(Untitled)

[fatherfjmulcahy]

Who: Father Mulcahy and Clarice
Where: The church
When: After school sometime
What: Father Mulcahy and Clarice have a chat
Rating: PG
Status: Closed and incomplete

Comments

[never_blink]

This was the first afternoon Clarice had had off in several weeks. The girl who'd been offering extra gymnastics practices was out sick, and there was no official team practice today, so there was nothing to do but head home and start her homework. Lulu and Moira would be stunned to see her home so early, if they were even there

[fatherfjmulcahy]

Father Mulcahy didn't get a lot of visitors in the church, but he was pleased when he did. He heard someone's soft voice call out a gentle hello, and he stood. "Hello? Were you looking for me?"

He moved forward, and suddenly he saw the...well, purple...girl standing in the center aisle. His eyebrows lifted in genuine surprise for a moment, but after that moment he got hold of himself. After all, if God could make different colors of people, it stood to reason that some of them should be...purple...even though he'd never seen one before. He smiled warmly at her.

"Hello, my child," he said. "I'm Father Mulcahy."

[never_blink]

Clarice had reasoned that the church couldn't be totally empty, so she wasn't too surprised when the man rose from the front pew, though she hadn't seen him sitting there. She saw the brief look of surprise cross his face, but she would have been far more surprised if it hadn't been there. The startled looks were nothing new, and they were certainly a lot better than what she'd dealt with at home. When he smiled, she timidly returned it.

"H-hello, Father Mulcahy. I just, I was walking by and..." Half-turning, she pointed toward the door. "I hope it's okay? I'm Clarice - Clarice Ferguson?"

[fatherfjmulcahy]

Father Mulcahy smiled at the evidently very nervous girl. "Of course! You're welcome here--the church is open to all, always. Even if I'm not here, the doors are open. Or if I'm not here and you need me, I have an...office, I suppose...downtown."

He smiled at her. "Now. Did you want someone to talk to, or did you just want to be left to yourself? I was working on my sermon and can go back to it if you don't want to be bothered."

Father Mulcahy tried to be as accommodating as he could be. He supposed it came from being an Army chaplain; he had learned very quickly that people all worshipped in their own ways, and that the best way to help them was often to leave them alone. Not always, but sometimes. Clarice seemed like a goodhearted soul, and he was pleased that she had stopped by.