Desmond woke from his short sleep feeling very alive and revitalized. He whistled happy tunes and even sang out loud in the shower as he got himself ready for a day’s work. For the first time since Rachel left, Desmond was somewhat enjoying his new found bachelorhood. This morning, Desmond felt like he was vacationing alone and reveled in the lack of regimen and routine in his current life.
The house was by no means sloppy, but he now had it arranged to fit each and every one of his needs. All of his things were placed out just where he wanted them. Everything from his clothes to toiletries to his favorite chair were conveniently placed about the house in their most perfect spot.
He now could glide about the house with the same grace as he did his church. Even his favorite juice glass he kept out on the counter where his hand naturally rested when he opened the refrigerator door. Desmond took a few moments to look with pride at the neatly tailored and choreographed home he had fashioned.
Desmond thought how odd it must be for Rachel to see the changes in the house when she came by for one of her little secret visits. He wondered how difficult it was for her to resist rearranging the house to her specifications.
Was she irritated or angered by the changes she saw in the house? Had she been tempted to reorganize areas of the house she felt most connected to? Was she trying to read Desmond through the changes as much as he was trying to figure her out by noticing what she was taking? Such thoughts were interrupted by the startling sound of the phone ringing.
“Hello, Rev. Prouty,” Desmond heard in swift reply to his greeting, “this is Hal Willis. I was wondering if you could attend a meeting with the Board of Governors at the VFW at 2:00 this afternoon.”
“I know it’s kind of a short notice,” Hal continued on in a firm fast voice, “but the meeting is important and sort of an emergency.”
“Sure,” Desmond said guardedly, “I should be able to make it.”
“Good,” Hal said with a combination of enthusiasm and determination, “then we’ll see you at the VFW at 2:00.”
Desmond got off the phone feeling as if he just had been ambushed. Why an emergency meeting and why the short notice? Desmond knew it had to be over some bad news, the church board never bothered him for a simple update.
The Board of Governors was the executive committee for the parish. They were the people who hired him and were in charge of the church’s business and economic practices. Though Desmond handled almost all the church matters on his own, they were the ones who reviewed his work, okayed his budgets and advised him on the changing concerns and interests of his parishioners.
His relationship with the Board of Governors had always been generally positive and uncomplicated. He did his job so well that they seldom did more than fund raise or suggest a special church outing or activity for the school children. Most of the board’s highest ranking officials were good friends of Desmond’s who had served the church with him for many of these twenty years.
What disturbed him most about the phone call was that it came from Hal Willis. Hal was part of the militant fringe of the board who was always complaining and never satisfied. His concerns were often thought of as being extreme, and he was silenced at almost every meeting.
Once at church Desmond busied himself making preparations for Sunday service. His only real deadline today was to get all of the written materials for the service to the printer by 3:00. Though he knew this deadline was fairly arbitrary, Desmond had never once handed in any materials late to Mr. Taylor at the print shop. Each week he’d repeat the same old warning, and each week Desmond would come by the shop a half hour or so before the deadline.
Not knowing how long his meeting at 2:00 would last, Desmond decided to stop by the print shop before the meeting. Mr. Taylor looked a little confused by Desmond’s early appearance and anxiously glanced down at his watch to make sure he hadn’t lost track of the flow of the day.
Following his delivery Desmond thoughts returned to the meeting he was about to attend. He couldn’t recall a church or board related meeting ever being held at the VFW. Most meeting were held at the church, or sometimes at the school, but never anywhere else.
The only possible explanation for the unusual meeting place was in Hal’s need to be in control of every situation. Choosing a new location probably had Hal not only feel in charge, but important. The church was Desmond’s turf and Hal obviously did not want Desmond to have home field advantage. Desmond thought of how silly Hal’s little power struggles were and hoped the meeting wasn’t just another lame forum for his petty concerns.
Since Hal was one of the town’s worst gossip hounds Desmond anticipated that at least some of the meeting may have to deal with him, or his family. His conversation with Pat was proof enough that the town was a buzz over the continuing saga of the Proutys. Hal loved petitions and Desmond was almost sure he’d come with at least one demanding the Bells not attend service or some other such “vital” issue.
Rachel had always thought Hal a dangerous man, but Desmond felt she gave him too much credit. He could be irritating, that’s for sure, but he felt Hal’s extremism alienated him from most people. Desmond felt that the outrageousness of Hal’s witch hunts had most people realize the silliness of their own fears and hatreds and actually helped prevent prejudice and bigotry from gaining a foot hold in the congregation.
The entrance to the VFW was dark and the hall appeared empty. Walking into the main hall, he noticed lights coming from one of the rooms located to the right of the stage. Entering the room Desmond was a little dismayed to find only Hal and Mrs. Golden and Mrs. Crowley seated at a table in the front of the room. They were seated in panel like fashion with a chair for him facing the panel.
Mary Golden and Irene Crowley were two of the town’s most notorious busy bodies and faithful sidekicks to Hal. Desmond was more than a little disappointed in the lack of at least one sane board representative at these proceedings and hoped one would soon arrive.
“Good afternoon Rev. Prouty,” Hal called out motioning Desmond to sit in the awkward looking hot seat facing the head table. “I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice.”
Desmond walked up to the head table and shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with all three before taking his seat in the chair set out for him. Mary and Irene’s greetings to Desmond were stiff and somewhat uncomfortable. Whatever the agenda was, Desmond could see the ladies were a little anxious to get down to business.
“I once again want to apologize for the suddenness of this meeting,” Hal loudly intoned, “but situations necessitated our meeting quickly.”
Desmond nodded to signal his acceptance of Hal’s repeated albeit insincere apology. His anxiety continued to grow when he noticed that Mary and Irene were finding it impossible to even look him in the eye. Desmond’s attention wandered as he half listened to Hal’s explanation of the “emergency” board meetings leading up to today’s meeting.
Mary and Irene strained to keep their eye contact on Hal as he talked nodding every few seconds in agreement with his rambling account. Desmond’s attention locked back in when he heard Hal announce that the board had reached a decision, and that this meeting was only to inform him of their intentions.
This was highly irregular, for Desmond could not recall a single decision being made by the board in which he was not at least consulted. The lack of a high ranking board member in attendance was proof to Desmond that they were uncomfortable with the manner of these proceedings if not with its content.
If the board had rendered a decision regarding some church matter than why the need for a meeting? Desmond wondered why he wasn’t just told about their decision on the phone. If they didn’t want his input than what purpose could this meeting serve?
Desmond’s anxiety and anger rose as he waited for Hal to finally get around to the issue. “If this is just an announcement,” Desmond seethed to himself, “then just make it, Hal.”
After what seemed a lifetime Hal flatly addressed the issues surrounding their “decision”.
“Though we of the board are truly empathetic with the most painful circumstance surrounding the death of your grandchild…”
“His name’s Andrew, Hal,” Desmond thought to himself as Hal talked on.
“We cannot be blind to the other events occurring in your family. No matter how difficult things may become there are still codes of behavior which must be observed.”
Hal paused a moment as Desmond attempted to regain his composure by taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Over the last month or so we all have witnessed with concern the dissolution of your family. First, your daughter stopped attending church. Then, your wife left you and stopped coming to church. Now, they’ve both been seen attending Sunday service in another town.”
Hal paused once again in order to give Desmond a chance to defend himself or the actions of his family. Desmond glared up at Hal as if to say, “so make your point”.
“As Christians, and as your friends, we pray for the healing of your family. A tragedy of losing a child can challenge the unity of even the closest family. We understand that, and we wish nothing more than to respect the privacy of you and your loved ones.”
“Yet,” Hal argued picking up steam, “you are a respected and important public figure and role model. It is your influential position in this community which makes it impossible for us to be patient.”
“You,” he urged emphatically, “are the leader of a parish, of our church. A church which is central to everything we do in this community. Your personal life is watched by our children and held up as an example of the ideal christian life.”
“The work you’ve done here throughout the years has been deserving of our highest praise and gratitude. Your family has always presented itself as a close and loving one. The entire congregation has always taken pride in the true christian values demonstrated each and every day by your family.”
“Yet, now your family is experiencing difficult times. You live in one house while your wife, daughter and son-in-law live in another. Our children come home from school daily with questions regarding marriage and divorce and why families can’t stay together.”
Desmond stared at Hal as he rambled on wondering what it was about him which irritated him so. Sure he was pompous and righteous, but so were so many others he had met. Maybe it was his blatant hypocrisy. Here he was pontificating on the sanctity of marriage while Mary, a woman he had secretly slept with for years, was flanked on his right. She, at least, had the conscience to confess this to Desmond and seek his guidance.
“As a community leader, fair or not, there are expectations placed upon you. This is why the Board of Governors is finding it difficult to be patient with your family problems. How can one counsel others on marriage if he is in turmoil? How can one be the spiritual leader of a community when he cannot even lead his own family? These are the questions the board spent hours discussing.”
“After careful deliberation the board came up with a plan of action which will benefit everybody. The solution arrived at will allow everyone to get their needs met with minimum sacrifice. With this solution you will be given an opportunity to work out your family matters in relative privacy. With this solution our parish will be able to function normally without placing any unrealistic demands on you regarding your family. It is not our place to demand you to immediately fix your family, but only to insure that our children’s role models remain worthy of their adulation.”
“We of the board have decided to give you some space, some time to work out your family problems. We have decided to temporarily suspend you from your position as pastor of First Christian Community Church.”
Desmond painfully smirked at the thought of the “great favor” that was being done for him. He could not believe that even Hal would have the gaul to try and sell this as an everybody wins proposition.
“You find this amusing?” Hal asked sounding very annoyed and insulted.
“No,” Desmond responded deftly avoiding a confrontation, “I sometimes smile as a nervous reaction. I sincerely apologize if my anxious reaction offended any board representative present.”
“That’s okay Rev. Prouty,” Hal stiffly acknowledged, “we realize it may take some time for you to appreciate the wisdom behind the board’s actions regarding this matter.”
“How is this suspension to be carried out?” Desmond asked in as controlled a voice as he could muster.
“For the time being, you will be stripped of little but your title. You will be allowed to execute all the functions of your position except the leading of Sunday worship. Rev. Ames, upon hearing of the delicateness of our situation, has been kind enough to offer us his assistance. He has graciously offered to conduct a later afternoon service at our church in addition to his duties at St. Mark’s.”
He did not know Rev. Ames very well, but Desmond had a hard time understanding why he offered his assistance without first consulting with him. Hal, Desmond angrily concluded, must have dissuaded Rev. Ames from contacting him by his usual deceit and artifice.
“Will I still be allowed to tend to the grounds and take care of the church?”
“Yes, you will Rev. Prouty,” admitted Hal quite pleased at how well things were going. “As I was just saying, you will be able to continue on in all your daily duties, both clerical and secular. The only immediate significant change will be in your being stripped of your title as pastor of our parish.”
“What are the terms of my suspension? In other words, what must be accomplished for me to be reinstated as pastor of MY church?” Desmond instantly regretted the verbal slip of referring to First Christian as his church.
“We, of course, cannot be expected to idly sit back and wait to see what happens to your family. Therefore, we are actively seeking to find a replacement for you. We are not ruling out the possibility of your being reinstated as pastor, but we need to insure the stability of our church.”
Hal, reveling in his position of power continued, “We cannot afford to have our church function without a full time pastor for more than a few months. So, to be totally honest, the longer it takes for your family to reunite the less of a chance there will be that you will be reinstated.”
“Even if you and Rachel were to quickly reconcile there is the possibility that your respectability in this town will be irrevocably sullied. We will be meeting monthly to discuss your situation and you will be kept abreast of the current sentiments of the board.”
Desmond asked a few more questions even though he knew what most of the answers would be. Mary and Irene stayed silent almost the entire time. The only times they spoke were to help clarify a point or to echo sentiments Hal had previously stated.
The efforts by Desmond to prolong the meeting served two purposes. First, he wanted them, especially Hal, to feel a little uncomfortable with their behavior. Desmond, while remaining polite and civil, wanted them to squirm a little and at least minimally feel the pain their hysteria was causing him and his family.
The longer he kept them talking, the more slips they made revealing the division amongst the board members regarding this “decision”. By the end of the meeting Desmond had a pretty good idea where he truly stood.
Desmond left confident that most of the board was hoping his suspension would be temporary. If the board truly intended to remove him from his position they would have invited him to a meeting with all the members instead of one with just Hal and his toadies. It was fairly obvious to Desmond that his suspension was a necessary concession to appease the few alarmist on the board.
These revelations did not provoke Desmond into feeling secure in his position. No matter how loyal his supporters were they could eventually be worn down by the fanatical fringe’s incessant pressure to have him removed. Hal and his alarmist friends would spend all of their available time searching for his replacement. A search which itself would certainly prove wearing to many of Desmond’s most fervent supporters.
The meeting told Desmond that his job was truly in danger. Every week which passed with he and Rachel remaining separated jeopardized his ability to be reinstated as pastor. He feared Rachel might consider returning just to save his career. Desmond desperately wanted Rachel back, but not under those conditions.
Unwilling to dwell on the negative, Desmond searched for a way in which he could use his current adversity to his advantage. He decided to write Rachel a letter explaining the board’s decision to strip him of his title. The thought of Rachel and Rebecca hearing about his demotion through the rumor mill bothered him greatly. He needed to let them know the truth of the situation from his perspective.
He had been searching for a reason to write Rachel and now he had one. The letter, Desmond decided, would be the perfect means by which he could reestablish communications with her. Even someone as formal as Rachel would see the necessity of his writing and not object to his contacting her. Good fortune sometimes came in the most unlikely of places, and Desmond felt he may have stumbled upon a much needed windfall.
In his mind Desmond began to construct the letter he would write to Rachel. It would have to both inform her of his situation, and reassure her that she need not feel any pressure to return for his sake. Her planned on telling her that though he missed her, he only wanted to reconcile for the right reasons.
Desmond toyed with the idea of sending her flowers, or some such gift with the letter. Yet, each time he thought of something to accompany the letter he feared she would begin to resent his opportunism. Though he ached to tell her how much he loved her and missed her, he knew it would be best for his initial contact with Rachel to be warm, but not too forward.
In this letter enough would be accomplished if she understood he was not angry at her and the door was open for her to return. Desmond thought it might be a nice touch to invite her to visit the house without him there. He was sure she missed the house, and having her schedule a visit without fear of his showing up might build up her trust in him. “If anything could bring Rachel back,” Desmond thought to himself, “it is all the fond memories our house contains.”