daybreak.
As the man in black backs up his bag and exists out the front door of Hellfire, he crosses the street and continues down Rockwell Ave. As he walks, he reaches into his pants pocket and retrieves a pair of sun glasses to shade his eyes from the early morning sun.
He walks briskly to the end of the block where he comes face to face with Saint John Birchman Catholic Church. He stops in his tracks and stares at the church. As he stands there he contemplates his life and the choices he has made wondering if he has taken the right path. Suddenly the church bells ring six times. It is 6:00 am and Sunday morning mass will begin in just an hour. He picks up his bag and unzips the side pocket. He retrieves a white piece of rectangular cloth covered plastic and after buttoning his collar he inserts the clerical collar into the openings that hold the white collar in place. He walks to the front door of the church and finds a young boy waiting for him.
“Good morning Father Tom,” the young boy says.
“Good morning my child. You are my altar boy for 7:00 services?”
“Yes father. I am Alex.”
As Father Tom and Alex enter the church to prepare for another Sunday full of services, Cheyenne exits Hellfire two blocks up the street and walks to the corner of Fullerton and Western to the 24-hour diner for coffee and some breakfast. Rubbing her sore ass as she walks, she smiles from the pain as she recalls the evenings’ events. She hopes she will see the mysterious Dom who took control of her soul again very soon.
Chapter Six
Ryan walks from the terminal at O’Hare to the short term parking garage elevators. A costly parking tab awaits him due to his indifference to parking in the remote long term lots. Ryan likes convenience and will take advantage of an upgrade every chance he gets.
He locates the car and pops the trunk to stow his bags. He sees his black play bag in the back of the trunk and a smile comes to his face. He pushes the bag deeper inside the trunk and then deposits his luggage toward the front of the trunk.
As he pulls up to a pay gate, he hands his parking stub to the attendant and waits for the total.
“You were parked for 3.5 days at $33.00 a day. That will be a $115.50. You might want to consider parking in the long term lot next time. Would save you about $80.00,” says the attendant.
“My company pays for it so I take advantage of it. It’s one of those little perks I still get,” says Ryan as he hands his company credit card to the attendant.
“Here is your receipt and your card. Have a nice day.”
Ryan jumps on the interstate and heads south for Homer Glen, IL which is about 35-minutes south of the airport. He can’t wait to see his little girl Eva. He bought her a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader doll even though Sam told him not to. Eva loves when her daddy comes home from a trip. It’s Saturday afternoon so Ryan is thinking they will probably go out for pizza.
(phone rings) He glances at the screen and sees that it is Sam.
“Hey Sam. I am about 30-minutes away.”
“Good. I am glad I caught you. You need to stop at the store to do the shopping. We are out of everything. I will email you the list.”
“Shopping? Sam I am really tired. After three days of meetings and traveling I am beat. Can’t you go do the shopping now while I am driving home?”
“No, I have a pedicure in a