I'm not Catholic; I'm Protestant, but I did some research. So, please note that regarding Sharon's discussion here.
"Thank you for seeing me this afternoon, Father," Sharon smiled as she shook his hand. He returned the greeting and smiled warmly at Sharon.
"I'm always happy to talk, Sharon. It's been awhile, but I could tell from your voice, you sounded like you needed some guidance," he gestured to the couch in his office for Sharon to sit. She moved to it, and he moved to the arm chair near her to sit as well.
"I know you are busy, especially on a Sunday, but I appreciate you finding the time," Sharon told him as she made herself comfortable.
"Part of the job," he gestured with his hand. "Now, what would you like to discuss today?"
"Well," she said as she took a deep breath, "I'm not sure if you are aware, but I was married when I was very young, 18 to be exact," she rolled her eyes. "Yes, it was one of those impulse, certain we were in love situations."
"I didn't know," he frowned slightly. "You had it annulled? I know you've said you and Jack had a traditional Catholic wedding."
"No," she now frowned. "We didn't get married in the Catholic Church to start. I was naïve and didn't realize all the regulations at the time. I thought marriage was marriage and didn't investigate that before I got married. We eloped and were married by a justice of the peace. I was in for a rude awakening when we finally told our families and found out that it was viewed invalid by the church. Now, at the time, I was stubborn and refused to have it formalized in the Catholic Church. So, when we divorced, it wasn't a problem, at least in the church's eye because it hadn't been valid to begin with at the time. I did complete paperwork before I married Jack to make sure everything was done correctly. My first marriage was short, and we didn't have any children."
"Okay," he nodded. "While I'm never glad to hear about a divorce, I'm here to listen right now. Go on," he gestured.
"Well, as you know, I seem to have stellar marriage judgement," she sighed as she shook her head. "Jack is still off living in Vegas, as you know. I am still committed to that marriage, even if he's not. I don't know why, though," she shook her head again.
"Sharon, I've told you that while again, I don't want to encourage divorce, that he has abandoned you, and that does help your case," he explained.
"I know," she nodded as she looked away from him. "I'm not here for that. I'm not ready to deal with that, with Jack. I'm not sure I ever will be ready to face another failed marriage. I am here today to discuss my first marriage."
"Oh?" he asked. "What about that? You said it was years ago, correct?"
"Yes, and I hadn't seen him for over 20 years, but I ran into him almost a year ago now," she explained.
The priest nodded as he looked back to Sharon, "And, since then?"
"Since then, I've discovered he's moved to the West Coast, here in LA to be exact. We knew each other and were married in New York during some of my college years. We ran into each other last spring and discovered our sons both play baseball. What's even more ironic is that we discovered we both work for the LAPD," she explained.
"Oh?" he asked, now surprised and intrigued. He sat forward in his seat to change his position, "So, are things strained? Is it a problem at work?"
Sharon pursed her lips, "I'm not sure. No, I mean, it's not a problem at work. I was terrified to talk to him and then let out the tidbit that we work in the same building. He had no idea I'd gone into law enforcement. When we were married, I had plans to go to law school. A lot about my life surprised him. A lot about his life surprised me. Over the course of the last several months, I feel we have both been trying to put the past behind us, and that's why I'm here."
He nodded, "What are you wanting from that? You're here for some reason. Are you wanting to rekindle things with him again knowing you are married? Why are you here? That's probably the first question you should ask yourself."
"I'm wanting to get along with him, to I guess, be friends. We work together. He's a lieutenant in Robbery/Homicide, and my division handles cases with them often. No, I'm not looking to start some romance. I have a Jack," she sighed.
"So, what troubles you today?" he asked.
"I'm not sure whether to go over the past with him or almost hide it. Do I talk to him more and get things in the open, or do we just bury the past?" she asked.
"I can't answer that, at least to give you the perfect answer. You need to look inside yourself and figure out what will bring you peace. Is it better to bury things and move on as you said, or is it better to address some issues? If things affect your work situation, yes, you should address them. Other than that, you need to look inside yourself."
"Andy is part of the reason my marriage to Jack has been such a disaster. I don't think I ever got over Andy, and I know I jumped into my marriage with Jack to try to prove to everyone I'd moved on. Now, since I've been married to Jack, I've tried to be a good wife, and I haven't looked back to Andy. Jack and I moved to a different part of the country, but Jack told me over the years I'd dream of Andy and call out to him when I slept. No man, no woman, even, wants to hear their spouse call out the name of a past love."
"Well, while I can't speak from experience," he gave a small smile, "I would agree with you on that. How old were you when you and Andy got married?"
"18," she told him. "We met when I was 17 on a tour at his college, and that became my college. He was a student there already, and he took me around the department." Sharon paused and smiled at the memory. "It was my senior year of high school. My parents weren't keen on dating a college student, so Andy and I tried to be discreet. It was one of those whirlwind romances, and by the spring, we were deeply in love, so we thought. I didn't even take him to prom because college students weren't allowed to attend. I told my parents I was going with friends, got dressed up, and all. Andy met me at the restaurant, and we had our own prom meal, even if we couldn't go to prom. He asked me to marry him then, which now sounds so stupid," she sighed. "I was in love," she shrugged as she looked to the priest. "He was too. We didn't see anything wrong with it. People asked why we rushed later on when they found out about it, and I can only say I was trying to be a good Catholic. I hadn't slept with him, and he had respected that. He was Catholic too. He also could use it, our marriage, for his financial aid package, which again, sounds so stupid. My parents were financing everything for college, and they had no intention for me to get married that young. So, I said yes to Andy. I thought it would be forever. We ran off that night," she smiled at the memory again. "I felt badly about lying to my parents, but I knew they would never approve. We'd already had our arguments about Andy over the year. Things had started innocently enough, taking me to dinner and a movie. I had him over for dinner, and my parents met him. They seemed to like him fine when we were getting to know each other, but as that fall progressed, and they could see that Andy and I were more serious than they liked, we started to argue about him. They told me I couldn't date him, which again, I know was not the brightest decision on any of our parts. They told me to even look at a different college because they were worried about things getting serious with Andy at college where they couldn't keep an eye on me 24 hours a day. So, Andy and I dated that year in secret. My friends kept my secret, and I guess that is why when he asked me to marry him, it sounded right. It was forbidden. We were in love, and I was doing what I wanted. For once, I was taking charge of my life because, of course, I didn't think my parents knew what they were talking about regarding my life. I'd turned 18 just a few weeks before prom, so we ran off that night. We drove into the city that night, and we just thought we were so romantic. I hadn't even met Andy's parents yet, because, remember, we were sneaking around while he was in college. He'd just finished his semester and had an internship lined up that summer. We knew we didn't have a lot of time, and I suppose we were worried what the distance apart that summer would do. So, we eloped," she took a deep breath as she looked to the priest. His expression hadn't changed; he was in listening mode. "My parents thought I was staying with friends all night for prom, so I had that worked out. Honestly," she laughed, "I hadn't thought about getting married going into the evening, but it sounded right. There we both were, dressed up for the night, so we got married. Andy worked all through college, so he'd been saving his money to buy me a ring. It wasn't anything glamorous; it was perfect. I didn't need glamorous, just Andy. We found a wedding chapel, got married, and we stayed in the city. Our honeymoon was one night in New York City," she smiled at the memory. "He had found a very nice hotel for us, and we enjoyed every minute. We talked about telling my parents, and that is where we didn't know what to do. We were afraid they would demand an annulment, and as I said, I didn't know much about the regulations of the church. So, we decided not to tell them, at least right away. We had honored my beliefs from the church and decided to keep our wedding between us. Andy used the information for school, but when I went home that next day, I said nothing."
"You hid your wedding from your parents?" the priest asked, now visibly surprised. "I must say, Sharon, that surprises me. You have changed then over the years."
"Yes," she nodded slightly as she pursed her lips, "I've changed. I can't believe it now, looking back. I've grown so much."
"Growth will do that, put things in perspective," he agreed. "When did you tell your parents?"
Sharon looked to him, "Thanksgiving," she sighed. "We couldn't do it any longer. We wanted to be together; we were married after all. With the holidays approaching, we knew we wanted to spend time together. We wanted to meet both families. You must understand that after we got married, Andy went to the city for his internship. I didn't see him much that summer. He came to my high school graduation, but even then, my parents didn't see him. It doesn't make sense, I know," she paused. "We were young and stupid. I didn't see Andy that much that summer. We spoke on the phone, but I really only was able to see him when school started. We didn't even consider married student housing until after the semester had started, and we certainly hadn't put any thought into things such as insurance, finances, and the like. My parents were so excited for me to start college as what they thought, a single young woman. They moved me into my dorm, met my roommate, and all that. I told my roommate and friends before my parents. By Thanksgiving, we had come up with our plan. We wanted to tell our parents and move into married student housing for the spring."
"How did that go?" he asked.
"How do you think?" Sharon chuckled as she rolled her eyes.