Bless Us Father (7 page)

Mary Margaret couldn’t believe this was her mother talking to her like this. It was like she was a grownup or something.

“I’ll admit I’ve gotten a bit frustrated at times, because I’ve never done anything wrong and it’s seemed like you expect me to at any minute.”

“I don’t, Mary Margaret. I’ve seen girls go bad, and I want to protect you from making mistakes.”

“But Mom, I’m a good girl, what could possibly go wrong?”

“Oh, baby, you don’t have any idea, do you? I guess we’d better talk about it one of these days.”

“Talk about what, Mom? If you mean my period, you know I’ve already started that. The school nurse talked to all of us girls back in sixth grade.”

“That’s a part of it, but now isn’t the time. We’ll wait until you’re ready to start dating. Then we’ll have another talk. You don’t need to concern yourself now.”

“All right, if you say so. I won’t be dating for another year and a half unless you and Dad change your mind. That’s a long time from now.”

Of all human powers operating on the affairs of mankind, none is greater than that of competition.

-Henry Clay-

CHAPTER SEVEN

Friday night went well at the festival, and the ring toss booth attracted lots of children and their parents who helped them win stuffed animals. The booth made a lot of money for the church and school.

Mary Margaret was back at work early Saturday morning hanging up more fluffy bears, stuffed dogs and cats of all colors, and tidying up for the eleven o’clock opening. She had to crawl around on her hands and knees to find wayward rings that had slipped under the platform that held the milk bottles in place.

Linda and her sisters were due to work at eleven, and once Mary Margaret showed them what to do, she hoped to run home and change out of her work clothes. Saturday was always the busiest day of the festival and the public school kids came on that day. Maybe she’d see Danny Ellis. She wanted to look nice--just in case.

She heard footsteps approaching, stood up and dusted herself off. “Good morning, Father Antonio.”

“And good morning to you, my special little assistant. I hear from the finance committee that our booth did quite well last night.”

“It did. We were busy the whole evening. I kept having to run back and forth to get more stuffed toys,” she said, smiling broadly and brushing her hair back from her face. “The toys are so much cuter this year, everyone wants one. I bet there won’t be any left by the end of the weekend.”

Father Antonio leaned against the pole that held the awning over the booth and surveyed the stuffed toys that were hanging all over. “Did you decide to display them like this?”

“Yes, I did. In the past, they’d just put a few out at a time, but I thought it would attract more people if we hung them up. They’re so colorful.”

“Again, this is why I asked you to run the booth. You’ve got so much talent. Have you thought about being an artist or designer?”

Mary Margaret couldn’t believe her ears. How could he know that about her? She’d never told anyone about her desire to be an interior decorator. Mom and Dad encouraged her to take business courses so she could work as a secretary when she got out of school. That’s why they’d been so anxious for her to work at the rectory. They thought she’d get some office experience that way.

“No...I’ve...never thought about it. I’m going to be a secretary when I get out of school.”

Father Antonio frowned. “A secretary is a good honorable job, but you have more talent than that.”

Mary Margaret smiled shyly and looked at the ground. “You’re always so nice to me, and I don’t know why. None of my teachers or any of the other priests have ever really noticed me.”

He leaned closer to her and said, “I see the potential in you, my dear, and they didn’t. They’re the ones that missed out.”

“What do you mean potential?” she asked.

But before he could answer, Linda, Susie and Katie arrived. They were grinning from ear to ear and staring at Father Antonio.

“Hello, girls,” Father said, smiling back at the girls. “I’ll leave you in Mary Margaret’s capable hands. I must get back to my duties.”

Disappointed, their smiles faded as they watched him stride away.

“What a bummer,” Katie said. “Why didn’t he stay and talk to us for a minute?”

“He told you, he has to get back to his duties,” Mary Margaret said. “Someone has to talk to the people that come to the rectory, and Father O’Malley is already out here visiting with all the workers. He doesn’t do anything the whole festival weekend except talk to people.”

“And drink whiskey,” Susie said. “His nose is already red and it’s only eleven in the morning.”

The four girls laughed at this, knowing it was true. Father O’Malley was much loved in the parish, despite his fondness for whiskey. He was kind and truly cared about the parishioners. He always visited people who were sick, and he delighted in teasing the school children. He carried candy with him all the time and handed it out on the playground during lunch and recess, much to the dismay of the nuns and teachers that had to calm them down later.

“Come on you guys, I need to show you what to do. I’ve got to go home and take a shower,” Mary Margaret said.

“Good idea. Maybe you can do something with your hair, too,” Linda joked. “I’ve never seen it look so messy.”

“Yeah, but from what I observed, it didn’t bother Father Antonio at all,” Susie said. “He seemed fascinated with Mary Margaret. But when the three of us turned up, he took off.”

“I noticed that, too,” said Katie.
 Mary Margaret squirmed in discomfort. “That’s silly. He was just happy that the booth had made a lot of money last night, that’s all.”

“Really,” Linda asked, piercing her with an inquiring look. “Is that why he was standing so close to you?”

“He wasn’t standing that close,” Mary Margaret denied. “Do you guys want me to explain what you’re supposed to do or not?”

Linda, Susie and Katie looked at each other before replying. Finally, Linda said, “Okay, give us our assignment.”

Mary Margaret showed them where the money box with change was, told them where to go to get more stuffed animals when needed, and showed them the written rules of the game.

Satisfied, she turned to go. “I’ll be back in an hour or so. If you have any major problems, go find Mr. Hunter or one of the other men who are wearing the yellow vests. They’re the committee men and they can help you out.”

She walked the few blocks home as quickly as she could, hoping to be able to shower and change before her mom came home from the beauty salon. Saturday was her hair day, and she did her grocery shopping afterwards, so Mary Margaret was fairly sure she could get back to the festival before Mom reappeared.

Her dad was outside mowing the front lawn when she arrived. She waved to him and ran up the steps to the front door. She let herself in and hurried to her room.

“Mom? Are you here?”

Relieved that the house was silent and her mother was obviously not home, she quickly slipped out of her dirty clothes and pulled her robe on before stepping out into the hallway to walk to the bathroom.

She showered and washed her hair, toweled herself off and put on Jergen’s lotion and Secret super-underarm deodorant. She rubbed her hair as dry as she could get it with a towel, then combed and rolled it onto giant rollers that she secured with clips.

Wrapping herself in her robe, she walked back to her bedroom to dress. She took her new skin-tight black capris from the closet and placed them on the bed, then returned to the closet for her top. Peasant blouses were in style and she’d had to search to find one with a modest enough neckline that her mother would let her out of the house in it. The fabric was a blue-and-black print on a white background, and the blue was the exact color of her eyes. She took out a pair of black flats, and decided they were perfect for all the running around she’d have to do the rest of the day.

Her hair dryer was already on top of her dresser, and she’d figured out how to disconnect the hose from the bonnet part so she could blow dry each curl separately. Fortunately, her hair was so fine that it didn’t take long to dry. She got her makeup bag out of the hiding spot behind her dresser and quickly put on a tiny bit of mascara and pale pink lipstick. She dressed and brushed her hair out, spraying it in place with Aqua Net hairspray.

Opening the door a crack, she called out, “Mom? Are you home?”

Silence still, so she ran down the stairs and out the back door before anyone could catch her with makeup on.

When Mary Margaret got back to the festival, Linda, Susie and Katie were busy collecting tickets and handing out stuffed animals.

A group of public school boys were gathered to the side of the booth. They were all five wearing tight white tee shirts with pockets, levis with the bottoms cuffed, and hard black leather shoes. Two of the boys had black leather jackets slung casually over their shoulders. They wore their hair long and in pompadours in the style of the fifties. These were the bad boys the nuns warned about, and standing right in the middle was Danny Ellis.

The three girls took turns giggling and batting their eyes in the direction of the boys.

“How long have they been here?” Mary Margaret asked Linda when she could get her attention.

“Only a few minutes,” Linda giggled. “Aren’t they boss?”

“Yeah, they’re really cool. Has Danny talked to you?”

Mary Margaret asked, smiling in Danny’s direction.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Linda said. “He wanted to know if I knew where you were.”

“Really? Did he ask for me by name?”

“He did. He asked for Mary Margaret. I told him you’d be back soon and they’ve been hanging around waiting. I think Katie even made a date with one of the guys.”

Mary Margaret looked again at Danny and he was smiling back at her. She took a deep breath, then walked to the back side of the booth, away from the girls and the group of boys Danny was with. She rearranged some of the animals, and bent to pick up a couple of stray rings that had landed far from their target. When she stood up, Danny was standing in front of her.

“Hi, Danny. Are you and your friends having fun?”

He grinned wider and leaned closer to her. “We just got here. We haven’t even bought any tickets yet. I heard you were working here and I wanted to see you.”

She could feel a familiar blush creeping up her neck and onto her face. She tried to will it to go away, but was unable to, as always.

“You...wanted...to see me?” she asked. “Why?”

“I see you walking by my house all the time and I’ve noticed you’re sort of changing. You seem older or something.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Like today. You look bitchin’.”

Mary Margaret frowned at the profanity. “Why would you say something like that?”

The smile faded as he rushed to explain. “Oh, no. That’s not something bad. I mean, that’s a new word. It means you’re really cool.”

“Oh...I thought...”

“I know what you thought, and I’m sorry. Let me try again, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, relaxing and smiling again.

“You look nice tonight. I like those pants and your blouse. And your hair looks great in that side ponytail, too.”

She smiled and, feeling bolder, took a step closer to him. “Thanks a lot, Danny. I didn’t think you even knew my name. The last time I saw you, you called me Linda.”

A strand of hair had fallen loose from the side of his pompadour, and he smoothed it back in place with the palm of his hand.

“Yeah, I was really embarrassed about that. I know your name. My mind was someplace else, I guess. My dad had just jumped all over me for not cutting the lawn earlier, and he’d belted me on the jaw. I was still thinking about that.”

“Oh my gosh! He hit you?”

“Happens a lot. No big deal.”

Mary Margaret didn’t know what to say, so she just stood awkwardly, suddenly seeing Danny in a different light.

“Forget I said it,” Danny said. “How about you and me go out sometime? We could go bowling and then to McDonald’s if you want.”

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’m not allowed to date until I turn seventeen and I’m a Junior.”

“That’s next year! Your parents must be really strict.”

“It’s more like a year and a half. I’m a Junior next year, but I don’t turn seventeen until March. And yes, they’re really strict.”

“No way around it?” he asked. “How about in a group?”

“No. Not even then. And...I guess I’d better just tell you, I can’t date anyone from public school even then.”

Danny’s smile faded. “What’s wrong with public school kids?”

“Nothing, as far as I’m concerned. It’s just my parents are so old-fashioned. They think I shouldn’t date anyone that isn’t Catholic.”

“Well, I’m Catholic but my parents can’t afford to send me to Catholic school. Is that my fault?”