Tales of the City 03 - Further Tales of the City

resist.”
    “They’re fine,” Prue replied, almost blandly. She was in shock, she realized, for now she knew it was going to happen. It was really going to happen. She conjured up a smile for the priest. “I can’t believe how sweet you’re being.”
    “Pish,” said Father Paddy. “The pleasure was all mine, darling. I’ve never been turned loose in Wilkes before.” He lifted a blue blazer from its box. “This is Brioni,” he said. “I debated getting the Polo blazer, which was four hundred, but not nearly so shaped as the Brioni. And since we’re going for effect here, eight hundred seemed reasonable enough. Has he gotten a haircut yet?”
    “I don’t think so,” said Prue.
    Father Paddy rolled his eyes. “He can’t get on the ship looking like the Wild Man of Borneo, darling!”
    “I know,” said Prue, “but if we slick his hair back …”
    “Forget that. I’ll send over a hairdresser with the manicurist on Sunday.” He sighed exuberantly. “God, this is fun, isn’t it?”
    “I’m still so nervous,” said Prue.
    “Well, don’t be. It’s a piece of cake.” The priest removed a packet from his breast pocket. “Now, here are the tickets, my child. You’ll board between three o’clock and four-thirty on Sunday. Luke’s stateroom is two doors down from yours on the same deck. You can board half-an-hour apart, if you like, so nobody’ll be the wiser. Now … is he spending the night here on Saturday, I hope?”
    Prue nodded. “I’ve given my secretary the weekend off.”
    “Good. Smart girl.”
    Prue perused the tickets, her brow wrinkling. “Wait a minute … this ticket says Sean P. Starr.”
    “Right,” grinned Father Paddy. “Yours truly.”
    “But … Luke can’t impersonate you, Father.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, it’s just too risky. What if he needs to show an ID or something?”
    The priest shrugged. “He’ll show mine. That’s included in the tour package, my child.”
    “That’s very sweet, but … well, Luke just wouldn’t do that, I know it.”
    “Do what?”
    “Pretend to be a priest.”
    Father Paddy held out the ID card for her examination. “Show me where it says priest. He’ll just be Sean Starr, bon vivant and world traveler, a charming middle-aged bachelor who just happens to meet a certain charming middle-aged society columnist on a cruise to Alaska. What could be more natural? Or more romantic, for that matter? Your readers will eat it up with a spoon!”
    Prue laughed for the first time all day. “You’re absolutely insidious, Father.”
    The cleric accepted the compliment with a demure little bow. “The rest is up to you, my child. The church can only go so far in secular matters. If I were you, though, I’d lean very heavily on his investment broker background. Didn’t you say he used to do that?”
    Prue nodded. “A long time ago. Before he was a preacher.”
    “Marvelous. Then it’s the truth. That’s always handy.” He leaned over and pecked Prue impetuously on the cheek. “Oh, Prue … you’ve got such an adventure ahead of you, such an adventure.”
    The columnist heard herself giggle. “I do, don’t I?”
    “And you’re giving that poor man a new start in life. That’s something to be proud of … and, incidentally, something to write home about. I want vivid details, darling. That’s my fee for this service. By the way, do you love him?”
    “Oh, yes!”
    “Then, he’ll see that for two solid weeks, darling. He’ll see it, and he’ll never go back to what he was before. Some people are made for each other, my child, and when that happens, almost anything is possible. Now … what sort of hairdresser would you like?”
In Hillsborough, it was DeDe who gave the last-minute briefing.
    “Just relax, Mother, that’s the main thing. Relax and enjoy your grandchildren … but for God’s sake don’t tell people that’s who they are or you’ll defeat our whole purpose.”
    “Then, what exactly am I supposed to tell them?”
    “Simple. They’re your foster grandchildren. Vietnamese orphans in your charge for the summer.”
    The matriarch was indignant. “No one will believe that!”
    “Why not? It makes more sense than the truth, doesn’t it?”
    Silence.
    “I know it’ll be tempting to brag, Mother. But you mustn’t. Not to anyone. There’ll be time enough to celebrate with your friends after we break the story.”
    “What if I see someone I know?”
    “You won’t, probably. Cruise ships have