The Good Catholic Page #5

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You want something to drink?

Uh, yeah.

I have...

Water. And... water.

And...

Well, water.

Water would be great.

Great.

Make yourself at home.

It's amazing. Isn't it?

Jane.

No.

What?

You said Jane like, Jane.

What does that mean?

That tone.

I had a tone?

Um, yeah. That, you know...

Eat your vegetables tone.

Jane.

Don't do it.

I, can we just...

Don't.

I just wanna ask...

We had a good thing.

Why would you wanna mess that...

Do you even know

what it is that I'm gonna ask?

Yeah.

Really?

Yeah.

So?

So, what?

Eh-tell me.

Why would I say something out loud that

I'm practically begging you not to ask?

Because you realize that

I'm asking you a real question.

You miss, uh, I-sing.

And-I'm-emotionally-fearless.

And-i-do-really-

weird-things-to-my-hair.

To-try-and-make-it-less-attractive-but-it-always-

makes-it-more-attractive.

You're afraid to let somebody

know who you are.

You think this makes me

more attractive? Okay.

You were going to ask me about

the whole death thing. Again.

I told you I knew.

Do you get that a lot?

Yeah.

Right before

I never see someone again.

I'm not going anywhere.

Yeah well...

You're not the one

I'm worried about.

I'm not crazy.

In case you were wondering.

I mean, yeah. But no.

Not really.

It started off as a joke.

But just, saying it,

I'm dying.

Finite.

It gave things

a sense of urgency.

And sometimes it doesn't work.

Well, most of the time.

But there are days,

if I really let myself

buy into it,

where I can actually see

the beauty of how little time

we actually have.

And lately,

that only seems to be happening

when I'm with you.

What the hell are we?

I don't know.

I think that's okay.

Me too.

But we should make some rules.

Rules?

Yeah.

If we're gonna proceed with this

whole, star-crossed, platonic,

g-rated, tragicomedy

of ours,

we should be very clear on what

we can and can't do.

That's actually not a bad idea.

Which makes sense,

'cause I only have good ones.

So... what?

Rule number one:

Nothing sexual and...

Yep. Agreed.

I wasn't finished.

I am sorry.

Nothing sexual in nature.

Although, I mean.

I can't just turn off

my natural appeal.

I mean...

There's a lot going on here.

And you're just gonna have to

learn to view it as a work of art

in a museum that you can view and

appreciate but you know never...

And you, quite frankly...

I'm sorry.

Are gonna have to stop dressing

so suggestively.

I know.

Rule number two...

Uh-uh my turn.

But I...

I get to make some rules.

Okay, but mine was gonna

be good.

Rule number two:

We let ourselves be friends.

Without shame.

Could be a bit tight.

But for having three baptisms

in a week,

I think we found

a really nice job.

What about Friday?

Friday?

Yeah. Night.

If I have this correct I think we

should all be free at that time.

For what?

Dinner.

No offense, but we already eat

together like 15 times a week.

I also have a reservation for

the golden corral,

which I'm not gonna miss.

They take reservations?

No. No Daniel, they don't.

What's going on Friday?

I just thought that

we could all have dinner.

Together. At the rectory.

Oh yeah, no problem.

With a friend of mine.

A friend?

If this friend is

as fun as you two,

well, count me in.

She is fun. Great.

Fun and great.

She?

She. Yes.

She's a she. Jane is her name.

It's a female name.

Which she has because she's

a girl. Woman.

Well, to be clear,

I'm definitely available

for this dinner now.

I like the bread.

- Thanks.

- Yes, Daniel.

Bread is quite good.

It's brioche.

I didn't realize you baked.

Oh no. I bought it.

Well, it's really good.

Still.

For store bought

it's really good.

Pasta's good too.

You bought the pasta as well?

Nope. Nope. I made that. Myself.

- Old family recipe.

- Oh.

Ollie.

You being a connoisseur

of all things, remotely edible,

I'd love to have

your expert opinion on the meal.

It's hilarious.

I'm sorry?

Very good. It's delicious.

Excellent effort.

I'm proud of you.

Thank you. I always felt like

I should cook more, you know?

I agree. And the best part

of cooking more...

Is more dinner guests.

Umm... thanks.

No. Thank you.

And thank you for introducing us

to Jenny.

Jane.

What did I say?

Not Jane.

Strawberry shortcake

for dessert.

So, you know, gotta save room.

And ice cream.

Sponge or pound?

What?

Sponge cake or pound cake

as the base?

You know, it's called

strawberry shortcake,

but I never really considered

strawberry shortcake

unless it has a pound cake

or a sponge cake as the base.

Not that biscuit thing

that my grandmother used to always

try to pass off as dessert.

Well, traditionally speaking,

shortcake is really supposed to

be more savory, less sweet.

A fun fact.

Especially if you decide

you want to do your own baking.

I definitely prefer sponge cake.

Oh. That's your god given right.

And there is um...

Certainly others who feel

that it's less,

uh, substantive. Empty.

Fleeting.

But it tastes better.

Amen sister.

And sure it might be wrapped

in cheap cellophane,

shelf stable for like,

a hundred years.

Sadly placed somewhere between

little Debbie's

and generic Twinkies rip-offs on

the shelf

but at the end of the day,

if it tastes better

than your other options,

what can you do?

Have better taste.

Oh man. I forgot.

There is no cake.

There's no sponge cake.

There's no pound cake.

There's no shortcake.

There's no cake.

Got caught up in the

strawberries I guess.

But yeah. Anyway.

There is ice cream.

Which everyone seems to enjoy so...

- Vanilla or chocolate?

Can we just talk about dinner?

The flavor...

Just for right now?

Please. Thank you.

That'd be great.

So, Jane.

Did I say it right this time?

Yes.

Hmm. What do you do, Jane?

Like, for a living?

Sure.

I'm a musician.

Mostly at a coffee shop.

Where I also sometimes work.

Because I'm a musician.

Mostly at a coffee shop.

Well would you say that,

music is your passion?

Um, well I mean, yeah.

It's a passion.

Yeah. She's really good.

Pretty great.

We should go

check her out sometime.

What does that mean?

What does what mean?

A passion.

I mean,

a person can have

more than one passion.

Right?

You tell me.

I think I just did.

Daniel.

Uh, yeah. I think um...

I think passion, you know,

has several different, uh...

Like father Ollie.

He likes, uh, carbohydrates.

Uh, basketball.

Iu basketball, specifically.

Thank you very much. You can forget

about the rest of division I.

- See?

- And I really enjoy running, and... so, the...

Passion of Christ

or a...

Passion

of Christ.

Are interchangeable.

I think it's different

than what we're talking about.

Simple question.

No.

Obviously not.

So Daniel.

So your new friend could,

understand where

you're really coming from.

What is your passion?

Do you have many passions?

Spread out.

Scattered.

As Jane seems to.

What would you say you have a...

Overriding passion

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