Page 57 of The Killer Cupcake
[Fist striking softly against the wooden partition]
"My mother. You know what happened to her. It was her final letter, her dying wish. Made me swear on her very soul, Padre. Said marry Maria or watch Kathy die. Said it was the only way to lift the black death order my father put on her family."
Padre Vicente:
"Dio misericordioso.You bound yourself sacramentally to save another's life?"
Carmelo:
"I bound myself to a lie. Maria sleeps in our marriage bed while I take the floor like a dog. I wait until her breathing grows deep and steady, then slip in beside her—but I never touch her.Can'ttouch her. Kathy owns my heart, every beat of it. Maria? She's a deal between my father and me. A sacrilege born from my mother's death."
Padre Vicente:
[Voice tightening with concern]
"The Church recognizes no half-marriages, Carmelo. You stood before God's altar and exchanged sacred vows. The Sacrament binds you completely?—"
Carmelo:
[Cutting in desperately]
"I've been married before! To Kathy! We exchanged vows!"
Padre Vicente:
[Voice gentling]
"Not before God's Church,figlio."
Carmelo:
[Voice breaking]
"We prayed together! We meant every word! A judge signed our certificate—it's legal!"
Padre Vicente:
[Steady, pastoral tone]
"A man of questionable character signed papers. God and His Church were nowhere present in that ceremony."
Carmelo:
[Raw with emotion]
"Do vows count when your heart is buried six feet under with your mother? Huh! When you say 'I do' but mean 'I must doit’? Kathy doesn't even know about Maria. If she learns the truth, she'd think I betrayed everything we promised each other. And maybe I did—Dio santo, maybe I did—but I had no choice."
Padre Vicente:[
Long pause, rosary beads clicking softly]
"You seek… annulment?"
Carmelo:
"Can you annul a gun held to your head? My mother's soul, my father's blood on my hands? I want out, Padre. But what does God see? A married man honoring his vows? Or a sinner who damned one woman to save another?"
Padre Vicente:
