Broken Salvation | 18+

one

    I am a good girl.

    Sadly, I am also the kind of girl men seemed to look right through. Not even tempted to take a second glance. Plain, quiet, subservient, church-going, Julia Green. Not much exciting about that. At twenty-four years old, I was still luckily living with my parents but, we had just moved, across the state, leaving behind my lifelong home, to a new city for dad's work. In some regards, I was fortunate. I wasn't being taken away from much, only a part time job at a little Christian book store and certainly no real friends to speak of. Not even at the church I attended, since literal birth, anytime the doors were open. Even the other girls there found me to be far too strange and sheltered.

    Maybe I was, but it was for the best and I believed it. I never questioned my parents and their reasoning for the things they did. It was just how things were done and I was more than happy with that. God told me how grateful I should be.

    But there is no denying that after a while life was a little lonely as well.

    The reason is that I spent a lot of my time when not at church, alone at home. It was then for my parents that I was doing a lot of cooking and cleaning. For relaxation, if time allowed, I also enjoyed sewing and knitting. It meant that I had made more clothes than I could ever wear over the years. Most of them, I donated as soon as it was finished though a few pieces, the best ones, I would keep for myself. Just like the dress I wore to my first Sunday service at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church.

    It was a simple, almost shapeless lilac dress with thin straps that went over my short sleeved white shirt. There were mauve buttons all the way down the front and the skirt stopped just above my ankles. I wore plain looking brown sandals with it, toes painted with clear nail polish to match my fingers. My bushy brown hair had been as contained and styled as best it could be with a hairbrush alone and I had put on very light, natural makeup. I looked a lot like my mom, who differed only in her graying hair and aged skin.

    With butterflies in my stomach I was walking up to the new small, single story old church with my family. Outside was a neat church yard with a well maintained big cemetery and what looked like the priest's house a little bit away off the back. Walking into the main hall through big wooden double doors  my eyes darted along the bright freshly cut spring flowers that brightly decorated the stained glass windows leading me forwards. It was only a couple of weeks after the Easter services and everything was looking bright. It was then when I first saw him. Father Boss, standing amongst the other church goers and surrounded by old dark wooden pews. The church was a lot like the one we had left back home, though maybe a bit older.

    He was a well put together, distinguished clean shaved looking man with graying blond hair and wearing the dark clothes of a priest. As he turned I could see that he had kind but icy blue eyes that drifted right to the three of us, excusing himself from the family he was currently speaking with before coming right over.

    "Welcome! The Green family, yes?" he asked, to me his deep strong powerful voice vibrated through my body as he firmly shook my dad's hand. My mom, standing one pace back, never offered hers as they stayed down by her sides. And, being good, I tried to correct and do the same by stepping again into the background to allow the men to speak.

    "Yes, you're correct. I'm Joel and this is my wife, Heather, and daughter, Julia. It's so nice to finally meet you after all those emails," dad said with a polite smile. It came as no surprise to me that he had been in talks with the priest of our new church already. In fact, I was sure he spoke with multiple to decide which was best for us. It was just his protective way of looking after all of us, and I was truly grateful for him looking after me so well. If my dad found this to be the best fit for our family, it must have been true.