“Good morning Father.”
The Priest turned around to see the elderly woman enter the parish office.
“Well good morning, Mary. What brings you to the church at such an early hour? The sun is barely up on the horizon and I just finished my morning prayers.”
The woman made her way to the coffee pot in the office and began the ritual of changing out the coffee filter and adding water. Once the new grounds had been added, she pressed the brew button. She turned slowly back to the Priest who had not waited for a response and had gone on to read his mass homily.
“I had hoped to find you here in the office Father Derek.”
“Is there something you wanted to speak about, Mary? We could go to the confessional. There is still time.”
“Oh no, Father. Nothing like that. Besides, at 80 years old, there’s not much to confess these days. I may try to sneak an expired coupon through at the grocery store but I’m fairly certain that doesn’t break any of the commandments.”
The Father simply shook his head and chuckled. “There may be a case to be made for the essence of such activities, young lady.”
“Father Derek. You are old enough to be my grandchild. I haven’t been a young lady since the Korean War.”
The Father tried not to laugh but broke out in the end so he could return to his review of the morning service.
“Well, if you are not here for confession, Mary, why are you here so early?”
The elderly woman made her way over to the coffee pot and poured two cups of coffee from the freshly brewed liquid love. Handing the Priest a cup, she sat down next to him.
“If I told you I was here to make you a cup of coffee, Father, would you believe me?”
The Priest took a sip of his coffee and put the mug down on the table.
“I would hope that at your age even little white lies were beyond your actions.”
“That is true, Father. I try to never lie. Besides, the truth is often dismissed by the youth of today very easily.”
“Indeed Mary. Sad but true. So you really came in this early just to make me coffee?”
The woman placed the coffee cup on the table and reached into her purse to remove a handkerchief. Slowly, she removed her glasses and wiped away the small tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes.
“Mary? Are you ok?”
“Yes, Father. Don’t mind me. I’m just being a silly old woman. My family is all gone now and living their own lives. The kids and grandchildren all live in different states and have their own lives. Sure, they come visit now and then but it is not the same as caring for someone. Now that my Joe has passed on, I’ve got no one to make coffee for. I used to get up every morning at 5am and make him coffee before he went off to the factory. Now, I know some women leave their men to fend for themselves at that hour, but not me. I made Joe coffee every morning for the last 60 years, ever since he came home from Korea. Now that he’s gone, I only make coffee for myself and then it just goes to waste.”
“You know you can always just get a Keurig. Then you can make one cup at a time.”
Mary took another sip of her coffee and licked her lips. “Never trusted those contraptions, Father. No matter how you dress it up, it’s still just instant coffee to me. I like the smell as much as the taste of a fresh brewed cup of Joe. There’s no wonder my late husband and this delicious treat shared the same name.”
The two shared the peaceful moment as they drank their coffees and smiled. Mary was reminiscing about her late husband and the Father found humor in her response. Besides needing to return to his homily, the Father continued the conversation.
“Mary, would you mind if I gave you some advice?”
“That kind of goes with the territory I would think Father. You are kind of in the advice business aren’t you Father?”
“Well, among other things Mary.”
“Of course, Father. You serve the Lord. So what in God’s service do you have to say that can guide me on my remaining days?”
“You are still quite sharp for your age, Mary.”
“There is still plenty of spring in my step, Father and the cobwebs haven’t gathered too much in the attic.”
She accented the last part by pointing to her head full of grey hair. The Father chuckled and patted her hand.
“Mary, I’m sure there is plenty of spring left in your step. That is why my advice is so pertinent. I think you are lonely.”
The elderly woman chuckled with her coffee mug in her hands. For a moment, the young Priest thought she might drop the mug on the table.
“No offense, Father, but I don’t need a Priest to point that out to me. Like I said, there’s no one around to make coffee for, clean up after or do anything for. My days of caring for others is in the past.”
“But they don’t have to be, Mary.”
“You’re not going to tell me to go out a buy a cat, are you Father? I refused to be an old cat lady a long time ago.”
“Not at all Mary. My point is you don’t have to be lonely. Your husband has passed on but I am certain he would want you to move on. In fact, Joe told me so in his final days. He wanted you to be happy Mary, not lonely.”
Mary once again wiped her tears away from her wet eyes.
“Joe told you that?”
“Yes he did. He knew you had many years left before you could join him so he wanted you to be happy. It’s been six months, Mary. You have mourned long enough.”
“Oh, Father. It’s only been six months.”
“Not to be transparent, Mary, but you are not in grade school anymore. Six months at your station in life is quite a long time.”
Mary chuckled. It was her turn to pat the Priest’s hand.
“Delicately put, Padre. I understand my station in life. I truly do. I’m just not sure I could share my bed with another man in my late years.”
The Priest threw his hands up in jest. “Whoa, young lady. No one said anything about your bedroom. I was just suggesting that there may be other men in our town that would enjoy a cup of fresh brewed coffee from your kitchen.”
“Well, I must admit. I miss cooking for someone. Spending a day in the kitchen after the coffee has gotten cooled is a wonderful blessing.”
“If I’m not mistaken, you spend plenty of hours in the Social Hall making coffee and serving donuts to our parishioners.”
“That’s not cooking, Father. That’s just opening up boxes of donuts from the Donut King and putting them out on trays. I’m talking about cooking good food from scratch, like I’ve done all my life.”
“…and I’m talking about the social aspect of the Social Hall. During all of those hours serving coffee and donuts have there not been any elderly gentlemen that have caught your eye?”
“Why do they have to be elderly, Father? Like you said I have plenty of spring left in my step. Maybe I have an eye on a younger man or two.”
Father Derek broke out in laughter. Finishing off his coffee he placed the mug in the sink, gathered up his papers and patted the woman on her shoulder.
“You are definitely full of life, Mary. Wherever your wings may take you I hope that you fly again soon.”
The Priest walked out of the office smiling while he left Mary to finish her coffee in solitude. It took only moments for the loneliness to creep back in. Drinking the last few drops she wished she had someone to clean up after the morning coffee cups were cleared.