17

...Manuel...

I heard Gabriel's footsteps approaching me from behind. He sat down next to me making me look at him. I smiled at him, but he didn't change his serious expression. He held my gaze, again I felt a little weird with him, I had the same feeling as when I held his hand in the confessional. His dark eyes were hypnotic, they made me want to stare at them for the rest of my life. I was confused to feel this way with him, it had never happened to me with anyone.

—May I ask you a question, Father?

—Whatever you want.

He bit his lip visibly nervous.

—I wanted to ask you about Isabel. I saw her very clos...

—No. —I interrupted him—. I know what you want to ask and the answer is no. I'm not interested and I don't want him to approach me like that. I'm not interested, nor do I want him to approach me like that. I was just afraid of this.

He looked away from me.

—Don't worry, Father, we all know what she's like with men. —I looked at him incredulously—. I mean, she's not bad, but she's....

—I understand. —I paused for a few seconds—. Why did you want to ask me about her?

He shrugged his shoulders.

—I was curious. —He finally looked at me—. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable.

—No, you don't.

I smiled before falling silent. We stared at each other again. I wanted to find out what it was about him that had caught my attention so much since the day I arrived. Suddenly, I realized that his cheeks were flushed. Gabriel was an attractive boy, but now he was much more so. The almost angelic face that perfectly accompanied his name made him striking. It was hard not to notice him, not to gawk at him.

—I'm going to continue packing the toys.

He said breaking the silence. I didn't know what to answer, but it didn't matter too much, he got up and walked back to the corner opposite the one I was in. I felt my head turn into a ball of tangled thoughts. I felt confused again. It was the first time someone had managed to unsettle my mind the way Gabriel did. I let out a sigh trying to calm my mind. I forced my head to refocus on the praise I was humming until he spoke to me.

A few minutes later, Maria appeared in the room with a plate with several slices of pizza. She pulled up a chair and put the plate on it, behind her Laura came in with a bottle of water and a couple of glasses which she handed to each of us. Maria smiled at us and left, taking the other novice with her. We sat next to each other and began to eat in silence. Gabi took out his cell phone, probably bored of having to be here working with me.

—Can we take a picture, Father? —He said suddenly, looking at me—. I'm going to send it to my parents.

—Of course.

I wiped my hand, walked over to him and put my arm across his shoulders as he picked up his cell phone. He snapped a couple of pictures before breaking away, thanking me. I looked at him for a few seconds while he ate distractedly with his cell phone. I went back to focusing on eating, I was going to need the energy for a while longer to finish saving the donations. I decided to start as banal a conversation as I could, which quickly veered off into his career and theology questions. In the last few meetings, he hadn't stayed as usual to consult, so he took advantage until we finished eating and got back to work. I realized that the bundle of thoughts in my head had been completely unraveled by the conversation. He seemed to hold the key to either completely unsettle me or leave me like still water. Why had God put him in my path and given him that power in me? Suddenly, knocks on the bedroom door made the thoughts go completely out of my mind. I shouted a "come in" as if it were necessary. The door opened, revealing Basilio's face, he looked at us and smiled.

—It is already late, Gabriel should go back home. And you, Manuel, you should take a break, tomorrow you can continue.

—Yes. —I looked at Gabi—. Sorry for keeping you all day, Gabi.

—Don't worry, Father. —He stood up—. I can come tomorrow to help, if I don't bother.

—How supportive, Gabriel! You should work with us —said Basilio with a fatherly smile—. Manuel, why don't you go with him? It's already very late.

—I don't want to disturb.

—You're no bother. —I got up—. I'll get a coat and come with you.

That said, I left to go into my room. I went back to him as fast as I could with a jacket on, he grabbed his things, said goodbye to Father and we went out. Outside, the temperature had dropped quite a bit, there was fog and a bone chilling wind. I heard Gabi complaining in whispers, I looked at him, his clothes were to withstand the cold of the day, but not that night. I waited until we left the parish to put my arm around him and pull him close to me.

—F-Father? —He cleared his throat—. You're not going to have any trouble?

I bit my lip, loosening my grip on him. He was right, someone might see us and think something inappropriate. On the other hand, we were just friends, what would be inappropriate about me hugging him? I let him go and, without thinking too much about it, I took off my jacket to put it over his shoulders.

—Aren't you cold?

—I come from Bahía Blanca, the cold is normal for me.

—Thank you...

He whispered with a sweet tone in his voice, almost like that of an embarrassed child. We continued on our way talking absentmindedly, every now and then, when a silence would form between us, I would look at him out of the corner of my eye, my jacket was a little big for him. In height there wasn't much difference, maybe one or two centimeters, but in physical build there was, he was much thinner than me. When we arrived, he stood right in front of the gate, took off his coat and gave it to me with a smile thanking me. I felt his warm hand brush mine, chilled by the temperature. He waved goodbye to me and went inside, while I stood in the middle of the sidewalk like a fool. I put on my jacket before looking down at my hand. Like the other time, a sensation that I couldn't explain came over me. It was as if an electric current ran through my whole body with nothing more than a touch of his hand. I returned to the parish confused. Again my mind was nothing more than a tangle of confused thoughts stepping over each other trying to give an explanation for what was happening to me with him. As I entered, I hardly noticed that Basilio had been waiting for me sitting in one of the pews.

—Manuel, I need you to come with me to the office.

Everything that occupied my mind suddenly disappeared. Was she going to talk to me about something related to my training or had I seen something? The closeness with Isabel was not what I was looking for, she was the one who approached me insistently. With Gabriel there was nothing more than a friendship, nothing else could be thought of, especially if we were both men. I followed him trembling with nerves, worried about what he was going to say. He came in and sat behind the desk while I closed the door.

—Please sit down. —I obeyed him—. Well... starting this monday you will be officially in charge of the parish.

—What? But, Father, I still have a lot to learn.

—You are ready, Manuel. —He smiled—. This week you will be in charge of the masses while I finish the paperwork for my retirement. I'm going to explain the administrative part to you in the evening, I don't think it will take us long, actually, it's quite simple.

He moved a little away from the desk to open a drawer and rummaged through it until he pulled out a black-covered notebook the size of a day planner. He opened it and held it out to me.

—Consider it a reference manual in case you forget how to do something. Anyway, don't worry, you'll learn quickly.

I looked at Basilio, who smiled at me and motioned for me to check my notebook. I couldn't believe what he was telling me, how was I going to take over the parish so quickly? I had only said a few Masses while he was away, not much practice, but he looked at me convinced I was doing the right thing. Now my nervousness had mutated into a mixture of excitement and fear. I had prepared most of my life for this, but now I didn't feel capable of handling it all.

—Don't make that face, Manuel. —He giggled—. Commend yourself to God, everything will be all right if you do it.

He stood up, walked around the desk to me and patted me on the shoulder.

—Congratulations, Father. —He smiled proudly. 

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