Page 26 of Owning the Prez’s Ol' Lady

My phone chirped, sending me the address of an unknown location.

“Sure, why?”

“Because sometimes wild goose chases aren’t so wild. They just need some direction”

Chapter Nineteen

Priest

The church came into view, and the thundering in my heart started to race inside my chest. I needed guidance, and Father Joseph was the only man I knew who could give me it.

I found him wandering the garden on the side of the church, admiring the flowers and insects that fluttered from petal to petal. He had his arms behind his back, bending every few seconds to get a closer look.

“Your footsteps are heavy, my son,” Father Joseph exclaimed, his back still facing me. “What’s ailing you, Brother Oren?”

“How did you know it was me?”

He turned to face me, the sun hitting his face just right to light him up like he was being blessed by holy light. The man truly was a saint.

“We’ve known each other a very long time, Brother Oren, and I’d know those lost footsteps anywhere, even muffled in the blades of grass in a silent meadow.”

“My heart is full of guilt, loss, and sorrow,” I mumbled, finding a seat on one of the benches inside the garden.

“And why is that, my son?”

“Do you remember Shasta?”

Father Joseph took a seat next to me, the short strands of his peppered hair blowing with the wind. “Yes. I never forget those in need of my help.”

“I broke a vow with her, one that did more damage than good. It severed ties to people I cared about and created a catalyst that erupted my world into complete chaos. Because of her, my demons returned, and so did the life I never wanted to revisit ever again.”

“I see,” Father Joseph said, looking up toward the sky.

“And you blame her for this dark side returning?”

“Yes.”

“I see,” he murmured again. “And how can I help you with this, Brother Oren? Did you come here to ask for forgiveness? To repent? To mend the broken ties that you said were severed?”

“Maybe all the above.”

For some reason, I felt someone watching us, and when I looked up, I saw Aileen looking down on us from a window. But when I waved, she retreated from my view, her rejection penetrating like an arrow sent to maim and bleed my conflicted heart.

Father Joseph followed my trail of vision and smiled knowingly. “You were just kids when you first fell in love,” he said quietly. “Both of you were too small to realize that the bond you were creating was more than just the friendship you clung onto.”

“Me and Shasta?”

He shook his head, chuckling. “We both know that you don’t love Shasta, Oren.” He pointed up towards the windows of the church. “Your heart is up there in that room, with a woman who’s broken and suffers in silence. Her bitterness stems from the betrayal she felt after finding you with Shasta.”

“So, you know about that.”

“These hallowed walls don’t leave much room for secrecy, Oren, especially when you forsake God in his own place of worship.”

My hands raked through my hair, and I let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, Father. It was a moment of weakness, one I—”

“Do not regret giving into temptations, Brother Oren. No soul is free of sins, not even mine. I too have given into many temptations in the past. And even though I have sinned, God still loves me.”

“Can he love a dark and wavering soul? One whose sins are too heinous and unforgivable, that even the sinner can’t wash them away?”

---