Callie Cut Two Switches is a satire about Callie Wind, a religion-despising amusement park owner whose daughter has become a television evangelist.
Chapter One (Page 1)
The Reverend Enoch Sadler had been dead more than half Callie’s life, though they still argued from time to time. There was a certain ugly allure to it, like staring at a splattered armadillo receding in the rearview mirror. Thus, Callie visited him out in the barn now and then, never to pick the fight, but always willing to stand her ground. Most days she brought a snack.
Today Callie picnicked upon a pickup bench seat she’d dragged to their dusty corner years earlier. Even back then she’d thought ahead, knowing she’d want a place to sit if a quarrel happened to break out. She was well aware her adoptive father would have considered wicked her impertinent sideways glances, the slow grind of her jaw as she chewed watermelon, and the relaxed space between her knees as she reclined on the seat.
Between bites Callie leafed through a water-stained Sears & Roebucks catalog, its spine cracked and charred. “Ticket sales are down,” she said as she flicked a seed off her fork. “I wasn’t blaming you. Just saying it’s too humid for this early in the season.”
Callie took the last melon piece and closed the catalog, her eyes landing on the publication date: Fall, 1969. She stopped chewing as she realized she’d been perusing this same magazine and having this same conversation for the last three decades.
“Swell.”
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