96. Bring Cash

"You cannot possibly stay there!” Saint Anne said loudly. “You can’t afford to pay the upkeep and we need the proceeds to pay off the loans we took out for you! You couldn’t get loans, so we indebted ourselves to send you money each quarter. This really isn’t our debt. It’s YOURS!”

“Sparky never told me that,” I said with honesty.

 “I don’t care what he told you,” cried Saint Anne. “We’re stuck holding your debts.”

 Well, that was all very interesting, but I still didn’t plan to sell the monastery and send a few hundred thousand dollars over to Ireland.  And frankly it was difficult to imagine St. Anne borrowing against his credit to send us money.  What money?  As far as I knew,  we never got anything from Fermoy.  Sparky would have certainly mentioned it.

 “I’m told the real estate market here is depressed and the monastery won’t sell for much anyway,” I said.

 “Half a million!” Saint Anne almost shouted. “Don’t take a penny less!”

  I was about to destroy St. Anne's hope of ever getting money from us and I wondered how to break the news to him.  I decided to be straightforward.

 “Here’s the plan,” I told him. “I’m going to rent out rooms to anyone who can afford to pay and is willing to live in some degree of quietude right alongside a group of semi cloistered monks.”

 “Semi … ?” Saint Anne began.

 “That’s right,” I said. “The ten of us are also going to get jobs. All of us, monks and other men, will live and eat simply and pay our bills. Anything left over will be sent to you in Fermoy.”

 “Brother Jessica, that will hardly be enough," he said. "I need at least a hundred thousand dollars U.S. to flash before the crowd downtown and a promise of much more.  You do realize I hope that the Fermoy Chapter House is responsible for the debt we took on for you and if you do not send us cash from the sale of your monastery the local banker here on the Quay will begin proceedings.”

 “Then you have the same problem I have,” I replied. “I’m just trying to save my monastery. Welcome to the club.”

 “You could sell West Saugerties and all come over here to live,” said Saint Anne.

 “I didn’t think that was possible,” I said.

 “Of course, we don’t have the room or resources to take care of you here,” he said, “but I’m sure we could find some accommodations in the town."

“I'm sure the Irish wouldn't want a bunch of Yanks descending on them to take their jobs, Saint Anne. And even so, we can do the same thing here in the States.”

 “Yes,” he replied, “but if you came here you’d bring along the cash to pay your debt.”

 “Nice,” I said. “Then you could live in your castle while we butt heads with your locals and sleep in a stable.”