It was seeing me walking home with you last night that set him off.”
“You didn’t mention that,” he said.
“I wasn’t going to but this is crazy. If we’re not honest with each other, we’ll just be starting the same cycle all over again.”
“Tell me,” he said. “Tell me about your life before today.”
They talked for another hour, then he got her resettled into the bed with a bag of frozen Italian cut beans, nice and soft.
Before going to the grocery store, he drove toward Mill Valley, to Divine Redeemer. He hadn’t called ahead. Part of him hoped Tim was busy, then he’d just check in at his office and maybe return some phone calls.
Tim was in the sanctuary. It being summer, school was out and he was meeting with some altar boys, having a quiet discussion about their duties. They seemed awfully young. He sat in a pew nearby and waited until Tim noticed him.
Tim raised a hand and excused himself from the kids. He leaned on the pew. “This is a surprise,” the priest said.
“I can see you’re busy,” Beau said.
“I’m done.”
“I’m looking for someone to talk to,” Beau said.
Tim raised a tawny eyebrow. “Office or parsonage?”
“How many people at the house?” he asked.
“Just Mrs. Johnson, cleaning. She’s pretty much deaf. Father Damien is away today.”
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll get arrested for making little old ladies work like that? Elder abuse.”
Tim just smiled tolerantly. “I can make us some coffee.”
“Got anything stronger?” he asked.
“Of course, but isn’t it a little early?”
Beau stood. “I want to invoke the Seal of the Confessional without getting in that damn little box.”
“Come on,” Tim said, leading the way out the back door to the parsonage kitchen. Once there, he set about making a fresh pot of coffee while Beau took a seat at the table. “When have you ever had to ask me to keep a secret?”
“I don’t know how you do it,” Beau said. “I bet your ears are burning with juicy stuff.”
“Spit it out before Mrs. Johnson smells the coffee.”
“Remember Lauren? From the garden? I spent the night with her last night.”
Tim was silent for a long moment. “What do you want from me? To say you sinned and give you ten Hail Marys?”
“It wasn’t for sex. We had dinner together and ten minutes after I left, her house was surrounded by police and emergency vehicles. I’d stopped at the market for bread and in the space of a few minutes, she’d been assaulted. She was battered.”
“Dear Mary,” Tim said.
“Her face,” Beau said, a catch in his voice. His eyes filled with tears. “It’s indescribable. It’s horrible. Her husband did it.” Beau wiped impatiently at his eyes, not sure if it was the pain of grief or rage that brought the tears.
“Listen, Beau, you don’t have to tell me, but are you involved with a married woman? A married woman with a violent husband?”
“Not exactly,” Beau said, sniffing loudly and wiping the tears from his eyes. “One of the first things we learned about each other was that we’re both going through divorces, both separated. She’s living in her own house now, one she rented. Coincidentally not too far from my house. A complete and unplanned surprise.”
“On the island?” Tim asked.
Beau nodded. “I ran into her at the market. We shared a bottle of wine. I stopped by a few times. She always saved a chore she needed help with—changing locks, hanging shelves, that kind of thing. Nothing serious. No dating, no texting or calling. Well, just texting to see if she wanted to walk down to Park for a drink or sandwich. She’s been out of her house about a month. Pam’s been out of mine over six months. We’ve both served papers, so I thought it was possible we might date. Down the road.”
Tim pulled out a chair across from Beau. He folded his hands on the table. He moved a box of tissues closer to Beau. “Beau, you might want to put that on the back burner for a while. Let the dust settle...”
“And leave her defenseless against a man who kicks her in the face? Kicked her in the face, Tim! She took some stitches in her lip and it’s about as big as my thumb.”
“This can get way more complicated. She’s a battered wife...”
“She won’t quite admit that because this is the first time he slugged her and kicked her, but we talked about the abuse. He talks down to her, tells her she’s a liar