For now, I absolve you of your
sins.”
“Thanks, Padre.”
I hopped up off the hard bench and
opened the door. Father Mike must have hopped out just as quickly, as he was
standing directly behind me when he grabbed my arm.
“One last word of advice, Jameson.
It’s never wise to jump into anything blind.”
I pulled my arm away and walked
quickly over to Emma, grabbing her arm, heading out the door and down the
steps.
“Wow, you’re in a hurry.”
“Yeah,” I said, “just really looking
forward to movies and ice cream.”
“Me too.” Emma practically skipped
down the street as we headed home.
“Emma, what did Father Mike say in
confessional that has you so happy?”
“That’s supposed to be private,
James.” Her tone was friendly, so I pressed on.
“I know that, but we’re friends.
Anything you tell me in secret I swear, I’d take it to the grave.”
Emma chewed on her bottom lip and
took a deep breath. “Ok. I’ll tell you, but seriously, Father Mike could get in
trouble for what he told me, so you can’t tell anyone.”
I guess breaking promises might end
up in my next confession.
“Of course.”
“So, Andy talked to Father Mike
shortly before he disappeared. Well, not really disappeared. It turns out you
were right. He left town on his own. Nobody was even chasin’ him. And he told
Father Mike that he was in love with me and wanted to be able to be good
enough, so he was gonna go get a job and come back for me when he was ready to
give me everything I deserve. Isn’t that the sweetest thing?”
“That is sweet.”
But it didn’t make any sense. If
Andy wasn’t running away from something, why wouldn’t he have told Emma that
himself, or at least left a note? Why would Father Mike make up that story? What
did he have to gain by making Emma believe that Andy was not only okay, but
coming back for her?
“Let’s stop at the store, Emma. I
think I’m gonna need some more ice cream.”
Chapter 21
“This is so sweet of you girls. The
town is buzzing about it.”
Emma and I smiled, cameras around
our necks and a big basket of fresh baked cookies on my arm.
“It was all James’ idea, Mrs.
Miner.”
“I can’t take all the credit. You
baked the cookies.”
Emma and I had spent the past few
mornings and afternoons visiting the townsfolk, offering to take a family photo
and bringing them cookies. I told Emma it would be a fun way to teach her about
photography and at the same time do something nice for the neighbors.
In reality, my plan to figure out
what happened with Andy had a rough start. While the town had warmed up to me,
I couldn’t go around asking random questions without being suspicious. But
casually chatting with people in their homes over chocolate chunk cookies from
behind a camera seemed to put them at ease.
I stood behind Emma, helping her
make adjustments to my camera as she snapped away, while I took the occasional
photo with the old rummage sale camera. “So,” I began, “is it just you and Anne
here, Mrs. Miner?”
“Anne has an older brother, but he
went off to school a few years ago.”
Emma spoke up from behind the
camera, “Yeah, it was such a surprise. You woulda never guessed he wanted to go
to college, but then he got his act together.”
Mrs. Miner nodded in agreement. “He
started volunteering at the church. They were such a great support to us when
my husband left.”
I forced a sympathetic smile, unsure
of what to say. “I think we got some really cute shots here, don’t you, Emma?”
Emma nodded. “Can you take a few of
me with Anne?”
I snapped away as the two stood
together, Emma smiling away and Anne giving an awkward, shy grin. “Got it.
Thanks again for having us in, Mrs. Miner.”
“Of course, dear.”
“We’ll come by with the prints in a
week or so.”
“Wonderful.”
Emma checked her watch as we walked
out. “My shift starts in a little bit. I need to get home to change.” She threw
her arms around me and
sins.”
“Thanks, Padre.”
I hopped up off the hard bench and
opened the door. Father Mike must have hopped out just as quickly, as he was
standing directly behind me when he grabbed my arm.
“One last word of advice, Jameson.
It’s never wise to jump into anything blind.”
I pulled my arm away and walked
quickly over to Emma, grabbing her arm, heading out the door and down the
steps.
“Wow, you’re in a hurry.”
“Yeah,” I said, “just really looking
forward to movies and ice cream.”
“Me too.” Emma practically skipped
down the street as we headed home.
“Emma, what did Father Mike say in
confessional that has you so happy?”
“That’s supposed to be private,
James.” Her tone was friendly, so I pressed on.
“I know that, but we’re friends.
Anything you tell me in secret I swear, I’d take it to the grave.”
Emma chewed on her bottom lip and
took a deep breath. “Ok. I’ll tell you, but seriously, Father Mike could get in
trouble for what he told me, so you can’t tell anyone.”
I guess breaking promises might end
up in my next confession.
“Of course.”
“So, Andy talked to Father Mike
shortly before he disappeared. Well, not really disappeared. It turns out you
were right. He left town on his own. Nobody was even chasin’ him. And he told
Father Mike that he was in love with me and wanted to be able to be good
enough, so he was gonna go get a job and come back for me when he was ready to
give me everything I deserve. Isn’t that the sweetest thing?”
“That is sweet.”
But it didn’t make any sense. If
Andy wasn’t running away from something, why wouldn’t he have told Emma that
himself, or at least left a note? Why would Father Mike make up that story? What
did he have to gain by making Emma believe that Andy was not only okay, but
coming back for her?
“Let’s stop at the store, Emma. I
think I’m gonna need some more ice cream.”
Chapter 21
“This is so sweet of you girls. The
town is buzzing about it.”
Emma and I smiled, cameras around
our necks and a big basket of fresh baked cookies on my arm.
“It was all James’ idea, Mrs.
Miner.”
“I can’t take all the credit. You
baked the cookies.”
Emma and I had spent the past few
mornings and afternoons visiting the townsfolk, offering to take a family photo
and bringing them cookies. I told Emma it would be a fun way to teach her about
photography and at the same time do something nice for the neighbors.
In reality, my plan to figure out
what happened with Andy had a rough start. While the town had warmed up to me,
I couldn’t go around asking random questions without being suspicious. But
casually chatting with people in their homes over chocolate chunk cookies from
behind a camera seemed to put them at ease.
I stood behind Emma, helping her
make adjustments to my camera as she snapped away, while I took the occasional
photo with the old rummage sale camera. “So,” I began, “is it just you and Anne
here, Mrs. Miner?”
“Anne has an older brother, but he
went off to school a few years ago.”
Emma spoke up from behind the
camera, “Yeah, it was such a surprise. You woulda never guessed he wanted to go
to college, but then he got his act together.”
Mrs. Miner nodded in agreement. “He
started volunteering at the church. They were such a great support to us when
my husband left.”
I forced a sympathetic smile, unsure
of what to say. “I think we got some really cute shots here, don’t you, Emma?”
Emma nodded. “Can you take a few of
me with Anne?”
I snapped away as the two stood
together, Emma smiling away and Anne giving an awkward, shy grin. “Got it.
Thanks again for having us in, Mrs. Miner.”
“Of course, dear.”
“We’ll come by with the prints in a
week or so.”
“Wonderful.”
Emma checked her watch as we walked
out. “My shift starts in a little bit. I need to get home to change.” She threw
her arms around me and
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