Mildred,
the church gossiper, and self-appointed monitor of the church’s morals, kept
sticking her nose into other people’s business. Several members did not approve
of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their
silence.
She made a
mistake, however, when she accused John, a new member, of being an alcoholic,
after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town’s only bar one
afternoon. She emphatically told John and several others that, everyone seeing
it there, would immediately know what he was doing.
John, a
man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked
away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.
Later that
evening, John quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred’s house ………
and left it there all night.
