And The Heart Grows Fonder

And The Heart Grows Fonder Part 9

CHAPTER 8

Go straight home. Honestly, who did he think she was? Some type of ninny to keep tabs on straight through?

Plllllllleeeeeeease.

Audrianna jumped out of the black sedan that chauffeured her and her son around town. She glanced up, paying reverence to the dark clouds and rolling thunder before she ran to the stairs of the cathedral. She held Nikolai's hand as she walked up to greet Father Arie John.

Meeting him on the top step, she barely shot past his middle, in heels. He welcomed her with a smile as he always did. "Rain will be coming soon." He was disturbed, looking up at the darkening sky.

Audrianna slipped past him, dragging Nikolai in hurriedly. "I can feel the drizzle now."

The heavy oak door gave an old fashioned, long creaking noise as the priest pushed it shut, closing off the outdoors.

Audrianna took a moment to marvel at the quiet in the dimly lit foyer.

This is special.

"Yes, it is."

"Huh?" she breathed. Strange, she was sure she hadn't said that out loud.

"Sorry, I just assumed." He cleared his throat and raised his hand in the direction of the aisle between the pews. "Please, this way. Or might you want to talk up here. It is rather quiet today. Not much in number of parishioners are here."

Audrianna noticed just the one woman with her head bowed at a pew.

"Yes, we can get much privacy today. Let's sit here. I like to watch the altar sometimes."

Reminds me of my childhood, going for communion , she mused, eyes on the altar.

"It is rather comforting, isn't it?"

Audrianna smiled. "It is as if you can read my mind. You're the only other man in my life that can do that."

"Other man. Oh, you mean..." Father Arie swallowed hard. "It is just that, well..." He struggled for words. "Your face is an open book, Audrianna." He licked his lips. "Please, we can sit here."

She slid into a pew directly in front of the altar. Father Arie trailed behind her and sat near the end, closest to the red carpeted aisle. The pews were modernly crafted, varnished cherry wood. The walls were a dull grey and mounted on them were plaques depicting various scenes from the New Testament. The ceiling was redwood, dark, and so far up, some corners were blackened with shadow. The altar gleamed gold from the dimmed lighting above. The whole experience lent to a cozy atmosphere.

"Right here, I like to sit sometimes and gaze upon the altar. It does render a calming effect. There is much comfort in the experience." He caught her uncommon stare. "What?"

Audrianna giggled. "Now you're really scaring me."

His brow furrowed.

"I like it here because it reminds me of when I was younger. My school was an R.C. with a church in the courtyard. This is quite similar, but bigger in many aspects. I was just thinking of how quiet and peaceful it is."

He smiled. "I think mayhap we enjoy the similar, simpler qualities life has to offer. There is unity in our unshared experiences, nothing bad about that."

Audrianna glanced over at Nikolai. He was holding on to the backs of two pews parallel to each other, two aisles to her right, and using them to brace his arms as he rocked back and forth without touching the floor. She quietly called out to him to not go beyond the room.