The Green Rising

Chapter Fifteen

Monday’s task at work was simple: Father Xavier wanted me to organize his books while he was attending a meeting. He wouldn’t be gone long, but it would give me something to do since I’d been so productive with last week’s filing. The first thing I did once left unattended in the office was to crane my neck in search of a camera. I tried to be inconspicuous about it, making it look like I was stretching my neck. Thankfully, there wasn’t one so I didn’t look too ridiculous. Foolish man.

His books jutted out of the bookcase in double, sometimes triple stacks, placed haphazardly onto each shelf. A new, empty bookcase rested beside the cluttered one. I shook my head, believing that the two still would not have enough space to neatly contain the first’s books. I pulled books off the shelves and organized them as religious, academic, personal, and miscellaneous.

As I cleared the last shelf, one book that had been behind two rows of books caught my eye. It was threadbare in areas and Songs of the Earth was chicken scratched across the mostly lime green cover. The first page was signed by Sigmund Dietrich and contained a finish date of 1961. I wondered if this was the original that was rumored to be in Father Xavier’s possession.

I hadn’t believed the priest to have anything of the founder’s other than his kooky beliefs. Why would he have it and not the original church or Dietrich’s family? Regardless, the book looked significant and I did what was logical to me. I deposited it into my backpack, hiding it in a zippered pocket to study later. It would probably be the only time I’d ever read it of my own volition. I placed the books onto their shelves, having to double stack on some of the shelves.

What to do now? Keeping an eye out for the priest, I turned to his desk. I flipped through his Rolodex and scanned the desk calendar for anything suspicious. The file drawers in the desk were locked, so I walked over to his file cabinet and smiled as the drawer opened.

“What are you doing, Lily?” Father Xavier asked as my skin began to crawl.

“Oh, I saw these binders on the cabinet and thought they belonged on the shelves.” I eased the drawer shut, hoping he hadn’t noticed. His eyes pinched to slits. “I’m sorry. I just noticed them over here and thought they looked like something that might belong in the bookcase. Sorry if I intruded.”

His eyes returned to their normal black bead appearance. “That’s okay. But next time, do only what you’re told. I should have clarified it. You’re already finished?”

“I just finished.” I lied, eager to segue into more comfortable conversational territory. “Let me show you how they’re organized.”

Right after that, Father Xavier asked me to deliver a package to Mr. Brown. When I agreed to it, he dismissed me for the day, telling me that I had easily accomplished eight hours of work in the time he’d been gone. I didn’t dispute it.

“So when am I going to meet your guy?” Rosie whined as my hand twisted the doorknob to leave for Jack’s. “You know damn well I wouldn’t have made you wait so long to meet a boyfriend of mine.”

Why did she have to behave this way? She stood next to me with her bottom lip bulging in a pout. “You’re an open book. I like to keep things more private.”

“If I’m an open book, you’re a frickin’ lock-and-key diary with its entries written in invisible ink.” She slugged my arm. “That tells me you’re hiding something. You never used to be this private.” She lifted her fingers in air quotes for emphasis then folded her arms to her chest.

“You’re so frickin’ annoying,” I muttered. “Look, I want to surprise him. I’m never home this early and we have a lot to talk about.”