Chapters (66)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- PROLOGUE
- PART ONE
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- PART TWO
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- PART THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
- CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FIFTY
- CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
- EPILOGUE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- About the Author
Keelin stood under the hot jets of the shower, visualizing a glorious white light washing all over her, cleansing every cell and atom of her body. What a day of reconciliation and liberation it had been, but a day of immense sadness too, when she thought how difficult life had been for both her parents. Her poor Dad must have been in turmoil for most of his life. How sad that he’d never known what it was to be his authentic self. And then the tragic end to his affair, learning that the man he truly loved had committed suicide, far away in another country.
Tears slid down her cheeks. How lucky was she that she’d taken her great leap of faith with love. If only Larry had been able to do the same. They had borne their burdens stoically, Larry and Imelda, and Keelin felt a deep sense of gratitude to her mother that she’d stayed with Larry and, in her own awkward way, supported him. It must have been so hard for her to set aside the physical side of their life. If a situation occurred where she could never make love to Armand again, she would be devastated. She wished Armand were right there in the shower with her, making love to her, at this moment.
Their reunion would be delightful. And all the more so because, thanks to the graces of her beloved Mary Magdalene, a healing that she never thought possible had been brought to their family.
‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,’ she murmured, more at peace with herself than she’d been in a long, long time.
*
Brigid sat in the chair beside her bed watching The Chase. She enjoyed the general knowledge programme. It was even more delightful being in a hotel room all by herself, surfing the TV channels and looking forward to sleeping in her wide double bed.
She was tired, but pleasantly so. The trip to Scotland was almost at an end. They had packed so much into the three days. She’d bought a stack of books in Rosslyn and Iona and was looking forward immensely to reading them. The gift of retirement was a wonderful thing. She’d never dreamed she would have so much to do. She’d feared her days would drag interminably but now, after all her years of service, she was finally honouring her own needs and wants and requirements, and not feeling one bit selfish about doing so. It was liberating also to be freed from the narrow confines and the tyranny of Church doctrine.