9

...Manuel...

—Shall I help you? —I asked while Maria was preparing breakfast.

—Don't worry, Father.

— Don't be so respectful, no problem.

—I can't, you know the rules. You shouldn't be here either, Father.

—Yes, Father Manuel, you may go to pray or to rest.

—I got up half an hour ago, Nieves, I'm not tired.

The woman was about to say something, but Basilio's voice singing a praise made her mute, she motioned me to come out of the kitchen at once. I had no choice but to listen to her, after all, I was not yet in charge of the parish and I could not go against the rules that were already in place. Father greeted me with a smile as if he had not seen me ten minutes ago in the hallway on his way to his office.

—Gabriel is looking for you at the parish, it seems he waited until we opened.

—Thank you. I'm going to see him.

I smiled at him before heading down the aisle, he was sitting in the first row with his eyes on the floor. I approached him making him look at me, I smiled at him as I settled next to him.

—How can I help you, Gabi?

—I am having trouble understanding some theology topics, I wanted to know if you could help me.

—Sure, we can meet after the missionary meeting, if you are free.

—Yes, I can come to the meetings this week, I have my next exam coming up and it would help me a lot if you could clarify some things for me.

—Of course, Gabi, I'll help you in any way I can.

He smiled at me and stood up.

—Thank you. And sorry to bother you so early, it was the only time I had before going to school.

—Don't worry. Go with God.

—Thank you, Father.

He smiled again, waved to me and left. I watched him leave the parish before returning to the dining room. Everything was already served, all the seats were already taken except for mine, right next to Basilio. I sat down, prayed silently while Father gave directions to the Sisters and novices. Then I began to eat breakfast thinking about Gabriel. I was happy that he asked for my help, not because I felt needy, but because it was the starting point of what was going to be my daily work. I was excited to be able to help the neighborhood.

—Manuel. —I turned to Father—. Today is the start of the collection for the needy. Could you post the reminder on the bulletin board?

—Of course, Father.

—You can look for it in my office.

—I also want you to take care of the missionary talks starting today.

I nodded with a smile. I had a quick breakfast to take care of what I had been asked to do. I opened the protective glass of the board and, with a couple of thumbtacks, hung it up. Afterwards, I re-entered the parish, Mary was entering the altar with a bucket full of cleaning supplies. I approached her offering to help her, this time without taking "no" for an answer. I would start changing things from now on. I helped her clean the seats one by one.

—You don't have to, Father.

—You can call me by my first name when we are alone," I smiled at him. I don't mind helping, on the contrary, I like it. It's not my thing to sit around and watch everyone else do everything.

—But you have other responsibilities, we novices only take care of the chores.

—Do you think that's not enough? —I smiled—. I'm not doing anything now, I can help you without any problem.

—It's hopeless, Father. —He moved a little closer to me—. You are nothing like Father Basilio, he was always like that —he whispered.

—Like this?

—You always let the women take care of everything. You're not like that, you always want to help us.

—I grew up with three women, Maria, they always instilled in me to help with the chores, although they did it thinking that I would get married someday.

She smiled.

—Those women did a good job.

—They know. —I chuckled—. Let's get this over with.

And so we did, we cleaned all the seats, the altar table and the statuettes of the saints that we could reach. Suddenly, Father Basilio burst in, approached us with a look of circumstance on his face and looked directly at Mary.

—Your aunt is calling you, it's about your mother.

Her face went completely blank when she heard that it was her mom who was the reason they were calling her. She went out without wasting time to the main office where, she assumed, was the place they called to communicate. The Sisters and novices did not usually have their cell phones with them unless they went out, as it was usual for them to do housework, the device was in danger of falling in water or on the floor itself. Not to mention that it was a distraction.

—Maria's mother is a very sick person," Basilio commented in a low voice. She is always in hospitals... I hope God helps her.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Maria appeared through the door in tears. You didn't have to be too smart to realize that she wasn't bringing good news. Basilio approached her to take her back to the office. Later, he took it upon himself to let me know that the girl's mother had passed away and that he would be present at the wake, both to give the funeral service and to accompany Maria and her family. I was to take charge of the church in a couple of days, when everything would be done.

Maria left the parish about twenty minutes after receiving the news. I watched her leave through the side door from my window, she was carrying a khaki colored backpack, similar to her novice habit. She was still in tears, I was able to hear her sobbing and sniffling. I would have liked to hug her, I knew it would accomplish nothing, but she would feel supported by someone, it was the least I could do to thank her for her help when I arrived at the parish. I wasn't going to be able to do that until I got back in a few days. I was about to get back to focusing on what I had to prepare for the meeting when I remembered that Gabriel was going to be there. It had been a while since I had seen him there. It made me happy, he was a very striking guy, despite not having features that would catch the attention of most, he looked like an ordinary twenty-something, even a rather demure one. Maybe in other places in Buenos Aires, that would attract attention, but here he was just one of the bunch. To me, with all this, he still caught my attention, I would spend the day talking to him. There was something about him that attracted me a lot, but I wasn't sure what it could be. Somewhere a trait in his personality seemed familiar, or reminded me of me, even though I was a rather younger me than he was. I wish I had met him a few years earlier, I was sure we would have gotten along well.

I stayed until noon in my room preparing what I was going to say in the missionary meeting. It was not much, but I had to read and memorize the passage of the story of David and Jonathan. A story that would serve to teach them about friendship. I wasn't sure if Basil used it, but it might be a good addition. I marked the passage and jotted down a few things I would like to tell them in reference to the quote before closing my notebook and Bible.

...***...

—Well, Gabi, I'm all yours.

I motioned for him and Facundo to sit down in front of the desk I had in the living room. For my part, I sat on the other side, as close as I could to Gabriel so I could read his notes. He began to explain to me what he had seen in his classes, it was nothing I had not studied during seminary. Analyzing Bible verses was the most complicated thing there was in fundamental theology. I spent about an hour explaining everything I didn't understand and answering his questions.

—Father, how much did you study to become a priest? You are young. —Asked Facundo—. Do you mind if I ask your age?

—Please call me by my first name, you don't have to talk to me with such respect. —I smiled at him—. I am twenty-five and I studied for seven years in the priesthood.

—That's a lot! Good thing I didn't get into that too.

—Were you going to enter the priesthood? —asked Gabi.

—Yes, with Santi, but I decided to leave religion.

—Why did you decide to quit? —I interjected.

—Difference of opinion on some things. —He waved his hand to play it down—. I prefer not to go into details, but I think I'm better off staying away from religion. Don't take this the wrong way, Father.

—I have no problem, Facundo. There is freedom of creed. Besides, you came to the talk, even though you have differences with the church, that's good.

—I came because Gabo asked me to accompany him.

—Lying is a sin. —His friend looked at him, then back at me—. I think we should go, I don't want to take up any more of your time.

—I hope everything is clearer to you now. You can come and consult me whenever you want.

—Yes, thank you for your help.

They both got up from their places. Gabi hurried to put her things away, slung her backpack over her shoulder and looked at me.

—I really liked the verse you read, the story of David and Jonathan is my favorite. —He smiled, adjusting the shoulder strap of his backpack—. Well, we're off. Thanks for the help, see you later.

Having said this, they both left without wasting a second. I smiled happily, I was still curious about Gabriel, a curiosity that penetrated more and more inside me when I looked at him, I did not know what it was due to, nor what exactly I wanted to know about him, but, if he provoked this in me it was because God had decided so. 

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