Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [68]
Father George looked back up at the boy and decided that Alex was not fully himself, that he was speaking from weakness, and maybe from medication. The priest nodded and smiled. “Yes, I think things will be right for both of you.”
“And you,” the boy said, focusing his eyes on the priest. “Things will finally be right for you too.”
Father George had been about to ask Alex what he meant, but Oris came in just at that moment, interrupting the conversation. Oris pushed past the priest and knelt by the bed, pulling his great-grandson into his arms. George noticed the tears in the old man’s eyes, understood the intimacy of the moment, and decided to make a quiet exit. He left without saying good-bye.
He sat at his desk and remembered the conversations of the day with Fedora and Frank and finally Alex. He remembered that he had been struck dumb by Frank’s arguments against the Church, that he had felt lifeless after hearing Fedora’s complaints and instructions, and that he had been confused by Alex’s words. He had driven back to the rectory trying to make sense of what the three conversations had meant, and especially what Alex had said.
“What would finally be right with myself?” George asked. “What is so wrong that would be made right?” But before he could answer, he saw the lights coming up the road, a vehicle pulling into the church parking lot, and recognized right away the make and style of the small pickup truck.
Chapter Twenty-five
Rob Chavez had finished the first football practice of the season and needed more action. He was fired up, excited about the team workout, and thrilled that the school year was about to start. This was his year, he had told himself. This year, his senior year, was going to be the best yet. He had all the plays down solid. He was more accurate with his passing and faster when he ran. He was confident, and he was revved up after the early practice.
After most of the other players were gone, the coach had called Rob into his office and told him that the University of New Mexico recruiter had called him over the summer and that he planned to drive up to meet Rob, watch him play a game. The coach seemed confident that this could mean a scholarship for his star quarterback, and if that didn’t work out, he was pretty sure that Rob could get a complete ride at New Mexico State if he wanted it. The young player’s statistics were impressive on the high school level, and he had broken a number of records during his last season. Healthy, stronger, heavier, Rob was certain that this football season would be the year he dominated and the year when he would be given a scholarship and a chance to get out of his hick hometown. It had been a great evening.
He was still dating Katie White, had been all summer, even when there had been a couple of times he messed around with the new girl in town. He and Katie broke up for a week or so after she found out he was seeing somebody else, but they were back together, and he was pretty sure she hadn’t figured out who the somebody else was. He was pretty sure no one knew about him and Trina.
Trina had gone pretty far with Rob in their few short get-togethers. There had been oral sex and a lot of heavy petting. He had stayed over at her apartment a couple of nights. She had declined intercourse, claiming she didn’t want the experience with a virgin, nor did she want the reputation that would surely follow. She had taught him a few things, but finally cut things off when she thought Katie had figured out who she was and told him not to come over to her apartment anymore. He needed to focus on one relationship at a time, she told him, and she didn’t want to be responsible for breaking another girl’s heart.
Rob really put the pressure on Katie after that, and she continued to be resistant, but he was sure, with a little more pressure, and especially with football season starting and the return of his all-star status at school, he would get what he wanted from her. He was certain of it, and he was starting to feel like maybe this was the night.
There