The next day, Jonas and Dolores were on their way to church. The sun was bright and the sky was cloudless. It was a perfect summer day as she pulled her rusty blue sedan into the cemetery drive. She noticed Reverend Chambers walking towards Esther's grave as she pulled up under the maple tree.
“You just sit here.” Dolores said to Jonas as she rolled down the windows and turned off the car. She tossed her keys into her purse and left it sitting between the seats. She marched directly toward Rev. Chambers who by then had reached the grave of his late wife.
“Reverend? I don't know if you remember me, I'm Dolores Pike.”
He turned to her, surprised. “Well, hello there. It's been a while, hasn't it?”
“Yeah, it has. Listen, I don't want to be late for service, so I'll make this quick. You need to stay away from Jonas, you hear me? After everything you've done to my family, I don't need you hanging around and ruining his life too.”
“I understand, Dolores. I didn't mean any harm. He was at the ice cream stand and I was just making conversation.”
“Well don't. Don't. Just stay away.” she said and walked back toward the car.
“Ain't you gonna talk to grandma?” Jonas asked as she got into the car.
“No, we're running late, honey. Listen, I told you to stay away from that man. I don't want to hear you've been hanging around him. Got it?”
“Yeah,” he replied, “is it about all that money?”
She sighed heavily and started the car. “How do you know about the money?”
“He talked to me about it the other day.”
“Yes it's about that money. Jonas, he ripped us off. That's why you need to stay away from him. He's not a good man, Jonas. He stole all the money your grandparents had saved for their whole lives. He conned my momma into giving him their life savings, Jonas. Everything! Everything they had that they worked so hard for was gone, and he's the reason why your grandpa left.”
“He is?”
“Honey, I was pregnant with you, and your grandpa was flat broke. He said he couldn't afford to take care of us all, and with all that money gone, he went off to Florida to go looking for a better job. I don't know what happened down there, but we never heard from him again. And it's all his fault.” she said pointing toward Rev. Chambers. She slammed her hand on the steering wheel to fight back the tears.
“Momma, I don't think it's all his fault. He lost money too.”
“But he didn't have to go talking everybody in the church into losing their money too. Honey, just listen to me and stay away from him. He's no good.”
Jonas looked at Rev. Chambers through the window as Dolores pulled away from the maple tree. He had every intention of disobeying Dolores. He saw the old minister for who he really was: a spiritually broken man who simply fell victim to a con artist. There was something about the old man that Jonas saw but couldn't define. Jonas knew what it was like to be an outcast, and in that respect he saw Rev. Chambers as a brother-in-arms, someone who needed his help.