Bless Us Father (20 page)

“Where would you like to sit, Mary Margaret?” Todd asked.

“Oh, anywhere is fine. Do you see friends you’d like to sit with?”

“Not yet,” he said, looking around the gym. “Let’s just pick a table and then they can join us when they get here if they want.”

“So, do you like to dance?” Todd asked once they’d seated themselves at a table close to the dance floor.

“I haven’t really been to a dance before, so I don’t know for sure, but I think so.”

“I haven’t been to a dance, either, but I’ve been practicing at home,” Todd said. “I’ve been watching the Lloyd Thaxton show and dancing along.”

Mary Margaret burst out laughing.

“Why’s that so funny?” Todd asked, blushing.

Mary Margaret put her hand on his arm. “I’m only laughing because I did the same thing. I felt really silly dancing all by myself, so I thought you probably did, too.”

His smile returned. “Will you be nervous to dance here with all the other people around?”

“I don’t think so. They’re probably nervous, too.”

“Yeah, they probably are.” He stood up and waved at two young men that were just walking in with their dates. “There come my friends, Larry and James.”

The three couples exchanged introductions and seated themselves around the table. The band started playing and soon a few girls stood up and pulled their dates to the dance floor. Before long, there were more couples out on the floor fast dancing to the music the band was playing.

Mary Margaret and Todd sat awhile, then looked at each other, smiled and walked out to the dance floor. They were soon caught up in the beat and dancing like they’d been doing it their whole lives.

They sat out some of the dances, ate cookies, drank punch, laughed and talked all evening long.

Mary Margaret allowed herself to feel hopeful again. Maybe it wasn’t too late after all. Her junior year of high school was almost over, but she still had her senior year to go, and she was gaining some new friends, too.

All too soon the evening was over and it was time to go home. The parents that were chaperoning the dance, along with the priests and brothers, turned the lights in the gym back up and started moving everyone out.

“We’ll see you at your house, Larry,” Todd said as he helped Mary Margaret into the car.

Alarmed, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“Larry’s parents are hosting an after prom party. They’re going to let us stay up as long as we want to and then they’ll fix us breakfast. Didn’t I tell you?”

“No, you didn’t. I’ve got a curfew. My parents said I had to be home by midnight.”

“Midnight? On prom night? No one goes home that early. Can’t you call them and ask if you can stay out later?”

“They’ll just say no. This is my first date ever. They wouldn’t let me go out until I was seventeen.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”

Todd sat in the car and stared straight ahead, then slowly turned to look at her. His smile wasn’t as wide as usual, but it was there all the same. “That’s okay, Mary Margaret. I’ll take you home and then I’ll go to Larry’s by myself. I understand.”

The tears were now rolling down her cheeks and he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped them away. “Don’t cry. We had a great evening. Let’s not let it end on a sad note. Besides, we’re going to your prom in two weeks. Maybe you can talk to your parents before then and we can stay out a little later.”

She smiled back at him. He was so sweet and really didn’t seem like he minded her going home. And he’d wiped her tears away so tenderly it touched her heart.

He held her hand as he drove her home. Once there, he slid across the front seat and put his arm around her shoulder.

She stiffened, wondering what was coming next. Was he going to push his hand up her skirt? Or down her top? Did he somehow know she wasn’t a good girl anymore?

But he didn’t do any of those things. He pressed his lips gently to hers and gave her a soft kiss.

“Thank you for going to the prom with me. I had a great time and I hope we have more times like this. I mean even after your prom.”

“Oh, me too, Todd. This has been the best night of my life.”

Suspicion is not less an enemy to virtue than to happiness; he that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious, and he that becomes suspicious will quickly become corrupt.

-Samuel Johnson-

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The rectory was quiet when Mary Margaret entered the back door for work. She glanced in the kitchen and saw that there were pots on the stove and the table had been set for dinner. She went to the front office and found a note on the desk held in place by a heart shaped metal paperweight.

Mary Margaret, I had to take Father O’Malley to the doctor for a checkup and then I’m taking him to my home for dinner. He wants to visit with my husband a bit. I don’t know if Father Antonio will be home early tonight or not. He’s been busy with the youth group lately. I left food on the stove for you, and for Father A if he gets home. Would you please put everything away before you leave for the night? I’d appreciate it. Don’t worry about washing the dishes and pans. Just rinse them and leave them in the sink for me. Thanks, Mrs. Hunter.

Smiling, Mary Margaret put her books down and went to the kitchen to see what Mrs. Hunter had left for dinner. She was hungry and hadn’t eaten much lunch. She opened the lid to a pot and saw one of her favorites, homemade macaroni and cheese. There were fresh green beans in the next pot and a baking pan covered with aluminum foil held a meatloaf topped with tomato sauce. She dished up a plate and had just placed it on the kitchen table when the front doorbell rang.

Mary Margaret opened the tiny peephole cut in the door and looked out to see Jane and Becky standing there.

Opening the door, she said, “Hi. What are you guys doing here? It’s my night to work.”

Becky spoke first, “We need to talk to you. Is anyone else here?” She took a tentative step inside.

“Most importantly, is Father Antonio here?” Jane asked, from behind Becky.

“No, I’m alone. I was just going to eat dinner,” Mary Margaret said.

“We need to talk to you first,” Becky said.

“Okay, come on in.” Mary Margaret held the door open for the two girls.

Becky and Jane settled themselves on the blue vinyl sofa and Mary Margaret pulled her desk chair over in front of them.

She sat down and waited for them to speak.

“We’re not sure how to bring this up, but we really need to ask you about something that’s bugging us,” Becky said.

Puzzled, Mary Margaret frowned and looked at Becky first, then Jane. “I suppose you should just ask me.”

“It’s kind of embarrassing, but I...we were wondering if Father Antonio had ever gotten fresh with you?” Jane asked.

Mary Margaret felt all of the blood drain from her face. Her stomach lurched and she thought she might throw up. Did they know something? How had they found out?

“Uh...no...what exactly do you mean by fresh?” she asked.

“Well, when I worked here those few times, he would come in and sit really close to me. And he smiled at me kind of weird, too. Then the last time I worked here he stood behind me when I was sitting at the desk and rubbed my shoulders. It freaked me out so much I told my parents I didn’t want to come back,” Jane said.

Mary Margaret swallowed hard. “What did you tell your parents?”

“Oh, I didn’t say anything about Father. I just said it was too busy here and it was going to interfere with my school work and that was enough for them,” Jane answered.

“And now he’s started doing those things to me, too,” Becky said. “It gives me the creeps. He was always friendly at youth group, but this feels different.”

The two young girls looked at Mary Margaret expectantly. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to explode.

“Well?” Becky asked. “You’re older than us. Did he do anything like that to you?”

Mary Margaret took a deep breath. “Well, he has seemed a little too friendly at times, and he’s hugged me and stuff, but I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”

“You’re acting really weird. Are you sure he didn’t do more to you than just hugging?” Jane persisted. She and Becky exchanged long looks.

“He just made me uncomfortable, that’s all,” Mary Margaret insisted, standing up and taking her chair back to the desk. “You’d better leave. I’m hungry and my dinner is getting cold.”

“Come on, Mary Margaret. You need to help us. What if he’s doing things to other girls in the youth group?” Becky asked.

“Yeah, if he touched all three of us, then there could be more,” Jane said.

“He doesn’t mean anything by it. We can’t cause problems for him,” Mary Margaret said.

She opened the front door and waited for the two girls to leave. She was unable to look them in the eye, but managed to keep her emotions under control until they’d left. Once the door was closed and locked behind them, she crumpled to the floor, clasped her arms around herself, and shook for a long time.

#

Mary Margaret sat on her bed after finishing cleaning her room. She twisted the dust cloth in her hand and thought about how she was going to approach her mother. Mom had gotten really upset at her when she’d tried to talk to her about Father Antonio before, but things were different now. There were other girls involved and they were younger than her. What if Father did to them what he’d done to her? Maybe she should start out with something else, then move on to talking about Father Antonio. She composed herself and went to the kitchen.

“Mom? Do you have a minute to talk?” Mary Margaret asked her mother who was standing in the kitchen washing dishes.

“Is it important? I’ve got a lot of housework left to do before your father comes home.”

“It’s kind of important.” Mary Margaret looked down at the floor. Then mustering her courage, said, “Yes, Mom. It’s very important.”

Mrs. Riley dried her hands on the kitchen towel. “Shall we sit here?” she asked, gesturing at the kitchen table.

Mary Margaret waited for her mother to sit, then said, “You know my prom is in two weeks.”

“Well of course I do,” Mrs. Riley said, rolling her eyes.

“I had to come home really early after Todd’s prom and I was wondering if maybe we could stay out a little later. A lot of the kids do. They have after prom parties and stuff.”

“You’re not a ‘lot of kids’ and your curfew is midnight, no matter what occasion it is,” Mrs. Riley said, starting to stand back up.

Mary Margaret didn’t want it to end there. She grabbed her arm and said, “Mom, that’s not the important thing I wanted to talk to you about. I mean, it would be nice if I could stay out later and all, but that isn’t the main thing.”

“And just what is this important thing then? I don’t have all day.”

Taking a deep breath, she said, “You know those two girls that have been working in the rectory on the night I go to the hospital? First it was Jane and now Becky.”

“Yes, I know about them.”

She took another deep breath. “They came to the rectory last night when I was working, and they told me some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Mrs. Riley asked.

“About Father Antonio.”

“You know, Mary Margaret, I don’t have all day and I’m losing my patience.”

“Okay, okay. Well, they said that Father Antonio was touching them.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake. He’s Latin! They touch more than the rest of us,” Mrs. Riley said.

“Yeah but, they said he’s touching them weird.” Mary Margaret swallowed hard. “And, remember I told you he touched me weird, too?”

“Yes, I remember that lie very clearly,” Mrs. Riley said, her eyes narrowing. “And I remember also telling you I didn’t want to ever hear you talk badly about Father Antonio again. After all he’s done for you, and for me, I can’t believe you would start this up again. I just can’t believe it.”

“And what did Father Antonio do for you, Mom? What was he doing for you while Dad was gone working in Oklahoma, huh? Tell me! Is that why you and Dad are fighting all the time?”

Mrs. Riley jumped to her feet and grabbed Mary Margaret by the collar of her uniform shirt. She pulled her to a standing position. “What are you implying? Are you suggesting that perhaps my relationship with Father was somehow impure?”

Mary Margaret flinched at first but decided she couldn’t back down, but instead glared at her mother. “Was it?”

They stared each other down for awhile before Mrs. Riley finally let go of Mary Margaret.

They took a step back, then Mrs. Riley said, “I don’t want to hear a word of this ever again. Do you understand? Not ever, ever again.”

“What if I decide to tell Dad?”

“Your father would never believe you. And I would certainly let him know the accusations you’ve made about Father Antonio and your own mother. I’d also let him know how much trouble you caused me while he was away working.”