I SAY NOTHING TO FATHER Leonard about the night’s events when he sits down for breakfast. Anna is here, having come for 8:00 Mass, then gone into the Rectory kitchen to prepare food. Before Mass, I only had coffee, observing the Eucharistic fast, so by 9:00, when I sit in front of the scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, and coffee, I’m hungry. I normally don’t eat a lot for breakfast, but we have a long day ahead and I will need my strength.
Father Leonard comes into the kitchen and sits. Anna smiles and places a plate in front of him. He looks dully at the food.
“No, thank you, Anna,” Father Leonard says, pushing the plate away from him. “I won’t be eating today. Just coffee, black, please.”
“You will need your strength, Leonard,” I say. “You have a long day ahead, answering De
