“Your wish is my command,” she said, stuffing her hands in the back pockets of her shorts.
“A good attitude to adopt. I heard your father was arrested.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, big shock there. He was eight states away by the time they caught that fucker. Sorry.”
“You were arrested, and he ran. You have my permission to call him anything you like.”
“Thank you. I’m sure he was scared, right? That’s why he ran.”
“You deserve better than someone who will abandon you in times of trouble.”
“He’s out on bail now. He’s tried to call a few times.”
“You will not speak to him.”
She stopped and Søren stopped and looked at her.
“He’s my father.”
“The moment he chose to protect himself instead of protecting his daughter is the moment his rights to see you, speak to you or even be in the same room with you ceased to exist. We made a deal, Eleanor. You obey my orders. This is one of them. You understand this?”
She paused before answering. She’d hoped the whole “obeying” thing with Søren would involve orders like “take your clothes off” and “get into my bed.” A deal was a deal, however.
“I understand.”
“Good. Your well-being is my top priority. I’m supervising your community service, which puts you in my hands. I take this responsibility very seriously. There can be no part of your life you keep from me if I’m going to help you find the right path.”
“My lawyer said I’ve got to be here about twenty hours a week. This is my life now.”
“I want more of your time than twenty hours a week. Those hours are for community service. You also need to keep your grades up. When school starts again in the fall, I want you to do your homework here at church so I can help you if necessary.”
“I’m good at school, it’s okay. I’m smarter than I look.”
“There’s nothing unintelligent in your appearance,” he said as they started walking again. Mothers pushing strollers walked past them. They barely noticed her, but every last one of them smiled at Søren. “One failed test, one missed assignment and your grades could drop. If you can’t do the work and keep your grades up, the judge will send you to juvenile detention.”
“I know. I promise I’ll do my homework. These park women are totally checking you out.”
“Eleanor.”
“Sorry.”
“In addition to your community service work, you’ll receive spiritual counseling.”
“Spiritual counseling? Do I even want to know what that is?”
“As a Jesuit, I went through years of spiritual counseling with mentors. All of it was enlightening and edifying. Priests and laypeople alike can benefit from the teachings of Saint Ignatius. I’m certain you will, too.”
Eleanor’s stomach tightened at the prospect of spending so much time with Søren.
“Saint Ignatius? Okay. I can handle that. Anything else?”
“As for your community service, most of it will be performed here at Sacred Heart. As much as I respect Father Gregory, his ministry seemed to focus far more on the spiritual needs of the community rather than the material needs. The church has no food bank, no outreach missions.”
“Is that bad?” As they passed a small tree, Eleanor grabbed the end of a branch and shook it like a hand.
“Prayer is all well and good, but Christ made it abundantly clear we’d be judged by our works far more than our prayers.”
“You’re about to quote a Bible verse at me, aren’t you?”
“I am. Matthew 25: 31–46.”
“The sheep and the goats.” She almost yelled the words. Søren looked at her with his right eyebrow raised. “Sorry. I remembered that one. I got excited.”
“Wonderful to hear such enthusiasm about the Bible. You remember the verses?” As they passed a bush bursting with roses, Søren reached out and stroked the pale pink petals.
“Yeah. Jesus says when he comes back he’ll divide people into two groups—the sheep and the goats.”
“Correct. The sheep, Jesus says, will inherit the kingdom of God because they clothed him when he was naked, fed him when he was hungry, gave him water when he was thirsty and visited him in prison. The sheep will say they do not remember ever doing such things for Jesus. And Jesus answers, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ The goats were the ones who never fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty.”
“I always liked those verses. We acted them out in Sunday school. We had little sheep ears and goat horns.” She put her hands on her head and mimed horns with her fingers. Søren seemed to be biting back a smile.