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Straining a smile for the sake of his daughter, he asks me how so.
“I was just thinking, we need a preacher. Someone who could marry us,” I say loudly, watching the Preacher’s face drop and Faith’s brighten as her whole body tenses.
But he’s shaking his head, not liking this at all as he takes me by the elbow, begging to talk with me in private.
I let Faith know it’s alright, that we’ll be back in a minute and we both step out into the hall, her Preacher father and I.
Still gripping my elbow, he walks with me, or rather he guides me out onto the grounds. A smaller place than I remember, but everything usually is now that I’m bigger, older.
“You’re a man of many surprises, Noah,” he says finally sighing, shaking his head again.
“I was ready to go home, to pray for strength at the idea that my little girl’s all grown up… But a man old enough to be her father as well? I tell you something, Noah, I haven’t had such a series of sleepless nights, ever!” he exclaims, almost smiling, but its fatigue in his eyes, not irony or even sarcasm.
“She is mine now, Father. Can I call you that?” I ask, noting his sharp inhalation of breath before he nods silently.
“I also just learned that you don’t want any of that money, that you want it all to go to the convent?” he asks, stopping me as he holds me with his eyes.
“That’s right. I’ve got plenty of my own, I have a successful business. I was only delivering the money because it’s what Gramma… What Mother Superior Laurence wanted, kind of her last wish,” I tell him.
“Where did all that money come from?” he asks me and I shrug.
“Gramma was always doing, father. She was always raising money for this or that, I know firsthand she wouldn’t hesitate over parting with a single dollar if it was for a good cause. I think she just did what she did best, put herself second to those in need, and had a greater vision for the convent once she’d finally passed, most of it would have been her entire wages and pension, I imagine. Sixty years of service,” I reflect, feeling something catch in my throat at her memory.
His hand’s on my shoulder suddenly.
“I wanted to tell you… I came back to tell you, that I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. You brought my Faith safely with you, but something tells me that she’s not the little girl I left behind anymore?”
I shake my head. “No, she isn’t, Father. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I need you to marry us, to make it right. Now, don’t make that face. You know as well as I do that we don’t live in the middle ages anymore, but I love Faith and I want her to be my wife. I need your blessing before I even ask her,” I tell him.
“You just announced you wanted a preacher to marry you both,” he scoffs, sounding wounded. “Like a Father, not a preacher.”
“And I do, Father,” I tell him. “I want you to be that Preacher, so whenever I call you Father, it also means Dad…”
We stare at each other for a long time, both our eyes getting misty with emotion and both for very different reasons.
“You swear to look out for her, always?” he asks, sounding more like a Dad by the second.
I don’t need to be coached in how strongly I feel for her though.
“I love Faith, more than anything. And the only thing I want is for her to keep being as happy as she’s been the past few days, so I can know she’s my wife. Forever,” I tell him.
Hearing someone coming up behind us, we both turn around.
“Is that a proposal, Noah?” Faith asks, her eyes turning to her Dad after she’s cocked her brow at mine.
“Oh, please say yes, Daddy. Noah’s the only man for me and I know you’ll get used to us being one and the same, eventually,” she adds.
“You’re right, Faith. I do need to get used to all this!” her Dad exclaims, turning on his heel.
But before he goes he shoots me a wary glance as he twists his mouth into a puckered shape that’s trying not to smile while being angry at the same time.
“Well?” he asks me gruffly before turning away. “Better go ahead and ask her properly, I guess. Nothing I can do about it. Just make sure you love her and protect her as much as I’ve tried to the past twenty-two years, that’s all I can ask,” he says finally, walking away from us as I take both Faith’s hands in mine.
“It’s Richard, by the way,” I tell her. “Richard Noah Templeton, but call me Noah. And I’d be honored Faith if you’d say yes to being my-”
