“I’m going to get the vacuum,” Shelly said to Father Macy.
“I’ll start out here in the hallway so I don’t make too much noise for you and Rory, okay?”
Father Macy touched her arm.
“Good idea,” he said, then to Rory, “Come in and have a seat.”
Rory followed him into the room and sat down on the couch, while the priest sat once again at his desk, turning his chair to face him. He looked younger than Rory had expected. The corners of his eyes were creased with laugh lines, but he was not laughing now. Not even smiling, and Rory’s vision of a cordial visit evaporated.
“I understand you’re trying to find out who Shelly’s mother is,” the priest began.
“Well, yes. Shelly wrote to me to ask for my help in finding out who her parents are,” Rory said.
“But I’m also trying to create a complete picture of the situation. Not just the who, but the why, as well. Why it happened, the human drama of it, how the woman has dealt with her actions since that time, etcetera. Also, I want to focus on how Shelly has thrived with the Cato family.”
The priest leaned forward. “And you would pursue this even knowing that Sister Chloe and Daria strongly object to your interference?”
The priest made him sound like a villain.
“Shelly’s twenty-two years old,” he said, wondering how many more times he would have to offer this argument.
“And she, herself, asked me to pursue this.”
“Shelly has never known what is best for her.”
“I keep hearing that,” Rory said in frustration, “but I don’t see any evidence of it.”
Father Macy scowled.
“I know Shelly very, very well,” he said.
“I see her at least several times a week, and I know she’s a vulnerable young woman with a need for stability in her life, which she’s been given by the Catos, especially Daria. Digging up the past can only harm her fragile hold on that sense of security.”
“With all due respect. Father, I think you’re being melodramatic.”
“And I think you are being stubborn,” the priest said.
“You don’t want to hear any argument that will interfere with the production of your program. You’re in this for monetary gain, with no concern about the lives involved.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d been accused of callous disregard for people’s feelings in his pursuit of material for True Life Stories.
But the priest was wrong this time. He would not do anything that might hurt Shelly. Everyone was exaggerating the potential fallout from his research. or were they? His skin crawled with a sudden thought. The protestations of Daria, Chloe and the priest were so extreme, so vehement. Perhaps there was more behind them than simple concern for Shelly’s well-being. Perhaps they all knew something they did not want him to uncover.
Rory leaned forward.
“What’s going on here, Father?” he asked.
“What is everyone afraid I’ll find out?”
The priest looked surprised by the question. “The only thing we’re afraid of is that Shelly might be hurt by what you find.
Or, even by what you won’t find. Her hopes are up so high, that the fall itself would damage her. “
“I care very much about Shelly,” Rory said.
“I promise that if I uncover something that I feel would be truly damaging to her, I’ll back off.”
“I don’t particularly trust your judgment about what would damage her and what wouldn’t,” Father Macy said.
Rory stood up. This meeting, short and bitter, was over.
“I assume it’s hopeless asking for your cooperation on this,” he said.
“I would have liked to hear your memories about Shelly’s adoption and how you went to bat to make that happen.”
The priest didn’t bother standing up.
“You’re right. It’s hopeless,” he said.
“Daria found Shelly that morning, and I believe that was God’s plan. It was God’s plan that Shelly become part of a pious family. A true miracle. As far as I’m concerned, Shelly has no other parents, and no other family.”
“All right.” Rory nodded.
“I appreciate your time.”
He walked across the room, opened the door and left the office. Shelly was vacuuming the hallway, but when she saw him, she turned off the vacuum and came over to him.
“Isn’t he nice?” she asked.
