Father Ted DiBiase sat in the priest's section of the confessional booth. As per his usual habit, he took the opportunity to pray for God to grant him the strength, heart, and wisdom to help the next parishioner that stepped into the confessional booth. He ended his prayer by thanking the lord for listening to him and made the sign of the cross over his body. He bent down to retrieve the container of water that he kept with him during his tenure within the booth. He moaned ever so softly as he felt the cool water slide easily down his throat. He loved the life that he had chosen to lead and wouldn't trade it for anything in this world, but he was feeling a bit worn down today. He had completed his normal turn in the booth yesterday, but Father Lawler had called him very early this morning and asked if he could possibly pick up Father Cena's confessional day due to the fact that Father Cena had been in an accident. He had quickly accepted the task without considering the possible emotional breakdown that was now eating at him. He knew deep down that he should not despair, that God would take care of him and put his mind at ease.
Just as that realization settled within him he heard the parishioners door open and the person step into the booth. He inhaled a deep relaxing breath, slowly exhaling it to help clear his mind and prepare it for what he might hear in the next few moments. He slid the panel covering the small screened window to the side in further preparation to hear this confession. Moments later the other panel was slowly slid open and a young male voice spoke to him from the other side.
"Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It has been two weeks since my last confession."
Father DiBiase thought he recognized the voice, but wasn't sure. "May God bless this confession. Please continue my son."
He heard a deep sigh from the other side as the young man tried to decide how to begin his confession.
"I have been entertaining thoughts of a lustful nature towards my long time friend and need guidance on how to resist the temptation. I feel trapped by my thoughts as I cannot escape this person."
Father DiBiase sat within his side of the booth stunned. He did recognize the voice. It was his best friend Cody. The two were inseparable and until now Ted thought that he knew everything about his close friend. He wondered briefly at which one of Cody's lady friends had captured his attention in this way.
"I see. Well my son, first let us remember that God set down the rule that we should not give ourselves away before marriage. That being said, our religion allows us to experience physical contact short of breaking God's law. Which is where I think your problem may be. It sounds like your soul is demanding physical closeness with your friend to better enrich itself. Try taking this point of view the next time you are with this friend and see if the lustful thoughts give way to a more pure form of thinking." He heard Cody shift around on his seat and knew that his friend was mulling over the advice that he had given him.
"My son did you attend Father Orton's class on moral decision making?"
"Yes Father I did."
"Maybe you should let the lessons you learned from that class guide you as well as my advice."
"Yes Father, that sounds like a place to start. Thank you Father for hearing my confession and giving me your guidance."
Ted smiled, glad that he could secretly help his friend, "As your priest it was my pleasure to be able to guide you back to the path that God has set for you. Now be at peace as you go light your candle and pray before you leave God's house."
'Yes Father."
Ted heard Cody leave the confessional. He stood and opened the door to his side of the booth and stealthily peaked over at the shelved wooden case that held the many rows of candles and sure enough there was Cody kneeling in front of the case lighting a candle. Ted ducked back into the booth so as not to be seen by his friend. He sat back down on his seat and smiled with anticipation. He was happy that his friend had finally taken an interest in a special someone and could not wait to see who this lady was.
Weeks passed by and Ted had forgotten about Cody's confession as he had been bombarded with thousands more as everyone took over Father Cena's duties until he was well enough to complete them again. He was enjoying spending time with his friend just like he always had. He had even noticed Cody talking to one lovely young lady in particular, as they were always seen together at all of the gatherings that he and their friends held. He took all of Cody's new shown affections in stride as he knew that his friend was truly happy with the way his life was currently going. Although with all of his temporary responsibilities, Ted missed some major hints from his long time friend.
He never realized that he was the only one that Cody showed that much physical affection too. He had mistakenly assumed that Cody did that with everybody and no one ever told him differently. He also missed the jealous look that would cross Cody's face when he would touch other parishioners, even in an innocent way. Ted was naturally open and comfortable with the physicality of their church, to him it was all meant to feed and soothe the soul.
Months had passed by and much to Ted's relief Father Cena had healed very well and was now back to his regular full time schedule. He was glad to see his co worker back in good health and even filled him in on all of the new parishioner's that had joined the church in his absence. Once again Ted sat in the confession booth, thinking about how good it was to see his co-worker when he walked back through those church doors. Father Cena looked even better than before and was as jovially happy as he had always been. His return had lifted the spirits of the staff as well as the parish faithful. He was drawn out of his thoughts by a light knock on the door to his side of the booth. Puzzled at who could be knocking on his door he slowly unhooked the latch and opened the door.
Ted was momentarily caught off guard as a hand quickly shoved him into the back wall of the booth. He saw someone step into the booth with him, close, and latch the door.
