CHAPTER 21
559 Words
CHAPTER 21
Kennedy could only guess how long she and Carl sat on that cold pavement. He didn’t say anything, didn’t offer any false reassurances or tell her to calm down. Didn’t accuse her of overreacting or offer any pastoral guilt trip that if she only prayed or read her Bible more she wouldn’t be such a mess.
Once her sobbing quieted down and she could breathe somewhat normally again, he checked her limbs for any injuries, asked if she had hit her head when she fell. And then he held her longer, as if his only reason for being near the Boston courthouse tonight was to make sure she felt safe.
“I’m glad I saw you,” he finally said. “They invited me here to give a prayer, but I was running late. Couldn’t find my keys. Must be providence, because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have seen you ...” He didn’t finish his thought, and Kennedy was thankful to avoid hearing the eye-witness account of her own embarrassing meltdown.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “I was fine one minute, then all of a sudden ...”
“Shh. Don’t you worry about it.” Carl glanced at his wristwatch. “Listen, I’m already late, and there’s no way I’m leaving you here alone.” He leveled his gaze to look at her as sternly as he could pull off. “You didn’t take the T alone, not this late at night, did you?”
“No, I came with my roommate, but we got separated.”
“Well, let me call my friend and tell him I can’t make it. He’s the one who arranged all this. I’m sure he’ll understand.” Carl held his old-fashioned flip-phone to his ear.
“I don’t want you to miss out.” Kennedy took in a deep breath to prove to both herself and Carl that she could. “I don’t mind ...”
“Stuff and nonsense,” he interrupted and then held up his finger. “Hello, Dominic? Can you hear me?”
Kennedy still couldn’t understand why he always needed to shout when he talked to someone on his cell.
“Yeah, it’s Carl. Something came up, and I’m not gonna make it.” He yelled for a minute longer about how sorry he was for missing the vigil and then ended the call.
“That’s a good man,” he said as he put his phone in his back pocket. “Most godly saint this police force has ever seen.”
“Was that the chaplain?”
“That’s right, Dominic. You know him?”
“A little. We met at the ... He was at the hospital last night. He didn’t tell me he was the chaplain. I just thought he was an officer.”
Carl let out a little laugh. “That’s Dominic for you. Most humble, unassuming man I know.” He groaned as he stood up and then reached down to help Kennedy to her feet. “You up for a little walk? I had to park behind the bank.”
She nodded. “I’m better now.” Part of her wanted to leave Carl and go find Willow, pretend none of this had ever happened. But then she saw the ocean of bodies and heard the sound of an acoustic guitar strumming over the loudspeaker. She would never make it back in that crowd. “You sure you don’t want to stay? I could wait here while you go pray.”
Carl jerked his head toward the courthouse, where some folk singers with only slightly more talent than the Babylon Eunuchs were singing an over-embellished version of Imagine. “I’m not that big of a Beatles fan these days, truth be told.” He grinned and extended his arm. “Want a little extra support?”
Kennedy was pretty sure she could walk on her own, but she took Carl’s elbow and allowed him to lead her slowly down the street until the sounds of the crowd and mediocre singing faded into the darkness.
- Writer
