Selena Kitt - Emily and the Priest

“I want to show you something.”

“Again?” she teased as he led her toward the front of the church. “I don’t think I can handle any more surprises this week. Did you hear that Jenny left school? Her parents came to pick her up yesterday.”

“I heard.”

“Poor Eve. She’s all by herself now.” Emily didn’t mention how often Eve had slept in her room this week, in Alexis’s bed. Who was she to squash a budding love affair? She was glad they were happy. Someone should be.

“Eve will be fine.” He led her to the front of the chapel, so different now in the light of day. He’d cleaned up the pillows and blankets and all the candles-and the wax drip, she imagined. There was no evidence they’d been there, right here, making love all night long. The thought made Emily blush, but it didn’t keep her knees from getting weak at the memory, and it definitely didn’t stop the ache between her legs when she glanced at him, reaching into his jacket pocket.

“She and Alexis will be rooming together before long, I’m sure,” he said, and she watched, puzzled, as he pulled something from his pocket.

“But Alexis is my roommate…” She frowned at him as he sank down to one knee before her. “What are you doing?”

He smiled. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Whatever you’re doing, don’t.” She nudged his shoulder with her knee. He was wearing jeans and a regular shirt again, and it was far easier to think naughty thoughts about him when he wasn’t in his priest’s uniform. “Get up. It looks like you’re proposing.”

Father Mark unpalmed a blue velvet box. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“What?” Now her knees felt truly weak.

“Emily, will you marry me?” He opened the box to reveal a white gold band containing a single diamond. It wasn’t big and fancy, but it was beautiful.

She tried to catch her breath. “But… but priests can’t get married.”

“I’m not a priest anymore.” His hand found hers, squeezing gently.

“You’re… not?” His words hadn’t really sunk in.

“I’m yours, Emily. If you’ll have me.”

“But you can’t not be a priest!” she protested, her voice hoarse, barely above a whisper. “What are you going to do if you’re not a priest?”

“Besides, hopefully, marrying you?” He grinned. “Well, my grandfather was a Baptist preacher. Maybe I’ll start my own church. And you, if you say yes… you’re going to art school, like you always wanted.”

She blinked at him, trying to force the words past her ears, into her actual brain. “What?”

“We’ll be fine, Emily.” He cupped her palm against his cheek, turning to kiss it softly as he spoke. “I’ll take care of you. I promise. I’ll find my way, whatever path I need to travel. Honestly, I don’t think God will care what I’m doing as long as I’m still talking to him.”

“Speaking of talking to your father…” Emily smiled, rubbing her thumb over his cheek, at the very spot she’d painted a cross. Had that been just a week and a half ago? It felt like a lifetime.

“Stop trying to change the subject!” He laughed. “But if you must know, I already did. I’ve done a lot of talking this week. My father, Jenny’s mother, Bishop Avery. It’s been a week full of confession.”

“Did Jenny tell?” Emily asked, eyes wide. She hadn’t seen him much this week at all, had been afraid the night they’d spent together was just a dream. He’d promised he would talk to her, would meet her here today, that he had something he wanted to talk about, and she was sure this was it, that he was going to end things between them, and had steeled herself for it.

This-Father Mark on his knees in front of her with an engagement ring-was the last thing she’d expected.

He nodded in agreement. “Jenny did tell.”

“But she didn’t have any proof.” Emily smirked. Eve had managed to get her hands on Jenny’s cell phone and had deleted the offending photographs.

He shrugged. “It didn’t matter. I’d already made my decision.”

“So then why did Jenny go home?”

“If you must know, someone told her mother she was a lesbian.” He sighed. “Apparently, they emailed her parents some incriminating photographs.”

Emily thought of Eve stealing Jenny’s camera. What else had been on there, she wondered?

“So Jenny decided to go home?”

Father Mark shook his head. “No, her mother withdrew her from school. She just couldn’t accept her daughter’s sexual orientation.”

“Isn’t it a sin, according to the church?”

“I suppose,” he agreed slowly. “But why should anyone be punished because of who they love?”

She blinked away the tears coming to her eyes. “They shouldn’t.”

“It was just another reason that made my decision to leave the church easier,” he confessed. “And then there’s the matter of my being in love with you.”

“Oh Father Mark…”

“It’s just Mark, Emily. Just Mark.” He smiled, pinning her with that green-eyed gaze of his. “I’m just a man-a man who is completely, desperately in love with you. And if you didn’t notice, I’m still down here on my knees, asking you to marry me.”

“Oh Mark…” she whispered.

“Will you?”

“Yes!”

She threw her arms around his neck, tumbling them both to the floor. The ring box snapped shut and went flying as she kissed him and they rolled, laughing, around on the floor in front of the saints and Jesus and his mother, Mary, and she knew it was probably a sin, but she didn’t care. And she was pretty sure God didn’t either. She couldn’t stop kissing him, she couldn’t help loving him, and repeating the answer that had always been hidden in her heart, over and over and over again, punctuated by kisses.

“Yes! Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!”