Kate's Adventure

"So what are you doing here?"

"You'll never believe it."

"Try me."

"I'm here to practice."

"Really? Do they, like, have a track here or something?"

He laughed. "Not that kind of practice. I'm the organist. There relatively simple, but I like to go through the hymns and choir pieces one last time before doing the service."

He was right. I didn't believe it and told him so.

"Come on then. Let me show you," he said standing up and offering his hand. I took it and he led me into the church. Even with this display of confidence I'd didn't believe the guy who'd I'd teased the day before, this 18 year old guy, could possibly be the church organist.

As he led me down the main aisle in the sanctuary toward the organ console, he told me, "I started playing piano when I was nine. My mom plays. Then a few years ago the older guy, okay he was ancient, who was the organist here began to teach me to play this." We stood before the impressive instrument. "I liked it. He died a year ago and I've been filling in ever since. I sure hope they can find a permanent replacement before I go off to college." He flipped a couple of switches and I heard the organ come to life. "You like Bach?" he asked and then played a few bars. The church seemed to shake when the pipes filled with sound. He grinned. "Impressive, isn't it? It's not me, it's the instrument. It's a good one. You don't usually find one of this quality in a small church. I thank my teacher for that."

"Holy cow," I said, "I don't feel right being here dressed like this." Standing there in the sanctuary, especially after hearing the organ music, I felt completely out of place. My still warm behind reminded me of the erotic events of the day before and particularly of the last night.

Dave just smiled and said, "Well, I could quote some scripture about God's house being open to everyone and all that, but I doubt that'd put you at ease. Still, why don't you stay and listen while I practice. You can always leave well before services start." He patted the bench he sat on. "Please, sit down. I'd love to play for you."

Feeling very naughty, for the first time actually naughty rather than playfully so, I sat down on my sore ass.

"Before the service starts I'll play this piece by Bach," he told me then played the whole piece containing the little rift he'd done just a minute ago. When done, Dave said, "I think he was younger than me when he wrote that."

"Gosh it was beautiful."

"No one has ever written better." He grinned. "But theirs always something new to play." He launched into Heart and Soul and I laughed. He stopped and said, "I love your laugh. Here, you do the bass part. It goes like this." He showed me which pedals to push with my feet. Soon we were making music together, sure it was pretty lame, but I was having fun in a church for like the first time ever. Then he started singing in a fine baritone as he played.

"Heart and soul, I fell in love with you / Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, / madly / Because you held me tight / And stole a kiss in the night."

Jesus, I thought, he's like a fantasy guy, track star, organ player, singer. When he stopped, I muttered, "Oh, fuck."

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I stood up saying, "I can't do this. You're too much, and I've just been out, well, you know...."

He took my hand. "Maybe fooling around a little bit?"

"More than a little."

"So? Did you hurt anyone?"

"Hell, er, heck, no."

"Then what's the harm?"

I looked around at the sanctuary and it's religious symbols. "Duh?"

"Oh, don't get caught up in the superficial stuff. It bothered me for a while too. But all this," he waved his hand at religious trappings surrounding us, "is just history, tradition. It's a big mistake, at least how I understand it, to put the symbolism before the message. And message is about love and concern for each other."

"I really wish I had said that," came a voice from behind. Both Dave and I twisted around to see Rev. Brown walking down the aisle toward us. "Hi Kate. Hi Dave. I heard Heart and Soul and it just drew me over here." He joined us. "Kate, Dave put it very well. This church is all about reaching out, not pushing people away. We have these old symbols, but a very relevant contemporary message. You can be a part of getting that message across. I don't preach about sinning or sinners, but about helping and extending a hand to others."

They were being too nice, I thought. "But on the bus, with both of you, I was...."

"You were playful. You're young and trying to find your way," said Rev. Brown.

"But...."

"And I'm sure Dave, just like me, couldn't take his eyes off you. We're men and hard wired to respond to a sexy woman. But I bet, just like me, Dave didn't take advantage of you." He took my hand. "It's okay to be a young sexy woman and want to express that. Just like it's okay to be a talented athlete like Dave here who can also be a fine musician. It's natural to want to express our gifts. And I think it's okay to be part of a church like ours where all of that is appreciated." He let my hand go. "What do you think? I've a choir robe that's just your size, you know."

And that's how I joined the choir. If I my say so, it's never been the same since.