112. Get A Job

Terd glanced up at me from his chair where he sat with elbows on the table, his chin resting in upturned palms.   He gave me a quizzical look.

"Why would you say no to my coming back?"  he asked.

"Terd, you went AWOL and broke the discipline of the Brotherhood," I replied.  "At the very least I would have the Brothers vote on your return."

"Do you think they would refuse me?"  he asked.

"We're not there yet,"  I replied.  "As Abbot, I have to first decide if I would allow a vote."

"Goddamm, Jesse," he said, "I never thought you'd turn against me!"
He said this more in desperation than anger.

"Look," I said, "I've always considered you a brother, you know that.  But I'm responsible for this group of men now, and to allow someone to simply walk out and come back when he wants does nothing for the cohesiveness and discipline of the group.  You can understand that.  Kickstart or Bouncer might decide he's free to do the same and then we'd have two problem people."

"OK," said Terd,"if you want to play abbot by rules made up by two con men in Fermoy who give the Virgin a rash every time they say a Hail Mary. ... "

"I'm not playing abbot," I said.  "I've taken on the responsibility for this group and I intend to do what's right and what's expected of the Abbot.  And the clowns in Fermoy did not invent monastic order, as you well know."

"OK, my lord and master, whatever you say," Terd replied with a smirk."

I laughed, "You won't get me riled up like you did Agnes."

I made light of his insulting behavior, but underneath I was doing a slow burn.  I was just trying to do my job.  I didn’t need his sarcasm.

We sipped our coffee for a few moments.

"So what'll we do?"  he asked.

I was being honest about the need for the Brothers to see we were serious about our vows and to impress on Terd that he should not take what he did so lightly.

"OK, right off the top of my head, 1,500 Hail Mary's said on your knees outside on rainy days," I replied.

"Hey,"  he laughed, "Check that out with Harpo first.  He’s the priest.”

"Terd," I said, "I want you associate for a period time."

"How long," he asked.

"I don't know," I replied, "I'll make up my mind as we go along."

"I can't stay at Jack’s in Red Hook," he said, "I’ve never contributed a cent and I feel bad.”

"Is that why you're here?" I asked.

"No, I want what I wanted when I first came here, to humble myself and lead a simple and silent life.  That's the truth, Jesse.  That's the real reason why I didn't take the teaching job.   I've thought about it and I guess I just needed a sabbatical."

"Next time, ask for permission," I said.

He nodded.

"Get a job in town and live in a room for a while," I said.  "You can come here days and go back at night."

"Assuming you'll stay here at Our Lady’s?" he asked.

“I don’t know where else we’d go,” I said. “At the moment, we’re getting some income from Izzy’s brother who is housing a friend here.”

“Who’d want to stay here?” Terd asked.

“It’s a long story ….”

“You had talked about breaking up and having the Brothers get jobs and rent rooms in the village,” he said.

"We're staying till we get kicked out," I said.  "I just decided."




I like this rendition.