[TheStellarEnsemble.com] The Godfather - Mario Puzo

long time ago, but Mama Corleone never trusted her after that and always checked. “You feel allright?” the old woman asked.“Yes,” Kay said.The church was small and desolate in the early morning sunlight. Its stained-glasswindows shielded the interior from heat, it would be cool there, a place to rest. Kay helped hermother-in-law up the white stone steps and then let her go before her. The old woman preferred apew up front, close to the altar. Kay waited on the steps for an extra minute. She was alwaysreluctant at this last moment, always a little fearful.Finally she entered the cool darkness. She took the holy water on her fingertips and madethe sign of the cross, fleetingly touched her wet fingertips to her parched lips. Candles flickeredredly before the saints, the Christ on his cross. Kay genuflected before entering her row and thenknelt on the hard wooden rail of the pew to wait for her call to communion. She bowed her headas if she were praying, but she was not quite ready for that.It was only here in these dim, vaulted churches that she allowed herself to think about herhusband’s other life. About that terrible night a year ago when he had deliberately used all theirtrust and love in each other to make her believe his lie that he had not killed his sister’s husband.She had left him because of that lie, not because of the deed. The next morning she hadtaken the children away with her to her parents’ house in New Hampshire. Without a word toanyone, without really knowing what action she meant to take. Michael had immediatelyunderstood. He had called her the first day and then left her alone. It was a week before thelimousine from New York pulled up in front of her house with Tom Hagen.She had spent a long terrible afternoon with Tom Hagen, the most terrible afternoon ofher life. They had gone for a walk in the woods outside her little town and Hagen had not beengentle.Kay had made the mistake of trying to be cruelly flippant, a role to which she was notsuited. “Did Mike send you up here to threaten me?” she asked. “I expected to see some of the‘boys’ get out of the car with their machine guns to make me go back.”For the first time since she had known him, she saw Hagen angry. He said harshly,“That’s the worst kind of juvenile crap I’ve ever heard. I never expected that from a woman likeyou. Come on, Kay.”389