TWENTY-TWOSandie hoped for a full church, even though Mike had warned her that the church was only ever full at Christmas and Easter. Well, then, maybe almost full, she had countered. But according to Mike, the church was only ever almost full on Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday, the times when you could go to Mass and get something. Something tangible, he amended quickly, rolling his eyes. Something other people could see. If the church didn’t even fill up when there was an opportunity to come away with plant matter, whole or incinerated, why would people come thronging to see an unknown performer?
Even if they had nearly gotten used to seeing John standing eerie and silent in the back pew, none of them knew him, not really. None of them would feel the need to come support him.
But the han
