"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." Lauren began the familiar ritual. "It has been fifteen days since my last confession."
Never before had she had so much to confess. Since moving to San Francisco, her carefully structured life had collapsed. She had committed many sins and was here to atone for them, but there was one sin she was not ready to tell. Absolution required contrition and she wasn't ready to renounce everything she had done. With her face red and her hands wringing in her lap, she began her confession.
"I moved here with my best friend, Kerry Clarkson two weeks ago. Kerry was given a scholarship to the Academy of Art. She wants to study theater and computer animation and go to work in Hollywood. I was afraid to come, but I don't have very many friends back home. Kerry has been almost like a sister to me since we were nine years old. I couldn't let her do this by herself and I don't know what I would have done if she had left without me.
"I'm sorry if I'm rambling, Father. I don't know how all this happened. Everything has changed. I'm not the same person anymore. Please help me."
Behind the screen, the shadows stirred. "Child, I'm here all day. Talk as long as you need to. Tell me whatever you have to. With God's help, we can get you centered again."
Lauren relaxed. "Thank you, Father. I should have come here sooner, but things were so crazy.
"We moved here from Ogden, Utah. It's a much smaller town, but we were only a half hour away from Salt Lake City. We spent a lot of weekends there when we were in high school and I thought San Francisco would be about the same.
"Kerry has this friend she'd met on the internet who offered to rent us a room. It wasn't until we got here that I found out that her friend was a guy. I just assumed that we'd be staying with another girl. It didn't seem right. I know that times have changed and that men and women can share a living space without it being sinful, but it just felt wrong at first. It wasn't easy to get used to.
The priest cleared his throat. "God judges what we do and what we think. Where we live is pretty much up to us."
"I know that, Father, and it's a big apartment, but it just makes me nervous, knowing that the guys are living there with us.
"Guys?" asked the priest. "I thought you said it was just the one guy that your friend knew from the computer."
"That's Samuel, but he already had one roommate," Lauren said. "They each have a bedroom, and Kerry and I share the third. In fact, until we can afford to replace the furniture, we have to share the bed.
"I spent the first week scared to death that the guys would come and rape us while we slept or come into the bathroom to spy on me in the shower.
The priest murmured something under his breath and asked, "Did any of that happen?"
"No," said Lauren. "The guys were both nice. They're very respectful. Jerrod, Samuel's roommate, even gave me a job in a fancy Italian cafe he helps manage."
"Well," said the priest, "So far, none of this sounds at all sinful. I'm very pleased that in these dark days, you can find people of such character. Unless there's more to the story."
"Yes, Father, there is. By the end of last week, I was starting to relax and feel good about being here. Kerry and I were having a great time. I really, really like my job. For the first time in my life, I'm making friends on my own without Kerry's help. Theresa, the girl who trained me at the cafe has offered to show me around town and teach me how to get along in this city.
