Free Island of Saints by Andy Andrews

about the extraordinary event obviously unfolding in the heavens. Billy, sensing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (literally), made Billy Gil’s Comet Pills available as protection from the “poisonous gases contained in a comet’s tail.” The gullible townsfolk of Foley and the surrounding area bought the tiny white tablets by the bottle full, safe at last to venture into their yards at night, free from the deadly effects of the “demon star.”
    When it became known that Billy Gil’s Comet Pills were also available in the grocery store under the name Domino Brand Coffee Sweetener, folks laughed right along with Billy. He was well aware that any other man might’ve been jailed for a stunt like that, but pleased to be a part of the joke, and joining the preacher, mayor, and entire sheriff’s department as victims, no one in Foley, Alabama, ever even asked for his money back.
    Billy and Margaret had been married forty-six years. They were together as man and wife for a decade and a half before Danny was born. It had been the happiest day of their lives until they realized something was wrong with the baby. Retardation, Billy believed at the time, was a fault of the father. He wasn’t sure where he had heard that, but he believed it and sank into the depths of a depression only the guilty can reach. Billy blamed himself. Margaret, however, blamed God.
    Margaret had been attracted to “that crazy Billy Gilbert” even when they were kids. She grew up just over the Florida line, but saw Billy once a month at church in Perdido when the preacher came through. She was twenty when they were married, older than her husband by a year, though in 1896, both were considered old to be newlyweds.
    Margaret was the oldest child in a family with eight children and, expecting a large family of her own, was disappointed and increasingly resentful as her childbearing years slipped by. Finally, after the joy of a perfect pregnancy came the crushing comprehension that their baby—the child they’d begged God for—was mentally retarded.
    Margaret was devastated. So this is the work of God, she had thought angrily. The God I asked into my heart as a ten-year-old girl. The One to whom I have prayed and Mama sang and we all gave our money. This is God’s reward for faithfulness? At that moment, Margaret made a conscious decision to turn her back on everything she had been taught—and believed—about a benevolent God, a heavenly Father who watches and loves and cares.
    It was years later, but amazingly both Margaret and Billy found their way to a life happier and more fulfilled than before. It had taken an understanding of a principle they had been slow to recognize.
    Margaret, especially, was eager to share the principle with Helen, but the timing had to be right, she knew. Helen’s bitterness had created a hard shell around her that kept everyone away . . . along with any encouragement or information others might share. She was not often rude or even impolite; she was cool. Margaret told Billy one evening, “You know, I just about can’t tell if that little girl is about to fly into a rage or burst into tears. Most times, she seems on the verge of both.”
    The couple knew about the tragic death of Helen’s husband when she moved into the area to care for her aunt—there are no secrets in small towns. And when the aunt died, too, Margaret insisted that Billy hire her right away. She was young, Margaret argued at the time, had no family, and was being beaten down by life. It was apparent to Billy that Helen reminded his wife of herself and of her own struggles years before. They didn’t need anyone, Billy protested, and with the war on, money was already tight enough. But Margaret won that battle as she did most of them, and Helen came to work the next day.
    WAN TOOK HIS SECOND PLATE OF THE MORNING TO THE kitchen. Slowly a few customers began to trickle in,