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She thought of him stripped to the waist, the big muscles of his powerful back glistening with sweat in the hot summer sun. Michael never worked with shirt off, but Caitlin thought of him that way, and her body responded with sensuous desires that were hard to ignore.
“It will be a test of your resolve to embrace the faith as a true Christian,” Padraig had said.
Caitlin often doubted if she could pass the test.
“The only one who isn’t happy is Father,” Caitlin said. “I’m worried about him, Nora. I seem to have been drifting away from him since Padraig came home. And we used to be so close. We were bound by something so strong I never thought it could ever weaken. I used to be terrified by the thought that one day he would die, because I believed my grief would kill me too. I thought we would still be bound as strongly in death as we were in life. It’s not like that anymore.”
“Perhaps it’s better that way,” Nora said, taking Caitlin’s hand.
“Perhaps,” Caitlin agreed sadly. “The tragedy is that we are drifting apart just when, for the first time in our lives, my father needs me more than I need him. It doesn’t seem fair, Nora. When I needed Father he was always there: close, strong, protective, loving. Now when he needs me, I am gone. I have moved away out of his reach.”
“Do you think Finn MacLir needs anyone that much?” Nora asked.
“A year ago, even six months ago, I would have laughed and said, ‘What a stupid question.’ But now I’m not so sure, Nora. I’m worried about him. He seems to be going downhill more rapidly than he should. He’s looking much older all of a sudden. He gets tired easily. He can be morose, even bitter, at times. And that’s not at all like him. The only thing that he still enjoys as much as ever are his Friday night parties. Somehow, with all his old cronies around him, the old Finn MacLir still shines. But he is so exhausted afterwards I wonder if the parties are good for him now. I can see the day when he’ll have to stop them too.”
“Poor Daddy,” Nora said. “Do you think he’ll ever be converted to Christianity? Many men are when they grow old and see death coming.”
“Padraig has made it his mission to save the soul of Finn MacLir,” Caitlin said. “But I don’t think he will. Our proud father, Nora, will fight death and God to the very end and die as proud and stubborn and independent as he has been all his life. I would stake my own life on that.”
Libros Libertad 