The devil sat on my shoulder tonight. The front doorbell rang and I sent Ray out to see who it was - our house is such that we have an independent entrance, but the gate on the street is shared by three residences (the people who live above us and those below) and Ray can stick his head out the door to see who is there at the street. He came in and said it wasn't Daddy, so I ran out wiping my hands as I was cooking at the stove. A man stood there at the gate and identified himself as Don Carlo so-and-so and I looked puzzled as he spoke as if I should know him. To make a long story short - he is the local priest and I remembered that we had gotten a notice that this week the homes were to be blessed for Easter. He realized I wasn't Italian and after some fumbling of words, I told him "io non capisco bene" (I don't understand very well (this tradition)) and he said "me too" and we shook hands for the second time and he said "God bless you". The weird thing was that I realized I was almost flirting with him as he was young, handsome and with a great smile. The minutes following, back at the stove, I found myself thinking maybe I need to start taking Ray to mass every Sunday...and of course there is confession....and, yes, all those volunteer opportunities....oh naughty, I think I am breaking a commandment.
2 comments:
you are too funny-- but more likely Don Carlo was an angel in disguise. Knowing you so well, the Lord knew how best to get his little Raimondo into the fold !!
Susan, an Italian collegue told me that during this time many thieves dress as priests to gain access into homes or just simply to collect a token amount of money. Perhaps I wasn't as sinful as I feared! Flirting with a thief vs flirting with a priest. What a world...
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