The Vanishing Woman by Fiorella De Maria

Author:Fiorella De Maria [de Maria, Fiorella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual & Religion
ISBN: 9781681497921
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2018-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

It is strange the way memory can play tricks on a man’s sense of time passing. As they came into view of the abbey, Gabriel could have believed for a moment that he had been away for only a couple of days. It felt so natural to be there, all the more so after he had clambered out of the car and waved Mrs Whitehead goodbye, finding himself alone in a particular spot where he had once walked every day.

That was the strangeness of it. He had imagined walking along the path to the gates with a lump in his throat, feeling his eyes misting over with the joy of returning home, but it felt so normal to be home that no emotion touched him at all. He simply rang the bell, a little regretfully because he realised that he had mistimed his visit. The delay caused by his altercation with Applegate and subsequent chat with Mrs Whitehead had meant that they had left the house much later than he had hoped and lunch would be long over. On the bright side, however, it was a time of recreation now, which might make it a little easier for him to speak with the abbot alone.

Gabriel’s only nasty moment came when a young novice opened the door to let him in. He must have entered in the months of Gabriel’s absence, because Gabriel could not place his face at all. “Good afternoon,” said Gabriel, dismissing from his mind the image he had had of rapturous greetings from Gerard or Dominic. “I’m here to see the abbot.”

“Do you have an appointment?” asked the young man.

Gabriel tried hard not to flinch. “No, but I’m sure he’ll see me.”

The young man looked extremely doubtful but noted his clerical dress and let him in anyway. “Whom shall I say is calling?”

“Dom Gabriel,” he answered with emphasis. “Please tell him it’s urgent.”

As they walked up to Abbot Ambrose’s room, Gabriel looked around hopefully for a friendly face, but everyone seemed to be hiding. He noticed a familiar fluttering of nerves in his chest as they walked up the stairs and approached the door; it was out of character for Gabriel to be knocking on Abbot Ambrose’s door voluntarily and through his mind flashed all the awkward moments, mistakes, complaints and reprimands he had experienced over the years. It was best not to think too hard about such things, but Gabriel was really not sure how Abbot Ambrose would feel about his sudden appearance on an errand he might well regard as frivolous.

Gabriel’s fears dissipated as soon as he was escorted into the room. Before his guide could announce him, Abbot Ambrose looked up from his desk and gave a rare smile. “Good Heavens!” he exclaimed, putting down his pen. “Isn’t that strange? I was just thinking about you.” He turned to the novice. “Thank you.”

As soon as they were alone, Gabriel said, “Forgive me for intruding like this without an appointment, but I didn’t think it prudent to speak over the telephone.

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