บท 15: Chapter 4. Blueberry Season (July) Part 1
Carol is ten years older than Lisa. I heard it was almost like The Member of the Wedding when Carol got married. Lisa had such a crush on Steve! --overheard at St. Mark's coffee hour.
Lisa waved to her brother-in-law, who was playing catch in the front yard with his six-year-old son.
"Lisa! Wait a minute," Steve said. "Hey buddy -- I need to talk to your aunt. Could you please find something else to do for a little bit?" Scott nodded, then waived to Lisa.
"Hi, Aunt Lisa!"
"Hi, Scotty!" She started up the front walk of the rectory and Steve met her halfway.
"I'll walk you home," he informed her, "since you don't have your usual crowd with you any more."
Lisa winced and tears stung her eyes. She missed Fabian and Bruiser more than she'd ever dreamed she would. Even after two weeks none of the pain had eased. Steve took her hand.
"Lisa, you listen to everyone in town and you keep a confidence better than some priests I know. You just need to remember to ask someone to listen to you. Talk to me."
"Steve, I'm fine," she said tersely. She didn't want to discuss Fabian and hoped that he would drop it. All she wanted to do was get over the stone bridge that Fabian had admired so much and get home. Her feet hurt and she was getting a headache. She'd already had the aura; she knew it was only a matter of time.
"You're not fine and I am Father Stephen right now. Talk to me. I promise I won't hit you over the head with religion. You need to talk and I will listen."
"Should I remind you that it's your job to hit me over the head with religion?" Lisa was annoyed.
"Leeesa! You can't escape me. I am walking you home. You may as well talk to me; I won't leave you alone until you do.
"What is this? The bully pulpit?"
"Very funny. I am amused."
Lisa left go of his hand and turned to look at him.
"Steve, people talk to me because they want to; not because I make them."
"Okay, say you were walking down the street and you saw a kid fall off his bike and skin his knee. You'd find a first aid kit and help, wouldn't you."
"Of course. That's basic Good Samaritan stuff. Ow. Religion just hit me over the head."
"Why are you fighting me on this? You're a lot of things but you are usually not rude. Like the kid who fell off of his bike you are visibly bleeding and I want to help you."
That stopped her cold. She burst into tears and he helped her to sit on the abutment of the stone bridge.
"You let him matter to you, didn't you?" Stephen asked softly. Lisa nodded. He handed her a small package of tissues.
"I didn't want to," she said, cleaning up her face with one tissue and blowing her nose on another, "but we got along so well! I felt like I'd known him before. He was interesting, fun to be with, and horribly attractive. And it was so flattering that he seemed to like me too! That was the biggest difference -- for a change I got the good-looking guy, not Shelly and her pretty popular nurse crowd."
"What happened? He didn't say he'd rather have you as just a friend?"
"No. I broke it off." She knew she'd made a mistake mentioning Shelly. Now all she could think about was Fabian and Shelly. It made her heart hurt.
"Why?"
"I heard some things that bothered me." Lisa definitely did not want to discuss this any further, but Steve was every bit as much of a bulldog as Bruiser was.
"Now I'm shocked, Lisa Kreider. You usually don't pay attention to gossip."
"It wasn't gossip. His brother told me some things."
"It was gossip if it was about Fabian and didn't come from him."
"They're twins, Steve. If anyone would know Fabian, it's Franco."
"Assuming they're close like the only twins you know -- Amy and Annie. Not all twins are the best of friends, Lisa. They're still siblings. Now think a minute. Think about what Fabian looks like and then what Franco looks like. Do you think Franco might have any reason to be jealous? You, Craig and Carol come from a very close family. It's difficult for you to understand that not all families get along like you do. Carol has the same issue sometimes. What did his brother tell you?"
"He told me that ... Fabian is out of my league."
"In what way?"
"He expects ... certain things from girls he dates." Lisa blushed, and Steve looked at her somewhat skeptically.
"I see," he said. "Fabian walked you home from work every evening for two weeks, right?"
"Yes."
"He took you to the carnival and walked you home from there."
"Yes."
"He took you out for dinner at the Tavern and walked you home."
"Yes. Do you have a point?" Lisa was annoyed again.
"Was Fabian less than a gentleman on any of these occasions?"
"Are you a priest or a lawyer?"
"I like legal dramas. Answer the question."
"No. He didn't even kiss me good night. Or even at the top of the ferris wheel."
"I remember -- you complained to your sister about that. So I'm confused, Lisa. He did nothing wrong except enjoy your company and you dumped him for it. He didn't even tell you that he liked your company too much to be more than friends."
"Did he send you to talk to me?"
"No. You're being unfair and I wanted to draw your attention to it. Sometimes when we feel we're in too deep we flail around and we hurt people who are trying to help us. He wasn't trying to drown you, Lisa. I've seen him lately -- he's in terrible shape. He's trying, but he is obviously very hurt."
"What a lovely metaphor to use to someone who almost drowned as a child," she said.
"Got your attention, didn't it."
"He'll forget about me. He probably already has." The thought of that made her feel more miserable and she stifled a sob.
"No, Lisa. He won't. Here's something else you don't understand. Yes, some men like to play. But when those men get serious, that's the end of it. They say reformed rakes make the best husbands and from my observation that's true more often than not. It's obvious that you weren't the only one who allowed themselves to feel. You cut him very deeply, Lisa, and it will bleed for a long time. It will also leave a very big scar. I'm not hearing anything from you except that you heard something bad and you panicked. Not a good reason to cause someone pain."
Lisa covered her face. He was right, and she knew it. She'd behaved horribly, and not knowing any better was no excuse.
"But what if it's true?" she asked.
"What if what's true? I think we've just established that he was a gentleman with you."
"There was something else. Franco told me that Fabian is having an affair with a married woman."
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