Page 14 of Vespertine

“That was a long time ago. He’s changed.”

He hadn’t changed. Jazz was the same old hero-complexed,do-gooding, lover-of-mankind that Nicky had always known. It was just thatseeing Jazz in the flesh again made him feel like dying.

He should have gone to rehab with Mick or taken off for thatLos Angeles celebrity “health spa” with Sez. But, no, he’d seen that goddamnmagazine cover, and it’d been a beacon calling him home.

Remembering Jazz’s face in the photograph and the sound ofhis voice in the confessional, he swallowed hard. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe afew Masses would do him good.

“Oh, that’s nonsense and you know it.” Miriam eyed him amoment. “He’s running a fantastic facility for homelessLGBTQteenagers. Blue Oasis.”

Nicky’s head snapped up. “Blue Oasis?”

“Yes, they’re providing food, shelter, and education forhomelessLGBTQyouth. Maybe you’d like to lookinto opportunities there? Sometimes the best medicine is helping someone else.”She looked cautious again, like she was afraid she’d overstepped.

“Maybe. I’ll look into that.”

Blue Oasis. Nicky bet Jazz didn’teven expect anyone to get the reference. Why would he? It was an old song. Thefirst one he’d written about Jazz once they’d become lovers. It was the onlylove song he’d ever written that’d been full of possibility and joy. He’dpenned it a few months before that summer they’d been forced apart. The dreamof a blue oasis for the two of them. Forever safe. Forever in love.

There was a buzzing noise from the laundry room.

“Oh, I’ll be right back, sweetie. I need to get the clothesout of the dryer before they wrinkle.” She grabbed a pear and a banana from thefruit bowl and put them next to his plate. “Eat those too.”

He watched her dark head disappear around the corner andwhen he was sure she was occupied with the laundry, he turned to the Bible andflipped it to Jeremiah 29:11.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plansto prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

He slammed the book shut and pushed it across the counter.

Chapter Four

JASPERRAN ALONG THE ANDROSCOGGINRiver, lungs filling with the cool morningair as the sun rose over Little Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond it. A singlekayaker cut almost soundlessly through the water, and Jasper shared a briefmoment of peaceful solitude with the stranger before they went their oppositeways.

He ran under the shade of trees that had been bare not solong ago. They would glow from gold to red again in no time, but they werecurrently a succulent green that made it hard to believe they’d ever beanything else.

By the time he turned away from the river, the town had comealive. A few early shoppers nodded at him as he passed. It’d taken some timeafter Jasper had replaced his predecessor for his parishioners to get used toseeing their priest jogging through the streets three mornings a week.

Just like they were now used to the old schoolhouse beingrevived by a bunch of vibrant, wonderful, rejected kids desperately in need ofa home.

Jasper checked his watch. Nearly eight o’clock. He’d havetime for a quick shower and breakfast before he needed to meet Lizzie.

He ran all the way into his house—he’d drawn the line atstretching outside after it’d taken him an embarrassingly long time to realizethe same bunch of teenage girls happened tocoincidentallywander by whenever he returned from a run. As he tried to catch his breath inthe kitchen he moved through a few sun salutations, warrior poses, and otherstretches, then took the stairs to his bathroom on shaking legs.

He was about to turn the shower on when his phone rang.Bishop Murray’s mildly surprised face lit up the screen and Jasper grinned ashe always did when he remembered taking the snapshot.

“Thomas,” Jasper said, pressing the phone to his ear. “Thisis unexpectedly early for you.”

“I’ve done my time getting out of bed before dawn, Jasper.When you’re almost seventy, you can sleep in every once in a while too.”

“This must be a special occasion, then.” Jasper’s reflectionsmiled back at him but it slowly turned serious when silence fell and it lengthened.“Thomas? Everything all right?”

Bishop Thomas Murray had been Jasper’s mentor from the verybeginning. He’d been Little Heights’ priest before Jasper had received hiscalling, so he’d been the first to advise Jasper on the path he’d taken in theend.

A deep sigh reverberated over the phone. “The archbishopcalled me about the article on the youth center inTheAtlantic.”

“Okay…” Jasper turned away from the mirror and switched onthe shower so the water could warm. He stepped into his bedroom and closed thebathroom door behind him. “I haven’t seen it yet.” A copy sat waiting for himin his mail, but he hadn’t looked at it. “You approved it though, didn’t you?Was there a problem with it?”

“The article itself, no. But apparently the photographs thatweren’t published were leaked last night and other, let’s say less reputablemagazines and websites, have taken on the article and they’re using photographsI hadn’t approved.”

“Oh.” Jasper frowned. “What’s wrong with them?”