Chapter 10

“It is not seemly to speak ill of the dead, my son, especially in the house of God,” the priest said from behind him.

“This particular dead man deserves to be spoken ill of, Father.”

“What did he do to you, my son?”

“He ruined my mother’s life.”

“How so, my son?”

“He refused to allow her to marry the man she loved, and when she told him that she was pregnant, he had the man arrested and held in jail. While the man was in jail, he had my mother sedated and forcibly removed from this country. He sent her to America and forced her to marry another man. Her new husband asserted his marital rights forcefully and very violently, up until the time she finally ran away from him.”

“I’m sure the late Contethought that he was doing the right thing.”

“Sure he did, just like Adolf Hitler thought he was doing the right thing when he had those gas chambers built.”

“I can see that you are consumed by hate, my son. May I ask the name of your mother?”