“I’m not sure I agree. But I like mysteries that are softer and less violent. I like Dorothy Sayers. And I like themed mysteries too, especially about dogs.” Alex smiled at what Sister Xavier said, and recognized them as “cozies.” She didn’t want to be disrespectful and say she’d outgrown them and had graduated to hard-boiled mysteries and crime thrillers, which were more violent and much tougher, and often written by men, as her father said.
Alex had put some of the boxes of books under the narrow bed by then, and stacked others in the corners, and Sister Regina was helping her unpack her clothes. They barely managed to squeeze them into the closet. And Alex set up three photographs of her father on the desk and one of her mother with her when she was two.
“Your mother was really beautiful,” Sister Regina said, looking at her picture. “And your father was very handsome too.” Alex stared at the photographs for a minute and nodded. She still couldn’t believe that he was gone. The last tragic months with him were already fading from memory, they had been so unlike him. What remained were the warm images of the years before, the adventures they shared, the baseball games they went to, the books they’d both enjoyed, the long nights talking about what they’d read and what they did and didn’t like about it, the fact that he was always there, and tucked her into bed every night. The memories of her mother were dim and had been for years. But those of her father stood out more sharply than ever.
The nuns came by and helped her put everything away, and Sister Thomas came to check on them with a motherly air. She hadn’t admitted it, but there was something comforting and familiar about being responsible for a child again, even one Alex’s age.
“Everything going smoothly here?” she asked with a smile. She had kitchen duty that day, so had been busy making lunch. But she came upstairs to see how Alex was settling in, and she saw that she looked sad as she glanced around the room. It was a big change from home, even if everyone was friendly here. It wasn’t the house she grew up in, and the father she adored was gone. Alex had said goodbye to Bill before he left, and thanked him for everything he’d done, and he had promised to stay in touch, and told her to call him if she had any problems. He encouraged Mother MaryMeg to do the same, but she was sure that everything would be fine, and had told him Alex seemed like a sweet kid.
“I know this can’t be easy for you, Alex, but we’re glad that you’re here,” Sister Thomas said kindly. “God works things out strangely sometimes, better than you expect. I hope you’ll be happy with us. It’s different than what you’ve been used to, but we have fun here too. There’s something very warm and friendly about living with a lot of nice people, and sharing your life with them.” Alex was curious about her and nodded as she listened.
“Do you miss your children?” she asked her cautiously, wondering why she had become a nun after being married and having kids. Mother MaryMeg had told her about Sister Thomas’s six children, and Alex was stunned.
“I miss them like crazy,” Sister Thomas said honestly. “But I’d miss them if I were home. They’re all grown up, and live all over the place. They come to visit me, and I’d be a lot sadder home alone. This gives my life meaning, and I’m useful. I always wanted to be a nun before I got married.” She had gotten pregnant at eighteen and had to get married, which she didn’t tell Alex. “And now I can. I’ve had the best of both worlds.”
“I don’t want to be a nun when I grow up,” Alex said quietly with a firm look in her eye, and Sister Thomas understood.
“No one expects you to. We just want to give you a home, and help you get to the next stage of your life. You’ll be out of high school before you know it, and off to college. And then you’ll have a job, and get married and have kids one day, and then you can come back and visit us.” She made it sound very simple and nonthreatening to Alex.
“It’s nice of the nuns to have me here,” she said gratefully. “I didn’t want to go away to school. And I want to be a writer one day.”
“Then I’m sure you will, if you work hard at it. Is that your typewriter?” she asked with interest, and approached to look at it with admiration. “Where did you ever find it?” It was in perfect condition, and a vintage piece.
“My dad gave it to me to write my stories.”
“I’d like to read them sometime,” the nun said gently, suddenly pleased that Mother MaryMeg had assigned her to help care for Alex. She reminded her of her own children not so long ago. It seemed warm and touching now to have her there, even though she had resisted it at first, but Alex seemed like a sensible, well-brought-up girl. She had good manners, and appeared to be considerate and intelligent, although inevitably at fourteen, there would be some bumps and battles ahead in the next few years. But Sister Thomas had lived through it before and knew she could again, and this time she would have twenty-five partners to help her, not just one who thought the kids were her job and never his. She had loved her husband, but her marriage had not been easy. “Lunch is in a few minutes,” she reminded Alex before she went back to the kitchen, and Sister Regina came to get her when it was time.
“Do you want to help me buy groceries today?” she asked as they walked downstairs, both of them in jeans and tee shirts, like two kids. “I’m on shopping duty. We buy out the supermarket once a week. They give us a discount.”
“Sure, that would be fun,” Alex said as she followed her into the dining hall in the basement and sat down next to her. Sister Xavier Francis was at the other end of the table, and Sister Thomas was sitting with the mother superior as she often did, but waved when she saw Alex come in, and Alex waved back. Overnight, she had twenty-six new friends, or adopted aunts and godmothers. It was totally different from anything she could ever have imagined, and she and Sister Regina chatted all through lunch, about movies and books and the Pilates class Sister Regina taught. She invited Alex to try it and she said she would. They wanted to add a yoga class too.
They went grocery shopping together afterward, and Alex helped her with an art class for mothers and children after that, and she peeked in at the babies in the parenting class, with young panicked-looking couples. The hours flew by, and after dinner, she went up to her room and lay down on her bed and thought about the day. She wanted to do some writing, but she was too tired, and still feeling overwhelmed by all she’d seen and done that day. It was all so new to her, and so were the nuns. She was starting her new school the next day.