Blue (24 page)

“Put Syria on that list, too. Anyway, I'll see how it all shakes out, and where they want to send me then. At least I'll be home for a while right now.”

“I think that's a good idea, at least until after the arraignment and we lay the groundwork for the civil suit.” He wasn't going to file it yet, but there was work to do. “And you don't know what's going to hit the press, or how hard the church will fight back. They might lob a couple of bombs over the fence.” He had promised Blue anonymity, which he was guaranteed because he was a minor, but there was no telling what they'd say about Ginny or why she was involved.

And as the case heated up, Andrew was worried the archdiocese wasn't going to play “nice.” He thought it best if she were home for that to support Blue, but he could well imagine the pressure it was putting on her, in a job where she was essentially gone most of the time, and rarely even able to be in communication. Her life had not been set up to accommodate a teenage boy, or an attachment of any kind, which had suited her perfectly till now. “What do you think you'll do about it long term?” he asked. She was wondering about that herself. If Blue stayed with her, she might have some difficult choices to make.

“I can't even get there yet in my head,” she said carefully. “I'm just trying to get through September here, and my next assignment, and then I'll figure it out. Till now, for the past few years, all I had to do was hold a bowl of bloody rags in a surgical unit without fainting, climb a mountain now and then, and try not to get shot by a sniper. No one was counting on me at home, or cared where I was most of the time, except occasionally my sister, but she has her own life and family to think about. Now, suddenly, I have all this going on at home. I wasn't expecting that.” She had never thought of even the vague possibility of it when she had let Blue sleep on her couch for a few days over Christmas nearly eight months before.

“I think that's how life works. Just when you think you have it all set up and perfectly arranged, someone sneezes, or God blows on it, and all the building blocks come tumbling down.” That had certainly happened to her nearly four years before, when she and Mark and Chris had left the party on the night before Christmas Eve, and now she had built a life that finally worked for her, and here she was again, with bits and pieces all over the place and a life to rearrange. But as far as she was concerned, Blue was a good problem to have. She just had to figure it out. She didn't want to give anything up yet, neither her work, which she loved, nor him. And she was even more committed to Blue as his guardian now. It was a lot more than just paperwork to her. “Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I can keep an eye on him for you when you're gone if you like, and visit him at the shelter again.” But they both knew he needed more than that. He needed the home life he'd never had till her, and she knew parenting wasn't a part-time job.

“I guess I just have to work it out as I go along.” He thought toning down the risks she took on a regular basis would be a good idea, but she seemed to be committed to her work. Yet, however much time she dedicated to Blue, the boy would benefit from it, and already had.

“By the way, I don't have to work this weekend,” he said as an afterthought. “I could take you both out for a sail on Sunday.” It sounded great to her. She wondered suddenly if Blue got seasick, and she realized he had probably never had the opportunity to find out.

She told him about Andrew's invitation that night at dinner, and Blue was excited about it. They were going to the Yankees game on Saturday, and possibly sailing on Sunday. They talked about it for a while, and then she told him that the grand jury hearing had been scheduled, and that she had talked to SOS and was staying home for another six weeks. He looked even happier about that, and the relief in his eyes tugged at her heart.

“I was scared you wouldn't be here when I started school,” he said softly.

“So was I. I couldn't leave before that,” she said quietly, feeling the weight of her responsibility to him now.

“I wish they didn't send you away for so long,” Blue said wistfully. “I missed you while you were gone,” he admitted, and she nodded.

“I missed you, too. Maybe they can give me shorter assignments.” But she knew that wasn't the nature of her job, and one of the advantages she offered SOS was that, until now, she had been completely unattached. And she suddenly felt guilty leaving him at the shelter for months. The landscape of her life was changing fast.

The night that she and Blue spent at the Yankees game with Andrew on Blue's birthday was one of the high points of his life. Andrew picked them up in the Range Rover he drove on weekends, and Blue chatted excitedly on the way to the game, wearing his Yankees hat. And Andrew had planned a series of surprises for him. He took him onto the field before the game started and introduced him to several more star players in the dugout, who wished Blue a happy birthday and signed two more balls for him, which he told Ginny to put in her purse and guard with her life when they went back to join her in their seats. Andrew bought them all hot dogs, and right before the game started, the scoreboard lit up with “Happy Birthday, Blue.” Ginny nearly cried when she saw it, as Blue let out a shout of delight. He couldn't stop grinning, as Ginny and Andrew exchanged a look over his head, and she thanked him when they sat down, and so did Blue.

The game itself was exciting. It was tied until the Yankees won in the twelfth inning, with all the bases loaded, and Blue was jumping up and down as they scored the winning run. And his name was on the board again when they left. It was every boy's dream birthday, and Ginny had had fun, too. Andrew came back to the apartment with them to share the birthday cake Ginny had kept hidden.

“I've never had a birthday like this,” Blue said solemnly after he blew out his candles and looked at them both. “You're my best friends.” Then he remembered the two autographed balls in Ginny's purse, took them out, and put them proudly on the shelf in his room with the others he'd gotten with Andrew the last time.

“You gave him an incredible birthday,” Ginny said to Andrew as she handed him a piece of cake, and they sat down at the kitchen table, which was barely big enough for the three of them.

“It's nice to be able to make him happy,” Andrew said with a quiet smile. “It's not hard to do.” Blue came back to the kitchen then and sat down to eat his cake. It had been a perfect night.

“I've never had a birthday cake before,” Blue said looking thoughtful as he finished his second piece, and both of the adults were stunned. It put into perspective for them the life he had led before. It was so different from Andrew and Ginny's own life experiences in stable families, growing up in traditional homes.

Andrew volunteered that he had two older brothers who had given him a hard time. One was an attorney at a law firm in Boston, and the other was a college professor in Vermont. They had both thought he was crazy when he became a priest.

“I have a nephew your age,” he said, smiling at Blue. “He wants to play football in high school, and his mother is having a fit.” He smiled at Ginny, and she realized as he did that both of them had nieces and nephews but no children of their own. And after they finished the cake and sat down in the living room, Andrew looked at the photographs of Mark and Chris.

“He was a beautiful little boy,” he said gently to Ginny, and she nodded and couldn't speak for a moment. It still hit her hard sometimes. Andrew could see it, so he talked to Blue about the game. They both agreed that the Yankees had played masterfully, and Andrew promised to take him to the World Series if they played. As he said it, Ginny realized that she would be away by then. It suddenly seemed hard knowing she was going to miss things that were important to Blue. But she had a job that she felt she had to do.

When Andrew left, he wished Blue a happy birthday again and told them he'd see them in the morning at Chelsea Piers.

It was another memorable day for Blue as Andrew taught him to sail on his small, beautiful sailboat. It was an old wooden boat that he had restored himself. Ginny helped him handle the lines as they left the dock on a gorgeous sunny August day with a perfect breeze. And then she helped him with the sails, as he showed Blue what to do. He got the hang of it quickly, and they flew along for a while, and then tucked into a small harbor, where Andrew dropped the anchor. They had lunch, and then they lay on the deck in the sun. It was an ideal boat for the three of them.

“I usually take it out alone,” Andrew said to Ginny as they watched Blue at the bow. And as Ginny looked at Andrew, she had a sense that he was a solitary man, as sailors often were. “It's nice having people on board,” he said, smiling at her. “I sailed her to Maine last summer. My family still has a place there. I try to get there for a week or two every year to spend time with my brothers' kids. I'm the weird uncle who used to be a priest.” He smiled as he said it. He didn't seem to mind being different, or alone, in much the same way Ginny was now, or had been until Blue.

“I think I'm getting to like being weird,” she said with a grin. “My sister thinks I am, too. I'm not sure what normal is anymore.” Once it was being married and having a child, and now it was wandering around the world like a lost soul, living in refugee camps. And for him it was helping boys who had been molested by priests. Normal had become the lives they lived, entirely different from the lives they had expected and planned. It was enjoying the good times as they came, like the day they spent together on the boat. And Andrew had made a sailor of Blue by the end of the day. Andrew managed to sail the boat almost up to Chelsea Piers, and then turned the motor on to come into the dock, and Ginny and Blue helped secure the lines and tie her up. Blue helped wash the boat, and they all agreed it had been a terrific day. They had relaxed and talked, and when Andrew drove them home, Ginny and Blue thanked him for a wonderful time. Ginny invited him to come up for something to eat, but Andrew said he had work to do, and she didn't know why, but she sensed that he used his work as a way to keep just enough distance between himself and the rest of the world. It was a place where he could hide, just as he had done when he was a priest.

“I wish we had a boat,” Blue said with stars in his eyes as they rode up in the elevator, and Ginny laughed.

“Don't go getting fancy on me, Blue Williams,” she teased him, and he grinned.

“One day I'm going to make a lot of money being a famous composer, and I'll buy you a boat,” he said as he followed her into the apartment, and she turned to look at him and thought he just might. The possibilities were limitless. Nothing was impossible for him now.

Blue wasn't enthused about going to a therapist, but had agreed because he knew it was important to the case, and both of them were pleasantly surprised when they met with her the Monday after they'd been on Andrew's boat. Her name was Sasha Halovich, she was a small wizened woman who looked old enough to be Ginny's grandmother, but she was very wise and met with Blue alone in her office for two hours, and then came out to talk to Ginny with Blue's permission. She said that she felt confident that nothing more had happened than what he said, which was certainly bad enough and very traumatic for him, but she thought he was handling it well, in great part thanks to Ginny. Halovich found him to be a stable, healthy boy who had had a hard life but weathered it remarkably. She saw no need for hypnosis, and she said she would write a report, and was willing to testify in court. And she thought it a good idea to see him occasionally to help him through the months ahead, and Ginny agreed.

Andrew called to discuss it with Ginny the next day, since she had signed the release for the therapist to speak to him, and she had. “It sounds like he's in pretty good shape, thanks to you.” He gave her the full credit for it, which she humbly declined.

“Thanks to himself, and a little help from his friends,” she corrected. “He's a wonderful kid. I have total confidence in him, and I believe in him a thousand percent.”

“That's what it takes. If more parents felt like you, there would be better people in the world.”

“All I want is for Blue to have an amazing life,” she said firmly. “And I think he will.” What she had done to get him into LaGuardia Arts was nothing short of miraculous in Andrew's opinion. She was the kind of person who changed people's lives, not just in Syria and Afghanistan, working for human rights, but in her own life at home every day. The court case he was spearheading for them was proof of it, and the psychologist had been very impressed, too. She had told Andrew that Blue was adjusting very well to his new life, in spite of the stress of the court case coming up. Dr. Halovich had told Andrew that Ginny was just what the boy needed, and it had been a miracle in his life that they had found each other. And from what he knew, Andrew agreed, and after they talked about the therapist, Ginny thanked him again for the fabulous day sailing and the Yankees game.

The next big step in the case was when the police presented all the evidence they had to the grand jury, and there was reams of it: interviews with other victims and their families, and witnesses who had surfaced who had seen suspicious occurrences once their memories were jogged. There were statements from irate parents and traumatized children. “Father Teddy” had sodomized the older ones, who were his altar boys, and had had oral sex with the younger ones, as he had done with Blue, and fondled a number of children, always accusing them of tempting him, and threatening them with jail, or even hurting them physically if they told anyone, so they had the burden of secrecy as well as guilt to carry, too. It was heartbreaking to read the report. By the time it went to the grand jury, they knew of eleven victims in New York and six in Chicago. NYPD had notified their counterparts in Chicago, who were investigating, too. Andrew and Jane Sanders were sure there were more who would come forward eventually.

And in sharp contrast to the trauma of the victims was the outrage of the parishioners who continued to believe in their favorite priest, and insisted that the boys were lying. Andrew could never understand how people could cling to their loyalty to someone in spite of undeniable evidence to the contrary. But their love for Father Teddy was unconditional, and their belief in the purity of the church so strong. They forgot that like any organization, it was made up of individuals, and that there were sick people everywhere, in every walk of life. Ted Graham was one of them. And the second worst crime that had been committed was the cover-up by the archdiocese. There was no question of it now, although it still had to be proved. But two young priests had spoken up at St. Francis's in New York, and said that they knew, and had seen things they didn't like and had reported Ted Graham to a monsignor in the archdiocese, and nothing had been done to remove him. And when they reported it a second time, they had been reprimanded.

But six weeks later, Graham had been moved to Chicago, to do whatever he wanted there. One of the young reporting priests had already left the church because of it, and the other was contemplating leaving but hadn't decided yet. But he had told Jane Sanders when she interviewed him that he was totally disillusioned about the church, and was almost certain he would leave. He had wanted to be a priest all his life growing up, and he no longer did. He said his grandmother was heartbroken over it and so disappointed. She was from the old country, and two of her own sons had become priests.

Reading Detective Sanders's report to the grand jury, it was amazing how many lives had been touched by the perfidies of Ted Graham. He had injured children, possibly irreparably, physically damaged the ones he'd sodomized at such a young age, devastated parents, torn apart families, disillusioned his peers and shaken their faith, and put his superiors in danger when they tried to protect him and would now answer for it. A young monsignor had spoken to him before he was transferred to Chicago, and asked him if the allegations and suspicions were true, and Father Teddy had denied it and given a lengthy but credible explanation about why people were jealous of him, and he had portrayed himself as the victim, when the reverse was true. The monsignor he had lied to was now in serious trouble over the transfer to Chicago. He had been naïve. But his superiors had known what they were doing when they hushed up the problem and tried to solve it geographically, and foisted him off on other innocents. It was a tragedy for all concerned, even Ted Graham himself, although he denied that, too, and said he was a martyr for the church.

The grand jury deliberated on the case and voted to indict Father Teddy. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was guilty, as much as the church was for concealing what it knew of his crimes.

Days after the grand jury voted to indict, Father Ted Graham was extradited to New York to be arraigned. The Chicago courts were going to arraign him later. He flew in from Chicago with two deputy sheriffs, and walked into the NY Supreme Court with his attorney and two priests accompanying him, and entered a plea of not guilty on eleven counts of sexual abuse of minors, including sodomy, oral sex, and abuse of trust. He was smiling as he entered the courtroom, and respectful as he addressed the judge. He was remanded into custody, with bail set at one million dollars, and then he was led away in handcuffs by two sheriff's deputies, while speaking pleasantly to them. He looked completely unconcerned and neither guilty nor frightened. Ginny hadn't gone to the arraignment, but Andrew did, and watched the proceedings carefully to report them to her later. She was disgusted when she heard of Ted's performance in the courtroom. He was playing the role of great guy and Christian martyr to the end.

“What happens now?” she asked Andrew when he called her. “He sits in jail until the trial?”

“Not likely,” Andrew answered cynically. “The church will post bail quietly in a day or two, when it won't attract too much attention. His attorney asked for him to be released on his own recognizance, saying he's not a flight risk, but the judge denied it. They'll have to pay a hundred thousand dollars to spring him, and post bond for the rest. The church is good for it, so they'll get him out. And eventually, they'll have to do it all over again in Chicago, when he's charged there.” It had been an extraordinary series of events: Blue had had the courage to speak up, she had believed him, they had gone to the proper authorities, and Andrew had taken their case. And it was by no means over yet. In the months ahead, there would be further investigation, careful preparation of the case, and the trial in about a year, unless Graham pled guilty before that and spared the state the expense of trying him. And after that, he'd have to face trial in Illinois on the charges there. But there was no doubt he would go to prison, where Blue, Ginny, and Andrew knew he belonged.

With everything going on related to the case, Ginny never managed to organize a vacation for herself and Blue, but they went to the beach for the day on Long Island, and went to another concert in the park. And Andrew took them to Blue's first Broadway musical. They saw
Phantom of the Opera,
and he loved it. And they went sailing again on Labor Day weekend.

As things began to calm down slowly, Blue started school the week after Labor Day, at LaGuardia Arts. Ginny took him to the first day, as she'd promised, and walked him to the entrance on Amsterdam Avenue, but she didn't go in with him. He was on his own now, a high school freshman, hopefully to start a career in music. It reminded her of Chris's first day at nursery school, and she cried all the way home on the subway. She thought about calling Andrew, but didn't want to be maudlin, and she knew he was busy. But Blue had become a strong bond between them.

It was a strange feeling going back to the apartment after she dropped Blue off. Becky called her that morning for the first time in weeks, and Ginny told her that Blue had just started school that day.

“I can't believe you did that for him,” Becky said, sounding admiring this time, and less critical than usual. Her own kids had returned to school the week before, and she said it was nice to have time to herself again. It had been a long summer, with the kids home for three months and her father dying. Ginny mentioned the arraignment to her, too, and the fact that there were now seventeen known victims of the errant priest, including Blue. Becky listened in shock. “It's hard to believe a priest would do something like that, although I've read about it. Do you suppose he'll plead guilty?” She suddenly sounded more interested in the case, although she hadn't believed Blue or her sister before. But because others had accused him, too, it now seemed credible to her. Not even she could believe seventeen boys, including some grown men who had been his early victims, were lying. They talked for a few minutes, and then they both had things to do.

Kevin Callaghan called Ginny that week, too. He had read about the priest being charged with sexual crimes in New York and suspected it was Ginny's case that she had called him for advice about months before.

“Is that the guy?” He was curious about it, and he hadn't talked to her for a while.

“Yes, it is. There are sixteen more victims, and there will probably be more before it's over.”

“How's your boy doing?” He admired her for championing Blue's cause and for believing him when no one else had.

“Amazingly well,” she said proudly about Blue. He was a source of constant joy to her. She told Kevin about his starting a special high school for musical arts. He was going to have his first recital in December. She was glad that he would have a year of peace before Father Teddy went to trial. He needed the time for healing.

“And what about you? When are you going on the road again?” Kevin asked her.

“October,” she answered, feeling guilty. “I'm waiting for my next assignment.” He thought she was remarkable for that, too, and he was sorry that she didn't have more time in her life for old friends, relationships, or romance, but he didn't see how she could with everything she was doing, and now Blue and the trial. Her plate was very full. She promised she'd call him before she left again.

The rest of September sped by peacefully, while Blue settled into school, and Ginny took care of their errands, kept up with State Department reports, and waited to hear about her next assignment, which she was expecting any day. And they managed to have Andrew for dinner again, and Blue told him all about school and showed him his assignments, which impressed Andrew. Blue was composing music, and was thrilled with his new school. It was easy to see that he was thriving.

Andrew and Ginny sat and talked after dinner, when Blue went to his room to watch TV there. They had hardly had time to talk recently. Andrew said he was swamped with new cases. And he told her that there was going to be an important meeting at the archdiocese in October, to discuss a possible settlement for Blue that would avoid a civil suit. And if there was a settlement in the civil suit, Ted Graham would plead guilty to criminal charges. The monsignors, bishops, and archbishops were beginning to understand that there was no way out in the Ted Graham case, and they wanted to get a sense from Andrew about how much he had in mind. They hadn't agreed to anything yet, but it was the first sign of movement from the church, and they wanted to put it behind them. And they had all the other victims to negotiate with now, too.

“I think you should be there,” Andrew said quietly as Ginny looked at him with panic in her eyes.

“I can't…I'm leaving before that. I don't know where yet, but I agreed to go on October first. How can I be at the meeting?”

“I don't know. And if you can't, you can't.” He looked disappointed but understanding. “It would be much more effective if you could speak on his behalf. And your testimony will carry more weight than a parent's would, because you came into his life recently and can still be somewhat objective. If you can't be there, I'll handle it, but if there's any chance you can, I think you should.” He had never pressed her before, and what he said was important to her, but she couldn't delay her departure date again. She had an obligation to SOS, too.

That night she lay in bed feeling sick, thinking about the hearing that Andrew wanted her to attend in October. She just didn't see how she could do it.

Two days later, Ellen called and told her that SOS/HR had her assignment. They were sending her to a different part of India than they had suggested to her before. It would be a little bit more rugged. She'd be working in a large refugee camp in Tamil Nadu, in southeast India. And they wanted her to leave in ten days, at the beginning of October, just as she had promised in September.