breathed. “I’ve been laicized.”
Smiling, she nods and takes my hand in hers. “Bishop Riley told me that he believed that you followed the path God set out for you. He believes that God brought you here for me. He said that he didn’t feel that you should be punished for it. He chose to release you from your vows so that you could still continue to be the good Catholic man that you are. It also means that you can work at the youth center, which is what I was here to talk to Carol about – you can still run this place, Braden. You can still make a difference. You’ll just do it as a Catholic man now instead of as a priest.”
She pulls at my hand, leading me inside the youth center. Inside, the mural up against the back wall is more beautiful than I could have imagined. It shows the minds of the youth in our community from six year olds to seventeen year olds. It speaks of joy and gives the place a feeling of ownership from their age groups. Everywhere I look, someone is playing or smiling. Emma speaks quickly to Carol who smiles at me and nods then she returns to me and leads me to the door leading to the pool.
“They have classes here three times a week. I’m told the room is all painted and brightly lit now,” she says as we head down a ramp that has replaced the steep stairs.
The moment I see the pool full of water and shining brightly, a grin spreads across my face and emotion wells inside me, I’m so happy right now. This is exactly what I imagined when I came here. This place is exactly what I was hoping for. There are things I’ll miss about being a priest, but the fact that I can still go to mass and still work for the church in some capacity is more than I could have hoped for. We stop at the edge of the pool; at the place I held her and kissed her in the noise of the filling pool. I take a hold of her face, smoothing my thumbs across her cheekbones. “Do you believe, Emma? Do you believe that He send me to you – just like you told the Bishop?”
Her hands lift and she wraps them around my forearms as she nods. “Yes, Braden. I do believe. Because of you, I believe again.” A tear of happiness falls from her eye and I press my lips against hers, whispering that I love her more than I can possibly express.
“Marry me, Emma,” I say softly, resting my forehead against hers, my chest breathing heavy. “Marry me, be mine. Let me be yours.”
She kisses me. “Yes.” She kisses me again. “Yes, Braden, I’ll marry you.”
I kiss her again, hug her and promise her that she is my heart and my soul and that I’ll always be good to her.
“I know you will, Braden. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“And you’re the best part of me.”
Epilogue
Braden
With flowers in my hand, and a stuffed toy under my arm, I head toward the maternity ward at Newport Hospital. Today, the newest member of the Williams family has entered the world.
The first familiar face I see is Victor. He turns to me and smiles seconds before Jules sees me and says, “Congratulations!”
Victor shakes my hand, Jules hugs me and kisses my cheek, and little Brent asks if the toy I have is for him. He’s three now and is dark haired like his father with a penchant for mischief like his mother.
“Thank you,” I say them both, reaching into my pocket to pull out a bag of gummi worms that I procured for little Brent, knowing he’d be here and on the look out for some candy. “Emma’s the one who did all the work. She was amazing.” I turn to my wife of two years, tired but smiling as she nurses our newborn daughter, Sophie, at her breast. She was born into this world screaming at the top of her lungs at eight o’clock this morning, and I felt like a miracle had been bestowed upon us the moment I heard that cry.
She has brown hair like me, but her eyes are very dark too, and I hope that she gets her mother’s stained glass eyes – it would be the perfect combination of us. “How are
Smiling, she nods and takes my hand in hers. “Bishop Riley told me that he believed that you followed the path God set out for you. He believes that God brought you here for me. He said that he didn’t feel that you should be punished for it. He chose to release you from your vows so that you could still continue to be the good Catholic man that you are. It also means that you can work at the youth center, which is what I was here to talk to Carol about – you can still run this place, Braden. You can still make a difference. You’ll just do it as a Catholic man now instead of as a priest.”
She pulls at my hand, leading me inside the youth center. Inside, the mural up against the back wall is more beautiful than I could have imagined. It shows the minds of the youth in our community from six year olds to seventeen year olds. It speaks of joy and gives the place a feeling of ownership from their age groups. Everywhere I look, someone is playing or smiling. Emma speaks quickly to Carol who smiles at me and nods then she returns to me and leads me to the door leading to the pool.
“They have classes here three times a week. I’m told the room is all painted and brightly lit now,” she says as we head down a ramp that has replaced the steep stairs.
The moment I see the pool full of water and shining brightly, a grin spreads across my face and emotion wells inside me, I’m so happy right now. This is exactly what I imagined when I came here. This place is exactly what I was hoping for. There are things I’ll miss about being a priest, but the fact that I can still go to mass and still work for the church in some capacity is more than I could have hoped for. We stop at the edge of the pool; at the place I held her and kissed her in the noise of the filling pool. I take a hold of her face, smoothing my thumbs across her cheekbones. “Do you believe, Emma? Do you believe that He send me to you – just like you told the Bishop?”
Her hands lift and she wraps them around my forearms as she nods. “Yes, Braden. I do believe. Because of you, I believe again.” A tear of happiness falls from her eye and I press my lips against hers, whispering that I love her more than I can possibly express.
“Marry me, Emma,” I say softly, resting my forehead against hers, my chest breathing heavy. “Marry me, be mine. Let me be yours.”
She kisses me. “Yes.” She kisses me again. “Yes, Braden, I’ll marry you.”
I kiss her again, hug her and promise her that she is my heart and my soul and that I’ll always be good to her.
“I know you will, Braden. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“And you’re the best part of me.”
Epilogue
Braden
With flowers in my hand, and a stuffed toy under my arm, I head toward the maternity ward at Newport Hospital. Today, the newest member of the Williams family has entered the world.
The first familiar face I see is Victor. He turns to me and smiles seconds before Jules sees me and says, “Congratulations!”
Victor shakes my hand, Jules hugs me and kisses my cheek, and little Brent asks if the toy I have is for him. He’s three now and is dark haired like his father with a penchant for mischief like his mother.
“Thank you,” I say them both, reaching into my pocket to pull out a bag of gummi worms that I procured for little Brent, knowing he’d be here and on the look out for some candy. “Emma’s the one who did all the work. She was amazing.” I turn to my wife of two years, tired but smiling as she nurses our newborn daughter, Sophie, at her breast. She was born into this world screaming at the top of her lungs at eight o’clock this morning, and I felt like a miracle had been bestowed upon us the moment I heard that cry.
She has brown hair like me, but her eyes are very dark too, and I hope that she gets her mother’s stained glass eyes – it would be the perfect combination of us. “How are
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