Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 14:07:26 +0000 From: David Greg Denton Subject: Mark and the Priest - part 2 Mark and the Priest – Part 2 Gay, Incest, Brothers * * * They saw a lot of each other over the summer, but when it was time for Charlie to go back, they spent one last afternoon of lovemaking together. Charlie walked back in from the bathroom wearing a black shirt and clerical collar. "It's a little early for Halloween, isn't it?" Mark asked. "It's not a costume. It's more like a `uniform.'" Charlie replied. "You're a priest?!" Mark sat bolt upright in bed. "I am studying to be. Right now, I'm a seminarian." "And over the last three months you couldn't have found one minute to mention that?" "I was given the summer off to decide whether or not I should stay with the Church or leave. I've decided." "You mean I helped you make your decision... and you chose the Church over me?!" "I'm sorry but I did," Charlie said quietly. "Unfuckingbelievable!" Mark yelled. "Can I just tell you that I fell in love with you all over again and now I hate you?" He jumped up and went to stand in front of Charlie, stark naked. "You selfish coward. I never want to see you again." With that said, he picked up his clothes where he'd left them and started to dress. "Please don't leave like this. We need to talk." "Talk about what? You've already made up your mind and I'm leaving. Where's my other shoe, goddammit?" Mark got down on all fours and looked. Charlie helped and found it under the bed. "Here it is." He handed it to Mark who snatched it from him. "Please let me explain, at least." "What could you possibly have to say that could keep me here?" "I love you, Mark." Mark sat down and said, "Well, I guess that's a start." "We've had a wonderful summer, one that I will never forget. I will take my memories with me wherever they send me. I have to go because I was `called' and no matter how much I love you, I can't forsake that calling." "Well, isn't that great. You lead me on all summer and then leave me here to pick up the pieces of my broken heart all by myself. Typical." "What is that supposed to mean?" Charlie asked a little angry and bewildered. "That's your M.O. You made me fall in love with you once before and left. Now you've gone and done it again and I'm left holding the bag. You're a piece of work, you know that?!" "I didn't know, Marky. I'm sorry. At least you have some kind of closure this time, though." "You call this closure? You're leaving tomorrow, you bastard!" Mark proceeded to finish dressing while Charlie watched, helpless to do anything to comfort or console him. "Have a nice life, Charlie. I hope you get bubonic plague or something in some foreign country." He opened the bedroom door and stormed out of the room, the house, and Charlie's life. * * * Charlie stood in front of the bishop and recited his vows. The next step was prostration. He laid down on the floor, face down, with his arms outstretched, nose to the floor. He had just done this when the doors to the chapel burst open. All eyes were on the young man striding forward. He yelled, "Stop!" Charlie got up and turned to face him. "What are you doing here, Mark?" "I'm trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life, of our lives." "I'm doing what I have to do. We discussed this." "We didn't discuss anything. You told me what you decided and expected me to just accept it. Well, I don't." The bishop interrupted, "Perhaps you should take this into the sacristy where you can have some privacy." "Mark, please. You're making a scene. Can we discuss this later?" "By then it will be too late. I need to tell you now, in front of God and everyone." "You don't believe in God, Mark." "No, but you do." Mark got down on his knees and looked up at the only person he had ever loved. "I'm on my knees, praying that you will choose me. What do I have to do to make you believe that we are worth taking a chance on? We can make it, I'm sure of it. Our love will be enough." "I'm afraid that I've already made up my mind, Mark... and I choose Him," Charlie said as he pointed at the giant crucifix hanging behind the altar. "Damn you, Charlie!" Mark spat out as he got up. "Damn you to hell. I hope you'll be very happy with your God knowing that you threw me away, threw us away. I'm turning my back on you now, just like you turned your back on me." With that said, he strode back out of the chapel and away from his love, his passion, and his security. "Do you want to talk about it, Son?" Charlie's father asked once they were back home, the ordination ceremony having been postponed, indefinitely. "No, Dad, I don't." "I know this must be very confusing for you now," his mother stated. "You don't have to make a decision right now. Father Erwin has given you some time to think things over. Your father and I agree that it might be best, but we want you to know that we support you no matter what you decide." "Thank you both. I think I want to be alone... for now." He got up from the chair where he'd been sitting, gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and then his father. He ascended the stairs to his bedroom and closed the door, then he fell onto the bed, the same bed where he and Mark had made love so many times. He tried to sleep, but the previous events and the words Mark had spoken, weighed heavily on his mind. He knew that he had made the right decision, to follow his calling, but he couldn't help feeling that he'd hurt Mark irrevocably in the process. He just hoped that in the morning light, Mark would come to accept Charlie's decision and move on. And Charlie would try to do the same. * * * * Charlie McMannis grew up in a lovely home with two wonderful adoptive parents, a dog named Skippy and a cat named Oscar. He always had plenty of food to eat and lots of nice clothes to wear. He could have attended one of the finest private schools in the state, but his parents chose to send him to a public school. They wanted to keep their only living child close to them, especially after their little girl, Sandra, had drowned at the age of six. He grew up happy and healthy. He wanted for nothing, except maybe a sibling or a best friend. He was shy and found it difficult making them, friends that is. When he started swimming, it terrified his parents. But he was determined at an early age not to be afraid of anything, especially the water. He knew when he was seven that he was gay. It was of course a sin, so he stayed in the closet, but he knew he would never get married and have children. He also knew that there was a divine plan for him. In high school, he joined the swim team and because he had been swimming for so long and was the fastest, he quickly became team captain. When he wasn't in the pool, he could be found debating the other members of the debate team or volunteering at the local park picking up trash. He was an all-around good guy and his parents could not have been more proud. Mark Clarke was another story all together. He lived in a one bedroom apartment with his father and slept on the pullout couch. His mother had died when Mark was three and his father became a drunk who would go missing for days, leaving Mark to fend for himself. Mark was tall and skinny and was forced to wear clothes from the local thrift store which often didn't fit or were threadbare. Mark grew up angry and lonely. He knew he was gay but didn't want to be. He hated being different in a school full of "normals." He didn't belong to any clubs or organizations in high school because he wasn't a joiner. He didn't even think he was going to graduate. There was one bright spot in the winter of his education and that was Charlie McMannis. Charlie was the golden child, the poster boy for all that his life could have been if not for the unfortunate circumstances of his birth and subsequent adoption. Mark went to all the swim meets just so that he could watch Charlie annihilate the competition. But his admiration for Charlie didn't stop at the swimming pool. He went to every debate also. Those were less well attended so he couldn't hide as easily as he did in the stands at a swim meet. He sat in the back and marveled at Charlie's ability to defend either side of an issue. The one place where Mark felt closest to Charlie though was in the park. He had signed up to do community service for extra credit, which he desperately needed, by picking up trash. Mark usually stayed out of sight of the abnormally gorgeous Charlie, but on this particular day, he failed. "Hi! I'm Charlie," he said as he strode directly for a desperately trying not to freak out Mark. "I've seen you before. You sit at the back of the room when we have debates." "Uh, yeah. Hi. I'm uh, Mark." He took Charlie's outstretched hand and shook it. "Listen, if you don't mind I think it would be more enjoyable if we worked together. I've always wanted someone to talk to, you know, while I worked?" "Sure," was the best Mark could come up with on such short notice. "Great! How about you take the left side of the path and I'll take the right. We can still talk, which as you know, I love to do." That elicited a small chuckle from Mark. "So, any big plans after we graduate?" "No, I guess get a job and try and get away from my dad." Oops, that was too much information too soon, Mark. "Oh. I don't mean to pry, but no college?" Mark actually laughed out loud. "College?! I'll be lucky if I graduate. I may just quit after I turn eighteen anyway." Charlie stopped and crossed the path. "Please don't. There are so many more things you can do with a diploma than without one." "I could always get a GED later, if I wanted to." "The statistics aren't in your favor, Mark. I debated the facts once. I know we just met, but please think about it, huh?" It was the way Charlie looked at Mark that made him reply, "Okay." No one had ever taken an interest in him before, not his dad, not his teachers. He suddenly wanted to do this small thing for Charlie if not for himself. He knew it was crazy, but for the first time, maybe ever, he thought maybe, just maybe, he could graduate after all. "Great! Listen, I have a debate club meeting tomorrow afternoon. Would you like to come?" "Oh, I'm not, I mean I don't..." "Just as an observer. Can you bring your books, too?" "Sure, but..." "No questions, just do it, okay?" "Okay." "Great I'll see you after school tomorrow, Room 222. I've got to go. See you then, Mark," and just like that he was gone. Mark wasn't even sure that what had just happened had actually happened. He stood there for the longest time, holding a half empty bag of trash, staring after a long-gone Charlie. (to be continued in Part 3)