diseases of intolerance and racism—and when the ship starts to sink, they get even more dangerous, more daring. They know they’ll have hell to pay, so they’re taking as many innocent lives down with them as they can,” Leduc said.
“They’re the very spawn of the devil. They commit their outrages here too. As if robbing all the food weren’t enough, they rape the farmers’ daughters and then detain anyone who complains. You think the police do anything about it? They don’t lift a finger, Leduc. Just a bunch of lackeys.”
The boys returned and sat down at the table. The priest blessed the food, and they ate in silence.
“My children,” the priest said after a while, “God in his goodness has blessed me with a bit of leftover cake. It’s not much, but I wonder if you boys like chocolate?”
Moses reached eagerly for the cake the priest held out, but Jacob gave him a severe look. “No, it’s all right, let him eat,” the priest said. “None of us knows when our time will come, especially these days. Who knows if we’ll even see tomorrow, and if we do, what there may be to eat. Let’s enjoy the moment while we can: Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,” he said as naturally as if Latin were his native tongue.
Leduc translated for them: “Seize the day; put little trust in tomorrow.”
The boys accepted a piece each. Their lips were smudged dark with the sweet, creamy stuff, and a kind of happiness stole through them. It was a marvelous elixir of life that restored their hope, even if only for a moment.
The priest was pleased. “Sometimes we chase big dreams, but the most important things happen right where we are, today. The sound of the wind in the trees outside, the fragrance of meat being cooked, the perfume of the flowers swaying in the morning breeze, the bright sun, the clouds giving us their shade in the blue sky . . . Never forget that happiness takes the shape of the puzzle pieces of our lives. A piece might be missing, but we keep making the world we dream of. I once was a great lover of soccer. How I longed to be out playing in the field. I was one of the top players in seminary! I can’t play anymore, but I still relish the chance of seeing a game when I travel to Paris, and I help the village boys when they need a coach or a referee. The secret is in the small things . . .” His voice trailed off and he sighed deeply, folding his hands in his lap.
“Ah, you religious types are all hedonists,” said Laduc. “Eat, sleep, enjoy. Real pleasure is contemplating the big absolute truths: beauty, love, friendship—”
“I couldn’t agree more,” interrupted the priest, “but these boys need to sleep. The back room is empty. It’s nice and quiet and cool.”
Laduc nodded to the boys. “We’ll head out at dawn.”
The priest rose slowly. His youth had faded so gradually that he was still taken aback at times by the pains and afflictions of age.
The boys went into the sparse, white-walled room. It held a simple chair and a bed with a metal frame and a white crocheted cover.
“You’ll sleep in your clothes?” the priest asked.
“It’s all we have,” Jacob answered.
“Well, sleep the best you can. I’m sure that in the long life ahead you’ll find better lodgings elsewhere. God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.” He set a lit candle on the chair and left the room.
Jacob and Moses pulled off their shoes, folded up their pants, and dropped onto the mattress like deadweights. Jacob shifted to blow out the candle.
“What odd people,” said Moses. “We’re complete strangers, but they’re helping us, risking their lives for us. And even though they hate us.”
“What makes you think they hate us?”
“Didn’t you tell me the Christians, like the priest, think we killed their God?” Moses asked, still trying to get the facts straight.
“That’s just something people say. People who are smart and educated don’t think that. Leduc and the priest are helping us because they love France.”
“But don’t the gendarmes love France too?”
“Well, I guess in a way, yes. You know what? We always have to choose between love and fear. If we choose fear, our lives and our choices are going to turn out bad. We won’t be doing our best, we won’t even do what we wish we did, because we’ll just be trying