around her. "Priests hug people all the time," he
said. "Don't ever let the things that happen in life make you lose the
sense of who you really are and what you're made of."
How he eased her, she thought as John let go of her.
"You know you can apply that same advice to yourself."
He slipped his hand inside the collar of his shirt and lifted a crucifix on a chain. "This belonged to my grandfather. It represents
what's important to me-serving God. It's not that I have doubts; I
just can't find the right niche. What is it that God has planned for me?" He laughed softly. "Am I a shepherd or Indiana Jones? I know
that He'll show me the way. He'll lead me to where I am to be." He
laughed again. "Sometimes I think He has a sense of humor and
fetish for riddles." John put the cross back inside his shirt.
"Maybe you just need to be patient. Like you said, He'll show you
the way. But do you really have to be a priest in order to serve God? I
mean there's got to be lots of ways ordinary people-" She stopped
herself. "Well, you know better than I do."
A lazy smile spread across his face.
She wondered if he was looking at her as she looked at him. How
much, right now, in the glittering reflections of the Coliseum, in the
tender fading twilight, in the soft breeze, in this perfect moment, she
wanted to thread her arms through his-just to be held by someone
who wanted nothing from her.
"What are you staring at?" John asked. "Do I have something on
my face?"
"No, I'm sorry. This is such an incredible moment, and I'm so
overwhelmed."
She came to stand next to him, and John touched the small of her
back to guide her on. She began to walk beside him, and then his
hand was gone.
How solid John was in his faith, Cotten thought. She couldn't
imagine having so much trust in the idea that God would divinely
move her along a path to her destiny. Like John's hand against her
back, God's hand had fallen away from her early on. After all, God
had better things to do. She'd scratched and clawed and dug her way
to where she was. On her own. God had nothing to do with it.
THE EVENING NEWS
"AND NOW, CLOSE Up, our special segment on stories and events that
significantly impact our lives." Thornton Graham read from the
teleprompter as he stood on the SNN weekend news set in front of a
blue wall. Chroma-keyed electronically behind him was a stylistic
composite graphic of the Vatican, the faces of Cotten Stone and Dr.
Gabriel Archer, and various religious symbols including a simple
chalice.
"As reported earlier in the newscast," Thornton said, "the Vatican
announced today the discovery of Christianity's most sought-after
relic-the mystical Holy Grail. In an SNN exclusive report, correspondent Cotten Stone not only brought you the story, but was at the
heart of it. A few weeks ago, while returning from assignment in
Baghdad, Stone found herself abandoned in the Iraqi desert. Seeking
safe passage to the Turkish border, she stumbled across an excavation
of an ancient tomb headed up by this man, noted archaeologist, Dr.
Gabriel Archer."
Archer's face filled the graphic behind Thornton.
"Before Dr. Archer succumbed to a fatal heart attack, he gave
Stone a box he had recovered from the tomb and asked her to keep it
safe. After returning home, Stone sought out the help of noted historian, archaeologist, and Catholic priest, Dr. John Tyler, who was able
to open the box."
The graphic dissolved to a picture of John and Cotten standing
beside the Pieta.
"Inside was this."
Dissolve to a photo of the chalice.
"This Cup is now believed to be the one used by Jesus Christ at
the Last Supper-the same one tradition says was used to collect His
blood at the Crucifixion. Down through the centuries it has been
known simply as the Holy Grail."
Dissolve to Cotten and Cardinal Ianucci.
"Vatican Curator, Cardinal Antonio Ianucci, revealed during
Stone's report that the preliminary examination of the relic
said. "Don't ever let the things that happen in life make you lose the
sense of who you really are and what you're made of."
How he eased her, she thought as John let go of her.
"You know you can apply that same advice to yourself."
He slipped his hand inside the collar of his shirt and lifted a crucifix on a chain. "This belonged to my grandfather. It represents
what's important to me-serving God. It's not that I have doubts; I
just can't find the right niche. What is it that God has planned for me?" He laughed softly. "Am I a shepherd or Indiana Jones? I know
that He'll show me the way. He'll lead me to where I am to be." He
laughed again. "Sometimes I think He has a sense of humor and
fetish for riddles." John put the cross back inside his shirt.
"Maybe you just need to be patient. Like you said, He'll show you
the way. But do you really have to be a priest in order to serve God? I
mean there's got to be lots of ways ordinary people-" She stopped
herself. "Well, you know better than I do."
A lazy smile spread across his face.
She wondered if he was looking at her as she looked at him. How
much, right now, in the glittering reflections of the Coliseum, in the
tender fading twilight, in the soft breeze, in this perfect moment, she
wanted to thread her arms through his-just to be held by someone
who wanted nothing from her.
"What are you staring at?" John asked. "Do I have something on
my face?"
"No, I'm sorry. This is such an incredible moment, and I'm so
overwhelmed."
She came to stand next to him, and John touched the small of her
back to guide her on. She began to walk beside him, and then his
hand was gone.
How solid John was in his faith, Cotten thought. She couldn't
imagine having so much trust in the idea that God would divinely
move her along a path to her destiny. Like John's hand against her
back, God's hand had fallen away from her early on. After all, God
had better things to do. She'd scratched and clawed and dug her way
to where she was. On her own. God had nothing to do with it.
THE EVENING NEWS
"AND NOW, CLOSE Up, our special segment on stories and events that
significantly impact our lives." Thornton Graham read from the
teleprompter as he stood on the SNN weekend news set in front of a
blue wall. Chroma-keyed electronically behind him was a stylistic
composite graphic of the Vatican, the faces of Cotten Stone and Dr.
Gabriel Archer, and various religious symbols including a simple
chalice.
"As reported earlier in the newscast," Thornton said, "the Vatican
announced today the discovery of Christianity's most sought-after
relic-the mystical Holy Grail. In an SNN exclusive report, correspondent Cotten Stone not only brought you the story, but was at the
heart of it. A few weeks ago, while returning from assignment in
Baghdad, Stone found herself abandoned in the Iraqi desert. Seeking
safe passage to the Turkish border, she stumbled across an excavation
of an ancient tomb headed up by this man, noted archaeologist, Dr.
Gabriel Archer."
Archer's face filled the graphic behind Thornton.
"Before Dr. Archer succumbed to a fatal heart attack, he gave
Stone a box he had recovered from the tomb and asked her to keep it
safe. After returning home, Stone sought out the help of noted historian, archaeologist, and Catholic priest, Dr. John Tyler, who was able
to open the box."
The graphic dissolved to a picture of John and Cotten standing
beside the Pieta.
"Inside was this."
Dissolve to a photo of the chalice.
"This Cup is now believed to be the one used by Jesus Christ at
the Last Supper-the same one tradition says was used to collect His
blood at the Crucifixion. Down through the centuries it has been
known simply as the Holy Grail."
Dissolve to Cotten and Cardinal Ianucci.
"Vatican Curator, Cardinal Antonio Ianucci, revealed during
Stone's report that the preliminary examination of the relic
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