Cookies & Cream Ch. 08

"Mallow Cup"

Now, in this chapter, I want to focus on Eleanor and her fantasy man, Father Alexander O'Sheehan. Now this was a humorous story and at the same time very cute. Now to exception to it, there were some bits that were really sexy to me. The thing about the story was this is a two-sided story...sort of. Eleanor told me most of her ordeal. On the other hand, Father O'Sheehan thought nothing of the attraction until they met. So, with this in mind, this is their first meeting...

The day slowly swept away into late afternoon, and Eleanor had some errands to do before she goes home and retire. She chatted with Sumie a while longer as she put cooling bags into the trunk of her car. All she wanted to shop for was some fruit so she could cut up for lunch for the rest of the week. She would maybe head to the bookstore to purchase a book about dream interpretations...or perhaps a book about dating. The dream about the man got her all bothered. It didn't help her when the same man exited Cookies & Cream diner.

"Oh Lord," the spinster cried, her brown eyes twinkling toward the man, "there he is again! Oh, this is too early to be one of God's signs! I don't want to be teased, Lord!"

"Breathe, Elle, breathe!" Sumie rubbed her shoulders, looking at a tall figure with an olive tank top and a pair of tan shorts. "Just remember, he may be your dream man, but he's probably...not the man of your dreams. You know? There might be some flaws that are too much for a woman of your caliber. Remember that last man you dated? He was perfect until you found numerous slips of numbers with lipstick in his shorts!"

Eleanor froze and gripped on her orange blouse. "Oh...you're right, Sumie. Maybe he's not the perfect man God is guiding me to. Perhaps you're right, Sumie, that I do need a hobby to take my mind off certain things. Ever since the salon closed, I've been out of work and crazy in my house."

"I told you, Elle, you need to come work with me. I need some company in that warehouse. The place is so empty. I imagine seeing spirits groaning as I sew a shackled prisoner costume. I think they were telling me something."

"I really wish you stop saying there are ghosts up there. Girl, you know I don't sew well. Used to try, but I just made fashion don'ts every time. Besides, I do hair."

"Well, maybe people in this resort would love to have a hair stylist here. Mrs. Granger would appreciate a decent hair cut."

"Tell you what, Sumie, let me sleep on it tonight. In the morning, I'll let you know."

"Hold on, friend." Sumie reached out to the woman as she walked to her silver Honda Prius. "I think you left your ice cream cup in the old warehouse."

"Oh shoot! I told myself to remember that, but my memory isn't what it used to be anymore."

"It's still sharp, Elle," Sumie called out to her as the spinster skirted to the three story shack. "It's just that your brain is hazed by that fantasy man's wood!"

At that moment, Theresa walked from the stone path with a thick panda towel covering her body and her green hair in a loose bun. "Sumie? What's all this about wood?"

"Oh! Theresa!" The middle-aged woman greeted the divorcee with a friendly wave. "I was just teasing Elle for dreaming of the new guy. You know him, the guy that emerged from the parlor."

Theresa gasped. "You mean the tall blonde with the muscles on his shoulders about to rip his shirt?"

"He's not that built. Let's not exaggerate his shoulders. Anyway, our Elle is falling for him. Don't look at me with those bulging eyes, Rees! I mean she is attracted to him right now. She's just not ready to talk to him yet."

Theresa nodded. "I certainly can't blame her to take it slow. The last man she was with looked like he was perfect for her. A Prosecution attorney, two hundred thousand sixty a month, clean shaven, kind attitude with life, I would go for someone like that. Of course, when she found out he was having side chicks while they were dating, that put me right off."

"Why Theresa! You didn't think about cheating on you husband with him, were you?" Sumie gave her friend a smirk. Theresa giggled at the thought. "Oh, it's just a mere fantasy I had. It's so silly! Of course, I thought my husband loved women..."

"Well, at least you had a husband. Elle sleeps with a Bible in her arms."

"I heard that, you big fibber!" Eleanor cried with her cup gripped in her hand. "I don't sleep with the Bible...it's on the nightstand for reading purposes."

The women looked at the green cup with chocolate cream with some chocolate with white cream inside. "Oh that looks interesting." Theresa said with interest. "What did Emma make you?"

"Oh, this candy is my favorite, and Emma used them to whip up something called 'Mallo Cup'. It's chocolate ice cream with chocolate pieces with whipped marshmallow Crème. Doesn't that sound tasty?"

"Oh!" The 'girls' simply drooled and awed at the small cup. Sumie made a little groan. "If only I requested that instead of plain tutti fruity. So, what are you going to do with it?"

"I'm planning on eating this cup on my way home, der! (That's one of her alternatives for "duh".) I don't want to have it melt in the car before I go home!"

The women laughed and hugged each other before Eleanor entered her car and put it into ignition. Theresa knocked on the window and had Eleanor rolled it out for her. "Will you take my advice? Good men do come along, but you need to choose wisely on the right one for yourself. That's why God gave us the power of choices."

"You know, I think you have something. I'll phone you guys to let you know I came home, okay?" When the women greeted their last farewell, she drove to the dirt pavement, slowly exited the campsite and came into the pike. She drove her usual path in the pike way as she investigated her mirror. There was a clean station wagon behind her and there was the man behind the wheel.

"Oh shit!" She cried in the car. She shook her head. "Excuse my language, Father. Please don't tease me like that. I'm asking you please don't tease me! If he is meant for me, then...oh, I need to function! I pray to you, Almighty, please give me the strength! Amen! Okay, I just need some fruit. Cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries..."

She dug into her ice cream Emma gave her during lunch while they were in the warehouse. Her favorite ice cream was tasty with the soft marshmallow melting on her tongue. The scent of the strong chocolate made her relax. When she saw the entrance to her favorite grocery store, she took a left lane and turned to the entrance. She saw the car behind her flew by, her heart returned to beating slowly. She looked for the parking lot, smiling. She thought to herself, That was such a relief!

For the next twenty minutes, she looked for her fruits close to ripe to cut later on. She picked her usual melons and berries along with a bunch of green bananas and orange oranges she would take to work out the next morning. Her big hips swiveled every time she thought about jogging. She would put on her favorite jump suit and jogged on the path. She would be alone until she would see a man running with her. Yes, it was her man, his corn flower hair flowing, his muscles bulging with every step, his perspiring face giving her a hot smile...

I could picture Eleanor concentrating on Alex. His torso rippled. His chest plumped. His legs grew tall and strong. Her curious eyes peered between his legs and made her blush and smile instantly. She craved to hold him, feel him...perhaps even grope his iron clad peaches...

"M'am, are you okay?" A man of the produce asked her, taking her out of her dream. She blinked and turned to the pimpled-face, thick glasses kid with a red apron. "Yes, I'm okay!" She grinned with a flushed face, giggling. The produce kid tilted his head at her, uttering a dazed groan. "Okay, M'am, I just wondered. You've been squeezing that large peach for ten minutes."

Poor Eleanor dropped the peach into the cart and began to push, muttering softly. Elle, you moron! This is no time to woolgather! She gripped on the bar and griped the whole time in the store as she entered the check-out section. She looked at the magazine stand nearest to her and found a thick edition for one of the capital magazines. In one of the articles, it read "How to become a dream to every man".

"Oh, how ignominious!" She said softly, looking around the store. "An article that claims to win any man's heart. Really now. That's targeting women with low self-esteem and exceed to their vanity. But you know, there is another article in this magazine that makes good tips about hair frosting."

She took the magazine and placed it on the small basket of her cart before strolling into the open check-out aisles. As she put the groceries in the cooling bag, she became relieved of purchasing the magazine. She opened the magazine where she glanced at the tips of hair frosting when she noticed a sign at a corner. She could barely read it at first since she was hundreds of yards away. However, from looking at the picture, she figured it was a sign that took her to a church.

"A church? Well, my church is another forty miles from here. Looks like this one isn't too far away. Oh, I do hope it's a Baptist church. I would be so mortified if it's anything but that."

To her dismay, the church her sign led to was the Good Shepherd church. At first, though, she approached it as a wonder within itself. She boggled her eyes when she saw the white building with a red terra cotta roof. She slumped her head against the fuzzy wheel and groaned. "That looks so much better than my church. No, wait, I shouldn't be jealous. Maybe there is a reason why that looks like that, and my church is...more reasonable."

She went into a parking lot and turned off her engine of her light silver Honda Prius. She walked to a sign right in front of the building which said, "Morning mass at 5, Services at 9".

"Oh...it's a Catholic Church!" She said softly, seeing other people going inside the church. She blushed as she saw women wearing bright dresses and hats. She sighed looking down at her shabby jeans and her orange blouse. "I should have known this place has a dress code."

"Are you going to the church, dear child?" An elder man with silver hair said to her, taking off his golden spectacles. "I see that you are indecisive. I also see you are concerned the people might be over-judgmental. Am I correct?"

"Why yes, Sir, I am. I might be underdressed for this." She said with a flush. The man shook his head. "No, my dear, this is only for confession tonight. One of the brothers is taking care of people who went astray a little and would guide them back to God's graces. You will like him, dear, his name is Alexander O'Sheehan."

The man took the worried woman to the church. She was quite nervous going on there, and she had every right to be. She was there under false pretenses. Think about it...have you ever seen an African-American as a Roman Catholic? She tripped over her own feet as she reached the main room, the service hall itself. She shivered when she saw a huge statue of Jesus on a golden cross in marble.

"You're not going to condemn me for coming here, are you?"

"Huh?" The man turned and the women became flustered from him hearing that. "Nothing, Sir."

"Oh," the man smiled softly at her, holding her hand, "you're nervous. I understand completely. You have something to confess, do you not?"

"Well," Eleanor said shakily, "now that you mention it, I do want to confess something."

"Oh, well, this will be private. I won't say another word, Dear. You can say your confession to Father Alex, he is a kind priest. If there is someone with a kind heart and understand anything, it's him. Here, you can step in the booth and relax there. He'll soon join you in a minute, okay?"

Alex wrote in his journal for a bit before he stepped out of his desk and goes into his mini fridge. He took out his pint of Irish Crème and took a bite when he took a glimpse at the confessional on the left side. He saw Father Patrick leading a lovely robust woman with an orange blouse and placed her inside. He felt a little tingle from his stomach, but he thought nothing of it. When his employer of the church walked over to him, he sighed.

"Ah, Brother Alex, you're in your service clothes in time. We have a first time confession in the booth."

"Oh that's terrific," Alex made a nervous smile, "that makes two of us."

"Now Brother Alex, there is nothing to be nervous. I've done confessions for over forty years and I've heard sins that seem redundant at best. A petty stealing here, a spreading of gossip there, nothing too extreme. She might have something to take off her chest. I know she is a child of God, but she is new here. Please welcome her while you're in there."

Alex sighed as he looked into the booth. "All right, I just have to go to the other booth from hers so we can talk, correct? Right." He then took another bite from his pint and gave it to his God brother. "Take care of this will you?"

"Oh, this is nice." The brother said, putting away tint tin and his spoon. When the old priest put away the pint for him, Father Alex walked into the service hall, greeting the other members as they silently prayed. He went to the confession booth and opened his side of the booth. Meanwhile, poor Eleanor sat on her bench, looking at her surroundings. She twiddled her thumbs and kept thinking to try and remember the phrase they say on T.V. and movies. When a tiny door slid open, she fidgeted. Okay, this must be where I speak my sin to the priest.

"Uh...forgive me, Father," Eleanor said softly, "I have sinned. I haven't been in this church before. Where I go, there are no booths like this."

"Oh?" Father Alex blinked turning his head to the screen. He could barely see the face, but her bouncy curly hair made his heart pulse. "You're not Catholic then?"

"Well no, I'm Baptist. Still, I'm nervous about the denomination differences."

"Oh, is that all?" Alex chuckled. He felt more tingles and it was all over his body. "Dear woman, it doesn't matter what church you go. As long as you have God in your heart and your soul, you are always welcome to any church. Now, dear, what sin did you commit?"

Eleanor made a tiny laugh. "Well, it's more of a dream, Father. I haven't committed it yet."

"I see." He pulled closer to the bench and felt something growing. "Please, tell me about your dream."

"Well, you see there is this man. I just saw him yesterday, but I couldn't stop thinking about him. There he was standing-"

"Wait, dear, you didn't go and talk to him? You just...saw him?"

"Yes, yes I did." She was now very hesitant about this priest. She bit her lip and inhaled deeply. "I was at Lake Hattawata when I saw him. I could see from there he was quite tall, and the sun was very good to him, all bronze. Plus, I could see he was blonde, laid back and a little spiky."

Father Alex sat there stunned from her story, straightening his short blonde hair. "Oh yes? Tell me, do you know if this fellow wears glasses?"

Eleanor peered her eyes left and right. "Well now, my eyes are not that clairvoyant. I couldn't tell if he was wearing glasses."

He let out a sigh. He was spotted at the camp just yesterday, and already he had an admirer...or a stalker. He couldn't figure out which. Her voice sounded very soft and laid back, and with a southern drawl made it more appealing to him. "Well, I suppose God has his reason for that. But please, forgive me to interrupt you. You are going to tell me this sin of yours."

"Well, the sin I have not commit, like I said, but I have a fantasy that turned into a dream. You see last night, I invite this man home from a date and we had coffee. It was all talk and a little bit of touching...but then we just gazed at each other and moved closer...then we kissed."

That fantasy made him smile warmly, blushing from that woman's statement. Yes, he could actually see himself dating the woman and hold her hand...the kissing part was a bit much. He could feel something tightening, making him uncomfortable. "A kiss isn't nothing to be ashamed about, child. Kissing is very innocent."

Eleanor sighed and rubbed her cheek. "There is more."

"Oh dear." The priest said softly. The way he said it, so deeply, so soft, it made a woman tremble. She closed her eyes and crossed her legs. "Yeah, oh dear sounds right." Is this man Scottish?? Maybe Irish...either way, his voice sounds so sexy. Oh no...don't do this now! "Well...we've started to feel hot." It was then her voice cracked. She blew her air and fanned herself. "Pardon me, the Florida sun makes me bothersome."

"I think the heat is taking affect, I agree," Father Alex parted his legs and leaned down, making a groan. Eleanor looked at the screen hearing the priest's groan. "Father, are you okay? You don't sound well."

"I'll manage. I suppose once you hit forty like me, some things are not as strong as one have hoped. Now...to skip the details...did you commit adultery in your dream?"

"Commit adultery? Oh my, Father, I'm not married. I'm not even deflowered."

"Oh dear!" He coughed, feeling a single bead of sweat dripping on his square cheek. He knew the growth made him want to yell in pain, but he couldn't let others know about his condition. "I see your problem. You...are a virgin...and you...want to have consensual...we'll just say intimacy for both our sakes."

"Oh, you have a good way of putting it, Father," Eleanor replied, sitting back against the back, wiggling on the cushion. "Yeah, we can say that." She covered her groin on her jeans, feeling wet between her legs. "How meddlesome this dream was! I was all blushing and panting when I woke. I will spare you the details."

"I might have a stroke if you try," the priest sighed a bit, trying to stay calm. He might have said something wrong because the woman started to giggle. "Now child, dreams are only a guide to make you see what needs improving in your life. If God wants you to see what needs done, He will show you."

"I'm not sure if He was the one that showed me that dream."

"Well, we should look at an interpretation of it. Perhaps...the dream represents something that is missing. Maybe he is telling you it's time to open your shell and go out to the world. Maybe even...win a man's heart."

Eleanor exhaled, her heart beating so fast her ears twitched from this. "Perhaps you're right, Father." She smiled weakly, hearing his soothing voice. She made a tiny moan, still rubbing her jeans. She wished she could strip and relieve herself, but this was a House of God. Doing something like that would be so immoral. Wait, Eleanor, wait until you come home. "That makes me feel better a little."

"Ah, there you are, child. My advice to you about your fantasy is when you see him, introduce yourself and take things slow. When the time is right, may God show you the way to happiness."

"Oh yes, I will let Him guide me. I do hope...we might even be married in five years."

Married? The father shut his eyes. He was already committed to God. As far as he knew, priests weren't allowed to marry. He was thinking about making something he would feel guilty afterward. He wondered if committing himself to someone else would break his vows to Him. He shuddered. "Well, my dear, I...hope you will take my advice and keep dreaming."

Keep dreaming? I thought he was supposed to keep me away from dreaming that sin?? "Oh, I will keep dreaming! Thank you, Father. You are quite a compassionate man." She breathed harder, her heart about to burst. "I think I will go home now and have dinner and do my evening routines before bed."

"Yes, child, and be sure to pray before you fall asleep."