"Well, it's this a great way to celebrate Easter Monday?" Father Gregory Harper said as he came down the back stairs to his kitchen. He was a handsome, fit man just over 50 with slightly greying hair and chiseled features: he wore his huge red velvet dressing gown with his bare legs and feet protruding beneath.
Sitting on a chair were his two tenants, Sister Janice Harper, his second cousin, and Sister Shelley Abrams, short chubby women in their mid 40s who were wearing tan dressing gowns as Shelley, the smaller woman, sat on Janice's lap. Lacking their wimples, Janice's short salt and pepper hair was a contrast to Shelley's cropped mop of red hair starting to transition to grey. Greg interrupted them as they were kissing with their free hands buried beneath each other's garments. Janice looked up and said: "And a Good Morning to you, Reverend Father. How nice to see you up earlier than usual this day after the Triduum marathon."
"I'll need another day or two to recover from that, Pookie," he said. "Been used to getting up with the sun often enough I couldn't convince myself I could sleep in today."
"How terribly awful for you, Father," Shelley chimed in a high, mocking tone. "Lent's over and you're still bearing with an incredible penance."
"I offer it up, Sister, I offer it up for the glory of God and his Church. Is there any chance you two have left me something for breakfast?"
They looked at each other for a long moment, feigning deep thought before Shelley said: "There is a bit leftover: a little gruel, some lightly toasted worms, a piece of cardboard. . ."
"We've got the full spread, Greggers," his cousin cut in. "Sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy. Stuff guaranteed to stop your heart one day when you least suspect it. Aunt Mindy sent us some grape jam, and Monica Deveraux dropped some cinnamon rolls by when you were out yesterday afternoon. Ducky here will even get off her fat ass and cook it for you, give you a day off, if I spank her a bit. Interested?"
"I'd be happy to do the spanking myself, if you need me to," he said with a leer. "Sure, bring it on."
Shelley jumped to her feet, exposing a large swatch of pure white skin full of freckles beneath her robe before she flipped it shut, and went over to the stove. "That's quite enough of that nonsense. Give me five minutes and keep your hands to yourselves. Eggs over easy, correct Father Snidely?"
It took less than five minutes for Greg to receive his breakfast. After serving him, Shelley refreshed everyone's coffee, and they chatted about the Easter celebrations. "What do you think they did back home yesterday?" Greg mused.
"They had the big dinner at Nana's old house, as always," his cousin Janice replied. "Baked ham, sweet potatoes, asparagus, everything they did when we were kids. Your mom started organizing it after Nana passed, and I think everyone within driving distance made it. At least that's what my sister Gloria said."
"My family still gets together in Cleveland, you could set your calendar by it," Shelley cut in. "My father enjoys playing the host, and still hides the Easter eggs for the kids. Still colors them himself the week before, big kid that he is."
"Yeah, I haven't gotten home for Easter dinner since I was ordained," Greg said as he sipped his coffee. "Always been too busy and too far away."
"Same here," the two nuns said simultaneously.
Greg put down his cup and thought a moment. "I thought you'd both be gone since the Catholic Education convention's this week."
"No, no, Father Snidely," Shelley replied, "We've tired of that party. Twenty five years with the same agenda is enough, and the talks get worse and worse. Just want to kick back this week without the kids around and rest. Is your calendar free this week, Father Snidely?"
"Nope. Just the usual stuff, daily mass; no meetings, no appointments."
"I thought you'd have a wedding this weekend."
"Nope. The only one I've got on the calendar is mid-June. Kids are too happy just to live together these days, fortunately. If they can survive my pre-marriage training, they deserve to get married with the Church's blessing."
They sat drinking their coffee and listened to the flights approaching Midway Airport for a while. The weather outside was mild for a Chicago April, and birds were chattering in the trees. From time to time a bus pulled up to a stop across the street, pausing momentarily before continuing its journey across town. "You know," Janice said out of the blue. "There's something I've always wondered."
"What, Peaches?" Shelley replied.
"I've always wondered what it would be like to be crucified."
There was an awkward pause as Greg and Shelley looked at each other in disbelief. Shelley's lip curled dramatically and a wild look came to her eyes. "That's strange, Peaches," she said at last.
Janice shrugged. "Well, after watching that Mel Gibson movie, I've wondered."
Greg frowned. "That was an awful movie: made tons of factual mistakes, the place didn't look anything like Jerusalem, some really stupid imagery and metaphors that weren't biblical, used that crazy German nun's vision as basis for the story rather than the Gospels, and Mel could have called it 'Let's kick the shit out of Jesus for a couple of hours.' Waste of time."
"But people in the Philippines do it every year, literally get nailed up on a cross for a while," Janice continued. "They see it as important to their faith."
"You don't want nails driven through your flesh, do you?" Shelley cut in.
"Well, no," Janice replied. "But being tied up for a while, in controlled circumstances, like the old courtyard in the middle of this place, would be worth something."
"That can be done," Greg mused. "It seems like you've been planning this for a while."
"How did that courtyard get there?" Shelley asked. "It's not normal for a parish like this."
"This was an Irish Augustinian parish at one time, and their first pastor wanted a small cloister for the community that lived here at the beginning," Greg said. "Also gave the place the name of St. Munchin's. They were here twenty five years, and the courtyard wasn't taken out when they renovated a few years ago. To change the subject: what about a cross?"
"How about the one you use on Good Friday? You keep it down in the cellar the rest of the year."
Greg nodded. "Yes, yes. And there's some bits of rope around as well."
Shelley put her hands on her hips. "This can't be too nice, it's got to be tough. Can't be too painless. Let's see: the Romans crucified the victims naked, so you'll have to be naked. And we get to give you some little bits of pain."
"Like what?"
"Let me worry about that," Shelley said with a devilish grin on her face. "Can you get the main part set up, Fr. Snidely?"
Nodding in response, Greg said: "This sounds interesting. We should have done it last week, but better late than never."
About a half hour later, they were gathered in a small courtyard about ten feet across that lay in the center of the Rectory. It was a spot of greenery Janice tended, with a few flowers and a rose bush; it was surrounded on the inside by a short iron fence that paralleled the opening above. The two abusers were clad simply: Shelley in a t-shirt and shorts and Greg in sweats and sneakers. Shelley had a small bag with her, and Greg set up the life-sized, rough wooden cross behind a step stool on the side of the open area. Janice stood in her dressing gown and wimple, barefoot and anxious. The sky was cloudy but mostly blue, and lots of light was flooding down on a nice day. "This good enough, Peaches?" Shelley asked.
"Yes, so far so good," Janice replied. "Standing on the step stool is a good idea. Will really help the metaphor to have my feet off the ground."
"If you'll take off your robe and get on the stool, we can get this started," Greg said. "I don't know how long you'll want to be here, especially when the sun beats down on you, but we'll let you deal with it as it happens. This is your impossible dream."
Janice let her robe drop. She was five feet tall, with a very round body and her pendulous breasts swayed as she got up on the stool, her nipples hardening immediately. The sun was almost ready to peek over the edge of the roof to shine directly into the courtyard. It took a minute for her to find her balance, but soon she held out her arms and said: "Okay, Greggers. Let's get this started."
He tied her arms to the horizontal beam of the cross, then one around her legs and waist to keep her steady. Shelley watched all this with silent glee, and when Greg was done, got a few things out of her bag. "Instead of nails, Peaches, I'm going to use these clothespins," she said.
A look of terror crossed Janice's face. "Where, Ducky, where?"