“Peace be with you.”
“Peace.”
“Good morning. Peace.”
“Hi, Tina. Peace. Good to see you.” She looked up at me from under her brow in a girlish way.
“Hi, Jack. Peace of the Lord. You look nice today,” she said.
The smile of reassurance on Tina’s face indicated that she meant it. How she could tell I “looked” under my choir robe was another issue altogether. But our flirtation each Sunday morning at church was something I neither understood, nor discouraged.
Tina is the 26-year-old mother of two and wife of a handsome Emergency Medical Technician. What she sees in me is a mystery. I’m 35-years-old, married for 15 years and have begun the old man’s misery of losing my hair and adding some girth to my middle. The true affection that I see from Tina every week, however, is unmistakable.
And the lust I hold for her is as real. Tina is a petite strawberry blonde, about 5 feet tall with a fabulous figure. Each Sunday as she passes the choir on her way to commune with God I admire her frame: a teenager’s wet-dream embodiment of the perfect cheerleader; firm rear end, full breasts, tight stomach and wonderful, thick hair. Better still are her deep blue eyes and cute nose. Her ears wiggle when she smiles and her breath smells like roses.
“Thanks Tina, but you’re the one that looks good,” I reply. There’s no time for small talk, it’s offering time and the choir has a Rutter piece to perform. I return to my place at the end of the row in the stall and prepare for the service to continue.
During the musical offering I steal a glance at Tina. She smiles and winks. The song concludes and the priest continues. We lift up our hearts, we give ourselves over, and we share in the body and blood. While the congregation files past to share at the railing we sing the familiar communion hymns. Our familiarity with the music allows me to make eye contact and “connect” with many of my friends as they pass.
Then she ascends the few steps into the apse and begins walking past. Her attention seems focused on the business at hand. I drink in her beauty. A halo hangs over her head as the lights strike her hair. I watch her breathe, blink, tilt her head slightly, then turn to look at me directly. Almost in slow motion the corners of her mouth turn. I smile back. She again turns her attention to the front of the church and takes another step forward. I can see every little thing…no movement of hers is lost.
The hymn continues and more congregates file past. I close my eyes “…Alleluia, Alleluia, Give thanks to the risen Lord. Alleluia, Alleluia, Give praise to His name…” we sing. I feel someone brush against me, open my eyes and see that Tina has joined me on the kneeler. My look of curiosity is met with a friendly arm around my middle. She leans close and whispers in my ear…her hot breath makes the hair on my neck stand up.
“The Alter group is meeting this afternoon to clean out the sacristy. Would you be able to stop by and help us?”