Nodding his head slowly, he turned to Sister Hannah. “Right. Well, good day, Sister.” His mega-watt smile slowly returned and he left the room, me at his heels.
“Feeling alright today, Jack?” I asked. I really couldn’t help it. Life was boring, and every little deviation helped.
As I knew he would—he was such an easy-going person, Jack—he laughed. “You know, I don’t know? I think I just need to eat.” He looked at his watch. “Yep. Probably.”
I waited at the counter one more time while he unloaded the truck of our daily deliveries, then I said goodbye to Hannah’s Romeo.
“That was fun.” Sighing, I turned and saw Hannah in her little office, clicking away again.
“You did well, child,” Solomon praised.
I stood up straight. “I did?” Strangely, warmth puddled in my belly at hearing his praise. I wasn’t used to compliments.
“Indeed. And I have a feeling there’s more to come.” He said it so softly I didn’t know whether he’d said the words or not.
One thing was for sure, though. There was something very different about Mr. Voice.
Chapter Two
Later on, Mother Mary Margret stood in the open door of my closet, her hands folded at her ample waist. She looked down at me and shook her head. “Wake up, Sister. We have an appointment. Then dinner. It’s been a long day.”
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and stood up, following her out into the hall.
She locked the door to the janitor’s closet while I straightened my veil, tucking in an errant lock of blonde hair at my temple.
“Sister Hannah said she borrowed you this afternoon, that you did very well with assisting her?” she asked, even though it wasn’t a question.
Shrugging had long been tempered out of my repertoire of manners, so I nodded instead, knowing better than to respond as she continued.
“Perhaps when you return here, I’ll assign you as her official helper.” She looked down her big nose at me and sniffed. “Not sure exactly what Sister Hannah does to make you behave, but whatever it is seems to work, at any rate.”
We walked downstairs to her chambers. Being Mother Superior, she had a sitting room, an office, and a living area. All three combined into what was essentially a small apartment. The elder Sisters had their own rooms, too, but they were only living quarters. The novitiates, like myself, boarded with each. Having my own space one day was pretty much the only incentive I needed to keep me on the up and right.
“Have a seat, Sister,” Mother Mary Margret said when we entered her sitting room, gesturing to the puke-green, thread-bare chair that always smelled faintly of farts when sat upon.
While she searched in her desk drawers, I observed her. Her eyebrows were thin with a light dusting of gray mixed in with ginger. She was either a strawberry blonde or a redhead. At sixty-two, she had been our Reverend Mother since 1984. Robust and surly, she was a good Mother. She had her moments, and we certainly butted heads more often than not, but I respected her in my own way. She was a very curious creature, though. She had no vices. Not a single one.
Sister Harriet, for instance—the fretter—was led by ego. Sister Imogen, drink. Almost all the Sisters here lusted for someone or something, but not Mother Mary Margret. It was like she was formed without desire. The only bear inside her I could poke was her love of order.
Only a few times could I poke, however. She always proved more patient, more clever. Eventually I’d give up and look elsewhere for my fun.
“The Sisters of Trevorstone Parish are in need of volunteers for the annual Blessings in Hope meet taking place next week,” she finally said. “They are new to the area and want to represent the town. Lot of work for a parish that’s only been around for a few months. Came from somewhere west, I heard.” She waved her hand in my direction. “I am volunteering you, Constance. You will leave on the first bus out at 6 AM tomorrow. You’ll arrive in Trevorstone in the evening.”
Caught in total surprise, my mouth gaped open. She was letting me leave the convent? On my own?
“Close your mouth, Sister!” she admonished. “Yes, I see it is a shock even to you.” She sighed and set her hands flat on her desk. “But I have faith in you, Constance. You have been here under my tutelage for a long time now, have graduated from your studies, and are about to take your second vows. It is time for you to prove to us that you are cut out for this life, and for this convent.”
I swallowed, straightening in my seat. “Yes, Mother.”
Her gaze circled my face, looking for what, I didn’t know. Seemingly satisfied, she clapped the desk. “Now, let’s get going, I’m hungry.” She slid over a manilla envelope with my name on it. “Here are your tickets, an envelope of money for food and such, and some information about the parish and Blessings of Hope, and what your tasks will be. Their Order is a bit more strict, I will tell you now, so you must be on your very best behavior. But I think you’ll do fine.”
“This is a test, isn’t it?” I asked, not hurt in the least of her perception of me being a “difficult child.”
She nodded. “Indeed, it is. You will be gone for over two weeks, and when you return, we will discuss your future here at Our Lady of Heavenly Hope.” She stood then, nodding for me to take the packet. I wondered how much money was in that envelope and whether it was enough to spend just a little on something frivolous.
The excitement washed over me for a minute, holding me in thrall, and before I could school my features, Mother Margret said, “Sister Gail will be my eyes and ears, giving me a report every night on you, Sister. I’m sure you will find her every bit as vigilant as myself.” She gave me that look, the one that could wither the wings of the loveliest butterfly.
“Of course, Mother.” I bowed my head in respect and hid my smile. I could wait until I was alone in my bed to think on it all tomorrow.
“May God be with you, child.” She sniffed and stood there staring down at me for a good while. “Well, let’s go then.”
As we walked together down to the dining hall, my thoughts skipped ahead like excited children playing in the first snow. An adventure awaited me. Finally, I had something to look forward to.
It was a long time before I fell asleep.
Thoughts of riding the bus, observing the real world, having my own money, kept me awake until the wee hours. And now with Solomon’s return from wherever it was he’d gone to these past few months, he also kept me awake, yakking away. Curiously, he shared in my excitement.
“A trip, is it? This is wonderful news, child. Something you deserve. I admit it’s been a long time since I’ve left this place,” he had said when I had laid down that night.
I reminded him—in my head, of course, because the others were soundly sleeping—that he himself had left and returned only today.
“Oh, I never left.”
‘Then where were you?’ I asked mentally.
“Here. Only… quiet. Waiting”
If only he were quiet now. I didn’t have it in me to ask what he’d been waiting on. I had only two more hours left to sleep before I had to be up and ready for my trip.