club chair from Dick inson House at Mount Holyoke College because you were pissed off at . . . what was her name?”
“Virginia Sorenson. Beautiful, sweet Virginia Sorenson! What a doll!” James said with a hint of nostalgia.
“Have you heard from her since—”
“Since I went into the seminary?”
“Yeah.”
“No, I haven’t. She was sweet but hardly understanding.”
“I can see her point, considering how tight you guys were. Do you regret your choice?” James cleared his throat. “The difficulty of having to make the choice has been a source of both joy and sadness, which I would prefer to discuss over a glass of wine and a roaring fire. I have a place on a lake in northern New Jersey where I’d love to have you and your wife come some weekend.”
“That might work,” Jack said vaguely. It seemed a surprising invitation after not having heard a whimper from James since they graduated from college in 1977. Of course, it was also Jack’s fault, since he hadn’t tried to contact James, either. Although they’d been good friends in college, their postgraduate interests had been totally divergent. With the last member of the Three Musketeers, it had been different. Jack had been enthralled by Shawn Daughtry’s field of Near Eastern archeology, and they had stayed reasonably in touch until the death of Jack’s first wife and children. After that, Jack didn’t keep in touch with anyone, not even family.
As if sensing Jack’s thoughts, James said, “I have to apologize for not getting in touch with you when you moved here to the city. I heard you were here, working at OCME.
I’ve always meant to give you a call to get together and laugh at old times. No one seems to realize when you go to college what a wonderful experience it is. At the time it always seems so hectic, with some giant paper or exam weighing you down. And when someone tries to tell you how special college is while you’re there, all you can say to yourself is,
There was a short pause in the conversation as the two old college friends silently reminisced. But then James’s attitude and tone abruptly changed as he broke the silence.
“I suppose you’d like to know why I have suddenly called you out of the blue.”
“It’s crossed my mind,” Jack admitted, trying to sound casual. James’s voice had become decidedly somber, almost grave.
“It’s simply that I am in desperate need of your help, and I pray that you will be willing to indulge me.”
“You have my attention,” Jack said warily. There had been times when listening to other people’s problems had awakened his own. Much as he wanted to avoid that, he couldn’t help but be curious. Still, Jack could not believe that he, a die-hard agnostic, could possibly help the archbishop of New York City, arguably one of the most powerful leaders in the world.
“It involves our mutual friend, Shawn Daughtry,” James added.
“Have you been playing cards again?” Jack asked, in an attempt at humor. Back in college, James and Shawn would play poker at least once a week and get into heated arguments about how much one owed the other. Several times, Jack had to intervene to get them back to talking to each other.
“This issue is of extraordinary importance,” James said. “I would prefer you not make light of it.”
“Excuse me, Father,” Jack said, realizing James was dead serious. Still trying to lighten the sudden downturn in the tone of the conversation, Jack added, “Am I supposed to call you Father, Father?”
“My title is Your Eminence,” James said, easing up a trifle. “But you can call me James, which from you I vastly prefer.”
“I’m glad,” Jack responded. “Knowing you from college as I do, it might be difficult to call you Your Eminence. It sounds too much like a rude anatomical statement.”
“You haven’t changed, have you?” James said, even more light- heartedly.
“Unfortunately, yes, I have changed. I feel like I’m living a second life totally separate from the first. But I’d rather not get into it, at least not now. Maybe when you call me in another thirty years, I’ll be ready to talk about it.”
“Has it been that long?” James said, with a touch of regret.
“Actually, it’s been thirty-one; I rounded it off to the nearest decade. But I’m not blaming you. I’m just as guilty.”
“Well, it’s something that should be rectified. After all, we live and work in the same city.”
“It seems that way,” Jack said. Jack was one of those people who refrained from spur-of-the-moment social commitments. Considering how long it had been and how divergent their careers had become, he didn’t know if he wanted to reopen a relationship from what seemed like a previous life.
“What I’d like to propose,” James said, “is we get together just as soon as possible. I know it is short notice, but would you consider coming here to the residence for a quick lunch?”
“Today?” Jack asked with utter surprise.
“Yes, today,” James reiterated. “This problem has just been dumped in my lap, and I don’t have a lot of time to deal with it. That’s why I need to ask your help.”
“Well,” Jack said, “it’s short notice, and I was invited to lunch with the Queen, but I can give her a call and tell her we’ll have to reschedule, as the Catholic Church needs my intervention.”
“I beg to differ concerning your assessment of yourself. You haven’t changed one iota.
But thank you for being willing to come. And thank you for your irreverent humor. It would probably be best for me to lighten up a bit, but I am very concerned.”
“Does it have something to do with Shawn’s health?” Jack questioned. That was the main thing he was worried about: some health issue like cancer, as it would be too close to his own problems.
“No, not his health but his soul. You know how headstrong he can be.” Jack scratched his head. Recalling Shawn’s loose sexual mores from college, Jack would have thought his soul was in jeopardy from the age of puberty on, which begged the question of why there was such a rush today. “Can you be a bit more specific?” he asked.
“I’d rather not,” James said. “I’d rather discuss the issue tete-a- tete. When can I expect you?”
Jack glanced at his watch. It was ten minutes until noon. “If I leave now, which I can do, I’ll be there in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“Wonderful. I do have an official reception I must attend with the mayor at two p.m. I look forward to seeing you, Jack.”
“Likewise,” Jack said as he hung up the phone. There was a strange unreality to James’s request. It was like the president calling and saying get down here to Washington immediately: The country needs you. Jack laughed out loud, grabbed his leather jacket, and headed down to the basement.
As Jack was unlocking his bike, he became aware that someone had come up behind him. Turning around, he found himself confronted by bulldog-faced Chief Bingham. As usual, his expression was grim, perspiration dotting his forehead.
“Jack,” Bingham began. “I wanted to say again how sorry Calvin and I are about your son. Having had children ourselves, we can, to some degree, imagine how very difficult it must be. Remember, if there’s anything we can do, just let us know.”
“Thank you, Chief.”
“Are you heading out?”
“No, I just drop down here every so often to unlock and lock my bike.”
“Always joking!” Bingham commented. Knowing Jack as well as he did, he wasn’t about to take offense the way he used to when Jack first came on board at the OCME. “I assume you’re not heading out to lunch with a chiropractor friend.”
“Your assumption is entirely correct,” Jack said. “Nor am I heading out to see an acupuncturist, a homeopathist, or an herbalist. But I am going to lunch with a faith healer. The archbishop of New York just called and asked to have lunch with me.” Bingham burst out laughing despite himself. “I have to hand it to you. You’re creatively quick on the retort. Anyway, ride carefully, and if truth be known, I wish you wouldn’t ride that bike. I’m always terrified you’re going to come in here feet first.” Still chuckling, Bingham turned and walked back into the
