Rule 5 - Constantine
“You were way too good at that.”
I ran my tongue along my lips and fought back a laugh, to no avail. “What do you mean?” I turned my back to Eisley and played with a row of candles on the table behind the podium.
“Penance, the prayers, stepping into the role of priest. All of it.”
I turned my head as she shuddered. If I hadn’t just come, my mood would have dipped. I put down the candles and went to her.
“Well, when you watch your father, your… actual father, play pretend with the role for years, you learn a thing or two.”
My father was a fucking monster. He did a lot of fucked up things to adults, children, and Eisley, Kansas, and me. He led a cult that murdered and tortured countless people for almost twenty years. I was glad when I got to be the one to watch his soul leave his body in the end. I hated how well I was able to mimic the way he held himself in public. Whenever the Shelley Vale police or other townsfolk would come snooping around, he played the part of the soft-spoken, kind, god-fearing minister. All I did today was pretend I was in his shoes.
“How do you feel?” Eisley brought me back from my dark memories. I smirked.
“Like I just got a blow job. Pretty fucking good, actually.”
“Constantine,” she scolded.
“Father,” I corrected. I glanced around the large chapel. “If we want them to fix our car, we need to keep the peace, play our parts, and...” I swallowed, the lump in my throat falling down into my belly. Eisley felt saddened, and her lower lip trembled.
“I thought you were all about not hiding our relationship.” She was referring to our throuple, and I nodded.
“I am. However, I don’t think this town would like to know that not only is their priest breaking his vows, he’s breaking them with two people, not just one, and one is also a person of the same sex. I think for now, it’s best that maybe...” An idea perked me up. “What if we turned this into a game of sorts.”
“A game?” She raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got that glint in your eye. It’s making me nervous.”
I grinned. “What do you mean?”
“Priest Duvall!”
We were interrupted by a man hurrying down the aisles, out of breath. “You’re here! I was hoping you would be.”
“Yes, child.” I fought back the urge to snap at him. “What can I help you with?” I slid the mask back on, returning to the priest they wanted.
“We wanted to see if you’d do mass.”
Mass?
I tightened my jaw and tried to quickly figure out how to get out of it, but the look on this man’s face, once he stopped breathing heavily, told me it wasn’t really an ask.
“The sheriff said he saw you come in; and that you’d been taking confessions. Whatd’ya say, Father? Our town has really missed the word of god.”
I glanced at Eisley, who was watching me intently. We shared a silent conversation.
What was I supposed to do?
I’d just finished telling her we had to lay low and do what they wanted. If I didn’t step up, they’d never fix the fucking car. Inhaling deeply, I nodded solemnly.
“Of course. I can do an evening mass.”
“The rest of the week?” His face lit up, and I stiffened. Every. Fucking. Day?
I forced my anger down and nodded. “Of course.”
It was only then, after I’d agreed under duress, that he glanced Eisley’s way.
“Who is she?” he asked in the shittiest tone. My eye twitched as I fought the urge to reach down into my boot and slash his neck open. The red blood would look so damn pretty all over this floor.
“This is...” Fuck, what were the names Kansas had given us?
Eisley stepped forward, extending her hand. “I’m Domino.”
The man didn’t take it. Instead, he gave her a look of disgust.
“She is one of my traveling companions,” I explained, my stomach twisting with the lie. Companion? More like wife, partner, love of my life, part of my soul, the breath I breathed. My everything.
My... companion.
The man nodded. “You and that other man. Who is he, then?” he asked me, not Eisley.
Quick, what were the other names?
“Koi?” I recalled. “Koi is my other companion.”
“They sinners?”
Sinners? What fucking year was this?
“That’s why they’re traveling with you.” He nodded answering his own question. “You are ministering them to save them from their evil ways.”
The anger inside no longer could be pushed down. My vision went red and my body grew warm with rage. I stepped forward, my fists clenched, when Eisley stepped in front of me.
“Yes, although I’d rather not say it like that. Father Duvall found Koi and then they both found me. We are just trying to repair our lives.” She stepped to my side, putting her hand on my elbow. “Father has been so kind, helping with shelter, food, clothing, and teaching us about god.”
The man stared at her hand where it touched me, and she dropped it.
“Have you accepted Jesus into your heart yet?”
“I—” Eisley’s words caught in her throat. She couldn’t say it. I understood fully. Some lies were easier than others. Could she claim that she believed in this bullshit? Her having come to bat for me, I took my turn, clearing my throat and pushing her hand away gently.
“Domino is still working through her spiritual journey. I think them working with me in the church during our brief stay here will be exactly what they both need to finally accept Jesus Christ as their saviors.”
“Sinner,” the man snarled.
“You will respect them as you respect me,” I said with an authority that wasn’t mine. A chill went down my spine as the flash of a memory appeared in my mind. My father, standing in the front of his own chapel, making demands of his flock.
“Yes, Father.” The man bowed.
“Mass will be at seven,” I said and waved him off. He fled immediately, and once he was gone, I turned to Eisley. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. Did I just become your... sidekick?”
I blinked, recalling what I’d said, and chuckled. “I guess, yeah. Both of you. Since that’s the case, I’ll need him here for mass. You want to go call him?” I leaned forward to kiss her and pulled back. Even if I didn’t see it, there was a chance someone was watching.
“Where are you going?” she asked as I started away, taking the steps behind the platform.
“I have to go prepare,” I said cryptically. I walked down the halls to the former priest’s office and closed the door behind me. He kept it simple in here, with a desk, chair, and a row of filing cabinets along the wall. I opened one, finding well-organized folders full of sermons for mass. I randomly pulled one out, sat at the desk, leaned back with my feet up, and pulled out my phone to browse the web.
Having no clue where else to start, I typed into the search bar:
How to perform a Catholic mass.