views which others find inadmissible.
-Carl Gustav Jung-
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
No matter how hard she tried, Mary Margaret couldn’t get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she remembered the feeling of Father Antonio’s lips on her neck. It had felt so good and so wrong at the same time. But it couldn’t be wrong. If Father Antonio chose her to be his special one, wasn’t that sort of like God choosing Mary as the mother of Jesus? One thing she knew for sure--she couldn’t tell anyone, they wouldn’t understand.
As the night wore on, she tossed and turned more furiously. How could her mother refuse to allow her to be a cheerleader? How had her mom manipulated her dad? It really wasn’t fair, not fair at all.
The visions of Father Antonio insinuated their way into her mind again. Perhaps she ought to tell her mother just a little bit about Father Antonio touching her, and watch her reaction. That would tell her if it was right or wrong.
Once she’d arrived at that decision, Mary Margaret finally fell into a deep sleep.
In what seemed like minutes, her alarm clock rang, signaling for her to get up and ready for school. She quickly got out of bed, padded her way to the bathroom to shower, then hurried back to her room to dress in her school uniform. That done, she ran down the stairs to the kitchen.
“Good morning, Mother.”
Mrs. Riley looked up from the newspaper she was reading. “My, you’re up bright and early this morning. Turning over a new leaf?”
“Guess I am. Is Dad still home?”
“No, he’s already left for work. Do you want a cooked breakfast this morning?”
“Thank you, but I’ll just have corn flakes and orange juice. I’ll get it. You finish the paper.”
Mary Margaret put her breakfast together and took it to the table.
After a few bites, and a swallow of juice, she looked at her mother across the table. “I need to tell you something. I need some advice.”
Mrs. Riley put down the paper. “Sounds serious. What’s the matter?”
“Well, a couple of times when I’ve been working in the rectory, Father Antonio has come in to talk to me.”
“Nothing too unusual in that.”
“There’ve also been a couple of times when we were there alone. Father O’Malley was out somewhere and Mrs. Hunter left early to go home.”
“Again, nothing unusual. Can you get to the point, please?”
Mary Margaret swallowed hard. “Okay...well...he’s touched me in ways that I’m not sure are right. That’s what I need to ask you. Is it okay for a priest to touch me?”
A cloud of fury rolled over Mrs. Riley’s face. Mary Margaret recognized the look and knew she was in deep trouble.
She watched as her mother stood up from her chair and strode slowly over to her.
Mrs. Riley put one hand on the table to steady herself, then leaned towards Mary Margaret. “You are a deceitful, sinful little liar. You are going way too far this time. I’m not surprised you’d try this, though.”
Mary Margaret clutched her hand to her throat. “What...what do you mean? I don’t understand.”
Mrs. Riley moved her face an inch closer to Mary Margaret’s. “It’s not a coincidence that you’re coming up with this after Father Antonio and I put a stop to your cheerleading silliness, now is it?”
“Please, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mrs. Riley raised her hand.
“Don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me. Just tell me what you mean.”
“You know exactly what I mean. You’re making up lies about Father Antonio so I’ll let you do cheerleading instead of helping him like you promised.”
“That isn’t it at all. Really. I just wanted your advice, that’s all.”
Mrs. Riley put her hand back down and folded her arms across her chest. “All right, then. How did Father Antonio touch you that made you so nervous?”
Too embarrassed to tell her mother about him touching her private parts, Mary Margaret said, “He hugged me one day, and he touched my hair
-Carl Gustav Jung-
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
No matter how hard she tried, Mary Margaret couldn’t get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she remembered the feeling of Father Antonio’s lips on her neck. It had felt so good and so wrong at the same time. But it couldn’t be wrong. If Father Antonio chose her to be his special one, wasn’t that sort of like God choosing Mary as the mother of Jesus? One thing she knew for sure--she couldn’t tell anyone, they wouldn’t understand.
As the night wore on, she tossed and turned more furiously. How could her mother refuse to allow her to be a cheerleader? How had her mom manipulated her dad? It really wasn’t fair, not fair at all.
The visions of Father Antonio insinuated their way into her mind again. Perhaps she ought to tell her mother just a little bit about Father Antonio touching her, and watch her reaction. That would tell her if it was right or wrong.
Once she’d arrived at that decision, Mary Margaret finally fell into a deep sleep.
In what seemed like minutes, her alarm clock rang, signaling for her to get up and ready for school. She quickly got out of bed, padded her way to the bathroom to shower, then hurried back to her room to dress in her school uniform. That done, she ran down the stairs to the kitchen.
“Good morning, Mother.”
Mrs. Riley looked up from the newspaper she was reading. “My, you’re up bright and early this morning. Turning over a new leaf?”
“Guess I am. Is Dad still home?”
“No, he’s already left for work. Do you want a cooked breakfast this morning?”
“Thank you, but I’ll just have corn flakes and orange juice. I’ll get it. You finish the paper.”
Mary Margaret put her breakfast together and took it to the table.
After a few bites, and a swallow of juice, she looked at her mother across the table. “I need to tell you something. I need some advice.”
Mrs. Riley put down the paper. “Sounds serious. What’s the matter?”
“Well, a couple of times when I’ve been working in the rectory, Father Antonio has come in to talk to me.”
“Nothing too unusual in that.”
“There’ve also been a couple of times when we were there alone. Father O’Malley was out somewhere and Mrs. Hunter left early to go home.”
“Again, nothing unusual. Can you get to the point, please?”
Mary Margaret swallowed hard. “Okay...well...he’s touched me in ways that I’m not sure are right. That’s what I need to ask you. Is it okay for a priest to touch me?”
A cloud of fury rolled over Mrs. Riley’s face. Mary Margaret recognized the look and knew she was in deep trouble.
She watched as her mother stood up from her chair and strode slowly over to her.
Mrs. Riley put one hand on the table to steady herself, then leaned towards Mary Margaret. “You are a deceitful, sinful little liar. You are going way too far this time. I’m not surprised you’d try this, though.”
Mary Margaret clutched her hand to her throat. “What...what do you mean? I don’t understand.”
Mrs. Riley moved her face an inch closer to Mary Margaret’s. “It’s not a coincidence that you’re coming up with this after Father Antonio and I put a stop to your cheerleading silliness, now is it?”
“Please, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mrs. Riley raised her hand.
“Don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me. Just tell me what you mean.”
“You know exactly what I mean. You’re making up lies about Father Antonio so I’ll let you do cheerleading instead of helping him like you promised.”
“That isn’t it at all. Really. I just wanted your advice, that’s all.”
Mrs. Riley put her hand back down and folded her arms across her chest. “All right, then. How did Father Antonio touch you that made you so nervous?”
Too embarrassed to tell her mother about him touching her private parts, Mary Margaret said, “He hugged me one day, and he touched my hair
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