“Got a minute?”
Declan looked up and saw Daniel. He was dishevelled and his eyes were red around the rims, his clothes where the sort you'd wear around the house on a weekend which Declan had to admit it was, but overall his young friend looked like he'd had the worst night of his life.
“Certainly, come in.”
“I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?”
“No.” It was a lie. Declan had come in early because with four hours to go before first service he still needed a sermon, but now, with only an hour left he still hadn't a clue what he could say.
He couldn't just start off with “Guess who I met yesterday?” Oh sure, it would certainly grab their attention but it would also grab the attention of the Bishop and probably the people at STATE HEALTH, particularly the under-funded STATE MENTAL end of it.
Daniel moved into his office and closed the door; not an easy feat, for the entrance to his chamber was almost two hundred years old and the wood had begun to warp terribly with the changing weather conditions. Daniel looked around the room; seeking a place to sit that would be both comfortable and yet convey the air of solemn-ness he felt was required.
“I'm not Catholic.”
“Neither am I Daniel.”
“Yeah.” A pause. “I've got a confession I need to make.”
Declan smiled, this would be his second in as many days. “We've got the booths, do you want to do this properly?”
Daniel looked at the warm expression on the old Priest's face. Lucy had been right when she spoke of him finding someone he could trust but when she spoke he had originally thought she meant a mate. He sat at the chair nearest his friend.
“It's not a confession to God, it doesn't even really have anything to do with you personally, except that I consider you a friend.”
“I see. Very well.”
Declan slid his chair from behind his desk and swivelled it around to face Daniel. He leaned in, resting his arms, and indeed his whole upper body, on his knees. Instinctively one hand came out and rested on Daniel's knee as his friend spoke. It was odd because Declan was not normally a tactile person.
Daniel began and at first it came out in the casual way of an anecdote but eventually it wove into a full story, then a drama, before ending with the tragedy. Declan felt his heart ache for his friend as he struggled to tell this story, the events that led to his physical injury and how that in turn led to other unseen injuries.
At the end Declan slid from his chair, to his knees and reached forward embracing his friend, as sobs over took them both. He patted his back and it felt as natural as breathing when the words, “God forgives you Daniel,” came from his mouth.
“I know.” Daniel replied, with a certainty that would have surprised Declan before, but that he understood and felt himself. “I need to forgive myself.”
