Chapter 5: Sunday Mass

Jacob normally went to his grandmother’s place on Sundays. He would go with her to mass, which he found quite boring, but he was able to endure because afterward his grandmother would make him pastizzi, ghagin-il-forn, and gelato for desert. She would also send him home with several helpings of leftovers to eat during the week. It was something that he’d been doing for so long now, and he thought it was a rather lovely way to spend time with her. And it wasn’t just him that went to mass. No. His cousin Chloe would usually join them.

When Jacob had been a child, he’d thought that his grandmother had been strict and he hadn’t gotten along with her overly well, but now he knew that his grandmother was actually the sweetest lady in the world.

There was a girl who might have been sweeter than his grandmother, or so he had thought for a very brief period of time. He’d met her in a lift only a week ago. But after he found out there was another guy, he had spent almost every ounce of his energy trying to forget about her. That connection that he’d felt with her, that excitement buzzed in his stomach when he looked at her, he realised now that it obviously had been a one-way feeling. She’d left her book with him, but it was probably because she was in a rush. That was all. Penellope.

Jacob breathed in and out deeply as he jogged along the sidewalk in the suburbs of Melbourne, with sweat dripping down his face and soaking into his singlet. He normally exercised in the afternoon, but he knew that today, of all days, if he didn’t get his run in early – then it probably wouldn’t happen. There was something about running that helped to relax him, to calm and him and motivate him. Maybe it was the way his breathing matched the cadence of his feet, as they padded lightly against the pavement, or the way that scenery around him continuously changed. Whatever the reason was; running helped him to cope with life. People often asked him how he could enjoy running. To the majority of the population it was a chore. Something you needed to do to stay healthy or get into shape. But to Jacob it was the complete opposite. It was during these runs that he thought about her the most. Or rather, that he tried to forget about her.

***

Chloe was waiting for him at nine thirty. She’d parked in an empty side street about five minutes from his apartment. Her red Toyota Yarris was easy to spot.

‘Hey,’ Jacob said opening the door and sliding into the passenger seat.

‘Hello,’ Chloe replied as she changed gears, flicked her blinkers on and pulled out of the parking space.

Chloe had dark brown hair, and equally dark eyes – with beautiful olive skin. It was quite odd, as she was only half Maltese and Chloe’s mother was as fair as they came. She wore a light blue dress that fell past her ankles, with and a casual hoodie over the top. Their grandmother liked them to dress nicely for mass, Jacob himself wore a collared shirt and brown chinos.

‘Can we close the window? It’s freezing,’ Jacob said wrapping his arms around his chest as a gush of fresh morning air flew in through the open window.

‘It’s not that bad,’ Chloe replied but reached over and pushed a button on her side. There was a light buzzing sound as the windows rolled up. ‘Still not used to Melbourne weather, huh?’

‘No, I’m used to the weather. I’m just not used to driving around in the middle of winter with the windows down. You must have iron skin or something,’ Jacob laughed.

‘I know how to dress properly. That’s all. There’s a spare jumper in the back if you want it? It’s pink though,’ Chloe turned and grinned at him.

‘I’ll be okay.’

Chloe turned around a corner and then turned left onto the main road.

‘Hey, umm, you know we were meant to turn left just now?’

‘I thought we’d stop at Red Brick for a cappuccino? You know, like last week. Besides, I’m going to need more than instant coffee if I’m going to stay awake during the service.’

Jacob grinned.

‘Do we have time though?’ Jacob asked.

‘Plenty.’

‘Nunna won’t be happy if we’re late.’

‘I’ll take the blame.’

***

Jacob wasn’t disappointed by the suggestion. Not only did the hot frothy cappuccino warm him up, but it also woke him up. He held the white porcelain mug in both hands, and sipped the white froth gently. The two of them sat inside, looking out upon the streets of Melbourne from within Red Brick café. It was a small place, nestled in a side-street in the suburb, and Chloe thought they made the best coffee in Australia. He himself couldn’t deny that the coffee was good, and it was slowly becoming his favourite place too.

‘Have you been doing okay?’ Chloe asked him.

‘Yeah. You?’ Jacob replied.

‘I’m doing well. Has life at least gotten a little more exciting since we last spoke?’

‘It felt exciting for a bit. But it’s probably just wishful thinking.’

‘Wishful thinking is the most exciting part about life. Keep wishing. Keep thinking,’ Chloe’s eyes seemed to sparkle. Her smile curled up to the corners of her face, Jacob couldn’t help but smile in return. Spending time with Chloe on a Sunday was one of the highlights of the week. No matter what mood he was in, no matter how sullen, or downfallen, she somehow managed to cheer him up. It wasn’t always with wise words either. Sometimes she made corny jokes. One time she’d told him that she didn’t like stairs.

‘Why?’ he had asked.

‘Because they’re always up to something.’

It had been so stupid that it had been funny, and Jacob had immediately burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Other times she made fun of him in a way that could only be seen as endearing, teasing him about his wild facial hair, or the way his shirt was never tucked in properly.

Now she just looked at him. Before too long she began to giggle awkwardly.

‘You have something on your face,’ Chloe reached over and wiped a bit of white milk from his cheek, ‘you silly goose.’

Jacob gulped down another mouthful of the hot liquid. He looked outside the window of the café. People were strolling down the sidewalk that lined the roads, going about their business. The orange and gold leaves of early winter rained down upon the pathways, and were swept up with every frosty breeze that blew past. If Jacob could have hit pause on this moment – he would have.

***

Their grandmother was ready to go as soon as they arrived and greeted them both with a warm hug and plenty of kisses. She wore a purple silk dress, with earrings, makeup and perfume that smelled of roses.

‘We still have time, ta. Come inside, and we have someting to eat,’ she ushered them in without waiting for their answer.

They drank tea, ate biscuits and spoke about trivial things. For a seventy-year old widow, Jacob thought his grandmother was doing pretty well. She was independent, she still played tennis with her friends on the weekends, and looked about fifteen years younger than she should have. Although she was now retired, she continued to keep herself occupied. Jacob’s mother had always told him that she would never let Nunna Mary end up in a home, but Jacob doubted she would ever even need to be put in a home. Indeed, their grandmother looked after them more than they looked after her.

‘Look at da time. We should go now, or we be late, ta’,’ she said to them after about half an hour, and pushed them out the door.

The church was only a five-minute drive down the road from where their grandmother lived. It was a grand building, with red bricks, and paned windows that depicted figures with halos over their heads. Their grandmother, and even their grandfather on many occasions when he was alive, had assured them many times that it was nothing compared to the churches in Malta. But Jacob couldn’t help but appreciate their décor.

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Chloe parked the car, and the three of them strolled through the car park and onto the path that led to the open doors of the church. There were several families, elderly people, middle age parents and young children walking about; all of whom greeted their grandmother by name. Jacob couldn’t remember all of them, and neither could Chloe – but the two of them would often get ambushed by elderly ladies, hugging them and kissing them on the cheek. Both of their parents grew up going to this parish; their grandmother hadn’t stopped going ever since she migrated to Australia in the sixties. Jacob would have bet his life savings that she hadn’t missed a single Sunday.

Of course, his mother and uncle had stopped going to church as soon as they had gotten married and left home. That was when their grandfather had still been alive. Things had felt different then. Mary’s husband had been very capable, and independent. Not that Mary herself wasn’t all those things – but their family were a lot less concerned about Mary being looked after back then. Jacob’s memories of his grandfather were growing weary. Jacob been thirteen when he had died. It seemed like a lifetime ago. But his mother never stopped singing his praises.

‘Jacob, good to see you,’ an older lady with a thick Maltese accent grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek. That was another thing about their parish. Back when their grandparents had sailed over from the small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, they barely knew any English. So they all just formed their own little community. They socialised together, worked together, celebrated Christmas and Easter together, and they all went to church together. Most of them hadn’t left.

‘Good to see you Carmena,’ Jacob greeted her.

After hugging three more older woman, they followed the crowd into the building and it wasn’t too long before they were seated in the pews waiting for the priest to begin the mass. This was the most boring part. An hour of looking up at the ceiling, kneeling, standing, singing hallelujah, the shaking hands and the ‘peace be with you’ blessings, the collection and then communion.

‘Jacob,’ a voice whispered from behind him. Jacob knew exactly who it was. Pretty much everyone at the parish were elderly, middle aged, or children. Except for Maria.

‘Jacob, you missed confession on Wednesday.’

Jacob turned around. Maria was smiling at him from the pew behind, where she sat next to her mother, father, grandparents and younger sister. She was a year younger than Jacob and a year older than Chloe. Her father was Italian, and her mother was Maltese. Yet despite this, she had fair hair and blue eyes.

‘There was confession last Wednesday?’

Maria nodded. Jacob hardly kept up with all that stuff.

‘Chloe was there.’

‘Well someone had to keep Nunna company,’ Chloe had obviously overheard her and decided to join the conversation.

‘And I suppose you had a lot to confess?’ Jacob rose an eyebrow.

‘Father Kevin was drunk.’

Chloe and Maria let out a light, heartfelt giggle. They were cut off though by the sound of the priest beginning the service. Everyone rose in their seats.

‘Speak later,’ Jacob said and turned around. Chloe smirked and nudged Jacob in the arm.

‘Maria was really disappointed you weren’t there. You know that?’

***

‘So Jacob, what have you been up to?’ Maria asked.

After mass, most people stuck around for cake and coffee. Jacob’s grandmother, Mary, was talking to Maria’s grandparents; their conversation was switching rapidly between English and Maltese, and although Jacob could understand a little bit of the language – at the speed that they spoke, he could hardly keep up. Chloe had gotten caught up in conversation with Maria’s younger sister, which left Jacob and Maria on their own.

‘Ahh, you know, this and that,’ Jacob replied.

‘Where were you on Wednesday?’ Maria punched him lightly in the arm.

‘…sorry, I umm, kind of forgot about it if you want me to be completely honest. I, ah, think that I was with some of my friends that night. Playing poker.’

‘You skipped out on confession to go out and gamble. I wonder what your Nunna Mary would say if she found out.’

‘Are you kidding me? She spends more time gambling than anyone else I know. You should see her on those poker machines. If anything – it’s her that’s been the bad influence.’

Maria laughed, her bright red lips shining in the coloured light that the paned windows let into the church, and the few strains of brown hair that weren’t tied up waved about her face gracefully. Her skin was smooth and flawless, and Jacob couldn’t help noticing that she was extremely pretty.

‘You’ve changed a lot since you first moved here. You’re no longer the shy little country kid that didn’t really have any friends. You’re getting out now. You’re more confident, and independent. You’ve put on weight too!’

Jacob rose an eyebrow.

‘That’s an odd way to complement someone,’ Jacob rubbed his stomach and began pinching the fat around his waist.

‘I don’t mean you’ve gotten fatter, you silly thing. Your shoulders are broader. Your arms are more toned. You used to be so skinny! I remember being scared of knocking you down by accident. But now look at you. I hadn’t really noticed – but the other day I was looking at some old photos of us…and well…’

Jacob’s cheeks flushed slightly. He wasn’t used to being complemented so openly, except from his grandmother – and he didn’t really count those compliments. Even Chloe was subtle when she reassured him.

‘Thanks…I guess…’

Chloe smiled brightly.

‘It would be good to see you a bit more Jacob.’

***

The best part about Sunday was going to his grandmother’s place for lunch. He doubted that would ever change. The three of them sat around the dining room table eating Mary’s homemade ravioli, Jacob splashed red sauce all over his lips and cheek; he couldn’t get enough.

‘Eat it slowly, ta. Or you make a mess,’ his grandmother rebuked him. Jacob nodded in compliance, but barely slowed down. Chloe, on the other hand, ate her food delicately, cutting each square into small bite sized chunks before smearing it with sauce and chewing it slowly. After lunch, Mary brought each of them a bowl of gelato from the kitchen.

They finished desert and spent the rest of the afternoon in idle chatter, playing cards, watching tennis and reality TV shows. Eventually, at around four thirty, they both kissed their grandmother on the cheek to say goodbye, and Chloe drove Jacob into the city towards his apartment.

The afternoon sun shone down brightly upon them as they drove out of the suburbs.

‘Another Sunday gone, huh?’ Jacob stared out the window, watching the trees and buildings as they whizzed by.

Jacob turned to face Chloe, who smirked at him mischievously.

‘What?’

‘Oh Jacob, you’re so toned. And strong. And handsome!’ Chloe teased putting on a fake high pitched mocking voice.

Jacob rose an eyebrow.

‘You know what I’m talking about.’

‘You heard us?’ Jacob asked.

‘Well, I was right next to you. Dah.’

‘You were talking to…How did you…?’

‘I’m good at multi-tasking. Plus, I love to eavesdrop. How about the more important question though: when are you going to ask her out?’

***

Thomas threw the controller over to Alex.

‘Screw it,’ he complained ‘Marth is broken!’

‘Only if you know how to use him,’ Daniel replied, ‘Actually I don’t think he’s that broken. Every character is pretty well balanced in this game…but having said that…Alex, you ready to get wrecked?’

‘He’s right. Marth is too good!’

The four of them, Jacob, Alex, Daniel and Thomas sat in Daniel and Thomas’ living room, on the couches in front of the TV, passing around the Nintendo Switch controller.

‘I won’t use Marth then. How about that?’

‘I don’t care who you use,’ Alex retorted, ‘I’m still going to beat you.’

‘Bring it!’

The two boys selected their characters, started the game, and began mashing the buttons on their controllers chaotically. Thomas watched, intrigued, and made the occasional comment like; ‘you’re just spamming the same move,’ or ‘almost had him.’

Jacob, however, stared silently down his phone.

‘It’s official. I’m unbeatable!’ Daniel proclaimed when the game was over. Daniel’s character Marth, a cartoon figure with dark blue hair and a flowing cape, bobbed up and down on the tv screen, holding his sword out in front of him in a victory post.

‘Damn it!’ Alex threw the controller in a sideways spin over onto the couch that Jacob was lying back on. The controller hit the cushion with a soft thud; Jacob left the controller where it had landed, untouched.

‘Jacob, my man, you’re next.’

Jacob looked up from his phone and smiled.

‘I think I’ll sit this one out. You know, let you guys wear your fingers out – and then maybe I’ll have a go at beating you once you’re all tired.’

‘Jacob, have you sent that message yet?!’ Thomes asked, ‘Don’t sit there thinking about it all night – you’ll just freak yourself out.’ Thomas leant over and put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder. ‘Trust me on this one, the bigger deal you make of it, the more nervous you’ll be when you do start dating her - ’

‘If I start dating her,’ Jacob cut him off.

‘When you start dating her. And girls like confidence. It’ll be much easier for you if you don’t overthink it.’

‘So, you’re over that girl you met in the lift…Penny?’

‘Pip,’ Thomas corrected him.

‘Yeah Pip.’

‘Well,’ Jacob began but stopped for a brief pause. Just thinking about Penellope made him nervous. He could barely picture her face now but the thought of a scarlet ribbon made his stomach churn with excitement. No. He fought to push the feelings away. Jacob continued.

‘I met her for like five minutes. And, she, well, she has a boyfriend. Didn’t you say that Thomas.’

‘Umm kinda. It’s complicated. But she’s certainly not in a position to be dating. That’s for sure. My advice – move on mate.’

‘How do you know all this stuff about her Thomas?’ Alex asked.

‘Let’s just say he has an extra special relationship with one of her friends,’ said Daniel.

‘A relationship. Maybe a little bit special. Definitely not extra special though. Not like your relationship with that Nintendo Switch.’

Suddenly Thomas’ phone began ringing loudly.

‘And speaking of special relationships… that’s Sally. I gotta take this one.’

‘Send the message Jacob, and then do me a favour, show Daniel that he can actually lose at this game.’

Jacob laughed.

‘Not really sure about the latter.’

Thomas put the phone up to his ear and walked out of the room. Jacob pulled up Instagram on his phone again. He clicked on Maria’s profile and then tapped the message icon.

Hey, sorry I didn’t come to church to see you the other night. But maybe I can make up for that by getting you coffee sometime soon?

Before his mind could process what he was doing – he clicked send. He felt his stomach churn, and so he put his phone in his pocket and tried to forget about it.

‘Jacob, common. Pick up the controller. It’s your turn.’

Jacob grinned.

‘Fine!’

It turned out that Daniel really was unbeatable at the game. Jacob didn’t care.

***

Maria didn’t reply until he’d arrived back at his apartment; the four of them had agreed to have an early night, after all, it was a Thursday and they had work the next day. Jacob was brushing his teeth and getting ready to tuck himself into bed when he heard his phone go off with a familiar message alert. He spat out his toothpaste, washed his mouth and picked up his phone with eager expectation.

Jacob! Are you asking me out on a date? (Smiley emoji) (Smiley emoji).

Of course Maria, of all people, was going to be upfront. He didn’t waste any time replying.

You know I was trying to be a little subtle about it. But, kind of, yeah.

She replied almost immediately.

How’s this Saturday? The Little Rose Café on Emerald Street?

Jacob smiled.

Yeah, okay. See you then.