“If he’s so terrible, why didn’t you divorce him a long time ago?”
“Twenty reasons but mostly to protect my daughters, to ensure your safety and private education. He’s a mean man. But you’re an adult now. You can take an objective look. You can look back at our family life and decide for yourself. If you want to blame me for this,” she said, pointing at her face, “you’ll have to live with that. It would make me sad, but I am done explaining myself. That any woman would have to explain something like this...” She shook her head. “I am done.”
“I just wonder if you really tried,” she said.
“No matter what your father says, you do not do this to a person you care about,” Lauren said.
“I don’t know what to do,” Lacey said. “I don’t know what to think...”
“Maybe it’ll come to you,” Lauren said. “I thought, after our many long talks, after the discussions we had, you would know exactly what is okay and what is not okay. But take your time, Lacey.”
The doorbell chimed and Lauren noticed that Lacey still held the cell phone in her grip. Lauren reached for it and clicked on the icon that would show her who was at the door. “Oh dear God,” she said, heading for the door. “Father Tim! Um... Please, come in.”
“I had some time and happened to be in this part of town,” he said. He had a package. “Is ice cream the medicine of the day?”
Lacey was standing. “Is this the boyfriend?” she asked icily.
“Not hardly. I’m a Catholic priest. We’re not allowed to have girlfriends,” Tim said. And he smiled. “If you’re busy...”
“It’s all right. Lacey was getting ready to leave. Lacey, meet Father Tim from Divine Redeemer. I called him. He’s a counselor as well as a priest.”
“You don’t go to that church, do you?” Lacey asked.
“I’ve been known to stop in,” Lauren said. “I asked the Father to call me when he had time for a chat.”
“I had a couple of appointments cancel and although you were willing to come to Divine Redeemer, I didn’t think you’d feel like going out yet. But I can come back another time. I’m a little impulsive. I should have called to say I was coming.”
“I’ll just leave you two,” Lacey said. “Mom, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Yes, please,” Lauren said. She reached for her daughter and they hugged very carefully. Lauren patted her daughter’s pretty brown hair. “I love you.”
When Lacey had gone, Lauren turned away from the door and looked at the priest standing in her living room.
“I’m so sorry,” Tim said. “That was awkward.”
“A bit, but when you said you could see me at my house, that came as such a relief. I don’t want to wander around the church office looking like a prize fighter. The loser, at that,” she added. “Can I take that?” she asked, reaching for the grocery bag in his hands.
“Sure, yes. Put it in the freezer. It’ll come in handy as something to eat or press on your lip.” She took it to the kitchen and turning back, she invited him to have a seat. “After you,” Father Tim said.
She sat in the corner of her sofa and he took the chair diagonally from her. “You didn’t even wince,” Lauren said.
“I actually did get training,” he said. “I’m a licensed counselor. But listen, if you’re not feeling up to a chat today, I’m very flexible. And I can find things to do and come back at a better time.”
“I’d like you to stay,” she said. “It might not really qualify as a session. I’m still a little rattled. And my daughter... She rattles me more.”
“We’ll just get to know each other a little bit,” he said. “You could start by telling me why you called me.”
“I was raised Catholic, but we weren’t exactly devout. And when my husband’s mother wanted us married in the Lutheran church, I didn’t argue. Maybe there’s something from my childhood... But as I recall, my mother didn’t put much stock in... Oh hell, I don’t know. You seemed nice. Beau’s nice and you’re friends.”
“Not a terrible recommendation,” he said with a smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Do you promise not to scowl at me?”
“I can manage that,” he said.
“I feel vindicated,” she said. “My husband can be the cruelest man but I always felt that no one believed me. And it was the funniest thing, the ER doc said he’d never liked him and that was so wonderful to hear. And a woman I know who I always assumed thought he was wonderful...it turns out she’s been onto him for years. I’ve spent twenty-four years thinking everyone loved him but my mother and sister.”
“They didn’t?” Tim asked.
“You can’t fool the people you spend holidays with. They saw him, heard him. He was always so superior, with his cutting remarks, his insults. But he’s never done anything like this before.”
“Is this worse than the emotional and psychological abuse?” he asked.
“Not at all, but it’s more convincing.” She looked down. “He accused me of having an affair. I never had an affair.”
“Did you go to counseling with your husband?”
“Several times—it never helped. But I also went by myself, on the sly. He didn’t want me to go alone. He said if I needed to talk about the marriage, he was entitled to be with me. Listen, I have a concern. Are you going to tell Beau about this? I know he’s your close friend, and in fact that’s one of the reasons I thought talking to you—”
He was shaking his head. “Beau won’t know unless you tell him.”
“But I’m not a parishioner,” she said.
“Lauren, I’m doing my job and it’s all confidential.”
“What if he drops by and finds you here?”
“I spoke to you and took the liberty of bringing you ice cream. Beau is very smart but he won’t question my word. By the way, why did my friendship with Beau prompt you to call me?”
“I have an important question that I think only you can answer. I believe you’ll tell me the truth. Am I right to trust Beau?”
He looked surprised for a brief moment. He took a second to consider his answer. “I think Beau is one of the finest men I know and I trust him completely, but I’m a bit biased. He has been a good friend for a long time.”
“I thought so.”
“That doesn’t mean I would recommend you get involved,” he said. “You have some more immediate concerns, I would think.”
She got up and went to her purse, pulling out cards. “I have these,” she said, passing them to him. “All given to me by the best ER doc I’ve ever seen. He was kind and gentle and concerned. Cards for victims’ support groups, shelters for victims, counseling for victims, housing assistance, the domestic violence police unit to help me get a restraining order, although my lawyer is taking care of that. I even have the doctor’s card—he’s willing to meet me in the ER for the removal of stitches so I don’t have to see any doctor associated with Brad. But...but I don’t know these people. I’m sure they’re great, but I don’t know them and have no point of reference. I met you. You’ve known Beau since you were about ten. And I haven’t known Beau that long, but I think he’s a good man. There’s no question about it. He couldn’t have a thirty-five-year friendship with you if he wasn’t good.”
“Sometimes he’s a pain in the ass,” Tim said.
She was momentarily shocked, but she smiled crookedly. “Are priests allowed to talk like that?”
“I’ll say ten Hail Marys. Actually, it’s a trick. If I use a little harmless profanity, you’ll let your guard down somewhat and feel less like you’ll be judged for what you say. And by the way, you can’t trust a person just by the collar.”
“I don’t, and I know that. I trust Beau. If he’s fooling me, he’s way better at it than Brad was.”
“For what it’s worth, Beau is good down to his bones. He should probably be the priest and I should be a farmer.”
“He’s more than a farmer...”
“Still... I have a question for you. Did you have a good rapport with that counselor you saw on the sly?”
“Excellent, really. Why?”
“You should probably see her again. I’d be happy to talk to you anytime, I’d be honored to be your friend, I’d be pleased to be your priest, but I have a conflict. You have a conflict. We have Beau in common and now he has us in common. I just want you to have the most objective counselor you can find.”
She smiled her pitiful lopsided smile. “I plan to. Being afraid my instincts are rusty or just plain off, I wanted your endorsement of Beau. Because liking him and trusting him during this chaos is risky for me. Yet, I can’t help it.”
He transferred himself to the sofa beside her and touched her hand. “Beau would never intentionally hurt you,” he said. “And I suspect you wouldn’t knowingly hurt him. Just the same, do be careful. You are both on shaky ground, I think.”
* * *
Beau was pressing hamburger into patties when Drew came home from his job. Since it was summer landscaping, the guys started at sunup and quit in early afternoon. Beau knew he’d be starving, though it was early for dinner.
“Hey,” Drew said. “You work at home today?”
“For a couple of hours this afternoon. I ran some errands and stopped by the office to check appointments and get messages.”
Drew eyed the salad and hamburger. “We having company?”
“Just me and you.” Beau made a face. “You wanna get a shower before you touch my food?”
“Sure. Is something wrong?”