Tales of the City 03 - Further Tales of the City

Father.”
    “Meaning, zip the old lip, huh?”
    “It must be confidential,” whispered Prue. “I promised Frannie Halcyon I wouldn’t tell anybody. Apparently, it’s a matter of life and death.”
    “My God, girl! What happened on that ship? I thought you were back a little early. Don’t tell me that you and Luke had some sort of …?”
    “Luke is gone, Father!”
    “What!”
    The cleric stirred audibly in the confessional.
    “What are you doing?” asked Prue.
    “Getting a cigaret,” he replied. “Bear with me, darling.” There was more moving about, then Prue heard the cat-like hiss of Father Paddy’s lighter. “All right,” he said finally, expelling smoke. “Take it from the top, darling.”
    * * *
It took her ten minutes to outline the disaster for him. When she had finished, Father Paddy uttered a faint moan of disbelief.
    “Well?” said Prue.
    “Does he still have my ID?” inquired the priest.
    “I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, Father … I …”
    “Don’t apologize, darling. It was my stupid idea in the first place. What about Frannie Halcyon? Did she make any connection between that Sean Starr and me?”
    “None, as far as I know,” said Prue. “I doubt if she realizes your first name is Sean. She was too upset about the children to be functioning in a rational …”
    “Mary Ann might figure it out, though.”
    “You know her?” asked Prue.
    “We work at the same station. I tape my Honest to God show just before she does the afternoon movie. I had to stand in for her on Tuesday when she didn’t show up. No one had any idea where she was, and I certainly had no idea she was … Lord, this is getting sticky!”
    “The thing that upsets me,” said Prue, “is that DeDe appears to have … known Luke.” The very thought of this made her eyes well up with tears again.
    Father Paddy must have heard her sniffling. “Darling … you don’t mean … biblically?”
    “Yes!” sobbed the columnist.
    “Oh my,” said the priest. “She told you they had been lovers?”
    “Not exactly. But she knew something about him that she couldn’t possibly have known if she hadn’t been … intimate with him.”
    The priest sucked air in noisily. “What?”
    Prue hesitated. “I don’t see how that matters. She just did, that’s all.”
    A long silence. “Very well, then … I guess it’s time for my next customer.”
    “But, Father … what should I do?”
    “You’ve already done it, my child. You told them what you know.”
    “I didn’t tell them about the shack in the park … or the fake ID. I didn’t tell them I had known Luke before the cruise.”
    “Purely extraneous, darling. It’s obvious you’ve stumbled on some private romantic squabble between DeDe and Luke. I know it must be painful to accept that, but you can’t let your emotions drive you into doing something rash. If I were you, I’d lay low for a …”
    “Father, he took her children, for God’s sake!”
    “Well, of course, that’s dreadful … and she deserves our prayers … but your little interlude with Luke is hardly pertinent to her dilemma. Where did she know him, anyway? I thought you said she’d been hiding out at Frannie’s place since her return from Cuba.”
    “I don’t know for sure. I guess she could have … you don’t think she knew him in Guyana, do you?”
    “I was wondering when you’d get to that.”
    “You mean … a Temple member?”
    “It’s certainly possible,” said the cleric. “Now, is that really the sort of thing you want to get mixed up in, darling?”
    “But I am mixed up in it, Father. If they find him and he’s carrying your ID …”
    “I’ll tell them the truth.”
    “But …”
    “I’ll tell them that I lost my wallet in the park about a month ago. And you’ll confirm it, because you were with me at the time. And that will be the end of that. Do you read me, darling?”
    “I think so,” said Prue.
    “Good. Now run along and be a good girl. This will all come out in the wash … I promise you.”
    “But … what if he tells them about me?”
    “Then, they’ll just have to choose between the word of a reputable columnist and the word of a kidnapper. That shouldn’t be too tough. Scoot, now! I’ve got customers waiting. And, Prue … put this all behind you, darling.”
    “All right.”
    “That means: stay away from that shack.”
    “O.K.,” said Prue defeatedly.
    “God bless,” said Father Paddy.

Tea
    S HE ARRIVED RIGHT ON THE DOT,