Adams smiled and shook his head. “There’s much more to it than that. Remember, I said we were a small bank ….”
“Yes.”
“Well, Satchel Paige is supposed to have said, ‘Don’t look back; somebody may be gaining on you.’ In the banking game, you’d better look back or somebody is going to eat you. Mergers go on all the time. You know that, Father. Comerica, for one of many examples, used to be two moderately large banking institutions. Now it’s one gigantic corporation.
“It’s called ‘cashing out,’ Father. Some small bankers get rich by selling out. Others run scared. For instance, I’m an officer in the Independent Bankers Association. We fight the big guys off to remain independent. We fight against interstate banking.”
“Well, you must be doing all right. After all, you’re opening a new branch. In fact that’s at least part of what we’re celebrating this evening, isn’t it?”
“The new branch?” Adams’s lips tightened. “Our mayor is ecstatic. While the banking business in general is cutting its presence in Detroit, here we go opening a new branch right in the heart of one of the roughest sections of the city. And we’re getting static from some of our depositors for it. They’re worried that we’re taking their money on a goofy ride. There’s a lot of flak on this—”
“Then … why?”
“Why? I suppose this sounds silly, but because it’s the right thing to do. It’s our chance to show these people that someone cares. Not many think it’s a smart idea.…”
There was another period of silence. The only sound in the room was the low clatter of silverware and dishes as the staff continued its preparations. Finally, the priest spoke. “Mr. Adams, you are either unique, or very, very rare.”
“I know.” The statement was made in honest humility, without the slightest trace of boasting.
“I wonder,” the priest said, “if there’s another businessman who forms company policy on the basis of doing what is right.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are lots. You just don’t hear about them.”
“Maybe. But in your own experience, how many do you know personally?”
“Not many,” Adams admitted. “But I’m sure they’re around. How could you read Scripture and not be influenced by it?”
“There are a lot of people—the majority, I fear—who listen to it most every Sunday and let it go in one ear and out the other. You really live by the Bible, don’t you?”
There was a faint blush to Adams’s cheeks. “Let’s not go overboard. I try to live close to the Christian ideal. And I often fail. But I want this to succeed. I want very much to have this branch set an example.
“And, while I think of it, I should tell you about the others here tonight. I’ve invited my three executive vice presidents and their wives. They all know each other, of course, but for your sake they’ll be wearing identification tags. And there’ll be two others of special interest. One is Al Ulrich, the other is Nancy Groggins.”
“What’s so special about them?”
“It’s pretty well known throughout our banking family that these two are front-runners for managership of the new branch. Each is already a branch manager. Each is extremely capable. Both would do well in this extremely sensitive position. And, most of all, they both want the position … and that’s something else: I doubt that management of this new branch is a high priority with many of my employees.”
“Fear? Of the neighborhood?”
“To a great degree, I think yes. Some see it as a dead end—though that certainly wouldn’t be the case for anyone who does a good job in this spot.
“Anyway,” Adams continued, “I would appreciate your reaction and opinion. Al and Nancy are good people, but quite different from each other. See what you think.”
“You haven’t made up your mind yet? Isn’t the opening just around the corner?”
“Later this week. And everybody figures I’ve already made the selection. But I haven’t. I know it’s not fair to ask your opinion in this major decision based on one exposure and an observance over just a few hours. But I’ll tell you this: I’m leaning toward Nancy. With that in mind, see if you agree or not.”
There was a stir in the vestibule as the other guests began to arrive.
“One last thing,” Adams said. “I suppose you’ve been wondering why you were selected to come to Detroit to give me this award.”
Father Tully had, indeed, wondered. It couldn’t be because his brother was a police officer here; how could Adams know this when the policeman himself hadn’t known it?
“I guess,” Adams explained, “it would be safe to say the Josephites have been my favorite charity for a good long time.”
“I wouldn’t argue with that.”
Adams smiled. “When I got word that I had been selected for this year’s Peter Claver Award, I talked to your superior. We agreed that it would suit both our purposes to link the award with the opening of this very special branch of my bank.
“And I wanted his recommendation for an excellent representative to bestow the award. He nominated you. I checked into your background, your accomplishments, your progress, your present needs. I wholeheartedly backed his choice. And I thank you for taking part in this ceremony.”
As it turns out, thought Father Tully, my selection had nothing to do with my brother. Well, that figures. I’m here because my superior suggested me as a Josephite representative and Tom Adams agreed with the selection.
“Now, Father,” Adams continued, “I’ve been informed that you currently are in the process of building on to your church.”
Tully nodded enthusiastically. “We outgrew the old building. We’re doing all right raising funds. Just slow. Our people don’t have much.”
“I heard all about it from your superior.” Adams reached into his inside jacket pocket and brought out a piece of paper. It was a check, dated, signed, and made out to the Josephite order.
Father Tully took the check, examined it, and looked up at Adams. “This check … it’s blank.”
“I’m aware of that.” Adams could not suppress a pleased grin. “You see, in the corner, I’ve directed that it be used in your building fund.”
“But … but it’s blank! I don’t know what you intend. I don’t know how much you want to contribute.”
“The balance. I want to finish your fund drive.”
“I can tell you what that amount is.”
“I know how much you need to finish the drive. But there may be incidentals that crop up. The blank check gives you a guarantee that you won’t be ‘surprised’ by any unexpected last-minute expenditures.”
Tully shook his head. “Your generosity is almost incredible. I don’t know what to say. Except thanks.”
“Not at all. I just took a page from the story of the Good Samaritan. I know you’re familiar with that.”
“Sure. About the Jew who was mugged and left for dead. People who should have helped him passed on by. But a Samaritan, who should have been his enemy, helped the Jew.”
“But,” Adams interrupted, “it’s the next part of the story that I centered on. The Samaritan takes the Jew to an inn and gives the innkeeper some money to take care of the injured man. And the Samaritan promises that on his way back he’ll stop and reimburse the innkeeper for any additional expense incurred.
“You see? The Samaritan gave the innkeeper a blank check.” Adams smiled at the simplicity of his reaction to one of Jesus’s most popular stories.
Father Tully regarded Adams, and thought that unless his former wife was extremely religious and generous, she would have had a decided difficulty understanding him. And so they had split.
It all came down to this: Adams loved God and expected others to do the same.
The priest recalled the simplistic question and answer of the all-but-forgotten Baltimore Catechism: Why did God make you? Answer: God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him forever in the next.
> That, basically, appeared to be the way Thomas Aquinas Adams lived.
Six
A commotion at the apartment door signaled the arrival of other guests as well as several photographers—if one could judge by the equipment they carried.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Adams called to the new arrivals, “come in. Thanks for arriving so promptly.”
The photographers began checking the room’s lighting and their equipment.
Adams turned to Father Tully. “Remember my telling you that my main job is to be visible? This is one of the ways I can do just that. This week our faces—but mostly mine—will appear in the newspapers. Readers may forget that I was given an award. But they’ll remember that my picture was in the paper … again.
“Jack, Lou, Martin …” Adams called over his executive vice presidents. “Come on over and get in the photo. Al, Nancy, you come too.”
As the members of the group gathered and composed themselves as part of the tableau, they introduced themselves to Father Tully. The priest was grateful for their name tags: they would jump-start his memory if the names failed him during the evening.
“Father Tully …” Adams’s gesture indicated his three top executives. “… it’s mi casa, su casa. Our homes and our offices are open to you throughout your stay here.” The execs murmured assent without much enthusiasm.
There was little jockeying for position. Though everyone knew that the further one stood from the core couple, Adams and the priest, the more likely one was to be trimmed from the published photo, they also knew their place in the scheme of things. The pecking order held.
The plaque was brought to Father Tully, who presented it to Adams as the cameras clicked, whirred, and flashed.
“I know you’ll want this to be brief, Mr. Adams,” the priest said. “Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who lived from about 1580 to 1654, gave himself without stint to the service of African slaves. He lived and died their generous servant. In his example, Mr. Adams, you have given your time and interest. Your contribution to our work has been constant, bounteous, and, I think, even extravagant. It is with great pleasure that I present you with this award from your grateful friends, the Josephites.”
A beaming Tom Adams accepted the plaque. “Of all the honors and awards I have been given, I assure you I value and prize this”—he raised the plaque slightly—”more than all of them. It shall have an honored place on my wall and in my heart—”
Another commotion at the door. A smiling, somehow feral Mrs. Al Ulrich made her entrance.
The mood was broken. With a frown, Adams quickly concluded. “Please, everyone, make yourselves at home. And on behalf of our banking family, please make our guest, Father Zachary Tully, welcome.”
The photographers checked the names of those whose pictures they’d taken. One even bothered to check the spelling of Claver. They shouldered their gear and left.
Adams got the welcome wagon moving by introducing Father Tully to the others in the photo group. The priest read the name tag of each as he or she was introduced.
Actually, he didn’t hold too great a hope that he would remember everyone. On the other hand, why would he have to? Outside of getting to know Tom Adams better, as well as going along with anything Adams wanted from the Josephites’ representative, the priest planned on spending as much time as possible with his newly discovered family.
But, for now, Father Tully shook hands with each person as introduced. There was Lou Durocher, vice president for mortgage and lending; Jack Fradet, the comptroller, vice president in charge of finance; Martin Whitston, vice president in charge of commercial lending. Then came the two hopefuls: Nancy Groggins with her husband, Joel, and Al Ulrich, whose wife, Barbara, had just finished making a production of having her wrap taken by an attendant.
The only ones now left for Father Tully to meet were the vice presidents’ wives, and, of course, the tardy Barbara.
The three vice presidential wives formed a pod. Whether openly or obliquely, they were studying Barbara Ulrich.
“What in the world is she dressed for?” said Pat Durocher. “She looks like she just stepped off Cass Avenue.”
“Oh,” said Lois Whitston, “let’s be more realistic and make her a five-hundred-dollar hooker.”
“Well her dress is certainly eye-catching,” said Marilyn Fradet, who always tried to say something nice about others. “That black sheath moves every time she does. Sometimes it moves while she’s perfectly still—as if it had a life of its own.”
“Please, Marilyn,” said Pat, “don’t use the word ‘perfect’ in any reference to sweet Babs.”
“And,” said Lois, “what’s with that question about who she’s dressed for? She’s dressed for our husbands.”
“What about her own husband?” asked Marilyn. “He’s right here. She couldn’t be making a play for anybody else … not when her own husband is right here! Could she?”
“She could and she does … and she is,” said Lois. “Everybody knows they haven’t slept together for months—maybe a year or more. But that doesn’t mean she’s given up ‘sleeping’—”
“Our boys are giving us the eye,” said Marilyn hastily, glancing surreptitiously at the three VPs. Marilyn was ill at ease with personal gossip. “C’mon, gals, let’s play in the appetizers.”
Father Tully excused himself and moved toward the VP wives. Conscious that Adams wanted his opinion on whether Ulrich or Nancy Groggins should become manager of the new branch, the priest aimed to cut through the small talk with the others so he could concentrate on Ulrich and Groggins.
“Mulatto,” Martin Whitston said, once Father Tully was out of, earshot.
“Mulatto?” Lou Durocher was unsure of the reference.
“The hair,” Whitston explained. “Tight to the skin. The lips and nose. Definitely Negroid.”
“But with his coloring,” Jack Fradet said, “he definitely could pass.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Durocher asked insistently.
“The priest,” Fradet said. “Father, uh, what was it?… Tully? Definitely a mulatto.”
“What difference does it make?” Durocher asked.
“It doesn’t make a bit of difference,” Fradet answered. “He shouldn’t be in town for more than a few days. He’ll be out of our way in no time.
“But that …” He nodded toward Barbara Ulrich, who was making her way toward Tom Adams.” That makes a difference. Can either of you guys find a flaw in that fuselage?”
Silence as the three engaged in their study.
“Look at those shoulders,” mused Whitston. “That’s the one thing I don’t like about otherwise knockouts: broad shoulders.”
“She’d have to have shoulders that size to keep those hooters up,” said Fradet. “And look at them. A bra, any kind of bra, would be superfluous. Anybody think she’s wearing a bra?”
Two heads shook simultaneously.
“And the waist! What did they used to call that?” Whitston queried. “Wasp waist—that’s it! Look how it highlights the soft curve of her belly. Magnificent!”
“How can you call her belly magnificent when you get a glimmer of those hips? See how they move when she walks. Makes you want to grab! I should say,” Fradet observed.
“And legs that don’t quit,” said Whitston. “Can you see how that dress outlines her thighs? Man, what a package!”
“And we haven’t even mentioned her face and her hair,” Durocher said. “Those full lips and fun-loving eyes.”
“Who gives a damn about her head?” Whitston snorted. “I think I could fool around with the rest of her forever.”
“Women’s bodies …” Durocher waxed philosophical. “Did you ever notice how, like in ice shows—dancers on ice … the Olympics, like that—the costumes? The men are always fully clothed, while the women wear just enough not to be naked. But with the cut of what they wear, they might just as well be.”
“Time to break this up and join our wives,” Whit
ston said. “You know it’s time to break camp when Lou starts in on the heavy stuff. Cover up the men and let the women show what they’ve got, I say. Vive la différence!”
“Yeah,” Fradet agreed. “The little ladies are glaring at us. Oh well, an anatomical study of Babs Ulrich is worth whatever we have to suffer now.
“Let’s go.”
Father Tully paid his respects to the three VP wives. To a woman, they were far more taken with the hors d’oeuvres than they were with him. So, causing barely a ripple, he raised anchor and moved on.
As he gazed about the room, Father Tully spotted Barbara Ulrich talking with Tom Adams. Just before turning to leave him, she reached up and straightened the white handkerchief in his breast pocket. Was it his imagination, Father Tully wondered, or had she inserted a piece of paper in the pocket?
One message delivered.
As she completed her turn away from Adams, Barbara was face to face with and only a short distance from Father Tully. He held out his hand. She took his fingers lightly, briefly. They introduced themselves.
“Now, what was it you were supposed to do?”
“Present the award to Mr. Adams.”
“Oh yes: the Peter Favor Award.”
“Claver.”
“Whatever.” She thought for a moment. “He gives your group lots of money, doesn’t he?”
“Mr. Adams has been quite generous.” Why, he wondered, should he find that question embarrassing?
She giggled. “I suppose you’re the reason his marriage broke up.”
“Hardly!” Embarrassment gave way to umbrage.
“Mickey used to give him trouble about all his donations. That’s why he split. He must have given a lot of that money to you. That’s why you gave him the award. So, instead of a wife, he’s got another plaque.” She giggled again, gave him a limp wave, and strolled away.
Somehow, for at least a few seconds, Barbara Ulrich had made Father Tully feel like a home-wrecking leech.
He heard a throat clearing behind him. He turned to face a smiling Nancy Groggins. They had been introduced when the pictures were being taken, but this was their first opportunity to actually converse.
Man Who Loved God Page 4
