Chapter 36
He’d brought a pair of white flannel pants, and paired it with one of his father’s short-sleeved button ups. The shirt was a deep emerald green, which brought out Neal’s eyes, and was only slightly too large. He wore his Roman sandals from Bergdorf’s, despite his mother’s worried look. As they approached Father Conrad, a loud oafish Irish priest who was on visit from a mission in India, Neal’s mother glanced at his feet, as if she wanted to sneak through a side exit. Neal would have none of it moving briskly toward the front entrance of the church.
“These are from Bergdorf Goodman and cost more than most of these people’s entire summer wardrobe,” Neal said.
Father Conrad was attractive in a big, red-headed and burly way. Neal recalled his mother stating that he gave “scanda
