Chapter 27

Matilda's Diary

After mass I would again clean up the church before going down to the basement to do whatever needed to be done. Thankfully, Father was manly and took care of all the heavy lifting and removing any scary bugs I found down there. He was such a manly man. I knew deep down he was untouchable, the kind of man I should be lusting over.

That was hard for me, spending an evening sewing away on my ancient Singer using up some old fabric, lost in my thoughts to come to the conclusion that I was, in fact, desiring for my new priest. I so badly wanted to confess, knowing if I passed beforehand that I would end up in Hell. But, how could I do that? I tried, every Tuesday and Thursday actually. I would sit in the booth wishing I could smell that almost comforting hint of cigarette smoke, but with that screen between us, I couldn't . So I would sit looking off in the dim area and talk at him.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned," I would start, holding my rosary tightly in my han