Read Heaven Forbid for Free Online

rules outlawed any and all forms of alcohol, including beer, wine, even NyQuil. Smoking anything except some meat on a grill was forbidden, as was cursing ( I’m sure as hell going to have problems with that one, Mama Max thought with a giggle), gambling (including the lottery, bingo, and card playing…and Mama sure liked a scratch-off now and then), wearing makeup, and watching television (except a list of shows sanctioned by the Gospel Truth Moral Board). For women, dresses had to be worn loose and hang below the knee, and arms were to be covered to the elbow, even in summer. For men, ties were required at all times, except when involved in physical labor, such as repairing or cleaning the house of God, and jewelry was limited to watches, cuff links, and sensible chains. Earrings on men—forbidden. Hair for both sexes was to be neat and trim, and tattoos, especially new ones done after hearing the word of God as delivered by Obadiah Brook, were expressly forbidden. Hugging between male and female church members who were not married to each other was no longer allowed, and when conversing, a distance of two feet must be maintained at all times. The new Gospel Truth Member Manual, passed out to members at the end of Reverend Doctor O’s first sermon, was fifty pages long. Many of the members who read it—the table of contents, much less the whole book—hadn’t bothered to attend the following week, and ever since, attendance had continued to dwindle.
     
    Mama Max set the last loaf of banana bread into the oven, took out the two that had been baking, wiped her hands on an apron, and looked at the clock. “Reverend!” Mama Max went into the hallway and called again. “Obadiah!” A slight frown creased Mama Max’s forehead as she walked toward the study. That man has been closeted away in there for hours. She stopped in front of her husband’s home study. Just as she raised her hand to knock, she heard a low moan.
    “Reverend, you all right in there?” Mama Max tried to open the door but it was locked. “Obadiah!”
    “Oh, God,” she heard her husband whisper.
    Mama Max pressed her ear against the door. “Got some warm banana bread out here whenever you’re ready.”
    Mama Max listened for another moment but hearing nothing more, shook her head and walked back to the kitchen. Obadiah had always had a strong relationship with God. For years, his study had been his sanctuary, and for the most part, Maxine left him alone when he was preparing to deliver the word of God. But it seemed like ever since they moved to Texas, Obadiah had been spending more and more time cloistered behind those doors. Mama Max wasn’t one to get in the way of the Lord’s work, but she worried about how hard her husband was toiling to save, she sometimes felt, ungrateful saints.
    She worried about other things, too, but most of the time was able to chase away the devil’s thoughts. “That rascal’s even been plaguing my dreams,” she’d recently confided to Nettie. And while Mama Max tried to do her part in aiding the ministry, and was delighted to be living close to her good friend Nettie, she still had to admit one thing—she was lonely. Back in Kansas, she had any number of church members she could call and gossip with or invite over for coffee. Once or twice a week, sometimes more, she’d gone to the gym or out to the movies with her daughter-in-law, Tai, and her grandkids were always stopping over. She hadn’t thought she’d miss them so much. But she did.
    “Now, you just shape up, Maxine Fredonia Brook. God has been too good to you to even think about sulking.” Maxine began bustling around the kitchen, cleaning up and thinking about Passion and the marital problems she was having. For the most part, Maxine was satisfied. She decided to be thankful that things were as well as they were, and after finishing up the dishes, picked up the phone.
    “Nettie, this here’s Maxine.”
    “Hey, Mama Max!”
    “Girl, I got a