Delphine

     "You are arrogant!  You pose!  You are not what people think!"

     The woman in white screamed these words as Père Philippe entered the sanctuary from the refectory.  Delphine, the woman in white, had been praying in front of the statue of Notre Dame du Cros when the sight of Père Philippe impelled her outburst.

     Delphine was always dressed in white, a leather belt around her waist carrying a wallet in which she kept her money and her keys.  She had black, curling hair and a few grey ones, but the heart-shaped face, the childlike voice and the swiftness of her movements, made Delphine seem very young, a virginal milkmaid suffused with religious feeling.  Yet the rapturous expression before the statue turned harsh as she shouted the denunciation, which rang through the chapel.

     Accompanying a surprised visitor to the exit of the chapel, Père Philippe explained, "She is not in her right mind, she hasn't been taking her medication."

     Delphine remained at the altar, now arranging the flowers and singing to herself softly, smiling up at the paintings of Mary.

     Père Philippe returned after saying goodbye to his visitor, heading for the rectory.  Again, Delphine shouted, this time,

     "You are not a man of God!  You are a false prophet!"

     The skirt of Père Philippe's black robe made a rustling sound against the marble floor as he walked, briskly and imperturbably,  back to the rectory.

      It was Tuesday, two days after the kermesse.  The fair had been considerably more successful than last year's, more foreigners attended, seeking bargains at the church bazaar, and helping themselves to wine and sandwiches.  Monday, as usual, the chapel was open, but there was no Mass.  Today the regular schedule of daily Mass at 11:30 a.m. resumed, hence Delphine's presence.  She would tend the flowers by the marble statue of the Virgin and Child, although the women canons automatically did so. Delphine, however, obeyed no laws in her devotion, which made encounters with her disconcerting to many in the village.  Père Philippe, however, saw no reason to restrain her gestures of adoration, and counseled her to continue to take the medication prescribed for her mania.  He was not always successful, as today indicated.

     Delphine walked back to Caunes after the Mass, observed by another regular Mass-goer, a man from Villeneuve who drove a car to the chapel and back.  At the intersection of the road to the chapel and the main highway, he saw Delphine stop to talk to a man in a panel truck, then get inside.