Toward That Which is Beautiful

an electric shock. She would leave that day. She dressed quickly and tore the sheets from the bed, stuffing them in the hamper. Swiftly, she went to the linen closet down the hall. She pulled out the clean sheets they had laundered the day before and tiptoed back to her room. She made the bed carefully, inhaling the fragrance of eucalyptus leaves Marta placed in the cupboards, tucking in the hospital corners as the novice mistress had taught her to do in the novitiate. When she looked around the room to see that everything was in order, her glance fell on the figure of the pregnant woman she had found there the first day she came. She thought about putting it in her pocket, but it was too bulky. She left the crucifix her parents had given her the day she entered the convent in its usual place on her pillow. Then she shut the door.

C

hapter Eighteen

Tuesday, June 30, 1964

Now waking from a fitful sleep in the hotel room in Ica, Kate knows it is time to move on. It will be easier to get away before the other two girls get up. She slides out of bed and picks up the habit she has not worn in two days. She closes the bathroom door and turns the water on very low. It feels strange to put on the habit again. The headband is tight around her forehead, and the veil is heavy. When she comes out of the bathroom, Sheila is sitting up in bed, and her eyes widen when she sees Kate.

“Well, I see it’s Sister Mary Katherine again,” she whispers.

They both glance at Diane, sprawled on her stomach next to Sheila, her mouth open as she sleeps on.

“Sheila, I need to leave. You’ve been wonderful to me. I don’t know how to thank you.” Kate walks over to the side of the bed and stands looking down at her.

“God, you scare the hell out of me in that outfit. I feel as if I’m back in third grade.” Sheila swings her legs out of bed and motions Kate to the far side of the room near the windows overlooking the street. “Do you have any money?” Her eyes fix on Kate’s intently.

“I have enough to get me to Lima. It’s time to give myself up, I guess.” She is trying for a light tone. “Tell Diane I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.” She stops, afraid she will cry if she says any more. She wants to seem to be in control of herself.

Sheila presses a card into her hand. When she glances at it, Kate sees that it is the address of the Peace Corps office in La Paz. Sheila looks embarrassed as she says, “I never really knew a nun before, Kate. You seem very human, maybe too human to be a nun. I wish you luck, whatever you decide.”

Kate hugs her then, and Sheila puts her arms around her gingerly, as if afraid she will break. Kate grabs the jacket she took from Peter’s car and slips out of the room without a sound.

Downstairs the lobby is still dark. But as she reaches the wide front doors, a figure emerges from the gloom. It is Pepe, and his eyes gleam as he sees her dressed again in the habit. She whispers to him, “Pepe, I’m going to need to catch a bus to town. Do you know when the next bus today will be passing?”

Pepe nods his head sadly. “Que pena, madrecita, there will be no buses for another hour or so. It is not yet six o’clock.” Then he stops and turns to her with a grin. “The señora isn’t even up. I don’t think she’d mind if I ran you into town. I’ll bring the car around to the front. You wait outside on the steps, madrecita.” Before she can object he has disappeared down the hall. His sandals make no noise on the stone floor.

Kate unlocks the door, pulling back the great iron bolts, one by one. The morning is fresh and clear. The sun has not risen yet, but the sky is reddening in the east. Soon Kate hears the crunch of tires on the gravel, and a red Chevrolet pulls up to the porch. Pepe is dwarfed behind the wheel. Kate hopes he can see over the steering wheel to drive. She peers in at him. “Pepe, are you sure la señora won’t be angry?” She is worried about the señora. She did not seem very friendly, and Kate suspects that Pepe is taking a big risk.

“Don’t worry, madre.” He motions for her to get in.

Pepe drives fast. Kate sees he loves handling the great powerful car. He speeds by the other cars and trucks on the road at a terrifying pace, and Kate worries that they will be stopped by any police out at this hour. How will it look? A runaway nun and a servant in the borrowed car of his employer. She seems to have a knack lately for getting into dangerous situations. In fifteen minutes, Pepe is pulling up in front of the bus station in the central square in Ica. The wheels screech, and people look curiously as he runs around and hands her out as if she is royalty.

Kate presses a few soles into Pepe’s hand, and he looks down in surprise. He shakes his head and hands them back to her without a word. His head is held high, and the stern look on his face say it would be useless to insist.

“Thank you, Pepe.” Kate shakes his hardened brown hand. “And thank you especially for telling us about the Achirana canal. It is a beautiful place.”

He bows to her then, and Kate feels him watching her until she enters the bus station. She says a prayer that he’ll get the car back in one piece and that the señora won’t fire him.

There is already a line at the window