“Forgive me,” a voice began. Ben McKenzie panicked. He knew that voice! Norah Rigby. It was the voice of the girl who’d been his best friend in grammar school, ignored him in high school, and who, three years ago he’d married…
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”
…to someone else.
“It has been 2 weeks since my last confession,” Norah broke off, peering into the screen. Heavens above, she’d seen him! “Ben…I mean, Father McKenzie, you’re still here. I’d hoped so, really I had. Wow, it’s so…”
“Weird to see you,” Ben said, speaking aloud for the first time since Norah had sat down in the booth. “I mean, is it weird for you? You can pretend that I’m not here…that it’s someone else. I could get Father Ed, if you want. Ugh, this is weird, isn’t it?”
He could tell that Norah was smiling, even through the screen.
“The seminary hasn’t changed you, eh? No. It’s fine. It has been…3 years…since my last confession. And I think I killed my husband.”