Chapter 7: 1906, Morality and religion

When Frances Favors opened the front door, she was certainly not expecting to see her eldest married daughter standing in front of her. “Well, Mittie, this is a surprise. Come on in,” she offered.

2 Mittie staggered in with an old suitcase in one hand and a large cloth bag in the other. “Where’s Will?” her mother asked.

3 “He didn’t come,” Mittie said flatly. I’ve left him!” she blurted out before breaking down into tears. Frances rushed to her daughter’s side and embraced her.

4 “What happened?” she asked as she patted her daughter on the back and comforted her. “I found out he was married before me,” Mittie sobbed.

5 “Mittie!” her Mama cried as she broke her embrace. “A good many men have remarried after the death of their first wife. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

6 “You don’t understand, Mama. She’s still alive.” Frances looked like someone had struck her in the face when she heard that.

7 They were silent for what seemed like an eternity. They just stood there in the middle of the floor staring at each other. Finally, Frances broke the silence.

8 “I would have never thought William McMullen could have done such a thing! Is he a Mormon?” “No, Mama. They were divorced, but she’s still alive,” Mittie explained.

9 “How is it that he never saw fit to tell you about this before?” Frances demanded. “I don’t know, Mama. I don’t know.”

10 After another extended period of silence, Mittie asked the most important question on her mind at that moment. “Do you think Papa will mind me staying here?”

11 “Of course not!” Frances reassured her, though she wasn’t at all sure how her husband would react to this news. In fact, the relationship between Frances and Albert was strained at the moment.

12 Since their move to Rogersville, Albert’s interest in his Church of Christ roots had been reignited. In Rogersville, the Church of Christ was preeminent, and most of the folks who attended there loved to point out just how wrong everyone else was about religion. Such talk, however, only served to irritate Frances and arouse her own sense of independence and compassion for others.

13 As Albert became more dogmatic, Frances grew more determined to maintain her own beliefs and values. Although she wasn’t exactly sure of what she believed, she knew she didn’t believe that the Church of Christ had all of the answers.

14 In that spirit, she had attended Brother Bill Hartley’s Baptist service the Sunday before Mittie’s arrival. She liked his emphasis on grace, and she loved having a piano to accompany their singing (the Church of Christ didn’t believe in using musical instruments as part of their worship service).

15 “That’s not in the Bible!” Albert had declared when she told him about the service. “What about the trumpets, harps and lyres that David used to worship God?” Frances asked. “That’s Old Testament!” Albert snorted before storming out of the house. Over the days that followed, the two had avoided the subject of religion, but the matter clearly was not settled.

16 Unaware of this new twist in the relationship between her mother and father, Mittie had unwittingly jumped from one frying pan into another. Nevertheless, for the time being, she was home.

17 She was away from the man and the situation which had caused her so much distress over the last week. She would attempt to rebuild her life and start over here in the safety of her parents’ nest.

18 Albert had not been happy when he came in from visiting that evening, but most of his anger seemed to be directed at William McMullen. “This is a shameful thing in the sight of God and man,” he had declared. He had, however, smiled when Mittie kissed him on the forehead that evening before retiring to bed.

19 She had been home for about three weeks when the sickness started. Mittie had been feeling a little under the weather for several days, but she always seemed to rally and feel better as the day wore on. Then, one morning, she felt sick at her stomach as soon as she opened her eyes. She had to hold on to the walls as she navigated the stairs down to the kitchen to help her mother prepare breakfast.

20 When she entered the kitchen that morning, the smells and sounds seemed so intense and harsh. Her stomach was really churning now, and she barely made it to the back door before losing what little remained in her stomach from the day before.

21 Frances had stopped working and was standing in the middle of the room when Mittie regained her composure. “Has nature called this month?” she asked. “No,” Mittie answered flushed with embarrassment.

22 “I was afraid of that,” Frances sighed. “What is it, Mama?” “You’re with child,” she answered matter-of-factly.

23 “No, Mama. That can’t be!” Mittie cried. “I’m afraid it can be and is,” her mother calmly replied.

24 “What am I going to do?” Mittie asked in bewilderment. “You’re going to have a baby,” Frances answered as she slid the biscuits into the waiting oven.

25 Herman Arthur McMullen was born that September. Mittie was now a divorced single woman with a small child, and she was living with her parents. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was somehow damaged goods, and she wondered what kind of a life she and her son could expect to have under such circumstances.