Chapter 20 #2
“And we shall pray for him,” Sister Lilith added. “God is with your husband, Iris. Have faith in that.”
Lilith was good at comforting the downtrodden. I was clearly not as skilled.
Iris’s friends embraced her while her children obliviously ran around playing as we deposited her at her home.
The women inside her modest house thanked us for praying over her, though I didn’t feel I’d done anything at all.
On the contrary, somehow I felt responsible for her pain, though I wasn’t sure why.
Sister Lilith let out a sigh as soon as the door to the Maison’s house shut behind her. “I hope he’s okay.”
“Do you?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you?”
I glanced around the empty, rainy square and watched the rain pelt the stone wolves above the fountain. “You heard what he confessed, didn’t you?”
“It was only a confession… unless… do you think god is punishing him?”
I shrugged. “What I think is… Batilda’s looks open. Join me?”
Clutching the umbrella, Sister Lilith jerked a small nod. “Only if we won’t get in trouble.”
We rounded the corner to head into the alley when the bar door swung open. Batilda flung a towel over her shoulder. “Come inside, Sisters. It’s raining, and the place is empty; all the men are on the search now for Archie.”
I hesitated outside as thunder rolled. Leaning around her, I found the bar in fact was gloriously vacant before nodding my agreement.
It wasn’t so much me I was concerned about, more Lilith and her pristine reputation as being a perfect nun becoming marred.
Being a good nun didn’t matter to me, clearly, but it was important to her, so I tried to respect that… mostly.
The barkeep ushered us inside, where two fireplaces roared to life with blessed warmth. Batilda chuckled as she slipped behind the counter. “Two nuns walk into a bar.”
“What?” Lilith asked as we took our seats on two stools.
“Nothing.” Batilda shook her head. “Just laughing at my own jokes. Nothing new. Just a dark beer for each of you?”
I nodded. “Yes, thank you. How are you?” I asked cautiously as she grabbed two pint glasses.
“Quite a commotion out there, isn’t it?” she responded. “Though, can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Why’s that?” I asked, taking a small sip of my beer.
“Archie Maison’s in here every night drinking, you’ve seen it yourselves, Sisters.
The bastard probably wandered off too far and got himself stuck on the mountain.
They’ll find him and he’ll be back with nothing worse than the sniffles.
All this hubbub for nothing, mark my words.
” The barkeep went back to wiping down the counters.
Lilith looked at me and shrugged a shoulder before taking a sip.
“What about the blood?” I asked.
Batilda paused her cleaning mid swipe. “Can’t say I’ve heard tale of any blood. Where’d you hear that?”
“The nuns and Iris… though they did not elaborate.” I took a longer sip. “I’m surprised you aren’t out there looking, too.”
“They only wanted the big, strong men.” She scoffed. “No matter, I wasn’t eager to wade in the mud for a lost asshole.” Her eyes went wide as she glanced between us. “Forgive my language, Sisters.”
Lilith smiled faintly into her drink.
Outside the door, a dog barked.
Sliding out of my seat, I opened the bar door to see Bernard, wet, with his tongue drooping out the side of his mouth. “Looks like our chaperone has come to find us,” I said over my shoulder. “We should go anyway. Thank you for the beers, Batilda.”
“Anytime, Sisters.” As she bid us farewell, she leaned on the doorframe. “Don’t let the wanderings of a foolish man upset you too much. It’ll all blow over, you’ll see.”
I wished I shared her optimism.
Bernard trotted next to me, occasionally stopping to sniff in Lilith’s direction and growl.
“Is the dog truly blind?” she asked as we dodged puddles on our walk back up the hill to Altar Church. “It is more common for Irish wolfhounds to be deaf than blind.”
I lifted a shoulder. “As far as I’m aware, yeah. Why?”
“Just curious.”
“You’re curious about a lot, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you?” she retorted, holding open the iron gate. Bernard growled at her as he passed.
“We’re nuns, curiosity isn’t in the job description. We accept what we’re told; we adhere to the bible, to the priests, our prioress, god.”
“You still wonder, though, don’t you?” She glanced towards the forest, where fog had spread like a blanket along the fields, mirroring an ocean of grey laid out before the trees. “You wonder about the monsters… the howling we heard that day… the blood on the tree.”
I swallowed. “Is there something you know that I don’t, Sister?”
Lilith’s blue eyes were a deep, midnight blue in the fading light. “No, not a thing.”
The church was silent when we returned, and we took turns in the washroom before retreating to our rooms. I could have gone to bed without her, but I only leaned against the stone in the hallway, waiting for her to finish.
She did the same for me.
Once we were in our beds, Lilith said her prayers, and I lay under my sheets, staring at the ceiling, sorting through the day.
The hike.
The stone.
The rain kiss.
The man missing.
Once the candles were blown out and only the pale moonlight and patteriing of rain accompanied us, Lilith whispered in the dark, “Do you think they’ll find him?”
“Yes.” I lied. “God will take care of him.” I lied again.