Judge The Whores” were all weekly occurrences in Freedom. As if the signs were not bad enough, Adlai had a nice big bull horn that he used to make sure that his “message” was heard loud and clear. Most people in the town that disagreed with Adlai were able to ignore the message, because they were used to it. But of course, there was always the group of high school boys in the car that would drive by honking there horns and playing loud “Satanic” music. Those that knew Adlai followed him strictly and radically, and those that didn’t follow had learned to mind their own business.

            After a long day in the hot sun, spreading His word Adlai pulled up to his two story white wooden farm house, with black shutters, a red door, and a nice big wrap around porch on the outskirts of town. Life was peaceful here, quite and secluded. As Adlai climbed the stairs and grabbed the banister for help his cowboy hat fell to the ground exposing his male pattern baldness.  Adlai walked in the door and was greeted by Martha, her gray blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing a floral print cotton sun dress. Adlai kissed her; she offered a small almost unaffectionate kiss back, and handed him his drink, scotch on the rocks. This little fact was particularly ironic considering that the consumption of alcohol was banned in his congregation. Even more ironic, however, was the fact that Adlai did everything with this scotch on the rocks; usually, however, he added a few splashes of tea to take away the strong scent of alcohol. Most people assumed that he chewed gum in order to contend with his old tobacco chewing habit, but in reality he chewed the gum to mask the scent of scotch on his breath. Adlai was an alcoholic and had been ever since Timothy left, well really, he had been an alcoholic for years before that, but it got real bad after Timothy left. For most people the redness and vein laced appearance of his nose would have been a large clue, but his congregation members were willing to overlook such signs and accept him for the Truth that he offered. They accepted this sign of alcoholism as a sign of the Oklahoma sun along with Adlai’s sun-tanned and wrinkled face, and snow white hair. His face was hollow and his eyes were deep set; all signs of his alcoholism in their own ways, but like the others they were ignored. The truth was Adlai was always drinking scotch and tea . . . during his tirades at the corner of Main Street and Hwy. 50, during his marriage counseling sessions with couples from the church, and even once—maybe twice during his lesson on the Final Supper in the 5^th grade Sunday school class.

            “How was your day,” Adlai asked Martha.

            “It was good. I got a few loads of laundry done, and went into town to run some errands.”

            “So, um, did you see him today?”

            “Adlai, you know that I hate talking about this. You know that Saturday is my day to go and see him. You agreed that you would not talk about it anymore. You accepted it and we would move on. You have your bad habit, and I have mine.”

            Martha—Royal lady, Mistress; and that was exactly what Martha was, a mistress. Adlai had his drinking and Martha had her man. She had been seeing him for about five year. She began seeing David about seven months after Timothy left. Adlai had known for about 4 months now. For years David and Martha had been able to keep their “love” a secret. She had gone to see him on the nights when she would normally stay late to sponsor the Abstinence Awareness Club, but Mary had taken over her duties as sponsor of the club, and Martha just chose not to tell Adlai. Once Summer started, however, she had no choice or alibi and had to be honest. David fulfilled for her the love and warmth that she could no longer feel in Adlai’s arms. She knew that her and Adlai were doomed to be together for life, after all he was the preacher of the Baptist church and they did not look favorably on divorces except in extreme circumstances, not to mention that she was the preacher’s wife and was held to a higher standard.  David did for her what Adlai could no longer do. He comforted her when her only son left for Atlanta, and he fulfilled her in ways that Adlai never had in the bedroom. David’s wife Sarah was a sweet woman, in fact she served on the outreach committee with Martha as well as the woman’s Bible study group. They baked pies together to bring to the sick congregation members and studied about the Ten Commandments together in Sarah’s home. Sarah was a sweet lady, but God was she naive and oblivious. Sarah’s husband wasn’t the first; he was just the only one that had lasted this long.

            “Timothy called today,” Martha said changing the subject.

            “Oh really? How is he?”

            “He is fine. He and Daniel are getting an apartment together.”

            “Together?”

            “Yes, Adali. Together. The same way the heterosexual couples do.”

            “That is just so damn unnatural. I wish he would be normal again”

            “He is normal Adlai; he is the same son that you loved growing up. He just prefers to date men instead of women now. God you are hard-headed and mean spirited sometimes”

            “Exactly. And that is why I can hold my opinion that what he is doing is just so damn unnatural.”

            Timothy had always been the deep, handsome type. In fact, his senior class voted him “best looking” senior year. He was tan, built, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a gem to talk to. He was God’s gift to women, but without the attitude; which was quite funny considering the fact that Timothy was gay. In fact, his sexuality was the real reason that Timothy had left. He needed to get out of Freedom and be somewhere that he could express his individuality and self.  Timothy had always been true to himself and was not willing to lead the double life that his other family members so willingly accepted. In fact, if Martha were honest with herself she would admit that she had been having affairs for a while now, but the first affair that was not over the computer came with David after Timothy left. Timothy hated leaving his family, but he could not stand the stifling atmosphere of Freedom any longer, let alone the disappointment on his father’s face the day that Timothy told his parents. Adlai would never forgive himself for Timothy’s sin, which Adlai believed he had caused. He was not sure how or why, but he was sure that it was something he had done. Rather than live to be a burden on his family and possibly ruin their reputation, Timothy took off for Atlanta and started his own business which his parents had used as a guise for the last five years. It was easier to explain that he could not find work here; rather than telling people that their son was gay. Timothy did it to help, little did he know the stress that it had caused until Janna decided to open up and be honest with him about all that was going on in the home since he had left. Timothy kept in touch and did his best to be a good son from a distance, which was the way his father preferred it, but sometimes he wished that he could share with them the love and excitement he and had found in his partner the same way that his sister could.

            “Hi mom, hi dad,” Janna said as she entered through the garage door. Janna was particularly striking. Her long blonde hair had a beautiful bounce to it, and glistened in the sun. Her womanly figure was particularly attractive, and a nice compliment to her big blue eyes and pouty pink lips. Like her brother, Janna was considered one of the most beautiful girls in her graduating class and won homecoming queen and prom queen. Most would be impressed by this, but it was not a particularly impressive feat considering that there were only 30 seniors in her graduating class.

            “Hello Janna how was the picnic?” asked her mother.

            “Oh you know. It’s a nice break from the farm, but not particularly fun considering that I had to give up a Saturday. Not to mention that this means August is approaching quickly and school will start again. These summers seem to get shorter and shorter. But I did win a cake, carrot cake, your favorite dad.”

            “Thanks, honey. Well I hate to burst this nice little bubble, but can we talk about what really matters right now?”

            “Adlai, do you have to do this right now?”

            “Of course I do.”

            “But why, don’t you think the two other times you brought it up this week were enough?”

            “Mom, I appreciate it, but it is fine. Yes, Dad, tomorrow marks 12 weeks, which means I am 3 months pregnant, and soon I will begin to show.”

            “What has Aaron had to say about this?” Adlai asked.

            “Well I am not really sure I care what Aaron thinks Dad, I have no intention of marrying him. Would you like me to move thousands of miles away as well, or will Tulsa be far enough?”

            Janna was still bitter about the fact that her father had chased away her older brother. She loved Timothy dearly, and growing up they were inseparable. Aaron and Janna had been high school sweet hearts. They planned to move in together when she finished college, but all of that had changed the day that Aaron got drunk and punched her in the face. Janna had no tolerance for abuse, and despite all the scotch her dad ever drank he never laid a hand on her mother, and she would make damn sure no man ever laid his hands on her again. Janna loved her family, God knows she did, but she could not understand what was so wrong with having a child. She was sure that this baby was going to be a beautiful thing. She was also sure that she was a strong enough woman to raise her own; her mother had brought her up to be strong and independent. Again, ironic considering that her mother was in constant need of affection from a man. Anyhow, to make matters worse Janna was not sure that she wanted to leave Freedom; as small and confined as the town was she loved her parents dearly and did not want to be miles away. However, Janna had come to realize that growing up in a town like Freedom, in the church that she grew up, would only stifle her child and not lead to the type of life she wanted for her baby. Janna had taken a job with the Osage County school system and would start there in the Fall. In the next two weeks she would be packing up her things and moving to Tulsa, far enough away to start anew but close enough to help if her parents needed it.

            “Well it is getting late, I am going to bed,” Adlai said as he got up from the kitchen table.

            “There are leftovers if you are hungry Janna,” Martha said as she finished washing the dishes and headed towards the bedroom to join Adlai.

            “No thanks mom, I had plenty at the picnic. I will be right behind you. See you in the morning.”

            The next morning, Adlai fixed his glass of scotch and tea, Martha made her phone call to her boyfriend David, and Janna took her prenatal vitamins and called her brother to congratulate him on his new apartment with his boyfriend. They all walked out the door, got in the pick-up truck and headed for Freedom Baptist Church where Adlai would stand in front of his congregation and preach about the evils of alcohol, adultery, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality, and Janna and her mother would sit in the front row and listen intently. Afterwards, they would stand by her father and shake hands with the congregation as they left before heading to lunch with whichever couple or family had invited them to their house that particular Sunday. Yes, Janna could not wait to get out of Freedom and begin again with a true sense of what freedom really meant.