8
SAN FRANCISCO
“Have you heard the name Jack
Catholic?” asked Molly, keeping her modulation fairly low.
The old man on the phone cleared his
throat with a rattle. He didn’t come straight back with a response and Molly
got the intuition, despite her history with him, that whatever came out of his
mouth next was going to be a lie.
“Jack... Catholic? Is he a relative
of your father’s?” His voice sounded like an old record of the tenor she
remembered from when she was a girl, still living under his care. David Eden
had worked for her father for twenty-five years from first successes to final
plummet.
“You know he is, right? I talked to
my mother. You approached her about him.”
“Molly...”
“I don’t know if you think you’re
protecting me or... I don’t know what you’re doing. David... I’m curious;
that’s all. My interest has been piqued. Who is he?”
“Molly, I’m glad you called; really.
It broke my heart not being able to see you all these years. It’s been
wonderful to catch up but... Some things... I think that some things should be
left in the ground.”
“Like my father.”
Eden said no more.
“I’m sorry David,” said Molly. “I
shouldn’t have said that.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“No; it does. I shouldn’t have said
it.”
“Molly, really. It doesn’t matter.”
He paused. “I miss him as much as you do.”
In her study, Molly stared at the streetlight
shimmer on the window blinds.
“Are you there?” asked David.
“Yes. I’m here,” she said.
“It’s getting late. It really is good
talking to you. I’d like to meet sometime. For lunch?”
“Why are you trying to find Jack
Catholic?” she asked.
“Molly...”
“He lives in England, doesn’t he? Why
are you looking for him?”
“I don’t think we should be talking
about this. Really.”
“David. I want to know.”
“Really.”
“My mother told me you rang her out
of the blue, asking if she had an address. It must be important if you did
that. I’ve never heard her say a nice word to or about you.”
Eden sighed. “Your mother and I
weren’t plucked from the same tree. You shouldn’t believe everything she tells
you. She’s never encouraged good relations.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing at all. Look, I have to go
now Molly. I’m sorry I can’t tell you what you want to hear.”
“David...”
He cut her off. “Let me give you some
advice my dear. Please; allow me that for all the times I told you to brush
your teeth and picked up after you. Hmmm?”
She suddenly felt the old affection
for him come back and hated herself for pushing. She let him go on.
“Forget Jack Catholic,” he said. “I
mean it. Knowing about him will only lead you to heartache.”
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