8 | Hail Mary and Chocolates
GABRIEL
“I know,” I replied contritely. “I was held up.”
As benevolent as Father Lucas was, his smile broadened. He turned to the kneeling Sienna on the floor, offering his caregiving hand. “And who might be this young girl here?”
Sienna stared at Father’s hand for a long moment before placing hers on his. Something about her behaviour told me that trust did not come naturally to her, and it led me to question her half-shrouded past all the more. A carnal part of me wanted to rip apart every layer of mystery and splay her open before my eyes. Ever since I had joined the seminary and ordained as a priest, I had never experienced a pang of hunger as deep as hers.
Father Lucas slowly helped her on her unsteady feet as she wobbled to find her balance.
“This is Sienna Emerson,” I told Father and then turned to her. “Sienna, meet Father Lucas. The head priest of Old St. Augustine and your theology teacher.”
He broadened a welcoming smile, one that was loved and adored by the students of Mount Carmel. Purity came naturally to this man. And Sienna quickly warmed up to him. “Nice to meet you, Father. I would say good morning, but clearly, my morning isn’t very good today.”
Her snarky comment was followed by a narrowed look, especially at me.
“And why might that be, Miss Emerson?” I asked, shoving my hands into the pockets and pinning her with a look. “Will you please explain that to Father Lucas?”
“Gladly, Father.” Sienna smiled sweetly—saccharine sweet. And then turned to the elderly priest. “You see, there’s a bully installed at every floor of this esteemed school that prides on morals and ethics and yet the motive is to make the life of the students miserable. They shame the students for their clothes and choice of living, and I wonder what God has to say about these unholy occurrences in his temple.”
Father was amused at her. However, I didn’t share his enthusiasm.
“And this is your choice of clothing?” I countered, waging a finger up and down her height. The skirt was shortened to the level I could easily see her pert ass if she were to bent a little. Part of the reason I pushed her down to her knees because the alternative was to bare her ass and redden the globes until she learnt what it meant to cross a man like me.
I might have been a priest, but I was still a man of flesh.
And Lord help me, she was sin wrapped in innocence.
“I am wearing the uniform, right?” she shot back, almost tempting me to punish her mouth.
But thanks to Father Lucas and his impeccable timing, I held back.
“If I may interject here, Gabriel,” he requested, and I nodded. “I believe that Sienna was admitted just yesterday, and it would be better if she takes a day off to know this school better. Please allow her a day of recess. Would you like that, child?”
“I would like some breathing space.”
“She is required to sit for the aptitude tests so that I can allot her classes more suitable to her calibre,” I told Father even though my gaze locked in on her. “A day in the library will be beneficial, I think.”
“I don’t need to prepare for anything.”
“Bad grades will not warrant your expulsion from Mount Carmel, Miss Emerson,” I reminded her. “Get it through your head. It only means that you will have to attend extra classes to make up for your incompetence.”
“And what a motivating teacher you are!”
Father Lucas cleared his throat, hiding his easy smile as he addressed Sienna. “I can only give you a neutral ground, child. So, be careful. Father Sullivan’s word is the law when it comes to Mount Carmel and the students under his tutelage.”
She hooked an arm around her waist and pressed a fist to her mouth…thinking and weighing her options. At last, she peered up at me from behind her lashes and released a heavy exhale. “I’d like a day off, please.”
Really, that easy?
I nodded. “Granted. But you will go through the handbook first and then spend the rest of the day as you wish. However, you are not allowed to step outside the school premises. A detailed map has been provided on the last page, in case you get lost.”
“Thank you.”
“You are dismissed, Miss Emerson.”
“Good day, child,” Father Lucas sent her off with a smile as she crossed the threshold and left.
“She is a strong one,” Father commented. My eyes still lingered on the trail of her exit and then dragged back to him.
“She is a hellion.” I hung my head, shaking and kneading the nape to relieve some of the tension. Being around this girl was emotionally exhausting for some weird reason. “I am sorry about the Mass, Father. I should have…wrapped it up for later.”
“You are affected by her, Gabriel.”
My head snapped up. “Father, I…”
“No, no, just hear me out.” He clasped a hand on my shoulder, squeezing in support. “You are affected because you affected her as well. She seeks guidance but lacks the patience.”
“And discipline.”
“I agree.”
My lips pursed into a thin line. “The dress thing…she did it purposefully. She wanted to irk me and see the consequences of her actions. Hopefully, she has learnt her lesson. Or maybe not.”
Most likely, not.
“We wouldn’t know until tomorrow. But I hope you didn’t mind this old man meddling in your business, Gabriel.”
Six years ago, when I had voluntarily abandoned every facet of my old life and ventured into the new one, I struggled for a long time to find a balance between them. It was not easy to transform thoughts and actions overnight, and Father Lucas understood that.
And because he knew me to be an exceptional academic and an unbending man, he gave me the responsibility of Mount Carmel.
At first, it was just a school for the young girls who were cruelly abandoned by their parents or society, but the dearth of funds became an issue. I brought in my trust fund, the blood money I hated but found a purpose to burn it. And then, I turned this school into an institution for every rich, spoiled brat who needed structure and discipline to shape their life.
Their parents did not mind the hefty endowments, as long as I delivered them respectable daughters, one without tantrums or meanness.
And soon enough, Mount Carmel became my dominion, and I ruled it with firm hands. Even Father Lucas did not interfere with my methods solely because the man trusted me more than I trusted myself.
“Oh, no, no. That’s absolutely fine.” I dismissed his concerns. “I am pretty sure she will do something to earn my temper very soon. Anarchy is her middle name her father failed to mention.”
“She reminds me of you,” Father Lucas said, surprising me.
“In which universe…?”
He mused with a smile. “When you were young, and Adriana first brought you to me to bless you, I remember you were equally restless. Even as a child, you had a mind of your own, and I told your mother to let you be. Some people on this earth are meant to carve out their own path, no matter how rocky it is or how difficult it might seem to others.”
I closed my eyes and recalled the last of the fading image of my mother. I wondered if she would have lived long enough if she did not make that choice.
I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat and opened my eyes. “My mother should not have gone back to New York or else…”
“Or else you would not have been here today,” he cut in with a voice that held a heavy conviction. “You shaped your life in a brilliant form and dedicated yourself as a shepherd.”
The man believed in me too much.
I chuckled lightly. “Now I know why the students would reach out to you for confession and not me.”
And also, because I was the man responsible to mentor and disciplined them, I realised that they would never be able to concede in me, no matter what the Canon Law stated about the seal of confession. For them, I was a headmaster first and priest second. And I didn’t mind it at all because, without a little fear, you can’t shape them.
“I will let you in on a secret,” he feigned whisper, winking at me. “Chocolates work better than Hail Marys.”
This time I laughed boisterously, letting the vibration travel from the navel up to my throat. “That explains the wrappers inside the confession booth.”
In the deeper recess of my mind, I wondered what the confession of Sienna Emerson sounded like. And given how badly I wanted to know the deepest secrets of my mind, I could not wave away the thought of her whispering, ‘Forgive me, Father, I have sinned’ in that sultry voice of hers.
**Do think Sienna is ready to confess her sins on her knees? ;-) **