With the Father Read Online Free PDF Page A

me,
and I wasn’t standing in front of it, I probably couldn’t even tell you what
color it was.
    Everything I owned was new. Bright
and shiny and new. And none of it felt like it was mine. I was living
someone else’s life with someone else’s things.
    “Grace.”
    “Kate.”   I
continued to rummage through my bag for my keys and didn’t look up. Though I
hadn’t expected her to come looking for me, I knew why she was here.
    She’d mentioned something this morning about going out
for dinner tonight. As usual, I’d brushed her off. I didn’t want to go out for
dinner. Generally, I didn’t want to go anywhere, and she knew that. She knew me
better than anyone.
    The flip side was that I knew her just as well and
knew exactly what she was thinking. Meeting me here was her attempt at cutting
me off at the pass. She didn’t want to give me the chance to make it home where
I would inevitably crawl back into bed for the next twelve to fifteen hours.
    When I wasn’t here, that was where I spent most of my
time. Months ago, they’d given me pills to help me sleep. In the beginning, I’d
needed them. They’d tempered the nightmares and deadened my memories.   But I didn’t take them any more. I was
an expert sleeper now and attempted daily to sleep my life away.
    That was exactly what I wanted to do right now. I
wanted to go home and sleep what was left of the day away. I certainly didn’t
want to go out to dinner and sit in a restaurant where I’d no doubt run into
people I knew.
    Our town was small. Too small.   Everyone knew my story, and I couldn’t
stand all of the pitying glances and curious stares. People whispered about me
because I was the one who’d lived. Everyone wanted to talk about me, but
no one wanted to talk to me.
    I didn’t blame them. If I were in their shoes, I’d
whisper about me, too. Everyone loves a tragedy and I was the biggest tragedy
in town.
    “Load up. We’re going out.”
    “I’m not,” I said, still looking for my keys.
    “Are so. ”
    “Are not.”
    “Get in.”
    “Fuck off,” I said, finally giving up on my keys and
looking up. I threw a hand over my eyes to shield them from the setting sun. It
was only then that I realized that Kate wasn’t alone.
    “ Ohhh , Father Paul. I didn’t
realize.” He was leaning against his equally uninteresting car. However, the
smallish, darkish box on four wheels sharply contrasted with the sparkling
silver convertible double-parked behind it. Kate’s car was as flashy as she was.
      “It’s good to see you,
Grace,” he said softly, nodding ever so slightly in greeting. A cautious smile
played at the corner of his mouth.
    “I’m sorry,” I said in an equally soft voice before turning back to
Kate. “You blocked the wrong car.”
    Kate smirked at me. “They look alike. I didn’t realize that this one
wasn’t yours until Father Sullivan got out of it.”
    “You’ve been talking?” I asked warily. “Is this going to turn into an
intervention?”
    “The thought had occurred to me.” She turned toward him as if to
propose the idea. “Would you like to have dinner with us?” she asked instead.
    I groaned. “I’m not going out to dinner.” I stomped my foot like a
petulant child. The faint smile on Father Paul’s face grew wider, but he
remained silent. He seemed content to   watch the drama unfold between
us.
    “Get in the damn car, Grace. A burger is not going to kill you.”
    “Don’t cuss in front of the priest,” I hissed, squinting and glaring at
her through one blinded eye.  
    He chuckled. “I’ve certainly heard worse.”
    “From you, apparently,” she said, bowing dramatically. “This is not up
for debate, Grace. Let’s go.”
    I shook my head.
    “Father, are you coming?” she asked.
    I knew what she was trying to do.   If she could get Father Paul to agree to come, then I’d have a harder
time telling her no.
    “I haven’t had dinner yet. Just let me lock up, and I’ll follow