Maggie's Breakfast by Gabriel Walsh Read Free Book Online

I couldn’t stop thinking about her even when school was over. I didn’t know why my body was reacting the way it was. All of Sister Charlotte’s prayers and
promises were like Christmas presents. She made me believe that all things and all people were good. Even if I had no shoes on my feet Sister Charlotte convinced me that I didn’t really need
them. “Ah, you’ve such a good pair of feet, Gabriel! It would be a shame to cover them up with shoes or sandals,” she’d say to me. I felt so happy and comfortable in Sister
Charlotte’s presence I forgot about everything else in my life. Sister Charlotte was my Guardian Angel. Guardian Angels were to remind you not to commit a sin when you were tempted. I asked
myself every day in school: What would Sister Charlotte say if she knew I wanted to kiss her?
    When the bell rang for the end of school that day, I remained in my seat. After the class had emptied out, a woman who used to cook in the convent kitchen came into the classroom with a big
brown-paper bag.
    “It’s all here, Sister. Clean and pressed. Like new,” she said and handed the bag to Sister Charlotte.
    “Come up, Gabriel.”
    I timidly got up from my seat and walked to the head of the class.
    “Congratulations, Gabriel, on making your First Holy Communion this week,” she said.
    The woman who’d brought the brown-paper bag in blessed herself and moved her lips as if she was saying a prayer.
    Sister Charlotte then took a grey jacket and trousers out of the bag. “I think this will fit you, Gabriel.”
    The woman stepped forward. “Stretch out your arms,” she said to me.
    I stretched my arms out like the man on the cross. The woman placed my arms into the sleeves. “The jacket fits him,” she said, turning back to Sister Charlotte.
    Sister Charlotte smiled. “This suit used to belong to one of my young brothers, Gabriel. He’s a lot older than you and he’s living in England. It’s been hanging in my
room for years. I’ve kept it in mothballs.”
    “That’s where I keep me husband,” the woman said.
    Sister Charlotte laughed out loud.
    The woman measured the trousers to my knees. They too seemed to fit.
    Sister Charlotte stepped back and took a look at me.
    “I have a confession to make, Gabriel.”
    I thought she was going to say she loved me. My blood boiled and my face turned red.
    “I’ve tried to fit this suit on boys for the last three years and it didn’t fit any of them. When you first came into my class, you reminded me of my young brother. I prayed
that the day would come when you could wear his suit, and now you’re going to. Your poor mother will be happy about that, won’t she?”
    “She will and thanks very much,” I said.
    Sister Charlotte then put a white ribbon on the lapel of the jacket. “Wear this on your lapel when you receive your Communion on Friday, Gabriel.”
    The ribbon was snow white and brand new. It was to be my badge of honour when I received my First Communion from the priest.
    The sister also gave me a new prayer book with a picture of Jesus on the front of it.
    “You can say your prayers with this book, Gabriel. Whenever you’re having trouble with everything that goes on around you, open this and read it. Making your First Communion gives
you rights and responsibilities. Your Holy Communion Day is one of the most important days of your life.”
    As I stood in front of my Guardian Angel she reached back to her desk and handed me a small box. “Open it,” she said with a glowing light in her eyes.
    I fumbled with the box but managed to open it without much trouble. Inside the box was a pair of new brown shoes. I almost passed out from the smell of the new leather.
    “Wear them with your suit when you make your Communion,” the nun said. “Tie the laces tight so they won’t fall off your feet.”
    I was so fixated on Sister Charlotte I wasn’t able to concentrate on what she was saying to me. I felt trapped in a cage of pure love. My