19

Two priests come into the church through a side door. They genuflect and attend to some items on the altar. They walk down the center aisle of the church and pass him without paying him any particular mind. One priest leaves the church while another stays toward the back taking hymnals from a box and putting them in the pews. He decides to stand and approach the priest.
Father, he says. May I talk with you?
The priest looks at him. It is a business look. Not terribly priestly, he thinks.
Confessions are on Saturdays, says the priest.
I don't want to confess anything, he says.
Then, how can I help you?
I'd like to talk with a priest, he says, ad libbing a bit. He doesn't know what people say when they talk to priests, as he has not spoken with many in his life. Maybe at a wedding. As a young child.
I'd like to talk with a priest, he repeats, but I'd rather not talk in the church.
The priest gives him a slightly irritated look. The look then softens. He puts a hymnal in a slot in the back of the pew and looks at him.
Come with me, then, says the priest.
He follows the priest out of the church and into an attached building.