Emily and the Priest Read Online Free

at you, wearing your heart right there on your cheek.” He kissed her other cheek and she giggled, putting her arms around his neck.
    “Bye Sam!” Emily called and the little girl turned to look over her brother’s shoulder and wave as they made their way through the crowd. She looked over at Father Mark, smiling. “What a sweetie.”
    “Her mother committed suicide two years ago.” Father Mark waved back at the little girl. “Her br other has custody. He works three jobs.”
    Emily blinked at him. “How awful.”
    “Priests and doctors. ” He shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets, still looking after them. “I guess w e kind of know everything about everyone in a little town like this .”
    “Have you ever regretted becoming a priest?” She asked the question without thinking, and wished she could take it back almost immediately, but when she looked up and met his eyes, she saw something there that made her knees weak.
    “Not until recently.” His voice trembled. Then he cleared his throat, looking over at Alexis , who was washing red paint out her brush, and said more loudly, “Hey, I want to show you something. Do you get a break?”
    “Ummmm.” Emi ly looked over at her roommate.
    “Go ahead!” Alexis called, waving them away with her pink-tipped brush. “It’s almost closing time anyway. I’m fine here by myself.”
    Emily looked at her watch, seeing that Alexis was right. It was almost five. Their line had dwindled as most of the kids crowded the booths where they could take one last shot at winning something before they went home, dazed with sugar, to pass out for the night.
    “Where are we going?” Emily asked as they began to walk down the cement path. There was a park right next to the school owned by the church—named, not very originally, St. Mary’s Park—where they held all their larger events. There was even a bandstand where Christian music groups played in the summer.
    “Do you like surprises?” he asked as they turned the corner into a more wooded area of the park. The cement path faded off into more of a trail here, but someone had obviously cleared it and put down mulch. The leaves crunched under their feet, creating a multicolored carpet.
    “Depends on the surprise I guess.” She followed him as he made a sharp left turn, off the beaten path now. The woods were deeper here, and while she could still hear the throng of people behind them somewhere, the sound was faded, muffled. Father Mark caught her hand as she stepped over a fallen log. There was a path here, too, of sorts, but it hadn’t been used regularly in a long time, she gathered.
    “Watch your step.” He helped her over the log and they went on, Father Mark still holding her hand. He didn’t let go as they made their w ay through the underbrush and h e gallantly held branches out of her way as they walked
    “It’s so beaut iful.” Emily felt him squeeze her hand, as if reminding her he hadn’t forgotten he was holding it.
    “I love autumn. ” He smiled back at her, still leading the way. “Did you know that the leaves of deciduous trees aren’t really green? That’s just the color of the chlorophyll. As the weather gets cooler, the green fades, and the true colors of the leaves come out.”
    “ I suppose everyone’s true colors reveal themselves eventually, huh? ” Emily looked around in wonder as he stopped walking, the path opening into a sudden clearing. “O h ! Look! ”
    But of course he already knew. This is what he had brought her here to see. The old stone chapel stood in the center of the clearing, its multi-colored stones giving it a cobbled look. The roof was dark, the steeple too, rising upward and ending at an iron cross. The pathway to it was worn and the grass mowe d. Clearly it was taken care of. There were benches nearby, and in the distance, she could see the blue haze of Lake Michigan.
    “It was built in 1866. They held church here on Sundays, and children attended school