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Dad laughs. "No, no. I have something I've been wishing for."
"Wishing?" I say. "Not praying for?"
"All right. Maybe I've been praying. I don't know."
"Well, what is it, Dad?"
"Call me crazy. I just want you to be happy. I've always thought... Well, I know it's silly, but you know my buddy Henry?"
"Henry Ritter?" I ask, knowing just who that is. He owns the auto shop downtown, and Dad's known him forever. And I've known their son forever. "You mean Silas's dad?"
"Yeah." Dad gives me a low chuckle. "Silas's dad. Well, I saw him the other morning at breakfast."
"Okay, and what exactly are you confessing?"
"I told him you were back in town."
"Why does Henry care if I'm in town?" I ask.
"Well, I thought maybe.... I don't know. Their son, Silas, he was always a good kid. I thought maybe you and him might..."
"Dad." I cut him off and stop on the sidewalk, turning to face him. "Me and Silas Ritter? No way."
"Why not?" Dad says.
"That's your confession, or your wish, or your prayer? That Silas and me would be... What? Like be together?" I can't help but laugh out loud. I cover my mouth as my sisters turn to look at us.
"What's going on?" Sparkle asks.
"Nothing" I say. "Except Dad thinks Silas Ritter and I would be a good couple."
Lovey's eyes shoot up. "He joined the Navy, didn't he?"
"How do you keep tabs on the guys I went to high school with?" I ask my younger sister.
She shrugs. Clover, though, laughs. "She stalks him on Instagram."
"Who does?" I can’t help but smile at my sisters creeping on Silas’s social media.
"Lovey."
"How come?" I ask.
"Because he's always going to cool places," Lovey says. "Like Japan and San Diego. It just seems really cool, life at sea."
"You want to join the Navy now?" I ask my younger sister.
"No, I want to travel. I want to see the world. I want to get outside of Briar Valley."
I smile at my sister. "You will one day," I tell her, and I know it's true. Ever since she was a little girl, she would look at maps, check out books from the library about exotic locations. She's always had a bit of wanderlust.
It's not something I've had myself, not because I'm simple or boring, but I've always been content with the idea of living in a convent, of serving other people, of my life's purpose being about a life of service.
But then, of course, those feelings changed, and last year I realized what else I wanted in life. And it wasn't to travel the world. It was to fall in love, be someone's partner, have a family, a life that was simple but ours.
That dream, though pure in spirit, is not aligned with life as a nun. I had to make a choice. I swallow back the emotions, remembering how hard it was to finally declare my truth, that being a nun wasn't the life for me. I lick my lips. "Well, regardless, I don't think Silas would be interested in someone like me."
"Why?" Lovey asks. "I don't think he has a girlfriend. Or if he does, he never posts about her, which is a bad sign."
