“Its all right, Tim,” Cliesh said.
“I"m not going to apologize. You were young, not able to see far enough ahead. The important thing is you"re together, and I"m glad.”
We grabbed drinks from a passing waiter, and calmed down.
“You must come and have lunch. This afternoon is almost over, and I"ve only heard a fraction of your story. I live in a rambling apartment. It"s much too big for me now, but I like it; I think you would too. What do you say?”
The Armistice Day reception must have taken him back to his days as a soldier, and we reminded him of the time when he ran St. Mary"s School. Retirement had stripped James Malone of authority, but he coped with it, and with the loss of his wife; he had bags of guts.
“It would be good if you would accept. I have a fine piano, an upright Petr
