against the works of the flesh//frerard

chapter eighteen

night is so much easier because Frank dreams about nothing, and he doesn't wake up hard the next morning. He feels much lighter, comforted, and he spends that next day in a happy mood.

He feels slightly confused, he has to admit that. Frank doesn't know what that handjob means now, or how he feels about Father Way and how Father Way feels about him, or what is going to happen next. He would like to do it again, to do other things, but Father Way didn't look at him when he left, so he won't even want to talk to Frank again. Frank had forgotten to get the quotes and prints, though, so at least he has an excuse to go over there again.

He doesn't think of it until Friday, though, when he tells his mother he's going to Father Way's house.

"I thought Father Way was in retreat, not meant to speak with anyone?" she reminds Frank again patiently, but Frank is prepared to lie.

"I saw him at church the other day. We talked for a little while and he said it'd be alright to call him, since it's about the essay." His mother nods.

She says, "Don't be home too late."

"I won't, I promise." Frank kisses her cheek in thanks and takes his backpack and bike. He rides fast, not needing his iPod today. He gets there and finds Father Way on the balcony again, but this time he's dressed in his usual outfit of black slacks and a button up shirt. He isn't wearing a collar though, which means he's still himself, still the person Frank is attracted to.

They don't speak to each other at all as Father Way takes them to the library. Frank starts working immediately, with Father Way leaving the library as soon as Frank sits down at the desk. He leaves the door open, though, and Frank doesn't get up to close it. He only needs to copy a few sentences to his notebook and add the respective reference. He tries his best to not think about the top shelf, but wonders if the books up there have been touched since Frank mentioned them.

He hears a noise outside and swiftly looks down at his notebook again. He's about to turn to a third book when Father Way appears in the doorway. "Are you done? I haven't heard you in some time."

Frank needs a plan to get Father Way closer. "Hm... I'm having doubts about this quote, if I should use it or not," he lies, looking down at the book and alternating with his notebook.

"What's the context?" he asks, and Frank explains his essay chapter to him. Father Way reads the quote and tells Frank his opinion. He gets excited in his exposition and can't stop talking. He's standing beside Frank's chair, but the teenager can't stop looking at the priest's mouth, until Father Way stops talking. "Frank, stop staring at me like that. I know what you're thinking about, and it's not gonna happen again."

"Of course not," Frank lies, grabbing his pen. "Is there a way I can get a copy of these title pages, though? I want to use them as attachments to my essay, to prove my work in research, if you know what I mean."

Father Way hums and looks down at Frank, frowning deeply. He seems to be deep in thought. He says, "Mikey's got a scanner downstairs. You can use it, but can you print them at school?"

"I didn't bring my pen-drive with me, though," Frank says, honestly. "I had no idea—"

"It's fine. I think Mikey has a few extra ones somewhere. You can borrow one and give it back..." Father Way makes an absentminded gesture with one hand, before he concludes, "Whenever."

"Okay." Frank nods and realizes he just got an excuse to come back.

In silence, they gather all the books Frank has used in a big pile and bring it downstairs, where they scan the title page of every single one of them. It takes them a long time and neither of them speaks a word that isn't related to what they're doing. When they're all scanned and properly saved in a pen-drive, they both reach for the power button to turn off the scanner.