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4
Danielle
This was ridiculous. I probably should’ve called and asked to speak to him on the phone because right now, I didn’t feel as though this might be a mistake. That wasn’t enough to make me get up and leave. It took a lot in me to summon up the courage to come here.
It’s not like I hadn’t been in a Catholic church before, but not one that Father Bennett presided over. But last night, after the wedding reception, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Now, with no sleep at all, I was sitting in a pew, waiting for him to finish speaking with a parishioner so I could have my chance to talk to him.
One good thing about waiting was, it gave me plenty of time to think about what to say. I had it all worked out in my mind, but once he was standing in front of me, my mind went blank, and my palms began to sweat.
I shouldn’t be nervous. I was here for only one reason: We couldn’t continue the way we were. I needed to explain to him that what happened all those years ago was a total misunderstanding.
“Father Bennett. I was hoping…you and I…could talk,” I stammered.
He sat down beside me and said, “Oh course. I’m here to listen.”
I looked around to see that there were still parishioners in the church. It was so quiet in there, that I couldn’t risk anyone overhearing what I was about to say. It was bad enough that I had been laughed at by my schoolmates - I didn’t see any reason his congregation needed to know about his…indiscretion.
“Would it be possible for us to speak…privately?” I asked.
He nodded and said, “Yes. I have an office if you’d be more comfortable there.”
There wasn’t any place that would make me feel comfortable, especially with the topic I was about to broach. I nodded and followed him out of the church.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“My office is in the rectory.”
“Isn’t that where you live?” I asked, reluctant to go any further.
“It is.” He looked down at me and said, “If you’d rather go back into the church, that is also fine with me.”
“No. I guess it will be okay.” He opened the door and I walked inside. The hallway was filled with more religious statues like the ones in the church. Somehow that helped me remain calm and focused. With luck, it would do the same for him once I started to address the issue.
We sat down in his office, which was filled with more religious décor. Then he asked, “What did you want to discuss, Miss Clarkson?”
Once again, he was formal and…polite. If only he could be this way all the time, I wouldn’t need to come here.
“Father Bennett, I don’t know how to start,” I said.
“Why not start at the beginning?” he suggested.
“That’s a long time ago,” I said. “Maybe we can talk about yesterday instead.”
“Whichever you prefer,” he replied softly.
“I think your behavior at the wedding was…inappropriate.”
That was a lot easier than I thought.
His reaction was calm, although he did look a bit taken aback.
“I mean, you are a priest and shouldn’t be so…forward.”
“Forward? In what way?” he inquired.
“When we spoke you…were…flirtatious.”
“Excuse me? I do not recall flirting with you or anyone else for that matter.”
