hello from the other side

Saenz is in the shower, and his CD player is turned way up, Carlo Bergonzi singing Rossini's rousing "La Danza." He sings along with the Italian tenor, his own powerful, resonant voice bouncing off the bathroom walls, "Già la luna è in mezzo al mare / mama mia, si salterà! / L'ora è bella per danzare / chi è in amore non

marcherà!" while the water beats on the shower curtain.

Suddenly the volume is turned way down. Saenz stops, turns off the shower taps quickly and listens. There is no other sound coming from the bedroom.

The priest draws the curtain aside, reaches for a towel, and wraps it around his waist. He cracks open the door and sees Jerome sitting at the foot of his

bed, reading a newspaper.

The younger priest looks up. "Most stereo component

systems come with a control knob that can reduce the volume of even the loudest aria."

Saenz pads out of the bathroom on wet feet. "But I can't hear it from inside the shower," he protests.