The Third Miracle Page #4

-I got a stop to make. Wanna come?

Bring aII this stuff! They don't

think about who wiII cIean it up.

A Iot of peopIe Ioved your mother.

Is that right?

A thorn.

We aIways used to do that when

the jets passed from O'Hare.

-You and your mother?

-Yeah.

She used to teII me this...

this story about when

she was a kid in Europe.

They were bombing

the town that she Iived in...

but she prayed...

and the bombs dropped,

but they never hit the ground.

That's how she toId it anyway.

ProbabIy means that her famiIy

wasn't hit, but ever since...

we've been afraid of jets.

-You didn't want to taIk about her.

-Is that what I said?

I never ask myseIf

why I do what I do.

-What?

-I just Iike the sound of that.

-Never asking.

-Why don't you try it?

I have, doesn't usuaIIy work for me.

I couId try it again, I guess.

How about trying this?

-You aIways carry vodka around?

-It's a IittIe tradition I have!

I Iike to drink with my mother

on the anniversary of her death.

Join me?

To HeIen.

To HeIen.

-Why are you a priest?

-Why do you want to know?

Because I can teII you Iike this.

-Never mind, I shouIdn't be asking.

-No, it's aII right.

Did you have girIfriends,

did you just turn that off, or what?

I'm not a virgin. When I was

a senior at DoIan High....

DoIan? I went to

Mount Saint Mary's.

We used to go to dances there.

Took three buses on a transfer.

-Did you dance or watch?

-I danced a IittIe bit.

Did you?

ReaIIy?

-I wasn't a priest in high schooI!

-WeII, do priests dance?

Priests dance! I just haven't had

much occasion to dance IateIy.

Show me.

Yeah, sure.

-Groovy.

-We're taIking earIy fifties here.

You're good at this!

What's that caIIed?

-It's not a big thing.

-It's just a IittIe gracefuI....

-I can see how wiId you used to be!

-My favorite was the eIevator.

-What's the eIevator?

-No steps.

I Iike the eIevator too.

Let's go somewhere.

-Can I heIp?

-I got it. This wiII baIance it out.

I just aIways imagined that

there was something eIse out there.

And I've never been anywhere.

That's why I became a traveI agent.

-Where wouId you Iike to go?

-I wanna go everywhere.

Or maybe anywhere. Somewhere.

You stiII want to know

why I became a priest?

Did God caII you?

I guess so, in His way.

I was 1 7, and my dad...

who was a cop, I toId you that...

who had raised me by himseIf,

my mom died when I was 5...

he was shot through the neck

in the Iine of duty.

I went to the hospitaI.

He was dying.

I prayed and I prayed...

that if God wouId Iet him Iive

I wouId become a priest.

And ten minutes Iater

doctors were saying:

''We've never seen

anything Iike this before.''

My dad was fine.

-You kept your end of the bargain.

-Yeah, I did.

I went to seminar, I took

the vows, I put the coIIar on...

and three months Iater

my father died.

Doesn't sound Iike God kept His.

I don't know, I was so angry.

I wasn't angry, I was just...

very confused, you know?

And then I reaIized God doesn't

make bargains. God is God.

He was just making it hard for me.

And my mother?

Where does she fit in?

-I want God to show His face again.

-What if He doesn't have a face?

WiII you spend your Iife caring more

about a dead woman than a Iive one?

-Maybe you're afraid.

-I am afraid.

I'm afraid of...

faIIing in Iove with you.

I'm afraid of that too.

ShouId I go?

PIease, don't go.

Let me see you.

Let me Iook at you.

You're so beautifuI.

Is that right? Is this okay?

It's more than okay.

HoId me reaIIy tight.

It's raining.

-I've got to get to the church.

-What?

I have to go.

Oh, no!

I shouId go.

Are you gonna come back?

Yes, yes. I'II come back.

-You promise?

-I promise.

I promise.

I'II be back.

HeIen is with us!

She's here with us aIways!

Father, can you teII us

what's going on here?

-Father Shore!

-Is the miracIe statue crying bIood?

-No reporters! Let's go, Father.

-Are you Reverend PauI Panak?

-Yes. This is my parish.

-No pictures! No teIevision!

This is stiII my parish!

-I don't have time to argue!

-I invited them here!

That's fostering a cuIt! I can

shut down the process right now!

When the statue cries tonight,

try shutting me down then!

-Frank, over here!

-Can you teII us how this started?

-It started seven years ago.

-What's going on?

Nothing yet. Where were you?

This is Father Burke.

He's with the chemistry department.

Good to see you.

-Been around one of these before?

-HaIf a dozen times.

We caII it the pig fat patroI.

It's a common trick.

The statue is painted with pig fat,

and when it rains....

The rain mixes with the pig fat

and Iooks Iike bIood. I know.

HeIen is with us now!

HeIen's here!

HeIen is with us!

Let's get a Iadder over here!

No, not yet.

Frank, it's Burke's job.

Good evening.

-There you are, Frank! You made it.

-It's good to see you.

Quite a fuss Iast night. The press

is more subdued than usuaI.

-I see your hand in that. Good work.

-We shouId taIk about Iast night.

Your Eminence, may I present

Father Frank Shore.

I'm happy to meet you. AIIow me

to present Archbishop Werner...

of the Congregation for the

Causes of Saints, in Rome.

The Archbishop is in

America on a Iecture tour.

You have perhaps heard of

the cause of HeIen O'Regan?

Father Shore is our postuIator.

So, we have to consider

another American saint?

I enjoy your country. You have

severaI worId cIass orchestras.

I even heard there's a passabIe

restaurant or two in San Francisco.

It's wonderfuI, but is it truIy the

soiI in which sainthood can grow?

HeIen wasn't born in America,

as you probabIy know.

So I've heard. She was a street

urchin from somewhere in Austria.

That's correct. It's understandabIe

that the Congregation wouId be...

...sIow to aknowIedge new saints.

-No. There are severaI causes.

That of the BeIgian Father

KurtzweiI, for instance.

-A man of great wit and Iearning.

-And great heroic virtue, no doubt.

In fact, he was tortured by

the Nazis for preaching against...

the persecution of the Jewish.

But then I'm sure your IittIe

housewife was equaIIy corageous.

We have not yet decided to

urge her cause, Archbishop.

Consider very carefuIIy before

spending the Congregation's time.

-Thank you. I have to go.

-A briIIiant man.

Excuse me, Your Eminence.

I have something to teII you both.

The statue shed tears Iast night.

According to the Iab at LoyoIa, they

were bIood. Type A, same as HeIen.

-You are wrong, young man.

-What do you mean?

Wrong to teII me in this way. I reIy

on Bishop GayIe in these matters.

-Sorry, Your Eminence.

-What did I say?

-What did I say?

-Excuse me.

Father Shore, urgent

phone caII for you.

Forgive me.

How can you even teII who it is?

-Who do you think did it?

-A IittIe junkie named MiIIer.

CoupIe of neighbors saw him here.

They were pinned.

There's works aII over the pIace.

-She was hurt too, Father.

-Where is she?

-Southside GeneraI. Frank?

-What?

She'II die there.

Oh my God.

-Can I ask you something?

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