Savannah's Requiem

The church doors slammed open as a petite chocolate haired woman dressed in torn Levis blue jeans and white Keds sneakers entered the premises. Her hair was pinned back in a loose ponytail rubbing against her face, which was devoid of any makeup. She seemed to be on a mission of mercy, or chaos. She had not decided which yet. She was at a crossroads and needed some guidance as to what her next move should be to right a long ago wrong she committed.

She headed to a nearby confessional not knowing who would be on the other end: a friend or a foe. All she knew was that someone would finally be listening to her problems and coming up with a potential resolution. As she sat down, the window opened and a priest greeted her by asking what was troubling her.

The voice sounded familiar. One of a man younger than most sacrificing their life to being a man of God. Forsaking human love for the love of the unseen. She gathered her thoughts before she spoke.

"Father, forgive me for I have sinned. It has been three years since my last confession. I don't know where to begin," She said meekly as she starred down at the floor. Her Turquoise colored eyes glistened like perfect gems when a sliver of sunlight hit them. The priest wondered what was so bad that made her shake.

"I think it's best to start at the beginning and go from there," The priest said with saintly concern. He clutched his black rosary beads dreading what this parishioner was going to confess. Her voice sounded so familiar to him, but he could not place who it was yet. So, he decided to play along and listen carefully.

"O-kayeee, I guess I'll start from the beginning, which is not an easy task but I'll try. It all started three years ago when my marriage ended. Ever since that happened, my life has never been the same. Nothing has changed for me at all. I have not been in a serious relationship since he left me," She trailed off feeling her body sink in the confessional like she was part of the scenery.

"Well, our relationship ended long before that though. I committed a terrible crime, legally and of the heart. I cheated on him with another man. Not in the biblical sense, but in every other way possible. I know that I'm splitting hairs here, but I did betray my husband. I confided in the other man too much and I even cheated some retirees out of a legal settlement with him. My part was that I cut some paperwork corners to have the money routed to him, instead of the people. I don't know what possessed me to do such a thing. I guess I lived my life way too safe that I decided to blow my marriage to hell by breaking the law," She said with a slight crooked smile on her face.

"Go on, child." The priest could not place her yet, but the story was beginning to sound familiar. His stomach turned upside down when he started to suspect who was on the other side of the confessional.

"That's right, father, I'm a child. A schoolgirl acting on a fantasy that should have stayed that way. Skyler was an addiction I could not get enough of until it cost me my relationship with the love of my life. Once I ended it with Skyler, I could not get back to normal at all. I tried my hardest, but my heart was not in it anymore. I finally told my husband everything, which made him hate me with a passion. He never looked at me the same again. He used to hold me on such a high pedestal that my dealings with my dealings with Skyler finally pushed me off," She continued with a light sprinkling of tears in her eyes.

"Go on, my child,"He uttered again as his head started to swim with ways to respond to this parishioner. He did not know how to start. His anger was getting the better of him. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up at full mast. His sense of reason was leaving him.

"The first sign he was pulling away from me was when he decided that it was best to file for legal separation. I went along with it gladly, because I agreed that we needed to get our priorities straight for our daughter. His concerns strayed from repairing our marriage to him being his own man and focusing on his own pursuits. After six months, he filed for divorce and severed all ties with me. I tried to end things on somewhat amicable terms because of our daughter, but he said that would never happen. I have not seen him since we broke up, and I want to resolve any remaining issues we have in order to move on with my life. Do you think enough time has passed for him to forgive me?" She begged the priest like he had a way to persuade God to grant her wish. He had enough of this charade. He was going to end this game once and for all.

"Okay, Savannah, enough is enough. Stop playing games and say what you need to say," The priest said coldly with no trace of concern, or emotion, left in his voice.

"Conrad? Is that you?" Savannah asked surprised that it was her ex-husband all along. Her stomach suddenly went into tight knots as it attempted to drain all thoughts of contrition from her body.

"Cut me a break. You knew it was me from the get-go. Don't belittle me, or our history, by playing dumb. That's not becoming of you."

"All right, Conrad, I know we ended our relationship on terrible terms, which is largely my fault. I fully admit it. I made a lot of mistakes and I'm still trying to make headway with them. What I don't understand was why Lena had to suffer to? She has missed her daddy terribly," Savannah's eyes welled up with tears so much that she had water stains all over her white t-shirt.

"I miss her too," Conrad's voice started shaking. He missed his daughter so much, but he had to stop being selfish in order to be a better father to her.

"Then, why haven't you spent more time with her? Instead of hiding out here, you can be her father."

"You know why I can't see her," Conrad muttered. "Every time I look at her, she reminds me of you and it hurts too much."

"Conrad, I'm sorry for everything that happened with Skyler. It meant nothing to me. I should have realized what was important, but instead I treated you like dirt to play Bonnie and Clyde with a scam artist. It was moronic and juvenile--" Savannah stopped when Conrad suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the confessional. "My goodness, father, what has gotten into you?"

"Shut up, Savannah. I have heard this speech from you way too many times through your letters, emails, voice mail messages, and family members. I got the message long ago, and have moved on," Conrad tightly gripped Savannah's shoulders. They made their way to the front pews and sat down. All the while, Savannah never broke away from Conrad's deep penetrating blue eyes. She loved how easily could get lost in his eyes, because she never knew what was behind them.

"Meaning?"

"I forgave you ages ago."

"Really?" Savannah's eyes widened in surprise over Conrad's rapid change in attitude and did not know what to make of it.

"No, but as a man of the cloth I'm in the business of lying my butt off."

Savannah laughed, "Funny, Conrad. I can see that you have changed a lot since our divorce. What made you decide to become a priest? Honestly, you didn't seem like the type to choose this profession."

"I always did in a way but I ignored it until the divorce. I did not really blame you for the divorce. I figured it was God's will for to join his flock once and for all." Conrad looked a little worn down since their divorce. He's a lot skinnier than he once was and his sandy brown hair is peppered now with faint shades of premature gray, a family trait from his father. Conrad cared too much about everything, which translated into his salty hair color.

"I didn't push you towards God, did I?'

"Honey, don't give yourself that much credit. You're not that much of a sin. Part of me will always love you, but it was just not meant to be."

"And this is?" Savannah asked as she brushed an eyelash off his left cheek. She mentally made a wish for the past three and a half years to be erased, but sighed when that did not happen.

"Yes, it is. This is what I'm meant to do. God's work is the most important thing in the world."

"What about your role as Lena's father?"

"Over time, I see becoming a big part of my new life as well."

"Do you see us becoming friends?"

"Over a cup of coffee and five thousand Hail Marys, I see that becoming a strong possibility," Conrad smiled as he embraced his ex-wife. "Let's go over to the coffee shop at the corner. I think it's time you update me about Lena."

"I could not agree more," Savannah go up from the pew with Conrad and walked out of the church. Conrad chuckled quietly at the doorway.

"What's so funny, Father Smarty Pants?" Savannah asked with a minor dose of irritation.

"This is probably the first time we've ever agreed on anything. Even during the high points of our marriage."

"You're probably right. Let's not jinx it anymore by dwelling on it," Savannah responded as she looked around at her ex-husband's new home. "Who's buying?"

"That'd be you, dear. This calling might carry spiritual perks, but I'm no--"

"Donald Trump," Savannah laughed hysterically as she embraced Conrad again and successfully dragged him away to the coffee shop to hash out any remaining issues they had with each other.