where men won’t give women a proper handshake, grabbing my fingers and lifting my hand up like he was about to kiss the top.
Immediate turn off, Pedro. I could kill you with that hand.
I pulled away and sighed heavily, trying to seem distressed. I was lucky they were even working on a Sunday, but it bummed me out he wasn’t around. That much was honest.
“Do you know where I could find him today?”
“I have an address for him, but I’m not allowed to give that out, sorry, miss.” Pedro shrugged indifferently. “You can always check back tomorrow. He doesn’t come in for overtime over the weekends, but he’s never late Monday morning.”
He would be tomorrow. If Sinclair and Mygi have their way, he won’t ever see you again.
“Oh, yeah, I could come back tomorrow,” I mumbled, trying to pout. I had no idea if it worked or what it looked like. I licked my lips and bit my bottom one after, looking around. “Why couldn’t you just be here today?” I whispered, obviously not talking to Pedro.
“Let me give him a call—”
“No!” When Pedro jumped at my suddenness, I bit my lip harder. “I was hoping to surprise him. It’s been a long time.”
“Ahh…” Pedro nodded wisely and frowned, looking back at something. “You know, maybe I can bend the rules just this once. Manuel doesn’t have much of a life. Comes to work and leaves. Well, he drinks. I don’t think he’ll be at home, but I have an idea as to where he could be. It’s late, but he might still be there.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he goes to church here…” He pulled out his phone and started typing. “Never remember the name of the place. Not the church my wife goes to with the kids. Here.” He pointed to it. “That’s it, Saint Thomas Catholic Church. He goes every Sunday. You might find him there, or someone can help you out.”
“Thank you so much.” I touched his arm and watched him blush before walking past him and leaving the subdivision. I didn’t expect to find Raphael at the church since it was late, but I kept my hopes up. I had no other options unless I wanted to stake out random places in Goodyear, which wasn’t a great plan with the time I had. Mind you, it had been my plan, but it seemed like I was getting lucky, so I was going to keep hoping it worked out in my favor.
I’m not lucky enough in life. Might as well ride this wave for as long as I can.
I found the church with only an hour and a half until sunset. Walking inside, I wanted to hiss in distaste at the décor. Catholic imagery wasn’t my favorite. Nothing against the Christian god or anything, I just thought it got a bit much sometimes.
Bit hypocritical of me. I was raised Hindu, and there’s nobody who beats the Hindus when it comes to religious decorating.
I was honestly a bit proud of Hindu architecture.
The Catholic look still isn’t my thing. I don’t much like Buddhism either. I’m not even sure why.
I only made it three steps when a priest stopped me.
“Ma’am, how can I help you this evening?”
“I was hoping to find someone.” I shoved the photo at him. “I’m hoping to surprise him, and his coworkers told me to come here—”
“Manuel comes to late Mass, starts at five.” The Father smiled. I wanted to curse. That was in another twenty minutes. “He normally comes in a little late and sits at the back.”
“Thank you,” I said politely. “I really appreciate it.”
The Father smiled and spread his arms. “Have a wonderful day.”
Luck is absolutely on my side today.
I left the church quickly, half afraid I was going to light up in flames at any moment. I was a supernatural from a different religion and really had no place in a Catholic church or really any church. Temples were more my place to go.
I found a bench outside and got comfortable. Watching the minutes tick by was excruciating as the Father’s congregation slowly trickled in. It was like a madhouse in the last few minutes before Mass started, then suddenly quiet.
I crossed my arms, waiting, wondering if he would show up tonight. Would tonight be the night he decided to skip Mass? Would he run the moment I tried talking to him?
I could hear the Father begin talking inside the church, his voice friendly, charismatic, and energizing. I didn’t believe a word he said,