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After helpingboth Sister Joan and Sister Ruth with their packing I make my way to the study maybe to catch up on some reading. After that long midday nap, I don't have much of a need to go back to sleep. On my way there I see Mother Superior walking towards her office and I hurry to catch up with her.
"Mother, may I have a word with you?"
She turns as I call her and I see her face fall. The woman truly doesn't care for me.
"Does it have to be right now, Sister? I really am quite pressed for time."
I think about telling her no, but I know that tomorrow she'll be gone, and I won't get to tell her about the visit we had this morning.
"I really do hate to bother and it won't take up much time. I just thought you'd want to know about the visitor that we had today." I say, raising my eyebrow in question.
"Visitor? What visitor? I've been here all day, I hadn't seen anyone." She shakes her head and walks into her office, "Come on child, close the door behind you."
I follow behind her and make sure to close the door once I'm in.
"Now what is this talk of a visitor?" She asks as she sits down at her desk.
"There was a man who showed up at the back entrance of the church. He said he was here to talk to Father Joseph about some business that they needed to attend to. The man's name was Mr Reese, and he said that he had been trying to get in contact with the father for quite some time, but hadn't been very lucky." The more I tell her my story, the paler her face gets.
I thought for sure that it was a little odd that the father would be involved in any kind of business that wasn't known by the mother superior, and from the look of her face, I was right. She did know what was going on. The problem is: She didn't seem to think it was a good idea.
"I told him that father Joseph was probably busy getting ready for the festival on the mainland and he'd mentioned that he'd go there to find him. What kind of business is it that they have to discuss?" I ask curiously.
"That is none of your concern, furthermore, you shouldn't go around telling random people off the street the private whereabouts of anyone belonging to this community. If they have any questions, they can come inside and ask. I don't want to hear about this happening again." She snaps at me, and I'm stuck for a few seconds at the direction of the conversation. I thought I was helping, but now it feels like they are hiding something much more than just the whereabouts of our father. Whatever business Father Joseph is conducting might not be very godly.
5
Zeus
The small planejumps in the air from the turbulence, and for the first time in a long time I find myself closing my eyes to pray. I hate these small ass planes, but there was really no better way for me to get to the main land in time for me to catch any of them at this festival.
I'm hoping that what Sister Inessa says is true, and I'll be able to get a hold of Father Joseph there in the open, where he can't really cause a scene. The last thing I need him to do right now is to start acting crazy and for it to get back to Marko. I'm surprised the man hasn't called just to check on the fact that I haven't been on the news yet. Last I heard, he was still trying to clean up the mess that was made over in France.
Now that I'm thinking back on it, I can see how it was wrong of me to do things so sloppily. All I can do now is prove to him that I know how to get the job done without so much as a peep from any of the local news channels.
A few minutes later, the pilot comes on the speaker and lets us know that we are preparing for landing. Part of me wonders if I'm just hearing things and if he's actually getting us ready to crash. That's what it feels like is about to happen right now. Instead of the fiery death I thought was going to happen, the plane drops to the earth and skids to a smooth and welcomed stop. I know I'm in the middle seat, but I grab my belongs and basically run to the front of the plane. Once the stewardess and the rest of the people on the flight get a good look at my face, they stop any disgruntled words that might have come out of their mouth. It honestly felt like I was going to hurl at any minute.
The door opens, and I rush down the few steps to the ground only to drop to my knees and kiss the dirty cold earth.
"Oh thank you. Thank you thank you." I mutter over and over, not caring about the people behind me laughing and making fun of the grown man on the ground.
I've been in shoot-outs and stared down a tiger before, but that plane ride was probably one of the scariest experiences I've ever had.
After I take a minute to get myself together, I gather my things and take off in the direction of the exit. The gentleman in the airport let me know where I would be able to find the festival and also told me about the hotel that was nearby. Hopefully, I won't have to go back over to the small island and I can just take care of everything from here.
It takes me only about twenty minutes to get to the hotel and drop my things off and then another ten minutes to find my way to the festival. It's outstanding to me how they can have so much fun even though it feels like it colder than Tartarus here. The streets are filled with people going from stand to stand and speaking with the different professionals and vendors that are at the festival.
I stop at one of the tents that is offering food and pick up what looked to be some sort of clam chowder. One sip and I have to close my eyes in satisfaction. Nothing like a fresh chowder to warm me up. Well, vodka would do the trick as well, but I really didn't want to get drunk here today. That's how much it would take to get the chill out of my bones.
"I'm sorry, sir", a woman says as she backs up into me. Her eyes go wide when she sees me and I can't help but give her a smile.
"No trouble at all. Are you okay?" I ask and gesture to her body. I know I didn't get anything on her, but it never hurts to make sure. "I didn't drop anything on you, did I?"
"No, not at all." She tilts her head and I look down and see the wedding band on her finger. It's not the first time I've flirted with a married woman, but it is the first time that I've actually felt a little bad about it.
I've never really wanted a girlfriend. Too much of a chore to be tied down to one place. I'm not stupid enough to think I can have a woman who is staying at home waiting for me while I run around and have sex with everyone that bats their eyes in my direction. Still looking down at that ring, it turns my stomach to know that I'd basically be getting someone else's leftovers. She'd already given herself over to her husband, and I would just be a fill in until she went home.
"Well, you have a good day. Sorry, again for the bump." I say to her and turn. The look of confusion is on her face as I move away from where I was standing. I'm sure she was expecting me to continue on with the flirting, but I'm just not in the mood for it right now. I take a sip of my soup and out of the corner of my eye I see a woman in a black and white head vail and black habit. A long cross around her front. One of the sisters from the church. Of course, I can't be sure if it's the same church on Krusentstern, but I'm going to take my chances and follow her just to be safe. I walk slowly as if I'm moseying through the crowd and I see her stop back in front of a booth that is full of sisters and one priest. The very priest that I'm here to look for.
