Twenty-Nine
AFTER HOURS THAT SEEM like days of waiting, the Trents are finally allowed to go back and see Mae briefly. Knowing how traumatic this will be for them, and how short a time they’ll be allowed to stay, I decide to wait for them to come back out. The sorrow and worry that had hung like a cloud over everyone has lifted, and instead of quiet prayers of sadness, laughter and happy chatter fill the waiting room.
Gladys and Nate come over, still dressed as Jack and Jackie, though she’s taken off her black wig, pillbox hat, and gloves.
“You look tired, Father,” Nate says.
“I am,” I say with a weary smile. “What time is it anyway?”
“Almost 6 a.m.,” Gladys observes.
“That’s what I thought,” I say as I yawn and stretch. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these all-night vigils.”
