Frank Buckley
Written for readers who have finished Book 1.
Frank Buckley is Rev. Hale's deacon, an old veteran in a good worn jacket who stacks the folding chairs after the service himself because he won't let anyone help. He lives in a little brick house that shares a wall with the church, with two metal chairs on the back porch, a cooler of Cokes and a real flag on a real pole, snapping in the wind off the river. He gets choked up at the anthem. He also knows exactly where his country ends and his faith begins, and he puts it plainly to Erin: the flag is the cloth we agreed to point at, and the floor is underneath. She drives home unable to file him under either side.