Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem . . she slurred  spittle thin  spiderwebs at her chin 

Credo in unum Deum ad nausem

                           he possessed a tadbit of Latin himself  just enough to pucker his lips whistle shake his head and then muttered quietly  For christssake shes butchering the Apostles Creed

                                                                Enough enough  hed heard enough

hed heard enough her croaking in fear before she entered into her babble falling into that seamless chant fingering beads on her necklace as if it were a rosary

he got it he followed 

                      his grandmother did the rosary got down and dirty glared at him as he ignored her playing with his toy truck in his left hand driving her nuts playing on the threadbare carpet at her feet where she sat on the tired roll arm green mohair sofa  she averted her eyes to the ceiling looking up through her glasses she prayed the Apostles Creed Our Father three Hail Marys a Glory Be the Fatima Prayer the five mysteries each made up of one Our Father ten Hail Marys a Glory Be the Fatima Prayer

she set off the sundae with a cherry on top  always concluding with Hail Holy Queen

                                                                      the best part of the show

his pious straitlaced Old World grandmother saying Save us from the fires of Hell

she must have said Hell a half dozen times

which secretly tickled him

which with every one  he looked up at her held his stare until she finally relented and looked down at him long after he knew she felt his eyes rapt upon her 

    

afterwards to his asking she insisted she didnt say Hell she wasnt being profane  I am praying

he asked if praying was like quoting

        

his father was rather fond of quotes

Its not what I said  Perhaps Yes You may think of them as quotes Im praying Hell for the sake of the Bible  the Word

which to his ears was more like his father pinning the rap on who said what  affirming their words their accountability backing them into a corner of their own making

 

it made him wonder at times if his dad wasnt a rat

  

then exhausted with him  Yes if you like  I was quoting

he rocked back on his haunches whistled and said emphaticallySave us from the fires of Hell  Im quoting Grandma
Im quoting just like you and Dad

shed be fit-to-be-tied 

his sass she was sure was as elemental to his being as him being lefthanded 

she bound his hand Old World-style probably more times than he could count if he could count  he was pretty young 

though one afternoon his mother came home earlier than expected and discovered him disabled and truly shocked by her mothers transgression against her son  she forbade her to ever meddle with her grandchildren

his grandmother never meddled with his younger siblings 

 

he was the only leftie

                   she quaked . . Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem . . seeing what he couldnt see that had given her the fright of her life

she didnt say

she would never say
it was a tightfitted lid to a Pandoras box clasped shut tucked away out of sight out of mind

if conversations ever began to wander into its realm the supernatural or nightmares things uncomfortable  she fled

she abruptly excused herself  didnt wait to effect good manners and be excused

she was beholding to no one and no one dare force her

he tried once

she resisted with the force of a daemon

   

   

2359,  Friday,  18  3. 16

1246,  Sunday,  20  3. 16

 

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.