Aliese Goes to Church
Virjena Whitehead
Aliese believed in and even respected God, her problem was, she didn’t believe in preachers or self-righteous church folk. While she did absolutely nothing to discourage Daddy’s or anyone else’s church going, she was content to focus her energies on preparing lavish meals for the family on Sunday. Being a person who enjoys cooking, I fully understand how the planning and preparation of food for people you love can be a spiritual experience in itself. Elder Fitzgerald, the preacher who refused to marry my parents, was one of those people who held a very rigid set of beliefs when it came to religion. One such belief was that God could only be experienced in a church building, preferably the one where he was pastor. Not long after moving into the new sanctuary Elder Fitzgerald pulled Daddy to the side and asked why Aliese wasn’t attending church along with him.
Daddy tried to steer him away from the topic by saying, “Well now, Elder Fitzgerald, you see, my wife she believe in God and she love God, but her beliefs is a lil different from ours.”
Not wanting to hear it, Elder Fitzgerald quickly said, “Who runnin yo house Deacon Bryant?”
Upon hearing this, Daddy knew he would have to insist that Aliese attend church alongside him. He also knew she was going to throw a fit.
While discussing the matter with his brother Julius, he said maybe it was time he started, “doin something to try and get her in hand.”
Julius, being one of the more mild mannered and sensible Bryant brothers said, “Herbert, you gotta do what you gotta do to run your own house, but if I was you I wouldn’t let no man, preacher or not, get between me and my wife, especially when it seems like it’s working with y’all. Lord knows I don’t understand how it’s working but it is. You ought to leave well enough alone, if you ask me.”
Daddy listened to Julius but went home and told Aliese she had to start coming to church. He told her at the dinner table hoping she wouldn’t throw a fit with the kids around, especially us little ones. It turned out he was right. She didn’t throw a fit. She just gave him a look from where she was feeding Peter on her lap. Oh but what a look it was. The look pretty much said it all.
It concerned him enough that he spoke up and said, “Now Aliese, I done told you bout cussing in front of these chillin.”
Her response was slow and she even wore a smile as she said, “Daddy, I ain’t said a thing yet. What you talking about? Don’t worry, I’ll go to church with you.”
The conversation took place on Thursday night at dinner and he repeatedly questioned her about what she was up to until Sunday morning. When the time came to leave she claimed she wasn’t ready and would follow the rest of the family shortly. Daddy was somewhat relieved, assuming she had simply agreed to attend church with no intention of ever showing up. He even pretended to be angry and stormed out of the house with her still vowing to show up.
Testimony service was in full swing when the back door of the church flew open. The congregation was so caught up singing the lyrics to “I’m A Soldier In The Army of The Lord,” they hardly noticed Aliese entering the sanctuary. Clapped on her back was the most raggedy house dress she owned and strewn atop the mass of salt and pepper plaits piled on her head sat the rattiest fishing hat she could find. She had haphazardly covered the multitude of holes in it with the oldest and ugliest fishing lures she and her sister, Julia Mae, owned. The usher aton the back door knew exactly who she was and did his best to spare Daddy, who had donned his best suit as usual, the embarrassment of having to sit next to her during church. Instead of leading her towards one of the open seats at the front of the church he attempted to offer her a seat in the center of a back row where she would be hidden from most of the congregation. But Aliese had come for blood, and blood she would have.
She looked directly into the eye and consequently the soul of the strikingly handsome dark skinned usher, leaned into his ear and forcefully said, “Naw sir, I’m Mrs. Herbert Bryant, Sr. and I’ll be taking a seat up front next to my husband thank ya!”
By this time a handful of people had taken notice of her, causing them to whisper and discreetly point her out to others between clapping and singing the words, “If I die let me die in the army of the Lord.”
Aliese could sense this was going on around her but rather than being embarrassed by it, she was emboldened. To keep her from making a gigantic scene that would surely involve him, the mild mannered usher bashfully extended his white gloved hand towards the front of the church and regally escorted her to the seat right next to her husband. She wore a broad smile on her face as she walked towards and finally moved into the pew next to Daddy.
She turned her head towards him and added special emphasis as she sang the lyrics, “I’ve got my war clothes on in the army of the Lord.”
Daddy had been understandably horrified when he caught a glimpse of her moving down the church aisle towards him dressed in what amounted to rags, but he had quickly turned his head and kept staring straight ahead as he continued singing the lyrics with everyone else in the church. Once the song was over and they sat down, he realized she was wearing mismatched beat up work boots that she hadn’t even bothered to lace up. Upon closer inspection he understood why they weren’t laced up. She was wearing them on the wrong feet. The right boot was clearly on her left foot and the left boot was clearly on her right foot. In his mind Daddy knew the battle was lost. He didn’t dare say a word to her for fear of what might come out of her mouth. If she had the nerve to enter the church dressed this way, God only knew what might come out of her mouth if provoked any further. He felt her arms moving next to him but was too afraid to look. It was the stunned look on his son, Preach’s face, who sat watching this outrageous scene from the pulpit, that caused Daddy to reluctantly turn towards his left and look at her. There she sat, eyes closed so tight her face was scrunched up, both trigger fingers forcefully jammed into her ears.
When Daddy turned his head back towards the pulpit he immediately met Preach’s gaze. He gave his son a look as if to say, “Just leave her alone so we can get through this without setting her off.”
She maintained this posture for the duration of the service. As soon as church was over she stood up and exited the building without uttering a single word to anyone.
As my aunts and uncles left church with us, they dreaded the explosion that was bound to take place when they got home. After all, they knew how bad Daddy’s temper was while the rest of the community only knew him as a quiet, solemn, long suffering, church member. Even though he hadn’t hit Aliese YET, they figured it was just a matter of time. Plus, if the stunt she pulled in church today didn’t warrant a beating, they didn’t know what would. When Daddy told them to walk home as he jumped into his truck and swiftly pulled off, they walked slowly, fully expecting to hear screaming and wailing once they got near the house. As they moved closer to the house they heard nothing, which really frightened them.
It was Robert who finally spoke up and said, “Y’all don’t reckon he done killed her, do you?”
Then Jewel said, “Could be the other way around. She always saying if he hit her he better kill her, cuz if he don’t she’ll shoot him right between his eyes.”
They took a quick look at each other before the boys took off running first, with all the girls except Faye, who stayed back with us, running to catch up with them.
Instead of finding tears, black eyes or at the very least raised voices, they burst in on complete calm and quiet. Aliese was in the kitchen wearing her usual house dress and apron. Rather than appearing upset or angry she was calmly icing a caramel cake. The only yelling was directed at the boys when they entered the den running.
Aliese raised her voice and said, “Y’all know damn well you ain’t supposed to be running in this house! Get in there and take off your Sunday clothes so you can eat dinner.”
The girls had heard the boys get in trouble for running in the house so they put the brakes on and headed straight for their room to change without being told. The scene the boys encountered was exactly what Daddy had encountered when he arrived home.
Aliese was a shrewd woman. Her message was clear. You can either drop the subject and pretend the whole church situation never happened, in which case we carry on as usual, or you can allow your pastor to tell you how to run your house and wind up losing another wife. Or possibly your life. When the kids saw Daddy come out of his room dressed in his after church clothes, they didn’t know exactly what had happened but they knew the situation had somehow been resolved.
Dinner that evening was special because they knew things had changed. There would be no more wife beating in their house, at least not as long as Aliese remained, and despite her shortcomings and any clashes she was having with individual children it appeared she was there to stay.
Elder Fitzgerald approached Daddy one more time in an attempt to convince him that he should force his wife to attend church but Daddy wasn’t having it.
He politely said, “Thank you for your concern Elder Fitzgerald but if you don’t mind, from now on I’ll manage affairs in my own house. I’d hate to have to find a new church with this one being so close and all. I’m a God fearing man, but I’m a man so I got to know my house is mine to run how I see fit.”
Elder Fitzgerald may have had an issue with Aliese but he knew when it came down to it, her last name was Bryant. The last thing he wanted to do was rile up the Bryant family. Daddy was one of the more quiet brothers but that didn’t mean a thing. The Bryant family was well known for having strong bonds. Pushing matters too far could cause the entire family to leave his church, which would devastate the church financially and in other ways. The new church had been built on land donated by Daddy’s brother Joe. Furthermore, the building had been paid for thanks to a whole lot of Bryant family donations. Not wanting to lose Daddy as a member, Elder Fitzgerald never made the mistake of sticking his nose into Daddy’s home life again and Daddy never asked Aliese to attend church again.
Daddy tried to steer him away from the topic by saying, “Well now, Elder Fitzgerald, you see, my wife she believe in God and she love God, but her beliefs is a lil different from ours.”
Not wanting to hear it, Elder Fitzgerald quickly said, “Who runnin yo house Deacon Bryant?”
Upon hearing this, Daddy knew he would have to insist that Aliese attend church alongside him. He also knew she was going to throw a fit.
While discussing the matter with his brother Julius, he said maybe it was time he started, “doin something to try and get her in hand.”
Julius, being one of the more mild mannered and sensible Bryant brothers said, “Herbert, you gotta do what you gotta do to run your own house, but if I was you I wouldn’t let no man, preacher or not, get between me and my wife, especially when it seems like it’s working with y’all. Lord knows I don’t understand how it’s working but it is. You ought to leave well enough alone, if you ask me.”
Daddy listened to Julius but went home and told Aliese she had to start coming to church. He told her at the dinner table hoping she wouldn’t throw a fit with the kids around, especially us little ones. It turned out he was right. She didn’t throw a fit. She just gave him a look from where she was feeding Peter on her lap. Oh but what a look it was. The look pretty much said it all.
It concerned him enough that he spoke up and said, “Now Aliese, I done told you bout cussing in front of these chillin.”
Her response was slow and she even wore a smile as she said, “Daddy, I ain’t said a thing yet. What you talking about? Don’t worry, I’ll go to church with you.”
The conversation took place on Thursday night at dinner and he repeatedly questioned her about what she was up to until Sunday morning. When the time came to leave she claimed she wasn’t ready and would follow the rest of the family shortly. Daddy was somewhat relieved, assuming she had simply agreed to attend church with no intention of ever showing up. He even pretended to be angry and stormed out of the house with her still vowing to show up.
Testimony service was in full swing when the back door of the church flew open. The congregation was so caught up singing the lyrics to “I’m A Soldier In The Army of The Lord,” they hardly noticed Aliese entering the sanctuary. Clapped on her back was the most raggedy house dress she owned and strewn atop the mass of salt and pepper plaits piled on her head sat the rattiest fishing hat she could find. She had haphazardly covered the multitude of holes in it with the oldest and ugliest fishing lures she and her sister, Julia Mae, owned. The usher aton the back door knew exactly who she was and did his best to spare Daddy, who had donned his best suit as usual, the embarrassment of having to sit next to her during church. Instead of leading her towards one of the open seats at the front of the church he attempted to offer her a seat in the center of a back row where she would be hidden from most of the congregation. But Aliese had come for blood, and blood she would have.
She looked directly into the eye and consequently the soul of the strikingly handsome dark skinned usher, leaned into his ear and forcefully said, “Naw sir, I’m Mrs. Herbert Bryant, Sr. and I’ll be taking a seat up front next to my husband thank ya!”
By this time a handful of people had taken notice of her, causing them to whisper and discreetly point her out to others between clapping and singing the words, “If I die let me die in the army of the Lord.”
Aliese could sense this was going on around her but rather than being embarrassed by it, she was emboldened. To keep her from making a gigantic scene that would surely involve him, the mild mannered usher bashfully extended his white gloved hand towards the front of the church and regally escorted her to the seat right next to her husband. She wore a broad smile on her face as she walked towards and finally moved into the pew next to Daddy.
She turned her head towards him and added special emphasis as she sang the lyrics, “I’ve got my war clothes on in the army of the Lord.”
Daddy had been understandably horrified when he caught a glimpse of her moving down the church aisle towards him dressed in what amounted to rags, but he had quickly turned his head and kept staring straight ahead as he continued singing the lyrics with everyone else in the church. Once the song was over and they sat down, he realized she was wearing mismatched beat up work boots that she hadn’t even bothered to lace up. Upon closer inspection he understood why they weren’t laced up. She was wearing them on the wrong feet. The right boot was clearly on her left foot and the left boot was clearly on her right foot. In his mind Daddy knew the battle was lost. He didn’t dare say a word to her for fear of what might come out of her mouth. If she had the nerve to enter the church dressed this way, God only knew what might come out of her mouth if provoked any further. He felt her arms moving next to him but was too afraid to look. It was the stunned look on his son, Preach’s face, who sat watching this outrageous scene from the pulpit, that caused Daddy to reluctantly turn towards his left and look at her. There she sat, eyes closed so tight her face was scrunched up, both trigger fingers forcefully jammed into her ears.
When Daddy turned his head back towards the pulpit he immediately met Preach’s gaze. He gave his son a look as if to say, “Just leave her alone so we can get through this without setting her off.”
She maintained this posture for the duration of the service. As soon as church was over she stood up and exited the building without uttering a single word to anyone.
As my aunts and uncles left church with us, they dreaded the explosion that was bound to take place when they got home. After all, they knew how bad Daddy’s temper was while the rest of the community only knew him as a quiet, solemn, long suffering, church member. Even though he hadn’t hit Aliese YET, they figured it was just a matter of time. Plus, if the stunt she pulled in church today didn’t warrant a beating, they didn’t know what would. When Daddy told them to walk home as he jumped into his truck and swiftly pulled off, they walked slowly, fully expecting to hear screaming and wailing once they got near the house. As they moved closer to the house they heard nothing, which really frightened them.
It was Robert who finally spoke up and said, “Y’all don’t reckon he done killed her, do you?”
Then Jewel said, “Could be the other way around. She always saying if he hit her he better kill her, cuz if he don’t she’ll shoot him right between his eyes.”
They took a quick look at each other before the boys took off running first, with all the girls except Faye, who stayed back with us, running to catch up with them.
Instead of finding tears, black eyes or at the very least raised voices, they burst in on complete calm and quiet. Aliese was in the kitchen wearing her usual house dress and apron. Rather than appearing upset or angry she was calmly icing a caramel cake. The only yelling was directed at the boys when they entered the den running.
Aliese raised her voice and said, “Y’all know damn well you ain’t supposed to be running in this house! Get in there and take off your Sunday clothes so you can eat dinner.”
The girls had heard the boys get in trouble for running in the house so they put the brakes on and headed straight for their room to change without being told. The scene the boys encountered was exactly what Daddy had encountered when he arrived home.
Aliese was a shrewd woman. Her message was clear. You can either drop the subject and pretend the whole church situation never happened, in which case we carry on as usual, or you can allow your pastor to tell you how to run your house and wind up losing another wife. Or possibly your life. When the kids saw Daddy come out of his room dressed in his after church clothes, they didn’t know exactly what had happened but they knew the situation had somehow been resolved.
Dinner that evening was special because they knew things had changed. There would be no more wife beating in their house, at least not as long as Aliese remained, and despite her shortcomings and any clashes she was having with individual children it appeared she was there to stay.
Elder Fitzgerald approached Daddy one more time in an attempt to convince him that he should force his wife to attend church but Daddy wasn’t having it.
He politely said, “Thank you for your concern Elder Fitzgerald but if you don’t mind, from now on I’ll manage affairs in my own house. I’d hate to have to find a new church with this one being so close and all. I’m a God fearing man, but I’m a man so I got to know my house is mine to run how I see fit.”
Elder Fitzgerald may have had an issue with Aliese but he knew when it came down to it, her last name was Bryant. The last thing he wanted to do was rile up the Bryant family. Daddy was one of the more quiet brothers but that didn’t mean a thing. The Bryant family was well known for having strong bonds. Pushing matters too far could cause the entire family to leave his church, which would devastate the church financially and in other ways. The new church had been built on land donated by Daddy’s brother Joe. Furthermore, the building had been paid for thanks to a whole lot of Bryant family donations. Not wanting to lose Daddy as a member, Elder Fitzgerald never made the mistake of sticking his nose into Daddy’s home life again and Daddy never asked Aliese to attend church again.
Virjena Whitehead is a retired teacher. She spent her early childhood years living on military bases with her family. She and her brothers also spent much time with their grandparents on the family farm in Arkansas. Her stories tend to revolve around ordinary people doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways.
