He Took Me to Catch the Rat, But the Rat Was Him novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: Take Me Home
On Christmas Eve I stood at the rail of the choir loft in the white robe, with my hand on the wood.
I watched the nave fill.
The fourth pew on the left filled first.
Bridie sat on the aisle in a green dress, and the owner of the bakery sat beside her in her good hat.
The old man with the handkerchief took the middle, and four more of the old men sat down after him with their wives.
The priest had put a card on the end of the pew in his own handwriting.
It said: Reserved.
I began the first verse of "O Holy Night" with the choir behind me, and I did not look at the door.
Snow dusted the shoulders of the people coming in.
The poinsettias stood where they had stood a year ago, and the manger waited on its straw.
In the second verse the door at the back opened, and Cathal walked in.
He wore the black overcoat, unbuttoned, and nobody walked behind him.
He took off his hat in the vestibule and came up the center aisle alone.
Heads turned and nodded as he passed.
He walked to the fourth pew on the left and slid in at the end, beside Bridie.
She took his hand without looking at him.
He looked up at the loft.
I took the high note on "fall on your knees," and I held it until the roof rang.
It was no longer the only thing in that church that belonged to me.
When the communion line moved up the aisle, Cathal stood with the rest of them.
He went to the rail and knelt between the old man and a boy in a clip-on tie.
He took the host without his hand shaking.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of He Took Me to Catch the Rat, But the Rat Was Him are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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