Casserly spent the hours nursing this gigantic hangover and fearing that anyone—especially Lil or Dora—might call. The telephone didn’t ring all day. A small miracle for which he was duly grateful. Friday was something else again. At any rate, it was something that made him grateful for Thursday. Friday opened the gates to the little rabbit punches of life. The janitor reported on the church roofing. It was deteriorating with great dispatch. Casserly assured him that help was on the way. Even as they spoke, the geniuses downtown were debating funding. He didn’t tell the janitor that Tom Becker had volunteered to finance the fix-up. Casserly had dissuaded his friend from doing so. Were Becker to underwrite the project he would be dragged inexorably into endless repairs and rebuilding. Far more important to Rick now was this evening’s meeting of the Catechetical Committee. Dora Riccardo, always faithful to these meetings, would surely be present. This would be their first face-to-face since Wednesday night’s debacle.
