Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

Author:Mary McGarry Morris
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 1995-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Alice rushed through her closing chores so she could leave work the minute Father Gannon drove into the lot. Tonight she’d finally get the ordeal of his apology over with. He’d called every morning this week offering her a ride home from work, until she had finally accepted.

They were driving down Main Street now. She could tell he was nervous, though he hadn’t said a word yet about last Saturday. He was in the middle of some long, involved story about the Holy Name Society’s barbecue at the lake. There had been the horseshoe competition in which he had been pitching a close second until the Monsignor pulled him aside and confided that Jim Quillan had been champion for the last five years.

“Which I take to mean Jim Quillan’s the man to beat.” He chuckled. “So thinking the Monsignor really wants this one, I bear down and start tossing them meaner and cleaner, and everyone’s clapping and cheering me on, and I win by six points. And all the way home I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with the Monsignor. How come he’s not talking to me. How come every time I say anything he just grunts. And then right as we pull into the driveway, I happen to mention the rattle in the engine, and that’s when he tells me. ‘Better get used to it,’ he says. ‘Since it’s Quillan who provides the rectory with a new car every two years.’ Apparently the horseshoe event is the little man’s big claim to fame.” He looked over and grinned. “I seem to be the Monsignor’s worst fears come true—a fool in priest’s clothing.” His bitter laughter made her squirm. She forced a smile. Why couldn’t he just apologize and be done with it. Her neck ached with the long, strained silence.

Father Gannon sighed. “So!” he said, then sighed again. He turned down the next street and pulled in front of a house that belonged to a girl in her class. She wished he’d say what he had to and be done with it.

He turned off the motor. “So,” he said, taking a deep breath in the sudden silence.

She tried to focus on the stars beyond the dark trees, because this was going to get really weird. There were millions of stars up there, and all the millions and millions of brilliant stars were dead and she didn’t understand any of it, and her stomach was growling, and he kept clearing his throat. Oh God, this was going to be even worse than she’d thought. As he began to speak he ran his hands over the steering wheel. He recentered the magnetic crucifix on the dashboard. “Anyway, what I really have to say…I mean, what I want to say…well, actually, you see I can’t stand the thought of you…that is, the possibility of you being in any way…damaged…no, that’s not the right word. Disillusioned, that’s it! Disillusioned by my poor judgment, and so I think it’s important that I explain things…well, myself, that is…I mean, about being a priest.

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