Anna and I ordered room service and bad-mouthed men, and then talked about Seth, then bad-mouthed men some more. Seth obviously did not fall into the category of man.
She had been devastated beyond repair when I reached the car. Surprisingly, I spotted someone who looked oddly like Seth climbing into his trailer. I assumed it must have been Mr. Beautiful and concluded he was definitely Seth's stunt double. I wondered if he had purposely followed Anna back to the car. She didn't indicate that she had noticed. Actually when I got into the car she looked at me through reddened eyes and begged that we go home now.
"Home, home?" I had asked.
"I've been on this tour so long and changed so much, I'm not sure if I know where home, home is anymore." She had sighed out a sob. I knew what she meant. Right now when I thought of home, I thought of Seth and his tiny studio on the South end of Portland.
There was more at home for Anna than me. Her family was there, waiting to hear the excitement of her trip. Understandably, Nicholas would remain unspoken of. He would simply become a memory that she would think was only a dream, yet Seth would be her nasty reminder that he wasn't.
She wasn't bitter with me because Seth and I had worked out, while she and Nicholas had not. To be honest she was rather happy each time Seth's name came up. She encouraged me to stay longer if I felt the need to, and we picked out what I should wear to church the next day.
As the night went on, Anna finally spoke about how she had hoped she and Nicholas would've worked out. "I mean, obviously I'm going to want to see the movies. I loved the books. Now how am I going to look at one of my favorite characters without wanting to see him get killed?"
We both laughed throughout the night. And learned to blow off Nicholas as if he had never existed. By midnight, Anna was feeling better, and I could finally get to sleep. She would most likely dream of him, and then the next day would be torture for her. But at least right now, she knew it was not the end of the world.
I painstakingly dressed the next day. It wasn't like I had never been to church before. Back home, I tried to go every Sunday. It was just that I had never before gone with somebody I had sinned with so much. The idea of Seth's lean body pressed tightly next to mine in a pew set more than my heart on fire.
Sure enough, at 7:27 I got a text from Seth informing me that he was parked illegally out front. I met him with a smile. He was dressed nicely in a gray button up shirt and black slacks. The top three buttons were undone, showing the slightest bit of his fine chest hair. His shirt matched his eyes exactly. He glanced up at me, hair already disheveled from minutes of hand rummaging. A poofy black coat was thrown in the backseat.
"Parking illegally before church? Seems a sinful way to start the day." I giggled as I settled in. The heat was very comforting to my stiffened cold body. I had forgotten my coat, but Anna and I had decided casual nice was best. I wore a pair of loose black pants and a similar orange button up shirt. I felt almost as if I were wearing a skirt by the looseness of the pant legs, but was comfortable all the same.
"That's why I attend Sunday service. I have a lot to repent for this week." He winked at me, "Figured you might too."
My mouth dropped open as I smacked his arm. "Seth!"
"I love when you say it like that." He chuckled and headed down the expressway to his familiar place of worship.
The church, of course, was gorgeous. I was surprised to find out that Seth was Catholic as I was. Inside, stained glass windows gave the story of the Stations of the Cross. Above the altar was a large crucifix with the Lord hanging from it in tatters. It was an image I was very familiar with, but the beauty of the carving took my breath away. In both corners were The Virgin Mary and Joseph, carved equally as beautiful from the same wood.
"This is stunning." I awed.
"A friend of mine brought me here. He said it was where he came to find his soul." Seth reached a pew further in the back and offered the seat to me.
I slid in and took off Seth's coat and sat it beside me. When he had seen that I had forgotten mine, he insisted I slip into his. I had smelled him since I had gotten out of the car. I watched as Seth genuflected and sat down beside me. I had forgotten to, Seth was already flustering me. And as I had guessed the night before, his hip was touching mine, as was his thigh. My heart skipped and Seth smiled. "Why are you smiling?"
Seth looked at me with shock and shrugged, "You just look cute when you look at me that way."
"I wasn't looking at you." My heart skipped again and the smile returned. He said I looked cute. Wow, I was getting foolish acting.
"Sure you weren't."
A hymn began to play on an organ in the balcony behind us. "Will he be here?"
"Who?"
"You're friend."
Seth turned his head to look at me. His mouth opened and then snapped shut as he thought better of whatever he was planning to say. "If he does, I doubt we'll see him."
"Why's that?" Some of the congregation sang to the hymn while others remained silent.
He shrugged, "it gets pretty busy in here."
As the service began, I dropped my interrogation for the time being. He always seemed to make such vague comments and responses. He was correct though, members of the church were packing in tightly, and with the coats of people who were not friendly with the cold weather, the seats were even more stuffed.
The priest stood at the pulpit and began reading from the book of prayer. When it was time for prayer, we all stood and I felt Seth's hand slip into mine and firmly hold it. Our fingers interlaced and I was keenly aware of the strength of his fingers. Without realizing it I was being herded into the isles for communion. I watched as Seth took his and then bowed his head for a blessing. My mind turned to my own communion as I accepted the wafer and the wine and then returned to my pew. I kneeled and began my prayer. I asked God for forgiveness for giving myself so easily over to Seth, and asked if it was His Will that Seth and I would stay strong even after I left.
When I sat back up into my seat I glanced over at Seth. His head was against the pew in front of us and his lips were moving rapidly. I sang to the hymn, which I recognized as one they often played at home. After the song ended Seth sat back into the seat with me. He looked pained-- but I knew it wasn't from me when his hand slipped back into mine for the remainder of the service.
At the end of the service, I watched as he slipped an envelope into a box at the back. I felt guilty for not thinking to do the same. Normally, I always made an offering, but today my mind was elsewhere. The priest who many addressed as Father Gregory greeted us as we left the church. "Good morning. Did you enjoy our church this morning?"
"We did. Thank you for your hospitality Father Gregory." Seth cooed beautifully.
Father Gregory's smile was sincere; everyone was dazzled by Seth's accent. "And who are our lovely visitors?"
"My name is Seth, this is my girlfriend Sandy." I nearly choked as he said the words.
"It's lovely to see a blossoming couple join the house of God." Father Gregory shook Seth's hand and then mine.
"Thank you for having us." I smiled back at both the two men.
"You have a lovely day. And peace be with you." He waved as we continued down the steps.
"That was a beautiful service." I said to Seth as he turned the car engine over.
"It was. Would you like some breakfast?" He smiled, "Will you eat it this time?"
"I'm sorry. It was delicious yesterday; my nerves were just a little shot." I sighed. "But I'd love some breakfast."
"There's a brilliant restaurant that has delicious French toast. Although I don't know why it's called French toast, because I don't think they even serve it in France."
I chuckled. He always knew how to make me smile even when it was very misplaced. "I'd love to try their French toast. It's my favorite."
"Really? Mine too." Seth turned back towards my hotel. "They make these unbelievable Cinnamon Raisin French toast. It's the best bloody piece of toast you will ever have."
Hmm... I could make him French toast for breakfast some day when he spends the night with me. "You've got me convinced."
"Excellent." Seth smiled back.
I watched as the buildings whizzed by. I turned my head to look at Seth. He was looking straight ahead when his face dropped in horror. Only moments before I felt my body jar, Seth turned the wheel of the car and I felt the car lurching to the side. Metal screeched into a shape it didn't want to bend, as I felt my body slam into the dashboard. After hitting my head on the hard plastic, I felt my seat belt catch and pull me back against the seat.
A horn began to blast as I heard my own voice call out for Seth. I closed my eyes to the pain that throbbed in my head. "Sandy?" I could hear Seth calling out my name, "Love? Can you hear me?"
I felt a sudden whoosh of air as the car door opened. My seat belt was unlatched, and suddenly hands were moving me from my seat. "We've got to get out of here, Love."
I could feel Seth curling me into his chest. His warm body was welcoming against the bitter chill of the Portland wind and my burning forehead. I looked past his arm to see his car-- completely crushed on my side. A black SUV had slammed us under what I assumed was a light. The truck barely had a dent in it.
"Are they hurt?" He looked down at me when I spoke. His eyes glinted the black I was accustomed to seeing when he was aroused.
"They're fine. The car's leaking gas. We've got to get away from the cars, Love." He cradled me into his arms as if I weighed nothing. I was dead weight. He was running with my added weight not even bothering him.
"But, where are we going?" I reached my hand up to my head and felt the wetness that had leaked brown onto my orange shirt.
"I'm taking you to the edge of the corner, Love. Now rest." He cooed. His voice was soothing but harried. The sound of sirens came into my ears. I closed my eyes and fought back the pain of my throbbing head.
I slid my arm around Seth's neck to touch his soft hair. I wanted to soothe him and let him know it would all be okay. I needed to know if he was alright as well. It was then that I felt the sharp pain in my wrist. "My arm hurts."
