Free Different Drummers by Jean Houghton-Beatty

like.”
    Kathleen hardly heard him. “How dare he do that to me,” she said, her face working anxiously. “How could he humiliate me like that in front of all those people?”
    Freddie fiddled with his rear view mirror before he answered, as if searching for the right words.
    â€œOtis, well, he is sort of strange, I gotta grant you that, and I have to say he came on to you pretty strong in there. He thinks he’s been handpicked to save the world. He’s always been hooked on Jesus, ever since he had his callin’ years ago. I go to that church to please Momma. She hangs on his every word. She says he’s done a power of good for people round here in need of the Lord.”
    Kathleen looked straight ahead. “I’m not saying he hasn’t. But that doesn’t mean he can press my skull so hard I see stars, or speak to me as if I’m not even human. When he grabbed me like he did, I just wanted to die.”
    She looked at Freddie’s serious face as he turned the car into his driveway. “You’re not going to let this affect our friendship are you? So far, you’re the only friend I’ve got around here.”
    He switched off the ignition then turned to face her. The gentleness of his gaze was unexpected. “Of course I’m not. Come on, let’s go in and get that Coke.”
    Kathleen noticed the floor plan of Freddie’s house was identical to the house on Bennington Street, but the similarity ended there. This house was light and airy, with pretty curtains at the windows. They sat in the spotless kitchen and drank their Cokes.
    Freddie asked her questions about England as he made an obvious effort to calm her. She told him all about Chester and her family, the bakery, the way she’d loved to go dancing at the Rialto. And all the while, her brain hammered with questions that had no solutions. What would Otis Conroy have to say when she went back to the house on Bennington Street and how in the name of God could she possibly spend another night in that house without Bob.
    She sipped her Coke. “Thanks for taking me under your wing, Freddie. I honestly don’t know what I’ve have done without you.”
    â€œDon’t even think about it. Any fool could see you’ve been dying inside ever since you got here. When I dropped you off at Bobby’s house that first day, you looked like you could’ve fainted clean away. I don’t know what you expected but I could see it wasn’t that. You ain’t got no friends here yet, and being so far away from home and all…”
    His voice trailed away as he pushed his chair back from the table, picked up their empty glasses and took them to the sink.
    â€œWhat about you?” Kathleen asked. “Surely you have a girlfriend or two tucked around Eddisville somewhere?”
    He grinned self-consciously. “I date Mary Mayhew some, but it’s nothin’ serious. You met her brother, Johnny, the guy behind the counter in Todd’s.”
    * * *
    Half an hour later, when Freddie turned into the Conroy’s driveway, a bright red Studebaker convertible was parked next to Otis’s old car.
    â€œThat’s Bob’s car! He’s home, Freddie! Bob’s come home!” She jumped down from the truck and ran into the house, leaving a smiling Freddie to back his truck out of the driveway and head back down Bennington Street.
    She hardly noticed Otis’s stern, disapproving face, or Selma standing beside him. She had eyes only for her handsome husband, his face weary from his long drive, his hair flopping across his forehead. She stood in the doorway, drinking in the sight of him, and then walked into his arms.
    â€œYou’ve come at last,” she said softly. “I was beginning to think you’d never get here.”
    His arms went around her, holding her close. “Hello, Baby,” he said, stroking her hair. “I came as fast as I