live through the night. But come! Shall we not talk of it again? All's understood now, and all's right!" He shook hands all over again. "And now that I've found you, two old friends like you—of course I'm still practically a stranger in Zenith—I'm not going to let you go! I'm going to come out and call on you. Do you belong to any church body here in Zenith?"
"Well, no, not exactly," said Floyd.
"Can't I persuade you to come here, sometimes, and perhaps think of joining later?"
"Well, I'll tell you, Reverend, in the auto business—kind of against my religion, at that, but you know how it is, in the auto business we're awful' busy on Sunday."
"Well, perhaps Lulu would like to come now and then."
"Sure. Women ought to stick by the church, that's what I always say. Dunno just how we got out of the habit, here in the city, and we've always talked about starting going again, but— Oh, we just kinda never got around to it, I guess."
"I hope, uh, I hope, Brother Floyd, that our miscomprehension, yours and mine that evening, had nothing to do with your alienation from the church! Oh, that would be a pity! Yes. Such a pity! But I could, perhaps, have a—a comprehension of it." (He saw that Lulu wasn't missing one of his dulcet and sinuous phrases; so different from Floyd's rustic blurting. She was pretty. Just plump enough. Cleo would be a fat old woman, he was afraid, instead of handsome. He couldn't of married Lulu. No. He'd been right. Small-town stuff. But awful nice to pat!) "Yes, I think I could understand it if you'd been offended, Floyd. What a young chump I was, even if I was a preacher, to not—not to see the real situation. Really, it's you who must forgive me for my wooden-headedness, Floyd!"
Sheepishly, Floyd grunted, "Well, I did think you flew off the handle kind of easy, and I guess it did make me kind of sore. But it don't matter none now."
Very interestedly, Elmer inquired of Floyd, "And I'll bet Lulu was even angrier at me for my silliness!"
"No, by gosh, she never would let me say a word against you, Reverend! Ha, ha, ha! Look at her! By golly, if she ain't blushing! Well, sir, that's a good one on her all right!"
Elmer looked, intently.
