LOGINMatildaFather Jerome called him Reverend Nicholas but when I first met him, he was Mr Nick and there had been nothing revered about him. As I looked at him, a look of recognition crossed his face but he hid it well. “I'll be just a minute,” Jerome was suddenly distracted by something else and excused himself. The second Jerome was gone, Mr Nick raised an eyebrow, “a nun? really?” I bowed my head a little bit, “there is no one God cannot change.” Reverend Nicholas scoffed, then he bent his head lower bringing it close to my ear, “you don't need to pretend with me, hon. I know what you are.” “For you to know me, it means you are not so innocent either, Reverend.” He cleared his throat. “Come around to the back during the closing hymnal,” he said, “for old times sake.” My core shivered in anticipation. Mr Nick had taken my virginity. He had shown me that sex was great when I was only eighteen. And after that day in his workshop, I asked myself why I had waited so long to have
PenelopeThe wind swooshed the bottom of my tunic the second I stepped foot outside. The cold gripped me immediately, making me feel chills so deep I felt like my heart was growing cold. I sneezed, the sound drowned by the heavy rain. I had taken just a couple steps forward when it dawned on me that the umbrella I had taken out was not of much use. Instead it increased the platter of the rain atop my head. It sounded like a thousand tiny pebbles were being thrown atop my head. The strong wind was relentless also, fighting with me for control of the umbrella. It did not help that the handle had become slippery from my wet hands. As I plied forward on the gravel, the bottom of my tunic became drenched in the ankle length flood that had formed because of the rain storm. My heart raced as lightning brightened the sky momentarily followed by the deep rumble of thunder. Unease spread through me as lightning struck a pine tree a couple feet from me. Perhaps it was my imagination but a jolt
Matilda“...you must have seen sister Penelope by now, yes?” Mother Superior's voice irritated my very soul. Still, I swallowed and answered her like I really cared. “I have,” I replied, “I have returned her rosary.” “Did she ask about your cousin?” she asked me, “is she following you to…” “You're breaking Mother Agnes,” I said even though I could hear her clearly, “the service is really poor here. I will call you later.” I ended the call and with a sigh placed the phone in my pocket. Nothing was going my way here. Miguel had completely ignored me earlier, pretending like he did not know me at all. And mother superior? Why couldn't she call Penelope to confirm the details from her? Why me? “Sister Matilda?” I looked up and saw Father Jerome standing in front of me. He was also not going my way.On our way to Oakridge, I assumed I felt a vibe, a certain chemistry between us but I was wrong. He had not done anything to suggest that he was willing to break his vow of chastity an
PenelopeGod was washing away my sins. He was purging me with his rain from above, purging my impure thoughts about Miguel. I began to sob as I ran down the seemingly endless path. I was in so much distress that I could not appreciate the view of the lake as the rain covered the waters above with the one below. At the moment I was experiencing a picturesque nightmare. I tried to run faster, hoping the view of Miguel’s house would come into view but I could not see what was in front of me. The rain blinded me so all I could make out was a blurred view of the pavement in front of me. I stopped momentarily to clean my face and I saw him then—Miguel standing in the rain like a fucking greek god carved like a statue from the classical greek era. Even with my blurred vision, I could still see that he was sexy. He was so sexy that I wanted to strip off the shirt that clung to his upper body, exposing his perfect abs and toned muscles. I wanted nothing more than to gobble this man up and ye
Penelope “Great work today, sister,” Laura, the nurse Miguel had just been flirting with, said to me but my eyes were not on her, they were on Miguel’s departing figure. He looked like he was in a hurry and naturally, I assumed he had been paged for another medical emergency. “Did Dr Ramirez mention where he is going to?” I asked the nurse. A frown crossed her face but she masked it with a smile, “no. Is there a reason you ask?” No one here knew that I was living with Miguel. It would be scandalous if anyone were to find out so I waved the question off casually, “I was just wondering what time I ought to leave. I like to spend my evenings praying.” That was a good lie. The nurse’s smile widened, “of course, sister. Especially after a tragedy like today occured.” I nodded. “Yes, yes.” I looked at the nurse’s face and it looked even purer than my mind was. If only she could see the inside of my mind and realise that I was not thinking of prayer, nor were there any holy thoughts
Miguel“When you married Ramona…” I knew exactly what Damien was going to say so I cut him off before he could finish up the sentence. “Penelope is different from Ramona,” I said, “the way I feel about her is different.” “You were so sure then back too.” “I know what I'm doing, Damien,” I said to my best friend. “I just don't want to see another woman get hurt,” he said to me which brought a frown to my face. “Why do you care so much?” I asked, my arms folded across my chest, “do you like Penelope?” He scoffed, “of course not.” “Won't you invite me in?” he changed the subject quickly. “No,” I said stubbornly, “you're not meant to be here anyway.” “Hey, man! That's not fair.” I walked to the front porch of my bungalow and opened the door, entering without inviting Damien inside. It was not like he needed an invitation to enter my house anyway. Damien walked in freely like he owned the place. His first stop was to my fridge where he brought out a carton of chilled beer and op
•Penelope • The bell rang three times for afternoon prayer, and I was halfway through shelving the hymns when I headed the footsteps that didn’t seem to belong to any of the children. I stayed facing the shelves. Maybe if I just kept working, whoever it was would go away. But Mother Super
•Miguel • The lounge was wrapped in low lights, and smoked coiled lazy spirals above the tables from cigars. I leaned back into the velvet-lined booth, cradling a glass Lagavulin between my fingers, Damien was holding court to my left, a brunette tucked against his side, her fake laugh
•Penelope• I ignored the tingling between my thighs all evening. It didn’t help that during mass, Father Marshall, bless his soul—suddenly looked like Dr. Miguel Ramirez from the side. Same silver hair, same calm, unreadable expression. I blinked hard, looked back down at my prayer book, and
•Penelope•“I said no glue near your mouth, Noah.”I pulled the bottle gently from his hands before he could make a second attempt. The boys at Saint Jude’s Orphanage had a creative streak, which was a polite way of saying they spent most mornings testing how close they could get to trouble before







