The Den by Jeff O'Brien
Author:Jeff O'Brien [O'Brien, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-15T22:00:00+00:00
11.
âI guess Sarah must really be pulling a no-call no-show,â said Catherine from the drama section.
âLooks that way indeed,â replied Thane, scanning some returns behind the counter.
It was just past 11 pm and Sarah had made no contact with Thane. Heâd texted her several times throughout the day to no avail.
âDid you two break up?â
Thane snickered, doing his best to keep his composure. âWell, we were never an item to begin with, but she could at least let me know why she isnât here.â
âYeah, thatâs pretty inconsiderate.â Catherine returned to the counter as a customer approached with several DVDs, and rang the rental in. Thane listened intently, just to the sound of Catherineâs voice. It came out in such soft, soothing tones, somehow easing the pain from his experience last night. Once the customer was gone, she turned to Thane. âSo I guess your nightly ritual wonât be as fun tonight.â
âWell, I already know the answer to this, but youâre more than welcome to partake in it with me.â
âIâve been thinking about that since last night, actually.â
âOh?â
âWell, all things aside, I do work here now. We all have to go through our lives seeing things we donât want to see, hearing things we donât want to hear, etc. Temptation will always be there whether I like it or not.â
Temptation? âThis is true,â reasoned Thane with a nod.
âAnd no amount of faith or prayer is going to keep it away from me. I can only pray for the strength to resist it.â
âThat sounds completely logical to me.â
âIâm sure Sister Margaret back at the convent would disapprove, but I donât believe my faith should be used as an excuse to get me out of things that are expected of me.â
âYou know, itâs really not a big deal. The ritual could be a one-person job just as easily.â
âI know that, and I know youâre also just being kind. And I like that a lot about you. But as a personal choice, Iâd like to partake in the ritual.â
âWell, then I certainly wonât stop you.â
âWhy do you call it a ritual though? Whatâs so special about it to warrant the title? Itâs the same thing we do out here with the regular movies. At our age I canât imagine seeing images of nudity and sex is really all that monumental an occasion. Even for me, and Iâve sworn it off.â
Sworn it off? Thane was growing increasingly curious as to Catherineâs pre-convent life.
âWell,â began Thane with a nervous laugh, âthe ritual part is more the dialogue we exchange. We scrutinize the covers of the movies, mostly making jokes about them. There isnât really a lot of imagery in there that Iâd actually call erotic. About ninety percent of it is pretty tacky.â
âOh, well that doesnât sound so bad, actually. I could use a good laugh.â.
âOkay then. Iâm willing to bet we just saw our last customer of the night. Letâs go partake in the sacred ritual.â
âIâll do the honors,â said Catherine, crouching down to pick up the bin.
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