Little Green Apples (Ivan×OC)

Chapter 3

Jessica awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. She began to slip on a pair of jeans and a shirt until she realized it was Sunday. She reached for a semi formal blue dress and a pair of white heels.

She gave herself a once-over in the mirror and saw she looked a little flushed. She reached into her purse and pulled out a compact of blush and a tube of lipstick. She lightly dusted her cheekbones with the shimmery pink powder and swiped a light layer of the dark pink cream on her lips, giving her look much more lively and radiant, instead of like she hadn't slept in days. She checked the clock; nine forty-five. She would be there right on time.

She made her way down to the auditorium to find Khalid and Gunnar, as well as a few other people she wasn't familiar with; they must have been town people. She overheard a couple of names, but one in particular stuck out to her: Poul Nordkap, an ex-SS agent, according to Gunnar.

She sat in a lone pew in the front, waiting for the service to begin.

When Ivan came up to the podium everyone else began to get seated. He scanned the small group, then his eyes made contact with hers. He gave her a grin then continued scouring the group, giving polite smiles to everyone. He then began to speak, but Jessica couldn't really concentrate. She had, according to her remembrance, never been inside a church... let alone listened to a sermon. She took in her environment as she caught bits and pieces of Ivan's talking.

"God is Love... We love, because he first loved us... Therefore we have a duty to be kind and accepting towards others...".

She liked what she was hearing, but her main focus at the moment was on Ivan. In his priest garb he looked somewhat intimidating, but she knew he was the exact opposite. Not every church official would be so lighthearted and fun as he was. He also, however, gave off an air of nobility and refinement as he delivered his sermon so genuinely.

After the service was over, she decided to try and get to know some of the other people in town. She met Doctor Kohlberg, who seemed a bit pessimistic and crabby; she tried to talk to a lady named Sarah, but she hurried out of the building right away as soon as they were finished listening to Ivan. She looked around for Poul, but he had apparently not even stayed for the entire thing.

As she was getting ready to go up to Ivan and praise his speaking, the doctor pulled her aside and told her some of Ivan's background. It was obvious he wasn't overly fond of him and thought he was delusional.

"Ivan's a great guy, but he's had it rough. His dad was an abuser and took advantage of him and his sister. Then his wife committed suicide after they learned that their son would be a vegetable his whole life. Yet he believes that God is blessing him; that's why he became a priest," he prattled on.

Jessica couldn't believe what she was hearing... Was the doctor so cynical that he wanted to just gossip? And what was this about his son being disabled? Ivan told her something very different...

'Small town, small minds.'

She did have to wonder why Ivan lied to her about his wife and child though... It's not as if she would judge him for what happened... Maybe he was just in denial about what had happened. She knew she would be, had she endured what he did. After the doctor finished recounting Ivan's story to her, she awkwardly bid him to have a good day, and she finally approached Ivan.

"That was a wonderful service, Ivan. I've never sat in on one before, but I sincerely enjoyed listening to you speak," she praised.

"Thank you very much, Jessica. Though I admit it was hard to keep focused with how lovely you look today," he said with an oblivious grin on his face.

She softly smiled and just nodded her head to him, letting out a hushed, bashful "thank you".

"So, what's on the agenda for the day?," she quipped.

"Well, we could still work on organizing the office if you'd like."

"Sure, why not?"

"Great! Meet me there in about fifteen minutes," he told her.

After a quick trip to her dorm to throw her hair into a messy bun and slip into confortable clothes, she arrived at his office in fifteen minutes exactly. He had already started emptying out drawers and cabinets, making piles on his desk. She could definitely see that he was handling all of the paperwork alone and it was way ahead of him.

"Where would you like to start?," she asked.

"How about we start with the paperwork relating to the people who have come here due to social services," he suggested.

So they went through files one by one and sorted them by name into folders. As they were going through the massive stack of files, she took her chance to ask about his son.

"Would it be okay if I met your son sometime?"

"Certainly! I would be very happy for him to have a friend!," Ivan said.

She couldn't help but smile. Maybe if Ivan had someone who would take an interest in his life it would make it easier for him.