Kathleen (standard:romance, 1033 words)
Author: Jennifer Green	Added: Feb 15 2002	Views/Reads: 3751/2624	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Married woman falls in love with her priest.

KATHLEEN 

Copyright 2002 Jennifer Green 

Kathleen picked up the last of the coffee cups and paper plates from the
church meeting, and put them in the church kitchen.  She straightened 
up the chairs again, and put the room back in order before leaving for 
home.  The meeting had gone well, they were a focused group and got 
along well.  They were her close friends, after many years of working 
and worshiping together, and she was so glad she had the church in her 
life.   Kathleen was almost fifty now, her hair was gray and she was 
starting to feel her age, but she had a good life, and tried not to 
complain too much. 

She went home and then to the grocery store, and then returned to church
in time for confession.  It was with the new minister, Father O'Brien, 
who was a thirtyish, nice looking priest.  He had been out of divinity 
school for a few years, and she had liked him right away, like most of 
the other parishioners. 

The next Saturday she went to confession at 3:00 as usual.  She had
Father O'Brien again, who listened patiently to her litany of mild 
transgressions.  She was jealous of another church member, she had been 
less than loving to her mother-in-law that week.  After she was done, 
Father O'Brien spoke with her a little and then blessed her.   She felt 
such an immediate sense of relief and grace.  She looked at him through 
the confessional, and thanked him.  As she left the church she happened 
to run into him walking to his car in the parking lot.  She spoke with 
him briefly, he was warm and thoughtful.  Then she drove home and made 
dinner. 

That night she had a strange dream.  She dreamed she was younger, around
30.   She was dressed in a beautiful dress, and dancing slowly with 
Father O'Brien.  He looked very handsome in the dream, and he held her 
close.  She could feel his strong arms, and sensed his need for her 
body.  She woke up suddenly from the dream, startled.  She looked over 
at her sleeping husband, snoring beside her, and tried to fall back to 
sleep, but couldn't. 

The next week in confession she saw Father O'Brien again.  She told him
of her usual struggles, but left out the dream.  After all, she was 
asleep, and couldn't help what her unconscious did.  But she found 
herself looking at him at church, in the services, and around the 
courtyard. 

Then one night a few days later she had another strange, erotic dream
about him.   This dream was more explicit than the last.  They were in 
bed together, lying on white sheets in a beautiful field of flowers and 
grass.  It was a warm sunny day, and the sun felt wonderful on her 
skin.  He was holding her, telling her how beautiful she was, and 
touching her.  When she woke up, she was touching herself.  She began 
to dream of them together regularly, to her shame and embarrassment. 

She mentioned nothing of this in her weekly confession.   Father O'Brien
listened patiently to her other sins, and then one week he said he 
sensed that there was something else that was troubling her.  She 
didn't tell him, of course, and just said she was praying about it.  He 
said "Well, the Lord is right there with you, trying to help you.  And 
so am I."  He smiled warmly at her.  She thought, yeah, right, I'm 
going to tell you I have a passionate crush on you and have since the 
first week we met?  She left the confessional hurriedly, and tried not 
to look at him for awhile after that. 

The dreams continued.  She finds herself becoming aroused in her sleep,
and realized she was falling for him.  What should she do?  Here she 
was, almost 50, with a husband and family.  She had never felt this way 
before.  Her husband Frank and she hadn't made love for ages, sex had 
never been more than a duty to her, and she was relieved now that he 
was getting older, he seemed to be happy with less.  They had been 
married young, and Kathleen had been a virgin of course.  The nuns had 
done a good job in Catholic School.  Of course she loved her husband, 
but that was so lukewarm compared to this.  This what, Kathleen?  This 
crush?  She scrubbed the dinner plates more vigorously, angry at 
herself. 



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