Bless Us Father by Kathy Pratt

little assistant. I hear from the finance committee that our booth did quite well last night.”
    “It did. We were busy the whole evening. I kept having to run back and forth to get more stuffed toys,” she said, smiling broadly and brushing her hair back from her face. “The toys are so much cuter this year, everyone wants one. I bet there won’t be any left by the end of the weekend.”
    Father Antonio leaned against the pole that held the awning over the booth and surveyed the stuffed toys that were hanging all over. “Did you decide to display them like this?”
    “Yes, I did. In the past, they’d just put a few out at a time, but I thought it would attract more people if we hung them up. They’re so colorful.”
    “Again, this is why I asked you to run the booth. You’ve got so much talent. Have you thought about being an artist or designer?”
    Mary Margaret couldn’t believe her ears. How could he know that about her? She’d never told anyone about her desire to be an interior decorator. Mom and Dad encouraged her to take business courses so she could work as a secretary when she got out of school. That’s why they’d been so anxious for her to work at the rectory. They thought she’d get some office experience that way.
    “No...I’ve...never thought about it. I’m going to be a secretary when I get out of school.”
    Father Antonio frowned. “A secretary is a good honorable job, but you have more talent than that.”
    Mary Margaret smiled shyly and looked at the ground. “You’re always so nice to me, and I don’t know why. None of my teachers or any of the other priests have ever really noticed me.”
    He leaned closer to her and said, “I see the potential in you, my dear, and they didn’t. They’re the ones that missed out.”
    “What do you mean potential?” she asked.
    But before he could answer, Linda, Susie and Katie arrived. They were grinning from ear to ear and staring at Father Antonio.
    “Hello, girls,” Father said, smiling back at the girls. “I’ll leave you in Mary Margaret’s capable hands. I must get back to my duties.”
    Disappointed, their smiles faded as they watched him stride away.
    “What a bummer,” Katie said. “Why didn’t he stay and talk to us for a minute?”
    “He told you, he has to get back to his duties,” Mary Margaret said. “Someone has to talk to the people that come to the rectory, and Father O’Malley is already out here visiting with all the workers. He doesn’t do anything the whole festival weekend except talk to people.”
    “And drink whiskey,” Susie said. “His nose is already red and it’s only eleven in the morning.”
    The four girls laughed at this, knowing it was true. Father O’Malley was much loved in the parish, despite his fondness for whiskey. He was kind and truly cared about the parishioners. He always visited people who were sick, and he delighted in teasing the school children. He carried candy with him all the time and handed it out on the playground during lunch and recess, much to the dismay of the nuns and teachers that had to calm them down later.
    “Come on you guys, I need to show you what to do. I’ve got to go home and take a shower,” Mary Margaret said.
    “Good idea. Maybe you can do something with your hair, too,” Linda joked. “I’ve never seen it look so messy.”
    “Yeah, but from what I observed, it didn’t bother Father Antonio at all,” Susie said. “He seemed fascinated with Mary Margaret. But when the three of us turned up, he took off.”
    “I noticed that, too,” said Katie.
 Mary Margaret squirmed in discomfort. “That’s silly. He was just happy that the booth had made a lot of money last night, that’s all.”
    “Really,” Linda asked, piercing her with an inquiring look. “Is that why he was standing so close to you?”
    “He wasn’t standing that close,” Mary Margaret denied. “Do you guys want me to explain what you’re supposed to do or not?”
    Linda,