150. Together

Harpo and Bouncer and I stayed in Lance's house the first week while the others went to various homes and shelters. Terd and Jack took in Headless and Cat to stay temporarily in Red Hook.  The man who had opened his rented house to Terd not so long ago now had three house guests and he never asked for how long.   But most of us were soon reunited when we took over almost half of a small workingman's motel, The Mountain Meadow Inn, staying in three rooms paid for by a "local businessman" who was probably Lance. The motel's owner was nice enough to charge by the room instead by the person. Compared to the Monastery, the quarters were quite confining and even in the cold weather most of us managed to stay outside much of the time. Our recently repaired SUV took some of us into the village and I spent time with Lance at his beautiful home, as did any of the other Brothers who cared to go along with me back up the road to where our old home now lay in ruins.

When Terd brought Headless and Cat back across the river to the Mountan Meadow in a borrowed car, he took me off to the side.

“You got my note?” he said.

“Yes,” I said, “you must follow the path God has for you.”

“It’s a very uncertain path,” he said with a small laugh, “but I just don’t think I’m called to the same adventure as you guys.  I’m going to take an assignment with the Capuchins again, maybe.  I don’t know what it will hold for me.  It may indeed be a mistake.”

“Maybe,” I said, “your path includes making what you call a mistake. You certainly wouldn’t be the first with that fate.  But God is in all of it, Terd.”

“I know.”  he said.

“Can you take making a mistake?”  I asked, smiling at him.

“Don’t know,” he laughed.  “I'm trying to remember the last one.”

"If you need help, let me know,"  I said.