Read Wish 01 - A Secret Wish for Free Online Page A

blue jeans and T-shirts for black slacks, a black shirt and a priest’s collar.
    “Patrick O’Brien,” she said with a disbelieving shake of her head. She and Patrick had gone to Catholic school together until the eleventh grade, when his family had moved away. She remembered her mother telling her that Patrick had become a priest, but she hadn’t realized he was working here at St. Catherine’s. She wondered why her mother hadn’t told her that. Or maybe she had. Lately, Angela tried to avoid any conversations about old friends from the neighborhood. The stories usually involved someone getting married or having another baby.
    “Angela Razzini,” Patrick said with the same boyish grin that had once made her heart tumble over in her chest. “It’s about time you dropped by.”
    “It’s Angela Payne now. I’m married.”
    “Your mother said you were.”
    “Oh, that’s right. I guess you must see her a lot.”
    “Every Sunday. As well as your sisters, their spouses, and their children. But no Angela, never Angela. Why is that?” he asked with a thoughtful smile.
    “I live on the other side of town.”
    “So it’s a question of geography?”
    She hesitated, wondering how bad it would be to lie to a priest, even if she had once swapped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with him. “How long have you been here?” she asked instead.
    “Six months. I was in L.A. for a while, but San Francisco is home. How have you been?”
    “Great. I’ve been great.”
    He smiled in that way that priests do when they know you’re not telling the truth. “Is that why you’re trying to get into my church on a Friday night?”
    “It was an impulse. I was driving by, I saw the church, and I started thinking about the past.”
    “Of course,” he said with a knowing nod. “It’s your birthday, a good time for reflection.”
    “How on earth did you remember that?” she asked in amazement.
    “I remember a lot of things about you, Angie, like your smile and the way it lit up your face when you got excited about something. You made all the kids feel good, including me. And you had such a passion for your art. You used to paint on every available space – the back of your parents’ garage, my bedroom wall, and even Mrs. Murphy’s fence. She did not appreciate your artwork, however,” he added with a laugh.
    “That’s true. I thought she was going to put a curse on me.” The old woman had lived in the corner house that all the neighborhood kids thought was haunted. They’d been convinced she was a witch. One boring summer day Patrick had dared her to draw a picture on the back fence, and she’d sketched a witch flying over the moon on a broomstick. Mrs. Murphy had been furious. Angela had been grounded for a month, not to mention having to go to confession, say hundreds of Hail Marys , and write a letter of apology. “You made me do that,” she said, pointing her finger at him, “and I was the one who got into trouble as usual.”
    “You were a loyal friend. You didn’t rat me out. I appreciated that.” He paused. “Do you still paint?”
    “Not as much as I used to, but I have a small art gallery in Noe Valley. I show the work of local artists.”
    “I’ll have to stop by. Do you sell any of your own work?”
    “Not lately.” She hadn’t been inspired to paint during the last few years. That part of her body seemed to have dried up along with everything else.
    “I’m not surprised you own your own business. You always inspired me with your determination to succeed, to get what you wanted.”
    “Sometimes it takes more than determination.” Sometimes it takes a miracle. But she couldn’t say that to him. He was a priest. Although who better than a priest to get her that miracle?
    “Sometimes it does,” he agreed. “I’ve always found prayer to be helpful.”
    “Always?” she asked, unable to keep the doubt out of her voice. “I never thought you would become a priest, Patrick. You loved