James found his "T" hat in the Free Shop. Maggie met him at the door as he was going out. She needed to find net curtains, as Punch, her cat, regularly climbed her curtains at home and most of these hung in shreds.
"Punch thinks my nets are his playground." Maggie mused. "My other cat, Welcome, died you know. I shall see him in heaven, I hope." James looked surprised. "Don't you believe in heaven," Maggie asked?
"Yeah, I do, " answered James, "but I did not think you were a church-goer, Maggie." James' old Catholic upbringing sensed something. "I mean, we are supposed to be going to church to get to heaven."
"Naw, all people go to heaven, James. Well, I need to go. Talk to you later." Maggie toddled into the shop, and James stood in the doorway for a minute. He thought he might ask Max his opinion on heaven.
Ten minutes later, James sat down on his bench in the park. The sun shone brightly, but the air felt chilly. Down the road, the river had flooded over the roads and drivers were forced miles out of their way into the town from the country. Little traffic ran past the park today. Max came out of the shelter. He held something in his hand. James could see that it was red. Max came over and sat down.
"Your red dragon?" James noted that Max carried it out on Wednesdays.
"Yep, Sam was killed on a Wednesday. It's funny, but I cannot remember what I did Wednesday last, but I can remember Sam's death day like it happened yesterday and he died ten years ago."
James nervously squirmed, "Do you think Sam is in heaven?" Max thought, ah, now is the time to talk about God.
"Don't know for sure. I mean, we have to be really good to get to heaven and we have to follow the Commandments. You are an old Catholic. You should know."
James looked at his new cap, now in his hand. "Well, Maggie just said everyone goes to heaven."
Max stretched out his long legs. He put the red dragon on the space next to him and put his hands behind his head. "No, I don't believe that. The Scriptures are pretty clear about there being a hell, and even Jesus talks about people going to hell, and He is God."
"Well, I do not know. I hate to think of anyone in hell. I think there is a hell, too, but for really bad people." James was thinking of Mike. He did not understand how God could allow an atheist to die just like that.
Max continued. "Really bad means something else to God than to us, I think. For example, I am not a really bad or very good person, but I might not get to heaven. I have to work on stuff."
James was surprised. "Hey, you are a good guy, Max. What do you mean?" He thought of Mike again.
Max picked up his dragon. "I don't go to church. I do not honor the very first Commandment. Even Sam went to services when he could, regularly. I never did, even in my old faith. And, now, I can't decide where to go."
James looked at Max. "You mean someone could go to hell for not going to church on Sunday? That is pretty strict, Max." Max looked straight at James. "Yep, but I do not make the rules, God does. I have been thinking lately of going to church on Sunday. I mean, would you want to go with me?"
The sun slid behind some clouds. Rain seemed to be building up in the eastern sky, as the clouds grew darker. "Hey, we should get inside." James noted.
The two men walked quickly to the pie shop. Karen wasn't there, but Sue was. Sue also cut hair. Today, she was a waitress. "Hi, guys. Pies?"
"And coffee, please," answered Max. Linda had given him a tenner and he was treating James today.
"In my old religion, one just can't go to church anyway. It's like, one just can't go to church. I mean, there are rules and I hate to think about those." James ate his apple pie like a serious pie eater, fast and with relish.
"Explain, James. The only thing I know about Catholicism is what Will told me last year. You remember the boy who went into the seminary?"
"Nice young man." James drank some black coffee. "Well, Catholics have something called confession, and one has to tell one's sins to a priest, who forgives you. Then, you can go to church."
Sue brought more coffee. She stood by the booth."My grandma is a Catholic. She goes to St. Benedict's up the road. But, my mom fell away and we all just did not do anything. But, if I ever got married, I would want to be a Catholic."
Max smiled. All the waitresses here wanted to get married "real bad". "Why Catholic, Sue?" Max asked.
"Well, they believe God blesses the marriage and it lasts forever. None of this divorce stuff." Sue wandered off to another customer.
Max put two sugars into his mug. He needed sweeteners in the strong, black coffee at this cafe. James continued, "I have not been to church in such a long time, that I am scared to talk to a priest, to be honest."
"Well," said Max, "if you really believe that people go to hell, and that not going to church on Sunday is a sin, I guess we have to think about either going to hell or going to church." He ate his cherry pie.
The rain did not come, but the sky looked dark. "It is good thing that the shelter lets us in during the day. I think we are in for some bad weather." James noted that the wind had picked up.
Max took something out of his pocket as they walked back to the shelter. "What do you know about rosaries, James?"
He held up the knotted one Will had given him last year. It had a simple wooden cross on it with a simple wooden Jesus. Max thought it looked like something made in the Middle East. In fact, he knew that, as one day he asked Karen to read the words on the back of the cross, as his eyesight was not so good. "Made in Bethlehem", read Karen out loud.
Max was happy to hear that, as he had been in Bethlehem a long time ago. His dad and mom took his only sister and him to the Holy Land when he was twelve. Max had a twin sister. But, he never saw any of his family. His parents lived in New York and his sister worked in Chicago. She was single, like him.
"I can't remember much, but one prays to Jesus's mom on the rosary, thinking about the things that she and Jesus did while praying the Hail Marys."
Max wondered why Catholics prayed to Mary. He was intrigued. He would pray to Jesus about this. "I think we should try going to the churches, one by one. We can try them all out."
James shook his head. "Nope, I could not do that. If I was to go back to church, I would just be a Catholic again." Max seemed amazed. "Why?"
James looked really sick. His face, usually ruddy, seemed white and pinched. "The Catholics have Jesus in the Eucharist. I learned that in school, but I can't go unless I went to confession and I don't want to do that."
Max was shocked. He had never heard of Jesus in the Eucharist. He told me that this statement of James caused him "much upset" as James would say. Max decided to read about this Eucharistic Jesus. But, he said nothing to James. Max would go to the library later and use the computer to look up "Eucharist".
"Well, I am going to write a story, now, James, like I do on Wednesdays. So, I am going in ...see you later."
To be continued...