The Confession (4 page)

“I am honored he thinks I am worthy of
this position. May I see Father Mallard? I wish to introduce
myself.”

“Follow me. Father Mallard is anxious
to meet you.” At the end of the day, I have a better understanding
of the challenges I will face with this new parish.

The following Sunday,
everyone gathered for their weekly breakfast
before
Sunday
mass. Colin enjoyed this time with his wife, children, and
grandchildren. “So, what are we doing after
mass
today?”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “What do we
always do on Sunday Dad? Adam watches the History Channel, Bobby
plays football, and Gail is on the computer all day. As for me, I’m
going shopping with Mom.”

Colin looked at Maggie. “You never told
me you were going shopping. What am I going to do
today?”

Adam laughed. “I suppose I could skip
watching TV. What do you want to do today, Dad?”

Colin thought for a moment. “Well, I
would like to play pool and have a few beers with my
son.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Pool and
beer, I like it!”

On the way to church, they
talked about the new priest who would soon replace Father Mallard.
As they approached the church, Colin blinked several
times
as if he
saw
a ghost. Standing in front of the
church was his son, the priest. Everyone stopped talking and stared
blankly at Father John Brady.

I see my family approach me
and I am afraid. My father looks angry, and rightly so. I push back
my fear and walk towards my parents. As I approach my mother, I
open my arms. “Hello Mother, I am happy to see you again.”
My mom
holds me for several seconds. The sensation feels odd, and I
try not to tense in her arms.

“Oh John, how are you? How long have
you been a priest? I cannot believe this! Why didn’t you write to
us?”

“I believe you know
the
reasons,
Mother. Now is not the time to discuss
this.”

Looking past my mother, I acknowledge
my father. “Father, how are you?” His face remains impassive, and
he refuses my outstretched hand. The snub hurts, even after all
these years. He continues staring at me, refusing to acknowledge my
question. I understand his animosity, and I rein in my emotions. I
will not air the family laundry in public. Adam and Lydia watch the
dynamics between the three of us with a sense of
trepidation.

Adam walks up to me and
shakes my hand. “It’s good to see
you,
John. You remember Lydia.
And these
two
are our children,
Gail,
and Bobby.”

I acknowledge Adam’s children and
excuse myself. “Adam, would you please escort everyone into the
church? I need to greet a few parishioners before mass begins.” I
walk away from my family on shaky legs and into the crowd of people
standing in front of the church. My cassock hides the fact that my
entire body is trembling. I find solace once again by fingering my
rosary beads.

As Adam proceeded into the church, he
turned to his father. “Are you coming in with us?”

“Give us a minute Adam. We’ll be in
shortly.”

Margaret turned an icy stare towards
her husband. “That was rude Colin. How could you do that to
him?”

“What do you want me to say? He
disappeared from our lives, and now, almost twenty years later, I
am supposed to shake hands and forget that he abandoned his family?
I have not forgotten how long we worried about him. I have not
forgotten how many nights you cried yourself to sleep. Have you
forgotten what he did to that poor girl? He has a lot of explaining
to do before I even consider forgiving him!”

Sighing
she said, “John left home almost twenty years ago, and I understand
you are still angry.
For the love of God,
get over it. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves a
second chance.
Apparently
, our son made the right
choices with his life. He is a priest. Do you not have forgiveness
in your
heart,
Colin?”

“I don’t know if I will ever forgive
him.”

“Your attitude will destroy your
relationship with our son.”

“My relationship with John died the day
he disappeared without a word.”

“Lower your voice Colin. What happened
is in the past, and it needs to remain in the past. Keep your damn
mouth shut!”

Colin followed his wife
into the church and
did
keep his mouth shut. His wife’s icy
tone took him by surprise. She rarely raised her voice in
anger.

Margaret sat proudly in the
front of the church as John held his first mass. Father Brady spoke
eloquently, and with great passion.
Afterward, he received several invitations to Sunday dinner,
all of which he graciously declined. He must keep a respectable
distance from the parishioners, especially his father.

Margaret hugged her son one
last time. Whispering in his ear, she said, “Please forgive
your
dad
’s rudeness.”

“There is nothing to
forgive Mother. I am here to serve the parishioners of this parish,
including my
father
. I am a humble servant of Our
Lord Jesus Christ.”

Chapter 3

Two months later

The sound of someone knocking on his
door jolted Adam from his mid-afternoon power nap. Begrudgingly, he
accepted the fact he was getting old, not that forty-six is
technically old. His work hours were catching up to him, and on
occasion, he snuck in a power nap when needed.

Opening his sleepy eyes to the sight of
his beautiful wife always brought a smile to his face. Slowly, he
rose from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk. “I
can’t believe I fell asleep again,” he said as he gathered Lydia
into his arms.

“Adam, you need to cut back on the
hours. When was the last time you took a day for yourself? Between
work, helping your parents, Bobby’s football games, and Gail’s
college move, you hardly have a free minute to
yourself.”

Sighing, he leaned against his desk. “I
know. I can feel the toll it is taking on my body. I feel much
older than forty-six.”

“Are you working this
weekend?”

Reaching behind him, he
checked his calendar. “Huh, looks like I am free this weekend. What
do you have in mind? I can hear the wheels churning in that
beautiful
little head of yours.”

Rubbing herself against
him, she said, “Why don’t we spend the weekend at the shore house.
We can leave Friday night and have
two
days of sun and
relaxation.”

“I have a better idea. I
want to spend the weekend in bed making love and eating junk food.
It feels like forever since I
made love
to you Lydia. I am
sorry. I have been so distracted the last few months.”

“It’s not your fault honey. The
children and I understand that sometimes your patients are your
priority. Bobby was so excited you were able to attend some of his
games this season.”

“Has he talked to you about
college applications? I don’t want him so wrapped up in football
that he brushes off college.” At seventeen, Robert Brady was well
over six feet
tall
and
weighed
close to two hundred
pounds of lean muscle. Football was his passion; however, Adam
wanted his son to concentrate on his studies.

Lydia had a surprise for her husband.
“Bobby wanted to keep this a secret. A scout from Temple approached
him after his last game. If he continues his level of play through
his senior year, they want to offer him a full
scholarship.”

“I’m not happy
about
him playing college football. He has already had a few
injuries this season. Is he considering a professional career
playing football?” It upset Adam that his son did not speak to him
about this. Once again, absentee father
syndrome
reared its
ugly head.

“I don’t know. Maybe you should speak
to him.”

Nodding, Adam said, “Damn
right I’ll
talk
to him!”

Later that evening, Adam knocked on his
son’s bedroom door. “Bobby, are you awake?”

“Yeah Dad, come in.”

I hate
football,
Adam
thought as he sat next to his son. “I know I haven’t been around
much lately, and I wanted to catch up on what has been happening
with you these last few months. Your mom spoke to me about Temple.
Do you really
wish
to play college
football?”

Should he tell his father
the truth? “Well,” he paused for a few seconds, “Yeah, I eventually
want to play professional football. My coaches tell me I have what
it takes to go professional. I need the scholarship from Temple
Dad. I know this is not what you want for me, but it is what I
want. I can still obtain my degree, and
when I graduate, if I’m
not good enough to play professional ball, I’ll have my
degree.”

“Have you given any thought to what
would be your major?”

“Yes.
I have always loved
building
things
so my major will be Architecture. Do you remember
when you bought me that
enormous
box of Lego’s? I had a blast
building a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the White
House.”

Smiling, Adam hugged his
son. “That makes me happy. Education is
essential
Bobby. You
have a short career span playing professional football. I would
prefer you focus on your
studies
.”

“I know
you hate my playing football. College tuition is too expensive, and
you are already paying for Gail’s tuition.
I don’t
want
to burden you financially, and if I
can get a full scholarship for four years, that would save you a
considerable amount of money. I will make you a deal. If I make the
grade and get the scholarship, I will not live on campus. You will
see me often enough to know I am ok. Do we have a deal?”

Damn it, he is playing
me.
“I’ll agree on two conditions. You must
maintain your GPA, and take care of your body. You have a long life
ahead of you, and your physical health is important.”

Bobby reached out to shake
his father’s hand. “I accept your conditions. Just know that I am a
damn good
ballplayer
, and when I turn pro, I can
take care of you and mom in your old age.”

Laughing, Adam said, “I’ll
remember that when I’m sixty.” He was still
smiling
when he left
his son’s room.

The sound of Lydia singing off key in
the shower assaulted his senses when he closed their bedroom door.
He loved his wife; however, her singing sent stray cats running for
their lives. He quietly walked into the bathroom and divested
himself of every piece of clothing. Most nights he found his wife
asleep upon his arriving home, and it was rare they were both awake
at the same time.