It was my first morning in a newly painted room in a refurbished house. New Shower, new doors and windows and, new floorboards and carpet. This is generally how my mind works - especially on a Saturday morning in a new room with the smell of paint in my nostrils. I did a mental check list: Debts cleared? - finally, after over a decade! Friends? - more than I have ever had in my entire life. Sex life? - Nothing regular, but the ex occasionally summons me for a friends-with-benefits cunt-munch and blow-job. Job? - Going well. I love working in London as a uniformed Officer. Location? - Okay, having been in the area for over a decade and still not tiring of the place. Health? Pretty good. I am off the booze and cigs and losing weight. My erections are harder than they have been in over a decade and I am now brushing my teeth three times a day so I can even taste how good my life is in my spit.
Sooooooooo...why did I feel so empty and bored?
I ran through my options. Imagining it was Chris Tarrant running through the life lines with me and I was a contestant on "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?"
ONE: pray. Can't. I could not pray if my life depended on it...which it did, really.
TWO: surf the net for porn. Naaaaaaaaah, not in the mood and am absolutely disgusted at myself for a lifetime of masturbation, voyeurism, and perverted sex.
THREE: read the Bible. Heck no. I am depressed enough. A friend had once done the random flicking thing and came up with Judas Iscariot's suicide, then flicked randomly and came up with a line saying "Do it quickly!" Naturally, God has a warped sense of humour too. Just look at the Camel or Giraffe for proof of that!
FOUR: phone a friend. It was 8am in London. My friends in New Zealand and Australia were busy just now, I knew their schedules. My friends in the States were not really sober enough at that hour to talk or even listen coherently. Friends in London were all asleep or had their own issues just now.
FIVE: go to the gymn. Nope, I had not joined after a five day free trial so I guess that would not be an option.
SIX: go for a random walk until you either end up lost and scared or on a bus with sore feet heading home, miles off the radar.
SEVEN: connect the external hard drive and watch an old movie. I did not fancy any of the fifty movies on my hard drive. Seen them all a gazillion times.
"hmmmm," I thought, "That walk sounds like fun!"
There had been a time when I had walked my arse off through so many nights regularly to get to Horsenden Hill to watch the sunrises. It was already sun-up so I just followed my nose.
Less than ten minutes from my house I saw a church with a sign saying "Open for prayer, please come in!" I live in one of the most secular cities on planet Earth and had passed this place maybe ten times in ten years. I figured it was my subconscious guiding me there...or, maybe, I could say "Fuck Freud, I just feel I need to be here!"
Either way I was walking in without a care in the world for which denomination of Christianity it was. After all I had been to a Roman Catholic Infant School whilst attending a Methodist Sunday School and later went to a Protestant Junior School and then a Senior school with an evangelical Christian Agricultural Science Teacher who regularly brought over Church groups to sing or preach or perform "Skits."
I had spent from age 21 to 24 vehemently Atheist until, certain events proved beyond reasonable doubt that there is a God and, that I was not Him.
So anyway, here I was on a Saturday morning strolling into a Church to pray.
Prayer can be done anywhere, it's just some folk feel more INSPIRED to pray in a building constructed and consecrated for worship and instruction. It's no biggie. I have a, "DO WHAT WORKS!" policy in life.
So I sat there in a pew. I imagined some big fat bastard strolling in and saying "OI, you are in my seat!" But of course this was ridiculous - this was a CHURCH frequented by NICE PEOPLE.
It took a while but eventually I cracked.
The tears streamed down my face. I shook with grief at my own lostness.
I had focussed so much on the human experience and human achievement I had forgotten the simple pleasures of being homeless and fired up for Jesus. I had achieved well in Worldly terms but spiritually a wall had crept up. That wall was my SIN. All my impurity, my lust, my self indulgeance. I was a fucked up human being all-right.
A hand touched my shoulder. I jumped in shock.
A soothing voice apologised. I mentally noted it was female and wiped the tears away before looking up.
She was extremely attractive but with a dog collar on her neck. The lips of Taylor Swift, the eyes of Zooey Deschanel, and the nose of - I don't know - Elisabeth Perkins? The hair? A Blonde. She could certainly make a Priest kick a hole in a stained glass window. Whatever. I was about to speak to a woman of the cloth. "A layyydeeeee vi-carrrr", or a "Dibley" to use the colloquial slang of the Brits. Years earlier I had actively protested against the ordination of women priests and vicars. I had been brainwashed into the absolute ideology that the MEN lead the MEN and the WOMEN lead the WOMEN...but of course my old church had failed largely because the men were not leading a damn thing. They would listen to their wives or risk a loss of nookie.
"Are you gonna be okay?" she said.
I grinned at the pure genius of that question.
"You must ask that question a lot." I responded.
She frowned, "Nope, first time for me. I have never had to deal with a guy crying in a pew on a Saturday morning. 'til now."
"Well," I attempted a coherent reply, "I am not an expert at crying in churches having not really visited them that often... I went to a church that met in school buildings mostly."
"ICoC?" she said, totally flooring me.
She proceeded to explain that she had remembered me from way back.
"I was at your baptism in Queen's Park, New Year's Eve 1999!"
My eyes widened, I had not even seen her there. Or maybe I had?
She went on: "I saw you at Alexandra Palace one year. You were late and missed Communion and sat drinking tea with an Irish fella, then went in, and afterwards went ice-skating with some gorgeous girls suggesting you were in with the in crowd at the time."
I protested that I had a friend at the time who had hooked me up with a friend of hers seeing as I knew how to skate and she did not.
"Well, you certainly seemed like a fun guy to know!"
I blushed, utterly speechless.
"So," she said, "Do you want to talk through your issues?"
"Issues?" I sighed, "I have the whole magazine subscription!"
She laughed sympathetically and placed a hand on my shoulder again, massaging my neck and even playing with my long hair.
I was invited to follow her to her house behind the church.
We sat ourselves in a large kitchen - farmhouse style, with a breakfast bar in the middle.
She offered me a coffee or tea, I told her I was not especially thirsty but if she wanted to brew up for herself then to go ahead.
"So spill," she said simply, "Wassup?"
I laughed.
"How long do I have on the clock and what is it going to cost me?"
"I have a Christening at 3pm and will probably need to pee around 11am, but apart from that, I am flexible!" she joked. Then she added as an afterthought, "The cost is negligible. I guess it is your salvation if you do not talk to SOMEONE but I am hoping it is me you talk to."
"Alriiiighty thennnn," I replied. So I began.
I told her about my childhood. The messed up situations, the loss of innocence too soon, and the discovery aged fourteen that I could orgasm through wanking.
I checked her face for signs of dis-approval or boredom. She was rivetted. I checked her body for signs of interest. Feet pointing towards me and nipples visibly hard through her formal attire. Result!