Bad Habits: A Dark Anthology - Yolanda Olson Page 0,39

and a few others had driven by the grocery store to pick up sandwich stuff for our dinner. All of us were dog-tired and wasn’t about to cook a thing.

I ate my dinner quickly and quietly, which gave me enough time to spare a quick shower before evening mass. I scrubbed and washed every inch of myself, preparing my body for him—just thinking his name made me feel giddy.

I was combing my hair after I dried off, wondering if I should even bother to braid it, when a knock sounded on the bathroom door.

“Just a minute, hold on!” I grabbed my things and opened the door.

“I was just checking on you. Come, I have something for you.” Sister Diane held the door for me as I slipped out and went to my room. The light was on, allowing me to see the three Sisters standing by the bed, smiling. Behind me, the door shut softly.

“What is it?” I asked, curious, putting down my things. That’s when I noticed the white dress laid out on my bed. It looked like satin, like a wedding dress. I looked at them, totally confused.

“Father Solomon sent us to ready you, dear,” the Sister named Olivia said sweetly.

My cheeks started to burn with embarrassment and… anger. He’d told them about us? Was this a trick? Or was he setting me up?

Diane stood in front of me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “None of that thinking, Sister.” She looked me dead in the eyes. “Listen, Constance. It is time. It’s alright. You are here at this parish for Father Kent.”

“And to take your vows, child,” the other Sister said. She was older, with dark skin and beautiful brown eyes. Kind and soft.

“But… I can’t take my vows here. It’s not…” I waved absently at the gown on the bed and looked at each woman. “I’m not staying. I mean, I already belong to a convent.”

“Of course you’re staying!” Sister Diane laughed. “You are the one he chose, Sister.” Her voice then took on a hint of reverence, and she dropped her gaze in submission. “You are to be our Mother.”

Someone touched my arm. “Indeed. And we are here to ready you for Him,” one of them said, not sure which. I was too hung up on the capital H I’d heard in that him.

“But you all don’t even like me,” I said stupidly as they began undressing me. I didn’t stop them, just stood there in a daze. A daze of utter confusion.

“Well,” Sister Olivia began, laughing sweetly, “we had to make sure, you see. But you are the one He has chosen, and we will honor you, Mother.”

“It is true, my Beloved,” Solomon said in my head like a lover’s caress. “I will see you at the altar. Let your Handmaidens assist you.”

I gasped, finding something to cling on to.

“Easy, easy. Sister Darla, go get her something to drink,” someone, Diane perhaps, said. “Something a little strong.”

I was led to the bed, the dress already on me now, while someone brushed my hair and began to braid it. A drink was handed to me, and I greedily drank up, barely able to breathe.

I didn’t remember much about the walk through the hall and main room, except it was dark, only lit by candlelight. I didn’t remember crossing the breeze way, except the cold cement under my feet. And I didn’t remember anyone giving me a bouquet of crimson delphinium to hold, by I remember their smell—soft and sweet like a summer’s day.

When the doors to the church opened, it was like my dream from the other night come to life. The congregation was filled, every pew taken. A billion candles burned. People I had met just this very day, had handed over cookies and cups of lemonade to, they were all there. The sisters of Trevorstone Parish stood shoulder to shoulder at the left of the altar, two priests that I had briefly met earlier this morning, both visiting clergymen stood to the right of the altar. And in the middle, at the end of the aisle, stood my Solomon.

He wasn’t wearing his robe, nor white, just his usual black tunic and pants, with his crisp white collar. His hands were folded comfortably at his trim waist, his head slightly bowed. And his eyes… Mother of Our Precious Lord, his eyes were golden orbs of fire, so beautiful they took my breath away.

“Come, my Beloved. Come, my Bride. I give myself to thee.”