Chapter 3
Character snapshots of Peter Donavan and Girlfriend
With hundreds of thoughts running through her head, Maria can’t sleep. By the time she steps into the shower, however, she has made two irrevocable decisions: she won’t have an abortion, and she won’t reveal Peter as the father. She realizes that raising the child by herself won’t be easy, but many women with fewer available resources have done it, and she will too...
After breakfast Maria walks to Peter’s office located in the administration building. It is a clear, warm, sunny October morning. Maria is twenty-five, five-eight with long shapely legs and elegant fingers. Her face is thin and long with a broad forehead, high cheekbones, full mouth, deep brown eyes, and smooth, clear skin. Her auburn hair, worn in a pageboy, nearly touches her shoulders. She is wearing a plain blue wool skirt cut just above the knees. A blue cashmere sweater covers a simple white blouse. She walks with an air of sophistication and this in combination with her striking good looks makes every post-pubescent male on campus take notice of her...
Peter Donavan was born into a family of wealth and privilege, and educated at home by private tutors until he entered the seminary at the age of eighteen. His academic accomplishments at seminary school were extraordinary, setting records that have never been achieved before or since. After graduating from seminary he studied four years at The Catholic University of America and obtained his doctorate in canon law. At age twenty-six he was ordained a priest and spent the next year studying theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He returned to America in 1978 and was appointed chairman of the Theology Department at Saint John’s Priory, a private Catholic boys’ high school in Salem, Massachusetts, a position he held for two years until his appointment three years ago as Saint John’s headmaster...
Peter comes from behind the desk and holds the chair for Maria. He closes the office door and sits behind the desk. He stares at Marie for a long moment. “We are alone. We can talk freely.” He pauses. His mouth tightens and his eyes narrow. “How can you be sure you’re pregnant?”
Maria eases back in her chair and with surprising detachment says, “Before my last period was due, my breasts became tender and swollen. I was nauseated and had several bouts of vomiting. My period is extremely regular. When I missed it, I thought I might be pregnant. I bought a home pregnancy test kit. It was positive. Wanting to be absolutely sure, I saw my gynecologist. She ran a blood test and performed a pelvic examination. Both were positive. Peter,” she says with quiet resolution, “there can be no doubt, I’m pregnant"...