Chapter 5 -
On a Tuesday morning after breakfast the two ministers carried their coffee out onto the front porch.
“You know something,” said Davy, “I have an urge to just hop into the car, drive out of the city and spend the morning riding around out in the country.”
“I don’t have anything special going on this morning, why don’t we?”
“You serious?”
“Yea, I believe it would do us both good.”
“Now?”
“Good a time as any.”
“Let’s go.”
As usual on their outings, Davy drove. He had always liked to drive and Danny was more than happy to let him. Within a half hour, they were speeding through fields tall with corn and vast golden fields of wheat. “If you see a place, why don’t we stop for a Coke?” hinted Danny.
“Sounds good to me,” agreed Davy and within a few miles they spotted a country store and stopped. Inside they bought drinks and hot dogs. “Did you notice those guys back there beside the road?” asked Davy.
“Yea, I think they were picking peaches. If you want we’ll go back and see what they’ve got.”
“Sounds good. I bet the people at Mrs. Peele’s would like a nice peach pie.”
“An excellent idea, Ollie.”
“You’re not that good at Stan Laurel,” smiled Davy.
“What do Baptists know about Laurel and Hardy?”
“I guess as much as anybody else.”
“You’re still not that good.”
“I can out-preach you.”
“I knew you couldn’t resist. I knew it.”
They returned to a place beside the road where a group of men were filling a truck with peaches. The men would go into the orchard, pick a basket of fruit, return to the truck and dump it in. A man was standing beside the truck marking on a yellow pad. As one of the men came out of the field, Danny got his attention.
“Sir, how much for your peaches?” he asked.
The man looked confused and said a few words in Spanish. Danny tried to use sign language to ask about the peaches but the more he waved his arms and uttered Spanish sounds, the more confused the man became.
“Cuánto son sus melocotones?” smiled Davy.
The man obviously understood him but indicated he didn’t know the price of the peaches.
“I didn’t know you could speak Spanish,” said Danny.
“The world is full of surprises.”
“Smart ass,” said Danny under his breath.
Davy looked at him and grinned. Just then, the man who was standing beside the truck walked over. “May I help you?” the man asked with a Spanish accent.
“You speak English,” said Danny.
“Si.”
“I was asking how much did you charge for your peaches.”
“I do not know, Signor. We are only picking the peaches. The man who owns the orchard will be back soon, if you care to wait.”
“We can wait a while,” said Danny as he leaned against the truck and took a sip of his Coke.
“This is hard work,” commented Davy to the man.
The man smiled and responded, “Si, Signor.”
“So, you get paid to pick the peaches?”
“Si, Signor.”
“How much the man pay you?” asked Davy as Danny looked at him letting Davy know he thought it was a ballsey question.
The man did not flinch and answered, “Mr. Tyson, he pays us twenty-five cents for each bushel basket we pick.”
Davy shot a look at Danny before he asked the man, “How long does it take you to pick a bushel of peaches?”
“About fifteen minutes, Signor.”
Danny looked back at Davy, but said nothing.
“Pardon me, but what is your name, sir?
The man smiled and replied, “Pedro”.
“Good to meet you, Pedro. I am Pastor Davy and this is Padre Danny.”
The man nodded and became all smiles, but as soon as he saw a pickup truck coming their way, the smile ended. Pedro motioned toward the pickup. “That is Signor Tyson, the peaches are his.” Then, Pedro moved away.
A man exited the truck and shouted, “Pedro, I’m not paying you people to stand around chatting.” The man turned toward Davy and Danny and asked, “Who are you and what do you want?”
“I am Father Daniel West from St. Egbert’s Episcopal church and this is Pastor David Tate from Meredith Baptist Church.”
“You can move on,” said the man. “I ain’t paying these people to listen to no preachers and they ain’t got no money to give you. So, like I said, move on.”
Davy looked at Danny. They both had a gleam in their eye. They had just found their next project.
“Well, Mr. Tyson I believe it is, it’s so nice to meet someone so pleasant this early in the day. And, you’re right. You don’t give them enough money to contribute to the church. Matter of fact, you don’t even pay them the minimum wage the law requires. Minimum wage is what new, Father West, seven bucks an hour?”
“Pastor Tate, I do believe it’s close to eight. Yes, I think it is.”
Tyson’s disgruntled expression suddenly changed to all smiles. “Just a minute, fellas, maybe I was a little quick to speak. Rough morning, you know.”
“Mr. Tyson, we were just interested in buying a bag of your peaches, but now we see the law is being broken and we feel it’s our duty to report it. It is our duty to report it isn’t it Father West?”
“Oh yes Pastor Tate, it definitely is,” said Danny as he leaned up against the truck and picked his teeth. “Yea, we need to report it. It’s our duty.”
“Oh no, you want peaches?” the man looked at Pedro. “Pedro, put a bushel of peaches in this man’s car.”
“There, you got peaches,” grinned Tyson.
“No, I don’t think... do you think, Father West?”
“No, no, no, I don’t think...”
“You’re right,” jumped the man. “What was I thinking? Why don’t you let me make a nice contribution to your churches. Will a hundred dollars be alright?” Silence followed. Then the man said, “A hundred... each?”
“Oh, a bribe,” said Davy. “Doesn’t that sound like a bribe to you, Father West?”
“It does to me, Pastor Tate, indeed it does,” said Danny still picking his teeth.
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