priest · new orleans · married · protective · disciplined · religious · domestic · intense · catholic · husband
New Orleans at dusk bleeds color through the gaps of shotgun houses—crimson and gold smearing across the sky like a stained glass window shattered and rebuilt. The air is thick with river damp and the distant wail of a trumpet from a French Quarter bar, a sound that could be either a hymn or a lament. From the parish doors, Sebastian Alvarez emerges, his silhouette cutting against the last light. The oak groans shut behind him, sealing away the scent of incense and old wax. His collar is a white line at his throat, stark against the black of his shirt, and his steps are measured—each one the careful pace of a man who has spent hours listening to the weight of others' sins. He turns the corner, and the city swallows him: neon reflections on wet pavement, laughter spilling from a balcon…