Summer People by Elena Graf

Author:Elena Graf
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Lesbian Fiction, Lesbian Romance
Publisher: Purple Hand Press
Published: 2021-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Don’t be ridiculous, Susan Gedney told herself as she put back the milk and chose a small container of half-and-half instead. The difference in price was barely fifty cents. Yes, she had to watch every penny until she found a job, but for her, coffee with real cream was a necessity, not a luxury. Besides, she was having a guest for breakfast.

Fortunately, Susan now had a place to lay her head at night and not a moment too soon. The people at the campground were beginning to look suspicious whenever she drove in to use the showers. The place had a limited staff, so it wasn’t easy to hide the fact that she wasn’t a paying customer, but it was worth the risk. The hot water in the communal shower felt so good, even if it did remind her of being in the convent.

Thanks to Lucy’s associate rector, Susan now had a comfortable little studio with plenty of hot water and her own efficiency kitchen. It even had internet! Tom Simmons seemed like a kind man. He’d bought her story about the lack of vacancies in town because it was entirely plausible. “The motels and B&Bs are always overbooked for Fourth of July week,” he’d said, instantly commiserating. “The summer people all descend on us at the same time.”

She’d told Father Simmons that she’d decided to come back East to spend the summer. Of course, she couldn’t be so near and not look up Lucy Bartlett, her old friend from divinity school.

“I’m between assignments,” Susan had said when he’d asked the name of her church.

“You should sign up for our diocesan newsletter, the Maine Dio-log. They post all the clergy vacancies there. Let me give you the internet password, so you can get online and take a look.” He wrote down the password and handed her a numbered security key like those used in college dormitories in another era. The charm on the key chain was a stylized cross. When he’d put it in her hand, Susan had clutched it like a lifeline.

She’d worn her clerical collar when she’d first come to St. Margaret’s looking for Lucy. People made assumptions when she wore it. She was still listed on the staff page of her last church. The woman in charge of the website had limited skills and would do anything to avoid updating it. If Father Simmons needed additional verification, he could look her up on the Union Theological alumni page.

Although some parts of Susan’s story didn’t match her current circumstances, she was an ordained Episcopal priest. Ironically, she, who’d encouraged Lucy to become a priest, had remained a deacon longer. Susan had once been such a devout Catholic she’d entered a strict order of nuns. Even while she was studying for her divinity degree, she’d remained stuck in the idea that only males could be ordained. Her teachers at Union Theological had tried to explain that Anglican bishops had apostolic succession and could legitimately ordain women. Even Lucy, who was never good at making theological arguments, had tried to persuade her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.