Page 21 of Sinner (Priest 2)
Elijah is immediately wary. “What do you mean?”
I explain to him about the building deal and the Good Shepherd sisters going to the press about their upcoming eviction. And I’m about to tell him about the kiss, I really am, when he cuts in.
“Look, you know I don’t see anything wrong with what you do or how you make your money, but if you do anything to hurt Zenny or her sisters, there’s going to be hell to pay.”
“Whoa, man, I’m not planning on hurting anyone—”
“I mean it,” Elijah warns. “Zenny has wanted this for almost ten years, she’s had to put up with our parents and her friends all giving her a rough time about it, she’s worked her ass off to meet her obligations as a postulant while she’s getting her nursing degree. Do not ruin this for her.”
“I’m not going to!”
“Sean.”
“Elijah.”
“I know you, and I know what you do to people who get in your way, but I’m asking you for the sake of our friendship to keep her safe. Do not crush her to make more money, and do not fuck this up for her.”
The guilt has teeth now, chewing industriously at something inside of my chest. “I’ll keep her safe,” I promise, and I say it to atone for the ways in which I already haven’t kept her safe.
“Good. Because I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
I sigh. This is bad.
“And you are fine with her becoming a nun?” I ask. “Giving up a normal life?”
“Who gets to say what a normal life is?” Elijah asks. “The important thing is having a life with meaning. She seems to find that with the Catholic Church.”
“But the Catholic Church is terrible,” I counter, pulling into the Valdman and Associates parking garage. “Their meanings are all about homophobia and protecting predators and treating women like second-class citizens. How can you be okay with that? How can she be okay with that?”
Elijah’s voice is dry again. “Because I’m gay, you mean?”
“Well. Yes.”
“I get where you’re coming from, and trust me, I have an entire dossier of complicated thoughts and opinions on the Catholic Church after my childhood, but watching Zenny go through this journey has reminded me that there’s a lot of good people in the Church. People who believe in equal rights. People who are dedicated to helping the poor. Gay people and feminists and activists working for racial and economic and judicial justice. So maybe the Church isn’t perfect, but the answer isn’t shitting on it. And for Zenny, the answer is supporting what’s good about it and working to change the rest.”
I think about this for a moment. “Does this mean you’ll be heading back to Mass?”
“Fuck no. But it’s why I’m okay with my little sister becoming a nun. Nuns can do great things and Zenny is going to do great things, and I have no doubt in my mind that she is going to help a lot of people this way. Besides, it’s what she wants. That’s the most important thing.”
“Okay, okay.” I park my car and get out. “I hear what you’re saying. I still think the Church is bullshit though.”
“I know you do,” Elijah says. And then, his voice getting kinder, “No one’s forgotten about Lizzy, Sean. No one’s forgotten what you’ve gone through.”
“She wanted to be a nun too, you know.” There’s a stupid ball in my throat as I say the words out loud. “It’s all she talked about.”
“I know. I like to think that she and Zenny would have been really good friends.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“I meant what I said though. Keep her safe or I’ll kill you.”
“Elijah.”
“Seriously. I know you’ve got a job to do, but do it without fucking her over.”
“Elijah. I already promised.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t trust you.” And then he hangs up.
