Thirty-Three
AFTER MASS ON SUNDAY, Helen joins Anna and me for lunch. The conversation over Anna’s chicken pot pie sticks to observations about the morning, what the Ladies of Charity are up to—planning for the Christmas in July Bazaar, one of their biggest fundraisers—and of course speculation as to what’s taking the Vatican so long to decide on my request.
“Listen,” I point out, “you’re talking about an organization that took 1,200 years to mandate priestly celibacy in the first place. Trust me, this is warp speed for the Church.”
“It just doesn’t seem fair to keep you two on pins and needles this whole time,” Anna says.
“First, you’ve told me recently that while life is often good, it is rarely fair,” I say. “Two, it’s not going to be that much longer.”
Anna is quiet for a moment,
