by Daniel Addercouth
It’s during the Penitential Act that we notice the baby, which is wailing so loudly we can barely hear the words of the youthful priest. In what I have done and in what I have failed to do. Several people in the large congregation turn to glare at the family. We like to see new folk in our church, but we don’t approve of this screaming. Why is the bairn so unhappy? Is it the smell of fresh paint? Well, it’s important for the chapel to look nice. Is it the cold? We’re in the Scottish Highlands, what does it expect? The young father says something to the mother and she takes the baby outside. Our church is calm again.
十
During the Responsorial Psalm, the child is restless. He keeps twisting around to stare at something. Is he looking at us? It seems doubtful. An old woman in the next pew hands him a sweetie, which he pops in his mouth with delight. He rotates back in his seat and sits quietly. We don’t approve of people eating in kirk, but at least he’s behaving now.
十
The boy slouches in his pew during the Gospel. He’s as big as his mother now and almost as tall as his father. The father is going bald, but the son’s hair hangs slovenly over his collar. It is a shame for a man to have long hair (Corinthians). This young man only makes a half-hearted effort to mumble the prayers, and he doesn’t bother to sing the hymns. We don’t approve.
十
The priest is giving the Homily. As we heard in the reading today, the Bible tells us we should honour our father and our mother. The middle-aged parents are in their usual spot, but there’s no sign of the son.
十
The son reappears during the Eucharistic Prayer. He’s taller than both his parents now. A young woman with short hair sits next to him. They speak to each other in low voices, and she giggles. We don’t approve of idle chatter in the church, and we certainly don’t approve of laughter. But at least there’s an extra person in the congregation, which is smaller and older than it used to be. The couple is speaking to each other in a language we don’t understand. We remember when the folk here spoke Gaelic, and the Mass was in Latin. We don’t approve of everything being in English now, but we recognise that times change.
十
It’s the Consecration of the Bread and Wine. Now the son and the young woman have a small child. The girl swivels around to look in our direction. It seems unlikely that she can see us. A woman in the next pew gives the child a mint.
十
The son’s parents are alone for the Lord’s Prayer. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Now and again the mother glances at his empty spot.
十
The son rejoins his parents for Communion. He’s middle-aged now, and his parents are bent with age. They both have sticks which they use when they hobble up the aisle to receive their wafers. We wonder where the other woman and the child are. The church smells musty, and we can hear a dripping noise coming from somewhere. The paint is peeling off the walls.
十
The son is here with the mother for the Concluding Rites. There’s no sign of the father. The son helps his mother get up from her kneeling position. There’s fewer than a dozen people in the chapel. We wonder where all the parishioners have gone. The elderly priest struggles to remember the words of the blessing. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
十
Now the Mass is over and the church is empty except for the son, by himself in the pew where his parents always sat. We are pleased to note that he crosses himself when he finishes praying. He bends his head back to study the painted ceiling, turns to admire the stained glass windows. There’s no indication that he notices us. The dripping sound has got louder.
The son struggles to get up from the seat, and he walks with a stick when he heads into the aisle. His lined face reminds us of his father’s.
He wasn’t the most faithful member of the congregation, but we’re sad to see him go.
Daniel Addercouth (@RuralUnease) grew up on a remote farm in the north of Scotland but now lives in Berlin, Germany. His work has appeared in New Flash Fiction Review, Trampset and Vestal Review, among other places.
