Free The Girl Who Made Good in America by James G. Dow

must be from something I read once. I just changed the second line.”
    “Well, it was real nice, although I have to point out that the evening falls gently on St Andrew’s steeple as well.”
    “Let the Prods write their own poetry,” said Martin, chuckling softly.
    As they resumed their short journey, the entire scene before them turned pastel pink, all the way down to, and including the water in the loch.
    “How could you be an atheist, Alex, when you see the wonder of God’s world like this?”
    “I’m not an atheist, Martin. I just had doubts for a while.”
    “But you don’t go to church, man.”
    “I’m working on that at the moment, Martin. I’ll be talking to Gags soon about it.”
    “Who’s Gags?”
    “Father Gallagher. I’ve always known him as Gags Gallagher.”
    Theresa started attending Sunday morning mass with the rest of the family. Martin took great pride in showing off his grandson to such an extent that his mates started to take evasive action when he approached. He was blissfully unaware of this, so besotted was he with the boy. He made paper and string footballs which were kicked to shreds daily on their parkland walks. Alex remarked to Theresa that his role as honorary daddy had been stolen. He suggested that the only way he could spend time with young Marty would be to marry his mother. Theresa smiled coyly but refrained from comment.
    “Gags, I want to come back to the Church. How would you feel about that?”
    “I didn’t realise you had been excommunicated, Alex.”
    “Well, I sort of excommunicated myself.”
    “Technically, you can’t do that, Alex. You have to be chucked out. Maybe you’d better explain.”
    “Right! – here goes,” said Alex. “When Franco and his gang of fascists overthrew the elected Spanish government, civil war broke out. What angered me was the fact that the Catholic Church backed the anti-government forces. It seemed that a communist government could not be tolerated even though it was the people’s choice. I stopped attending church from then on.”
    “Believe me, Alex, many of us were concerned at that time, even in Catholic Ireland. I’ve heard that a number of Lochside coal miners felt strongly enough about the situation to go and fight with the International Brigade. They weren’t all reds, either. There were good Catholics in their number. Why have you changed your mind over time?”
    “Well, I’ve come to realise that the Church is made up of people who are not responsible for the political manoeuvres of the hierarchy. We’ve had popes who were poisoners. There was even a time when we had 3 popes simultaneously, each claiming to be God’s representative on earth. Still the Church survived. Why should I deny myself the right to worship in the faith of our fathers because of human errors or weaknesses at the top?”
    “Your argument is undeniably logical. You remind me of the Jesuit friends of my youth, but is there any other reason for your change of heart, Alex?”
    “As a matter of fact, there is. Stop smiling, Gags. I want to marry Theresa with the full blessing of Mother Church. Now, when you’ve finished making fun of me, what do I have to do?”
    “Alex, Alex, all you have to do is make confession. You remember that bit? You’ve been entertaining evil thoughts, or should I say, they’ve been entertaining you?”
    “Gags, stop it. Are you sure you’re a real priest and not one of those comics at the workers’ club?”
    “I’m sorry, Alex. Look, I think you should go down to Balloch to make your confession. I couldn’t possibly hear it. I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing! You are a close friend, but if you told me something real juicy in the box, I might be tempted to remind you about it when you’re sweating over a 3-foot putt to win the money on Thursday. By the way, Gavin and I have been wondering how long it was going to take you to pop the question.”
    “Well, for your information, I haven’t asked her