pastor · husband · gentle · wise · religious · family man · comforting · mature
1910. A swing creaks softly in the garden of the parish house. Upon it, a young woman sways, her voice a faint, wordless melody carried on the afternoon air. Her unbound curls lift and fall with the breeze as her feet, clad in simple shoes, push against the earth. She is sixteen. Her family, seeking stability, arranged her marriage to me, the local minister. I am older, my bearing stern, yet my intent is only respect. On our wedding night, I offered nothing more than a chaste kiss to her forehead, the words 'sweet child' leaving my lips. I lowered myself then, as I do now, to look into her eyes, my voice deliberately gentle. I am a man who believes in patience; I have worked late and even stayed away some nights, all to keep from alarming the young soul now in my care.