Free Meeting Max by Richard Brumer

give up his plan to get his PhD. He hoped Julie would choose to give up the baby for adoption. If not, he would be more assertive.
    The next morning, Julie was up early. She went out for a while and when she returned, she ran to Rick’s arms in tears. She tried to speak, but couldn’t catch her breath. He held her tight, rocking her back and forth.
    “Rick, you were sleeping. I was up all night. I went to church and spoke to Father Benson. Oh Rick, what did I do? He’s one of the older priests at St. Joseph’s, and he wasn’t very nice to me.” She groaned, pulling Rick even tighter, and took a deep breath. “He was stern, scolded me like a child.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “He told me I had sinned for committing a sexual act outside of marriage.”
    Rick’s eyes were shut tight and his lips clenched as he held her. He felt her tears rub against his cheeks. He wasn’t sure what to say. He tried to calm her quivering body by holding her close and rubbing her back.
    “Relax, honey. Everything will be all right,” he whispered. “I didn’t think the church did those things anymore.”
    “They do,” Julie snapped. “I needed a younger priest, someone who was more understanding of me and not just feeding me the same old crap. Father Benson told me I would have to repent my sin in Confession and promise not to sin again if I wanted to be forgiven by God and receive Holy Communion.”
    Rick held her tight and rocked with her as he kissed her tears. He stepped back for a moment and looked at her. Her eyes were red and her lips were tightly pressed together. He started to kiss her, but she pulled away.
    “He went on and on, Rick, berating me. I couldn’t stop crying. He told me crying wouldn’t help me and I should have thought before I sinned. He was just spouting out the church’s damn dogma as if he were a machine. But it was true. I should have thought of the consequences instead of thinking our love would always make things all right.” Julie paused and wiped her eyes. “He told me the baby must be baptized in the Catholic Church, and if I marry you, a Jew, you would have to promise to rear our children as Catholics.”
    Rick closed his eyes, shook his head in disbelief, and heaved a heavy sigh. He felt his eyes watering as a tear made its way down his cheek.
    “He scared me!” Julie screamed, tangling her fingers in her hair. “The church is harsh, not kind. I ran out in tears and felt a sharp pain in my stomach, like someone was punching me. It was a message from God. What did I do? I thought Father Benson would try to help me and be understanding. That bastard, all he did was lay a guilt trip on me and make me feel like a slut.” Rick caught Julie’s gaze as she threw her arms around him and kissed him for a long time.
    “The priest said the words my mother would say to me, that I was a whore. She would be just like him. She wouldn’t understand that we were in love. All she would be concerned about would be the gossip it would cause in Newark and how I shamed her by not following the teachings of my faith. ‘Be a good Christian woman’ was all I ever heard. You know I’m not religious, Rick, but there’s something deep down inside of me. It’s just…”
    “We’re together, Julie. For better or worse. You will never have to do anything alone. Nothing will split us. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
    “I don’t know. Are we ready to have a child together? What about school? Getting our degrees? Getting your PhD? This will kill our future.
    “We’d be living in a room somewhere with your father supporting us. It’s all my fault, Rick. I should have stopped us. I shouldn’t have let it happen. I won’t have an abortion, but I can’t keep the baby. That wouldn’t be fair to our baby. Every child should be wanted.”
    She’s coming to her senses. Keeping the baby would ruin our future plans.
    “That has to be your decision,” Rick advised calmly.
    “Well,