“Moved on to different traditions, I see,” I said, when I saw she had with her not the Bible, but another book. She held up the cover and so I could read it: Sun Tzu’sArt of War.
“It’s not exactly a page-turner,” she said with a smile. “But I’m enjoying it. It was Luca who recommended it, actually. He certainly seems to go for the classics.”
I nodded. “You said you come out here every morning?”
“Most mornings. Sometimes it’s too cold, of course. But I do prefer to start the day with some fresh air and some time in nature.”
“I’m sorry that our being here has disturbed your routine.”
She shook her head. “Not at all. You’re all very welcome here.” I couldn’t help wondering if that was as true of Finch and Luca as it was of everyone, based on what she had mentioned the previous morning. “I hate to think that anyone would be trying to harm you, Aidan. And if there’s anything that the Donovans can do to help you, then we’ll do it.”
“You’ve done more than enough,” I assured her, and then Teo appeared at the doorway.
“Morning, Ms. Donovan,” he said politely, then looked at me. “Ready?”
The drive to my parents’ house took a long time, because Teo first drove in the opposite direction, then toward it, then to the west, and finally in a circuitous route to get to their place in Charlestown.
When they heard the car pull up outside, my mother rushed onto the porch to wave at me. I could tell by the twitching curtains down the street that the neighbors were watching too, probably wondering who had pulled up in such a fancy town car. I hoped they didn’t think the Church had provided it.
Teo insisted on coming around to let me out, before looking up and down the street. I was relieved that at least he didn’t try to hold me close or cover my head as we made our way from the sidewalk up to the house.
“Aidan, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you,” my mother cried, pulling me into a hug that smelled of my childhood: flour, grass cuttings, sweet caramel. My dad was a baker and my mother an enthusiastic taste-tester.
“Hi, mom. This is Teo Vitali. He’s, um, a friend of mine. “
“Of course he is,” she said. “You told us to expect him. And I hope he’s got an appetite,” she added, pulling him into a hug as well. “We’ve made enough food to feed the whole neighborhood. How lovely to meet you, Teo.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. O’Leary,” Teo said, looking a little taken aback as she let him go from the firm hug.
“Oh, my goodness, we’re not so formal here! Please, call me Nancy.” She patted his arm, and then raised an eyebrow. “Well, you certainlyarein shape. You know, Aidan took a while to grow out of his baby-fat stage.”
“Mom!” I protested, as Teo gave me a wicked grin. My mother glanced curiously at Teo as he looked at me. “Where’s Dad?” I asked her firmly, cutting off any further potential embarrassment.
“Oh, he’s inside, putting the finishing touches on his apple pie before it goes in the oven. You know how he loves baking. It’s mostly sugar,” she said apologetically to Teo. “But it sure does taste good.” She turned to lead us into the house.
“Sounds great,” Teo said sincerely, raising his nose to sniff the air that wafted from the kitchen into the front room. “Smellsgreat.”
It did. Under the caramelizing apples I could smell my Mom’s pot roast, and I knew from experience there would be roast potatoes, carrots, sprouts, and a green bean casserole as well. For my parents, lunch wasn’t lunch without at least three side dishes.
“Now, you sit there on the sofa, boys,” she said, bustling around. “John. Johnny!” she called my father. “They’rehere!” She shook her head. “That man is getting deafer by the day.”
“What are these, Mom?” I asked, frowning at the stack of photo albums on the coffee table in front of us.
“Oh, I wondered if you might like to take any baby photos or school pictures for your ordination.”
“For myordination?”
“Well, I thought there might be a party, and some sort oflife retrospective. No?”
“Um, no, Mom. I don’t think so.”
“Oh, well. Perhaps Teo would like to have a look through.” She winked, and then I realized therealreason she’d taken them out: to tease me.
“I very much doubt—” I began hurriedly.
“Thank you, Nancy,” Teo said, grabbing the top album before I could stop him. He smirked at me. “I bet you were just thecutestbaby.”
I gave him my most withering look as Mom laughed and left the room in search of Dad. Teo started to flip through the book, until he froze, flipped back a page, and stared at one of the pictures.
