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"Keep this safe for me," he says.
Assumpta blinks down at the stiff, white collar. "Father—"
"Take it. Just for a moment. I need to do something, and I can't do it with this around my neck."
"I can't—"
"You can. Just—take it. Please, Assumpta."
She meets his earnest, pleading eyes and swallows hard. She nods slowly, as if sudden movement would destroy the solemnity of this moment.
The small strip of card changes hands beneath fixed gazes. Released from its weight, he seems to grow—his shoulders broaden, his chin stiffens, his mouth begins to quirk up at the edges.
He takes her face between both palms and smoothes a thumb over the smooth petal of her cheek.
"Forgive me."
His lips repeat the plea against hers. His hands at the back of her neck are as hot as hellfire on her skin, but the tenderness of their touch sooths away the nagging burn. Somewhere between their lips is another world, a breath of space beyond mandate of man or God.
Father Clifford sinks onto a stool as they pull away. His soft fingers slip away from her neck to catch nervously in his lap. His eyes follow his hands, fixing on the engrossing floor boards instead of her searching gaze.
Assumpta closes her eyes for a moment and focuses on the breath passing through her nose instead of the blood pounding through her veins. He looks up from the floor, made anxious by her silence. When her eyes open again, they fix on the collar clutched in her hands.
"This is getting to be a habit, Father."
"I—"
"Someday soon, I might not give this back so easily."
A moment passes while he struggles with his next thought.
"Someday, I might not expect it back."
She nods, thoughtfully. "In the meantime, then, here it is, Father. Safe as ever."
The little strip of white passes back into his trembling hands, and he shrinks again, relieved by its familiar heft. His eyes stray to hers; she smiles.
"You are forgiven, Peter."
The brush of her lips against his forehead confirms his absolution.
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