Everyday Ghosts Read Online Free Page B

His eyes were steely and calm. His breathing was heavy, and his nostrils flared. He stood stock-still for a long moment. Then he raised his arm and swept it to his side. It caught Pete by the shoulder and knocked him down. He hit the hard edge of a pew and then fell to the ground. Without turning to look down at Pete, Brother Louis stalked out.

11
    By the light of a candle, Pete was looking in a mirror at the bruises on his side that night when Brother Dominic knocked. “What happened to you?” Brother Dominic asked when he saw the bruises. “I’ve got some makeup for that if you want it. A solid foundation and then a little light cover work, brushed in just right. You’d be amazed.”
    â€œWe have to talk,” said Pete.
    â€œI’ve been thinking the same thing.” Brother Dominic sat on the bed and put his hands on his knees. “I’ve been thinking about what you asked me and there’s something I need to tell you. I’m not really, you know, gay.”
    â€œThat isn’t what I had in mind.”
    â€œYou don’t understand,” Brother Dominic went on. “You have no idea what it was like. No one does. Just a kid, thrown into the spotlight, living in the fast lane. It was all too much. It’s a whole other world. There’s no gay or straight there, it’s all just, like, anything goes. Believe me, I could tell you stories. Do you see what I’m saying? Everything’s different in Hollywood.”
    â€œWe’re not in Hollywood,” said Pete. “But that’s not what I’m talking about. That’s all over. I want to know if you have seen him. You know what I mean.”
    Brother Dominic closed his mouth and took a breath, his face turned down in the flickering light. He nodded. “He came to me alone,” he said. “I was working in the sacristy. You know how I hateto use that awful polish that smells like vinegar? Well, suddenly the smell turned sweet and a light came on, and everything was changed, and he was there. He said he was the saint with no name but I should call him Amos. He told me we are at a great crossroads and he has come to lead us. Then he told me to meet him that night in the woods.”
    â€œAnd you did.”
    â€œEveryone was there. He’d come to each of us alone, one by one, the very same way, to tell us where and when to meet him. He said there were three crimes and there would be a fourth and the fourth would be in fire. He said if we followed the road we were on then our pastures would languish. I didn’t really get that part. Then he said therewould be no rain for a long time. That seemed like a no-brainer because it never rains around here anyway, but whatever. But then he said something that really grabbed me. He said, ‘Do not go with the ones that sell the just man for silver.’ And I was like:
yes
. It was like he was talking about me! They never cared about me, all those money-men, all they cared about was the bottom line. It was always just Morty McGrew this and Morty McGrew that—never about me as a
person
. One of the papers said it was because my agent dumped me but that was the real reason I got out of the business.”
    Pete sat next to Brother Dominic and put a hand on his shoulder. “This is hopeless,” he said. “It’s all so hopeless.”
    Brother Dominic looked at him, his eyes reflecting the candle’s flame. “He’ll come to you, too,” he said. “Then you’ll see.

12
    Pete found himself waiting again. Now he knew what he was waiting for, but he did not know what he would do when it came.
    He knocked on Father Gabriel’s door. “Go away!” came a shout from within.
    â€œIt’s me, Father.”
    â€œI don’t care if it’s the Second Coming. I have a toothache. Go away.”
    It was in the barn that the stranger came to him.
    Pete was watching Neb drink and singing to her. He held