This is the scene where Penny gets religion.
Sort of. I had a draft that was a decent little scene, with a young priest who was modern and ecumenical and easy to talk to. But as much as all my notes are saying Penny isn't blaming herself for the fire, I think it is a stronger scene if this is more about her confronting her guilt.
Even if the larger point across these last scenes is her fully accepting that she won't always win and she won't always do the right thing, and what she is doing might not always look like archaeology, but it is a role she is peculiarly suited for.
Thing is, the two "church" scenes are also the scenes where there is a touch of the ineffable. Where things happen which can't quite get nailed down rationally. She and I believe in a rational universe and my rule for this series is "probably." But that doesn't mean there aren't frontiers and gray areas where the explanation isn't immediately obvious. And I've made a conscious choice to have that happen in each book.
So I'm putting that draft aside and trying again, with Penny in a lot more of a funk, and the priest a lot more mysterious and oblique.
Not helped by STILL being sick. Walking now...but can't even walk very far yet. Actual recovery is illusive.
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