What in a Name? (3)

Start from the beginning here.

Two strikes meant he wasn’t out yet.

She wore a different sweater this week, navy instead of gray.  This one was thicker.  The fall morning was chillier than previous days.  But far more noticeable than the sweater was the presence of a guy next to her in the pew.  There was a smaller gap between him and the woman on his other side.  Surely he was with that woman.

He occasionally – more occasionally than usual – kept his eyes darting forward to see if there was any interaction between the beautiful woman and the guy whose collar was all bunched up in the back.  As he convinced himself they were not together, he forgave the guy for not knowing how to put on a shirt. 

Her head turned to the side during a song, enough that he could see her mouth tilt up in a smile between words.  He made a mental note that she liked it.  Sometime after he got her name, he could ask about other favorite hymns.  “Good morning, [insert name here].”  “How do you think the cantor will pronounce Salve today, [insert name here]?”  His eyes drifted to the Padre Pio statue.  The resemblance really was uncanny. 

It was time at last.  The final hymn was difficult to sing while he was holding his breath.  She hadn’t taken off her sweater so she only had to pick up her purse.  He took a step into the aisle and opened his mouth to greet her.

“Did you know you walked right past us when you got here this morning?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the question from his mom, who had sidled up out of nowhere.  “What are you doing here?” he asked.  His dad and two younger sisters were right behind her.

“Nice to see you, too,” one of the girls answered sarcastically.

“I mean, instead of Saturday.  You know I mean instead of Saturday.”  The parish had been having trouble getting readers to sign up for the vigil Mass.  His mom switched the schedule for the rest of the family the last several months to fill the volunteer gap.

She smiled because she knew that’s what he’d meant.  “I wasn’t needed this week so we came today to meet your grandparents for lunch after.  Didn’t you get my text?”

He left his phone in his car.  She must have let him know at the last minute.  “Am I invited?” he asked.

“Against her better judgement,” one of his sisters quipped.

Lunch with family was a pleasant consolation prize.  The young woman was long gone, along with his chance to introduce himself.  He hadn’t been able to tell if she’d noticed his interrupted attempt to get her attention.  He settled for being happy no one in his family appeared to have noticed.

To be continued…