Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 16684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 83(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
"Yeah." Dad gives me a low chuckle. "Silas's dad. Well, I saw him the other morning at breakfast."
"Okay, and what exactly are you confessing?"
"I told him you were back in town."
"Why does Henry care if I'm in town?" I ask.
"Well, I thought maybe.... I don't know. Their son, Silas, he was always a good kid. I thought maybe you and him might..."
"Dad." I cut him off and stop on the sidewalk, turning to face him. "Me and Silas Ritter? No way."
"Why not?" Dad says.
"That's your confession, or your wish, or your prayer? That Silas and me would be... What? Like be together?" I can't help but laugh out loud. I cover my mouth as my sisters turn to look at us.
"What's going on?" Sparkle asks.
"Nothing" I say. "Except Dad thinks Silas Ritter and I would be a good couple."
Lovey's eyes shoot up. "He joined the Navy, didn't he?"
"How do you keep tabs on the guys I went to high school with?" I ask my younger sister.
She shrugs. Clover, though, laughs. "She stalks him on Instagram."
"Who does?" I can’t help but smile at my sisters creeping on Silas’s social media.
"Lovey."
"How come?" I ask.
"Because he's always going to cool places," Lovey says. "Like Japan and San Diego. It just seems really cool, life at sea."
"You want to join the Navy now?" I ask my younger sister.
"No, I want to travel. I want to see the world. I want to get outside of Briar Valley."
I smile at my sister. "You will one day," I tell her, and I know it's true. Ever since she was a little girl, she would look at maps, check out books from the library about exotic locations. She's always had a bit of wanderlust.
It's not something I've had myself, not because I'm simple or boring, but I've always been content with the idea of living in a convent, of serving other people, of my life's purpose being about a life of service.
But then, of course, those feelings changed, and last year I realized what else I wanted in life. And it wasn't to travel the world. It was to fall in love, be someone's partner, have a family, a life that was simple but ours.
That dream, though pure in spirit, is not aligned with life as a nun. I had to make a choice. I swallow back the emotions, remembering how hard it was to finally declare my truth, that being a nun wasn't the life for me. I lick my lips. "Well, regardless, I don't think Silas would be interested in someone like me."
"Why?" Lovey asks. "I don't think he has a girlfriend. Or if he does, he never posts about her, which is a bad sign."
I shrug. "I don't have social media, so I wouldn't know, but I'm sure he dated girls in high school. Maybe he's married by now."
"He's not," Dad says.
I look at him. "And how do you know that?"
"Because I was talking to his dad, Hank. He's actually never had a girlfriend. He's been single forever. His dad was wondering, well..."
"What?" I say.
"His dad thought you guys would be a cute couple."
I frown. "I think Silas is a little wild for me."
"Why?" Dad asks.
"I don't know. In high school, I think he was always skipping class and drinking and going to parties. It's just, that was never my thing. It still isn't. I just don't think we would, you know, mesh."
Sparkle slows her pace, walking beside me and Dad. "You want a guy who's more religious?"
I shrug. "No, not that exactly. Someone who has a gentle spirit, a good heart, who wants to have a family. I'm looking for someone who, maybe will say a prayer at supper, but I don't know. Saying a prayer out of love, not out of obligation." I shrug. "I don't know if that makes any sense."
My dad just smiles. "It makes sense. You're figuring it out. And hell, maybe you'll run into Silas while you're home."
"I think he's out to sea," my sister says. "I mean, he hasn't posted anything in a while, at least. So sorry, sis, but I don’t think you're going to meet him tonight."
Dad, though, grins. "That's the thing about Christmas. Sometimes there's miracles where you don't expect them."
When we get to the church, my heart feels lighter. Just talking with my family, and laughing about ridiculous things like me and Silas has somehow lightened my spirits. And as I enter the church I grew up in, I feel a peace I wasn't expecting.
I can’t imagine Silas Ritter would be interested in me, but I am reminded of why I chose to change my life's path so dramatically. Because I do want to fall in love. I do want a partner. I want someone to look at me and think, My word. That girl right there is my miracle.