The Arcade

He didn’t make any effort to silence his alarm as it beeped its morning reveille at him. Cosmo simply believed that seven in the morning was waaaay too early to be going anywhere or doing anything – especially on a weekend. It seemed to him that there was something vaguely criminal in manufacturing an alarm clock with the capability of being set to awaken the purchaser of said clock before a more reasonable hour of, oh – say 10 am.

Somewhere in the very back of his sleep-addled brain, a mental post-it note was telling him that today was a very important day – and not just because it was Sunday, and Mass was at 9 am. Something else was supposed to happen, but that part of his brain was having a problem getting a connecting flight out to the rest of his brain. Cosmo responded by rolling over and ignoring the little clock and its brave attempt at rousing him from his bed.

Unfortunately for him, his mother was not so easily disabused of the notion. It roused Rosie’s suspicions when a few minutes went by without the alarm being silenced. After she called up to Cosmo twice with no response, she marched herself up the stairs and into his room, where she found him still in bed with his head sandwiched between two pillows – snoring.

Flinging the top pillow aside, she exclaimed “Cosmo James Phillips! Wake up and get ready for Mass! It is seven o’clock in the morning, your alarm clock has been going off for the last five minutes, and breakfast is about ready!” She walked around to his nightstand to silence the droning beep of his clock. “If you want to eat, I suggest you get a move-on, young man!” Leaning over him, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and added “Good morning, Stinky.”

Cosmo opened one eye and looked up her, and replied “Murrffph.”

To this Rosie replied “I take that to mean you’re getting up right now, and will be down to breakfast in half an hour. Sausage, eggs, hash browns, and biscuits – and OJ, of course. Your father is shaving as we speak, so get a move-on.”

Rosie ruffled his hair and smiled before turning to leave. He could hear her walk down the hall to the bedroom she shared with Joe and call in to the room “C’mon Mr. Man – do I need to pick out a tie for you? Breakfast will be ready in half an hour.”

“All right, all right…” Joe called back. “I’m just about ready. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Under his breath he added “Drill Sergeant.”

“What was that???” Rosie said.

“I said ‘I love you!’” Joe replied.

“You better, buster!” Rosie smiled to herself as she walked back down the hall and downstairs to the kitchen.

Joe and Cosmo managed to make their appearance at the breakfast table, where they both perked up in short order once they saw the source of the wonderful fragrances that had been permeating the house.

Cosmo’s first order of business was attacking the pitcher of OJ with gusto, pouring himself a large glass and drinking it down practically in one long pull, after which he immediately poured himself another glass.

Joe, on the other hand, brought the entire carafe of coffee to the table, and repeated Cosmo’s actions – except with coffee. Once they had their respective drinks of choice revving up their engines, so to speak, they both proceeded to dive into breakfast. After a moment, Rosie joined the two, first making sure that she wasn’t going to be inadvertently stabbed with an errant fork.

It wasn’t long after breakfast was finished and the table cleared that Cosmo and his family piled into the Volvo and drove off in the direction of St. Anthony’s.

The drive was mostly a quiet one. Rosie was thinking of the homily that Father Larkin would deliver, and then getting together with the other ladies in her women’s group, while Joe and Cosmo were thinking of their meeting with Sal after Mass.

Cosmo still had no idea what sort of plan his dad had in mind. He had been tight-lipped about it with Cosmo since their conversation with Sal. For his part, Cosmo had a few ideas of his own – but without knowing what his dad had up his sleeve, he really didn’t know how they might fit in. In short – he really didn’t have a clue how to go about telling everyone the truth about Theo’s accident, then springing Sal on everyone. He was just going to have to let his dad take the lead on this. After all, he and Sal already had a sort of history together. Cosmo smiled to himself at the pun.

As the spire and belfry of St Andrew’s came into view, Cosmo told himself he would know soon enough. Mass started at nine o’clock and was concluded at ten o’clock. They would probably hang around at the fellowship hall for a half an hour to forty-five minutes, which would give them plenty of time to get to the Garden of Reflection around back for their rendezvous with Sal. He was already anxious to get through Mass and straight to the meeting.

Ten minutes later and they were walking into the narthex of St. Andrews. As usual, Father Larkin was at the door greeting everyone – by name. Cosmo never ceased to be astounded by the fact that the priest could remember every parishioner’s name – including their children and relatives – and, it seemed, what was going on in each of their lives. He himself could barely remember where he left his wristwatch and billfold.

As the parishioners filed in through the doors, Cosmo and his parents got their turn at greeting Father Larkin.

“Good morning, Father!” Rosie exclaimed. “It is so good to see you again!”

Taking Rosie’s hand, Father Larkin smiled warmly and said “Good morning, Rosemary! How are you and your fellas doing this morning?”

“Well, they certainly took their time getting ready, but we finally made it.” She replied with a wink and a grin.

“Hey, whaddya talkin’ about? It didn’t take me that long to find a tie.” Joe protested.

“That’s because I laid it on top of your dress shirt, sweetheart.”

Chuckling, Father Larkin held up one hand and said, “You know, we have a couples’ retreat coming up. Would you like me to sign the two of you up?”

Rosie blushed, and with a giggle replied “Oh no, father – that won’t be necessary.”

With a grin, Joe added “That’s right, Father – I’m as happily married to her now as I was on the day we said ‘I do.’”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Father Larkin said, smiling. “And always remember to keep Christ squarely in the middle of your marriage. You’ll never have a better marriage counselor.” Turning to Cosmo, he said “And good morning to you, my son! How are you this morning, and how is our Theo doing? I understand you got a chance to visit with him yesterday?”

Starting with the second question first, Cosmo replied “Theo is doing pretty good, I think. Aside from being in traction – and his arm and leg in a cast, that is. My folks took Holly, Bobby, and me to Holy Family yesterday evening to visit with him.”

“They went with you as well? That’s great! I’m sure he was very happy to see his three best friends.” Looking at Joe and Rosie, Father Larkin said “I am going to make sure that while he is at Holy Family, Father Brawner visits him as well. That way Theo will still be able to receive The Sacraments – until he’s able to return to St. Andrew’s, that is.”

Father Brawner was the associate pastor for St. Andrew’s, and had been with the parish since his ordination several years ago. He was young, and a rather stout but short man with what could only be described as a perpetually jolly expression on his face, and a demeanor to match.

Everyone loved him. The younger men related to him because of his youthfulness and readiness to play a game of football, or just listen when they had a problem they needed to talk about. The children loved him because he was kind, and was a convincing Santa Claus at Christmas time, and the older folk loved him most likely because he reminded them of their own son or grandson – or someone else they were fond of and hadn’t seen for a very long time.

Cosmo brightened at the mention of Father Brawner. “Theo will be glad to hear that. He’ll have someone to talk about motorcycles with.”

The sound of the pipe organ in the church caused Rosie to speak up. “That’s our cue. Let’s go in and find our seats, and let Father Larkin greet the rest of the folks behind us.”

Waving them on with a smile, the elderly priest went back to shaking hands and wishing a ‘good morning’ to the twenty or so parishioners yet to make their way into the church and to their own seats. Rosie, Joe, and Cosmo each made sure to dip their fingers into the lavers of holy water at the entrance to the sanctuary, and cross themselves. Walking toward the front of the sanctuary, they found their usual seats in the third pew from the front, right next to the center aisle.

A few moments later, the organ struck up a loud and magnificent fugue, with the choir singing in beautiful accompaniment Ode to Joy, at which point everyone in the church stood and joined in.

After the processional had made its way down the center aisle, Father Larkin, the deacon, and the four altar boys took their respective positions. The lingering fragrance of incense trailed behind in their wake. Cosmo always thought it somehow made the church seem more solemn and holy. Someone once told him it was frankincense. If that’s true, then it was no wonder it was one of the gifts given to the infant Jesus. It really did smell royal and holy – if such a thing could be said of something.

Father Larkin began Mass in the proscribed fashion for Advent, and after the Introductory Rites, he moved on to the Liturgy of The Word. As the selected Bible passages were read, Cosmo’s mind wandered to the impending meeting later in the morning.

His mind then wandered further along the path of ‘What If…’ He couldn’t help but be worried about what repercussions his revelation to his friends might have. Would they understand? Would they be angry with him? Then something occurred to Cosmo that was a very new element to the mix: what if there were legal ramifications? He hadn’t considered that beforehand. Could he be sued for this – even prosecuted?

Then there was Holly. Would she understand why he did what he did? Would she – or any of them – even believe him? It seemed that he and his father were in a fine mess. His father…he couldn’t forget about him. Apparently his dad and Sal had met long ago, and his dad had more or less been the victim – or beneficiary, depending on how you look at it. How was his mom going to handle the news? There were just so many variables that he never, ever thought of – and that Sal never even mentioned.

Cosmo was nudged out of this inner dialogue by his mother, who indicated that it was their turn to get in line to take Communion. Without realizing it, Cosmo had gone the entire Mass up to this point on autopilot.

He left the pew and walked the short distance toward the front, and bowed before the Cross. Father Larkin intoned the words “Corpus Christi” – The Body of Christ – after which Cosmo responded “Amen.” Father Larkin laid the wafer on his tongue, and Cosmo moved on to the Cup Bearer to receive the sacramental wine.

Once he had returned to his seat, he folded out his kneeler and began to pray. He asked God for guidance and strength, especially for his parents. He also prayed for Theo’s recovery, and for Theo’s family. Lastly, he prayed that whatever Sal was up to, it absolutely had God’s stamp of approval on it. He concluded his prayer with the Ave Maria, and sat back up in his seat.

The rest of the service passed relatively quickly, and after the congregation was dismissed by Father Larkin, Cosmo made a beeline for the door and out to the car. He assumed that his father was making excuses even now as to why they needed to duck out now instead of sticking around for coffee. Several minutes later, Cosmo saw his father hurrying to the car as well.

Getting in to the car, Joe took a deep breath. “Well, I think she bought it.”

“Whadja tell her?” Cosmo asked.

Joe started the Volvo. “I told her that you had a bad nosebleed, and needed to go home.”

“A nosebleed? That’s original. Lame – but original.” Cosmo smirked.

“Yeah, well – it was the first thing that came to mind. It would look awfully suspicious if we walked over to the Garden of Reflection and left the car here. Luckily she said she’d catch a ride home with Holly’s mom, so I guess it’s a win-win for both of us.” Joe replied.

“You have a point, and Holly dropping by is always cool. Anyway, let’s get going – Sal’s probably already there, and I just can’t wait to hear this idea of yours.”

“What’s the matter?” Joe asked, one eyebrow raised. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you; I just can’t see how we’re going to get out of this with our reputations intact.” Cosmo said, concern evident in his voice.

Joe clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s not going to be easy going from here, but I got your back, son. I’ll always have your back.” Turning his eyes back to the road, he said “Don’t worry; I’m pretty sure God has our back, too.”