Mrs. Patterson can't resist telling.

Mrs. Patterson and Henry Dicks shared a moment at her kitchen table over lemonade. She returned to her topics of church membership and upcoming events and hosting a couple from the World Neighbors exchange. There was a soft, dreamy note in her voice, and Henry was pleased to nod and acknowledge her without feeling he needed to restate his own answers from earlier. His spent penis pulsed faintly against his thigh. A good pastoral visit left a glow of well-being.

"I admit I was holding a piece of news back," Mrs. Patterson said as Henry put his hat on at the door.

"Is it ready to share?" Henry asked.

"Well, you'd have to be the judge, Reverend," Mrs. Patterson said.

Henry could tell she wanted him to ask.

"I expect I should wait to hear until you're sure of the news, then," Henry said.

"Oh, I can't resist," said Mrs. Patterson. She fluttered her eyelids and a bashful, girlish expression crossed her face.

Henry adjusted his glasses to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing. Indeed he was.

"There's a dear gentleman I've known many years from my bridge club," she said. "Just lately he's shown some particular interest in me."

Henry nodded, trying to hide his surprise. Love was one of God's mysteries. As was Mrs. Patterson.

"I told him if his intentions toward me were serious, he would have to be part of my church." She smiled at Henry. "Which, as you know, Reverend, is such a big part of my life."

"Without a doubt," Henry said. Which, on balance, was a good thing.

"I'm hoping he'll come with me to the Lower Church meeting. And he said he was going to call and ask about religious instruction."

"I trust that God will guide his path well, if he has a sincere heart," Henry said. "We believe in Loving Community, but it is not the path for everyone." Maybe Dorothy had talked with the man already and taken his measure.

"Oh, I hope it is," said Mrs. Patterson.

"One doesn't pull on the corn stalks to make them grow faster," Henry said. "But one does the best in preparing the ground and culling the weeds."

Henry and Mrs. Patterson said their goodbyes, and Henry drove back home. He stepped in quietly -- it looked like Dorothy was busy in her office -- tiptoed upstairs and took a quick shower. Perhaps his hopes that he and Dorothy could "go upstairs" after church business would be fulfilled.

He walked back down and looked to see if she was finished. The door was still closed. A needlepoint pillow decorated with hearts hung from the handle -- Dorothy's "Do Not Disturb" sign. Henry saw a jacket hanging from the hook. He heard some faint but distinctive sounds through the door. Henry smiled. His wife seemed to be receiving her own pastoral visit. Perhaps she had mentioned it and it had slipped his mind.

Henry put a fresh batch in the coffeemaker. When he stepped back in the hall, he looked at the jacket. Whose was that? He heard another faint sound and his eyes strayed to the door and the keyhole.