the latter, which numbed the mind and allowed one to be indifferent as to humankind’s almost certain degeneracy.
This particular afternoon on the pond back, Brother Mike wondered about his own direction, sensing he might be getting too mixed up with Philip and Angela. How had he spent all these years without even knowing them and now they seemed to preoccupy his thoughts? If there was a reason for everything, what was the reason for this? Two nearly antisocial souls who had been excommunicated by their families. A household that had nothing to do with the Abbey, a household that did not even attend church. What was the attraction? What was the magnetism?
❦❦❦
Brother Mike tried, and usually succeeded to keep below the radar. He was thus a bit concerned when he was summoned urgently to the Abbot’s office. He entered the sparse headquarters of the Abbey with some trepidation, knocking softly on the Abbot’s stout door before entering, hat in hand.
The rotund and aging Abbot was silhouetted against the big windows that looked out over the courtyard that was the epicenter of the monastery as well as the concourse for the mission’s impressive chapel. He turned as he heard Brother Mike entering, extending his right hand, a golden ecclesiastical ring clearly visible. Brother Mike genuflected on his left knee saying, “Father Abbot, may I ask your blessing?”
As the blessing was given, Brother Mike brushed his lips along the icy surface of the ring, stood and took the chair offered by the Abbot. Seating himself behind a rough-hewn desk, the Abbot entertained a few pleasantries before going after the meat, “Michael, my son, I believe you know Doctor van Hoot who comes regularly to our health center from the provincial hospital?”
Brother Mike indicated he did know the doctor, although in his mind he was wondering about the question as he and the doctor were certainly not close in any way; in truth, they rarely saw each other.
“Well, Doctor van Hoot has a bit of a problem and I would like you to look in on him as you are frequently in town and you seem to have good contacts across the board, including at the hospital.”
“Thank you Father,” Brother Mike interjected, “for thinking of me, but I scarcely know the good doctor.”
The Abbot frowned a bit and replied in a neutral tone, “That is of no matter. I’ve just told our good friend the Doctor that we will extend a hand of help should he choose to accept it. Your connections and talents in dealing with the outside world make you perfectly suited for this assignment. Simply see our good friend and offer any assistance the Abbey may provide. If he chooses to decline, we have stood by him as we promised. If he asks for your intervention, do try and see how this can be done with as little disruption as possible. Come back to me if you feel this is an area where there are matters that could impact on the Abbey or the Abbey’s population.”
With that, Brother Mike was dismissed with the understanding that sooner rather than later he would seek out Doctor van Hoot.
As he walked along the corridor that took him out to the courtyard, Brother Mike wondered if there was deeper meaning in the Abbot’s comments about his “talent in dealing with the outside.” Were his machinations known to the Abbot? To others? Was he in jeopardy?
Ahhhh, he decided, this is much ado about nothing. If anyone knew they would quickly try and bring all to a halt. Having too avid an imagination was often not a blessing and he should not be looking for scorpions under every stone. This was about some sort of promise the Abbot had made to van Hoot and nothing else. The sooner he followed up on the Abbot’s behalf, the sooner this would be a closed case and he could go back to his normal routine.
❦❦❦
Brother Mike found Doctor van Hoot in his office at the hospital. He was an internist and one of the senior doctors, the team leader for a project of the Belgian Government aimed at building local public health capacity while at the same time treating the needy.
Doctor van Hoot looked like anyone you might see on the streets of Brussels—a little overweight, a little balding, medium height—completely ordinary. Brother Mike knew that, not too different from Goldfarb, van Hoot had married a young local girl. However, he had never been married before and the word was that their marriage was sound. Van Hoot did not frequent the Crane or other sites of laxness or lasciviousness, and it was assumed he was a “good man.”
Brother Mike explained he had come at the request of the Abbot as his Father had understood Doctor van Hoot might need some help from the Abbey?
“Help from God?” he quipped with a smirk. “Now that would be a solution to my problem that I had not considered. I need forgiveness, but I am not sure God is ready to intervene into the mess I’ve created.”
“God is always ready to help those who ask for His assistance,” replied Brother Mike.
“Thank you for the kind offer. Kindly tell my good friend the Abbot I am most appreciative, but must deal with this on my own.”
“I will gladly inform my Father the Abbot, but I am sure he would appreciate a bit more detail as to the nature of the problem at hand to ensure the Abbey cannot offer assistance in one way or another, even if it is not Divine Intervention.”
“This is truly not an issue that concerns the Abbey, the church, or any religious order or person. This is my problem and mine alone.”
“Surely my Father would want me to offer to help you with your burden. God does not give us more than we can carry, but sometimes we need to hold hands to be able to carry the heaviest of loads.”
“I can see your Father has given you strict orders and that you are unlikely to leave me in peace until you have more tidbits to carry to the Abbot.” And so it was, without a blush and without missing a beat, Doctor van Hoot told Brother Mike his problem was that he had slept with his mother-in-law. He seemed to think a further explanation was really unnecessary, but did add, as almost an afterthought, that his wife had been away at the time of his mother-in-law’s visit. They had both partaken of too much wine and found themselves in a compromising position. A position, he could not help from adding, that was most probably unknown to members of the religious community such as Brother Mike, who had taken a vow of chastity.
The once-off indiscretion had taken on new importance when his wicked mother-in-law threatened to tell her daughter of the union, not portraying it as an alcohol-induced mistake, but the sign of a maturing relationship where the Doctor had finally realized that he was more akin to an older, more experienced woman than a young child. This was nonsense and the Doctor had no intention of leaving his true wife. Nonetheless, he also wished to avoid as much drama and outrage as possible. He simply wanted to turn back the clock and find again the life that he had known and enjoyed.
Brother Mike’s brain was ticking off the options, starting to idle like a well-tuned engine. His survival skills had often shown him that the best tactic was the lowest common denominator. This was a prurient subject that would benefit neither the good Doctor nor the Abbey. While it could certainly set tongues a wagging, it was destined only for ruin for the family and, by inference, friends. His task was to find a means of avoiding this nearly certain outcome, while restoring honor and peace to the Doctor.
There was no advantage to even fill the Abbot in on all the salacious details. It would suffice to say Doctor van Hoot had some delicate family issues which Brother Mike, on behalf of his Father the Abbot, had been able to address to the mutual satisfaction of all. The Doctor would then be in the Abbey’s debt, the Abbot would, in turn, be in Brother Mike’s debt, or at the very least see Brother Mike as an ally with sensitive secrets that were best kept suppressed. As the Abbot’s
