Chapter Eight

Now more than ever, Father Jed Bartlet found himself taking on more responsibilities at the church. Father McDevitt had become consistent about asking for Jed's opinions on sermons and the like and, as his colleagues grew more and more fond of him, he began to earn their trust. For the first time in his young life, Jed felt as if he belonged somewhere. He was at peace with these people. He understood them, and they him. It was a situation unlike any he had ever been in before. A knock on the door jarred him out of his concentrated state as he was reviewing Father McDevitt upcoming sermon. He lifted his eyes from the piece of paper in front of him and, with his voice, granted entry to whoever waited outside. It was Father McDevitt himself, making his rounds as he often did at the end of the day.

"Good evening, Father," Jed said, standing to greet him.

"Sit, sit," Father McDevitt insisted.

Together, they sat in two adjacent chairs in the corner of the relatively small room.

"How do you like the sermon?"

"So far, it's flawless. I have a few paragraphs left."

"Good, good. You know your input is important to me, Jed."

"Thank you, Father. That means a lot."

"That said, I've come here with something else on my mind," Father McDevitt said.

"What can I do for you?" Jed asked.

"My powers of observation have been acutely honed over the years and, contrary to popular belief, I am able to detect often the subtlest of things. With these tremendous powers of observation, I have noticed that you seemed to be getting on with our own Abbey Bennett remarkably well."

Jed nodded calmly, but inside, his mind was racing with fear. Was it somehow unacceptable for a priest to take a walk with a parishioner at a church picnic? Was it considered sacrilege to have a twenty-minute conversation with one after a service? Maybe it was only considered improper if the churchgoer in question happened to be young and more than moderately attractive.

"Yes, she's a…very interesting person," he replied nervously.

"That she is. She is a delightful young woman. But more than that, she is a hopelessly misguided young woman. Ever since the tragic death of her mother a few years back, she has distanced herself from the church. While we are enormously thrilled that she has returned to us, at the same time, we continued to be very concerned about her. It occurs to me that, because you two are so close in age and also because she seems to have taken to you, you would be the perfect mentor for her. Don't worry now, it's a fairly simple task. Essentially, you would just need to keep doing what you're doing. Does that sound like something you could handle?"

Are you kidding! He wanted exclaimed.

Instead, he said, "Absolutely, Father. I'd be glad to."

"Wonderful. I'm so pleased to hear that."

"Anything I can do to help, Father."

Father McDevitt smiled and patted the younger man lightly on the knee.

"You're going to go far here at St. Andrews, Jed. Just you wait."

In the backseat of her father's Chevrolet, Abbey Bennett could not stop fidgeting. She tapped her high heels against the floor of the car anxiously and began wringing her hands. When, after a few more minutes of impatient waiting, no one came out to join her, she leaned up to the front seat and pushed down on the horn in the middle of the steering wheel. Twenty seconds later, her father, step-mother, and younger sister came bolting out of the house. The latter hopped into the backseat beside Abbey while their parents took their places in the front seats.

"My, we are impatient this morning," Joanne commented, breezily.

Abbey folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against her seat.

"I don't want to be late, that's all." She glanced up at her father, who didn't even have his hands on the steering wheel. "Go!"

"Calm yourself, child," Nick said, raising an eyebrow when he glanced back at her. "We're waiting for Julia."

"Julia's coming!"

"Poor girl thinks the wrath of God is upon her," Joanne replied.

Nick scowled.

"The wrath of God IS upon her."

"Only because you put it there, darling."

Nick chose to ignore his wife's latest statement and instead turned his attention to his middle daughter.

"Oh, by the way, Abbey, Ron phoned while you were in the shower this morning. He was called into work last minute. He won't be able to make it to church."

It was all Abbey could to do keep herself from smiling.

"Oh, no."

Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Like you really care," she scoffed. "Abbey will just bide her time with Father Bartlet. Won't you, Abbey?"

Abbey shot a menacing glare at her little sister.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Curious and intrigued, Joanne turned around to face her step-daughters.

"Yeah, what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Michelle began with a wicked grin. "That Abbey's got a crush on Father Bartlet!"

"Michelle Lynn!" Nick exclaimed just as Abbey jabbed her in the ribs.

"Shut up, you little twerp."

At that moment, Julia opened the car door and hopped in the backseat, pushing Abbey into the middle.

"Did you just call her a twerp?" Julia asked with amusement.

"Abbey has a crush on Father Bartlet," Michelle announced to her oldest sister who had just joined the conversation.

Julia's jaw dropped as she regarded her sister with astonishment. Abbey rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to her."

"Abigail Bennett, that is worse than having a crush on a professor!" Julia exclaimed.

"It's not true!" Abbey insisted.

"My God, a priest!"

"That's enough!" Nick bellowed as he put the car into reverse and began backing out of the driveway. "I won't have any more of this talk in my car."

"Oh, lighten up, Dad," Julia said.

"And you, Julia, are in no position to give me orders considering the compromising position you've gotten yourself into."

"Leave her alone, Nick," Joanne said. "I swear, I have never seen you so uptight."

"That's because none of my daughters have ever gotten pregnant out of wedlock before!"

"Fair point."

Abbey groaned.

"Can't this car go any faster?"

After the service, Jed picked Abbey out in the crowd and approached her. Feeling vindicated after Father McDevitt's request, he took her for a leisurely walk around the church grounds.

"So, how did you like the sermon today?" He asked.

"It was interesting," Abbey replied, thoughtfully. "I've always found that witnessing isn't really my strong suit."

"Why is that?"

"I don't like the idea of pressing my ideas upon others. It's like politics. It's no use trying to convert a Republican into a Democrat. Unfortunately."

"But it happens."

"Hardly ever."

"If you care about someone, isn't it important to you that they secure themselves a place in Heaven, so to speak?" Jed questioned

"Well, yeah, but I feel like religion is something people have to discover on their own in order for it to be honest and heartfelt. I don't think anyone should accept Jesus as their savior just because they're scared to death of going to hell. That's not how it should be."

"Yes, but, as it says in Romans 10:14, 'how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?'"

"Oh, come on, this isn't the Middle Ages. There's not a person in the world who doesn't know who Jesus is and what his purpose is. It's not like I'm going to walk up to someone and say, 'Hey, ever heard of Jesus? He died for your sins! Isn't that cool?' Get real."

Jed laughed, despite himself, causing her to laugh as well.

"I know you know what I mean, Father Bartlet."

"I do see where you're coming from, yes."

"And anyway, most of the people at this church are about as religious as Mary Magdalene," Abbey commented.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying they all go home and worship Elvis Presley, take God's name in vain, talk back to their parents, steal their sister's new sweater, lie until they're blue in the face, and covet the hell out of their neighbor's wife. Everyone goes to church because they feel like they have to."

"Is that why you go to church?"

Abbey shrugged.

"Sometimes."

"And other times?"

"I don't know, curiosity, I guess. It helps my experiments."

Jed raised an eyebrow at her.

"Your experiments?"

"Yeah. For instance, one week I'll pray and ask God to let this be a spectacular, amazing, over-the-moon kind of week. And the next week, I won't. Then I compare the two weeks and see which one was better."

"Really?" He asked, suspiciously.

"Really. Let's just call it testing my faith."

"That's one way to look at it."

She let out an sudden, infectious laugh that showed off her completely enchanting smile. He was captivated by her for a moment, until the laughter subsided and she began focusing on her shoes, embarassed. He did the same, though for an entirely different reason.

They started the trek back to the main church house, the conversation abruptly becoming much more casual and impersonal. The remainder of the congregation was gathering outside, mingling as they always did following a Sunday morning service. Jed and Abbey approached her father, who was standing in a group with several other older men.

"Abbey! There you are. Julia is out looking for you as we speak," Nick said. "And you've brought Father Bartlet with you. How are you, Father?"

"Fine, thank you, sir," Jed replied, like a schoolboy who had just been introduced to his girlfriend's father.

"You've been at the church for, what, five or six months now?"

"Somewhere around there."

"I think it's about time we had Father Bartlet over for dinner. What do you think, cookie?" He asked Abbey.

Abbey hesitated before responding.

"Sure, absolutely."

"Excellent. How's Wednesday night at six for you, Father?" Nick questioned.

"Sounds…perfect. Thank you."

"You're welcome anytime. Anytime at all."

"Well." Jed fidgeted nervously. "I'd better get back inside. It was nice talking with you all."

"Bye, Father," Abbey responded, distractedly.

"We'll see you Wednesday, Father! Six sharp!"