Advice

A disheartened man looks to his religion for answers.

Middle-aged man enters confessional, he kneels, signs himself with the cross and mouths the words, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy spirit.”  The man clasps his hands together faces the screen separating him and the priest and says aloud, “Bless me father for I have sinned.  It has been two month since my last confession.”  The priest is about a decade older than the man.  He has graying black hair and a partially wrinkled face.  His hands are thick, his eyes are dark and almond shaped and his lips are thin.  The priest’s voice is robust from years of orating and his stomach bulges underneath his robes. 

The priest nods his head in acknowledgement of the man and asks, “What are your sins?”

The man looks at the screen hiding their appearances from each other �" of course their presence in the confessional is obvious to one another �" and he looks puzzled as to how he might say what he means to say.  The man, after much hesitation speaks, “I don’t know if it’s a sin that I’ve come to confess.  I came here under the idea that I might receive advice. I hope you can offer me some.”

The priest responds back quickly, “You didn’t have to come to confession to ask for advice.  You could have called and visited me in my office in the rectory.”

“I didn’t want you to see my face.  It’s a little hard to ask for advice on this.”

“Why?” the priest asks.

“Well, it’s my wife, and I’ve recently found out that she’s cheated on me with the neighbor.”

The priest raises an eyebrow and says, “How have you come by this information?”

“I caught them in the act.  I had my suspicions, so I came home early to see if I could catch them, I did.” He pauses a moment, then continues, “They aren’t aware that I know of the affair.  I felt sick to my stomach and I didn’t want to expose that I know the truth, like that.”

The priest’s astonishment grows and he says, “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday.”

“And what advice do you seek?”

“I want advice on what to do about my wife?”

“Hmm” the priest says. “I don’t quite know what to tell you.”

Author's Note

One of my first short stories. Please be as brutally honest as you want. I can take it; I'm a big boy.