Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [101]
Upon hearing Alex’s name, the crowd followed Danny to his car, leaving Katie alone as she dropped to the ground and wept, crying for the crowd to listen, crying to be understood. The people of Pie Town gathered around the squad car as if that was the reason they had all been summoned to the church parking lot in the first place and waited for the news.
“Sheriff, it’s Deputy White, over,” Danny reported, his tone short and clipped, the anger still obvious. “What’s the problem?” he asked, wanting to get back to taking care of Rob Chavez.
As everyone held their breath, they heard the news they’d hoped they would never hear.
“It’s Alex, Danny. He’s gone.”
Chapter Thirty-eight
Father George had his instructions. He was to go to Northern California for an extended personal retreat before starting his new assignment. The Monsignor thought the priest needed some time alone to consider his situation, find healing for the stress he was under that was a likely result of the trauma of the fire. It was common practice for priests to go to a monastery and receive spiritual direction from one of the monks, have time for rest and prayer before the next placement. Everyone agreed it was the best thing for him.
George had disagreed at first, claiming he didn’t need the retreat, explaining that he wanted to go ahead to his new assignment. And then Oris had shown up in Gallup at the diocesan house. Late in the afternoon, just before prayers, just before the reading of the Psalms and the silent supper, he stood at the chapel and waited. The old man had asked to speak to George, and once alone with him tried to talk him into returning to Pie Town.
The visit, the talk, had unsettled the young priest. Oris told him he had been sent to bring him back, and when George had questioned him about who had sent him, thinking the parish had called a meeting, that maybe they were making the same request to the Monsignor, Oris spoke of angels, a woman he once loved, and messages from heaven. Clearly, the old man was having some sort of breakdown. George listened for a while but then politely explained he couldn’t go back to Pie Town, that he didn’t belong there, the fire had made that clear. And after saying no to Oris, declining his invitation to return and his plea to go back and try to make things right for the old man’s hometown, try to rebuild the church and the community, he had decided the retreat was probably in his best interest. He decided he wanted to get out of New Mexico, out of Catron County, and far away from Pie Town. As soon as he had gotten permission, he had taken a cab to the bus station and was waiting for the westbound bus.
“You going to Oklahoma?”
Father George glanced up. A girl stood next to him.
He shook his head.
“You got room for me to sit?”
He nodded and then moved his duffel bag from the bench, giving her room. He was wearing a windbreaker wrapped tightly around him so that his clergy collar did not show.
“I’m going to Oklahoma. I’m going to move in with my sister,” the girl explained.
He smiled.
“Well, she’s not really my sister. She was married to my brother and she told me to think of her as my sister. That was about six years ago. I was only thirteen. My brother was killed last spring. He was in Iraq.”
Father George looked away. He didn’t want to think about it but the girl reminded him of Trina, her size, the way she dressed, the way she talked, her bright, open eyes.
“I was in a women’s shelter here,” she noted. “Saint Mary’s,” she added. “You heard of it?”
Father George shook his head.
“It’s nice. A woman from North Carolina runs it. Sister Charlotte,” she said.
Father George nodded.
“My boyfriend beat me up. That’s why I was there.” She leaned back against the bench. “He’s in jail.”
Father George placed his hands in his lap, his shoulders drooped.
“I’m going to Oklahoma City because Laura says she has room for me and that I can stay and get my GED. She didn’t get married again.” The girl turned to study George. “Are you from Oklahoma?”
He shook his head.
“You