![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
intheheartTitle: Comfort
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina gets dumped, and goes to church.
Date: Spring 2003
AU: Straight AU
Notes: I wanted some more Father Arnott in my writing life.
The stained glass windows cast multicolored shadows over the nave of the church as Gina trudged up the aisle. Outside, it was a warm and pretty afternoon on the edge of summer, flowers blooming, birds singing, breezes blowing, the works, complete with high school students frisking home, freed suddenly from the tyranny of school by the end of a brisk pep rally.
A brisk pep rally where Gina's boyfriend had dumped her.
She swallowed down tears, and sat down in a pew, under a patch of red and blue light. He hadn't even really been mean about it, just... painfully casual, dropping her hand when they walked in the gym, rushing out, "I think we should see other people" before losing himself in the crowd.
She hadn't even had a chance to say anything. She could only stand there, open-mouthed, blindsided, as he walked out of her life.
It didn't seem real. She'd been dating Ned since December, and in high school that was an eternity. She'd never expected that it would last forever, but... they were three weeks away from prom and graduation. Couldn't he have waited that long? Couldn't he have....
Evidently not.
Who was she going to go to prom with now?
She couldn't not go. She had a dress and a hair appointment and everything, and besides, not going would be... defeat. Ned would win, if she didn't go.
She couldn't not go, but how could she go, knowing she'd see him there? How could she face him, knowing what he'd done to her?
"Gina?"
She started, and looked up into Father Arnott's kindly eyes.
"Forgive me, my child," he said, sitting down beside her. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you all right?"
Gina thought about lying to him, for a moment, or even just saying that she didn't want to talk about it, but his expression was so compassionate that the whole story tumbled out. She started crying halfway through, remembering Ned's distracted expression, the way his eyes already followed other girls, the last glimpse she'd caught of him, walking out of the rally with his arm around a perky brunette cheerleader. She tried to swallow the tears back, but Father Arnott reached over and put an arm around her shoulders, and she ended up weeping the last few sentences into his shoulder.
"He just walked away," she sobbed. "Like I never mattered. Like it was all some... some game."
"My poor child," Father Arnott said softly. "How much pain you must be in."
"It hurts so much," she said, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force down the tears. She was soaking his shirt, for heaven's sake. "It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
He went still for a moment. "My dear, I sincerely hope it's the worst thing that will ever happen to you."
She stiffened, leaned away from him. "What do you mean?"
Father Arnott sighed, then took off his glasses and polished them absently on his shirt. "I understand that this feels like the end of the world, but... there are worse things that could happen. I only hope you never learn what they are."
Clearly, Gina had gone to the wrong person with this. What did a priest know about love?
Her mutinous thoughts must have shown on her face, because Father Arnott shook his head and said in a rather waspish tone, "I was a teenager once, Gina. I got my heart broken too. I know exactly how you feel." His voice and expression softened then. "I'm not trying to make light of your pain at all. I only... I only hope that this is the greatest pain you will ever know."
She couldn't imagine a greater pain, but she left that unsaid, instead looking up at him with large, woeful eyes. "Does it ever stop hurting?"
"Yes," he said, and nodded. "Yes, it does. It will take some time, but I promise you that it will stop hurting." He looked to the altar then, and the crucifix hanging above it. "Remember that you have a Father in heaven who loves you very much, and trust in Him to take your pain from you, when it is time."
She followed his gaze to Christ, followed his words into familiar thoughts, and began to feel calmer almost immediately. "Will He send me someone else? Someone better?"
"He will send you what you need," Father Arnott said, and patted her shoulder, gently. "It may not be what you want, but you may trust that He will always send you what you need."
"What will I do until then?" How could she look Ned in the face? How could she even tell her friends?
"What any of us do," he said, and sighed again. "Wait. Pray. Trust in the Lord. I'm sorry, my dear, I wish I had a better answer for you."
"It's all right," she said automatically, still looking into Christ's painted eyes. "I mean... it isn't all right, it isn't enough, but I think... I think it will be."
He patted her shoulder again. "Good. Would you like to stay and pray with me, for a bit?"
Gina shook her head, and stood-- Father Arnott got carefully to his feet as well. "No thank you, Father," she said. "I think I had better go home." Her mother would have some more material comfort for her. "But thank you. For counselling me."
"Of course, my child," he said, and smiled warmly at her. "You know, I hope, that you are always welcome here."
"I do," she said, and pressed the hand he offered, and left the church, out the door into the warm summer afternoon.
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina gets dumped, and goes to church.
Date: Spring 2003
AU: Straight AU
Notes: I wanted some more Father Arnott in my writing life.
The stained glass windows cast multicolored shadows over the nave of the church as Gina trudged up the aisle. Outside, it was a warm and pretty afternoon on the edge of summer, flowers blooming, birds singing, breezes blowing, the works, complete with high school students frisking home, freed suddenly from the tyranny of school by the end of a brisk pep rally.
A brisk pep rally where Gina's boyfriend had dumped her.
She swallowed down tears, and sat down in a pew, under a patch of red and blue light. He hadn't even really been mean about it, just... painfully casual, dropping her hand when they walked in the gym, rushing out, "I think we should see other people" before losing himself in the crowd.
She hadn't even had a chance to say anything. She could only stand there, open-mouthed, blindsided, as he walked out of her life.
It didn't seem real. She'd been dating Ned since December, and in high school that was an eternity. She'd never expected that it would last forever, but... they were three weeks away from prom and graduation. Couldn't he have waited that long? Couldn't he have....
Evidently not.
Who was she going to go to prom with now?
She couldn't not go. She had a dress and a hair appointment and everything, and besides, not going would be... defeat. Ned would win, if she didn't go.
She couldn't not go, but how could she go, knowing she'd see him there? How could she face him, knowing what he'd done to her?
"Gina?"
She started, and looked up into Father Arnott's kindly eyes.
"Forgive me, my child," he said, sitting down beside her. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you all right?"
Gina thought about lying to him, for a moment, or even just saying that she didn't want to talk about it, but his expression was so compassionate that the whole story tumbled out. She started crying halfway through, remembering Ned's distracted expression, the way his eyes already followed other girls, the last glimpse she'd caught of him, walking out of the rally with his arm around a perky brunette cheerleader. She tried to swallow the tears back, but Father Arnott reached over and put an arm around her shoulders, and she ended up weeping the last few sentences into his shoulder.
"He just walked away," she sobbed. "Like I never mattered. Like it was all some... some game."
"My poor child," Father Arnott said softly. "How much pain you must be in."
"It hurts so much," she said, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force down the tears. She was soaking his shirt, for heaven's sake. "It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me."
He went still for a moment. "My dear, I sincerely hope it's the worst thing that will ever happen to you."
She stiffened, leaned away from him. "What do you mean?"
Father Arnott sighed, then took off his glasses and polished them absently on his shirt. "I understand that this feels like the end of the world, but... there are worse things that could happen. I only hope you never learn what they are."
Clearly, Gina had gone to the wrong person with this. What did a priest know about love?
Her mutinous thoughts must have shown on her face, because Father Arnott shook his head and said in a rather waspish tone, "I was a teenager once, Gina. I got my heart broken too. I know exactly how you feel." His voice and expression softened then. "I'm not trying to make light of your pain at all. I only... I only hope that this is the greatest pain you will ever know."
She couldn't imagine a greater pain, but she left that unsaid, instead looking up at him with large, woeful eyes. "Does it ever stop hurting?"
"Yes," he said, and nodded. "Yes, it does. It will take some time, but I promise you that it will stop hurting." He looked to the altar then, and the crucifix hanging above it. "Remember that you have a Father in heaven who loves you very much, and trust in Him to take your pain from you, when it is time."
She followed his gaze to Christ, followed his words into familiar thoughts, and began to feel calmer almost immediately. "Will He send me someone else? Someone better?"
"He will send you what you need," Father Arnott said, and patted her shoulder, gently. "It may not be what you want, but you may trust that He will always send you what you need."
"What will I do until then?" How could she look Ned in the face? How could she even tell her friends?
"What any of us do," he said, and sighed again. "Wait. Pray. Trust in the Lord. I'm sorry, my dear, I wish I had a better answer for you."
"It's all right," she said automatically, still looking into Christ's painted eyes. "I mean... it isn't all right, it isn't enough, but I think... I think it will be."
He patted her shoulder again. "Good. Would you like to stay and pray with me, for a bit?"
Gina shook her head, and stood-- Father Arnott got carefully to his feet as well. "No thank you, Father," she said. "I think I had better go home." Her mother would have some more material comfort for her. "But thank you. For counselling me."
"Of course, my child," he said, and smiled warmly at her. "You know, I hope, that you are always welcome here."
"I do," she said, and pressed the hand he offered, and left the church, out the door into the warm summer afternoon.
