Steve Moran opened the door of the little chapel. He peeked in, not sure what he would find. It was quiet and as he stepped inside he could hear his own footsteps echo as if he'd entered a much bigger place.

It was beautiful inside in a quaint way. Steve closed his eyes to try to place the smells and it seemed to be lemon oil and candle wax which was a glorious reminder of the rich wood colonnades in his parent’s home.  He could see the fire color of the dining room table after it was rubbed to perfection and he could remember the feel of the tactile smoothness of the fruitwood window seat by the bay windows in his childhood abode.

This little church reminded him of something he saw in a film once but he couldn't put his finger on which one it was. It was small with perfectly lined up pews. It was the type of place where you'd see a hometown wedding or a Sunday service where the preacher would stand at the door after service talking to each and every attendee with the hopes of an invite to Sunday dinner.

This little church was comfortable. There were no signs of fire and brimstone or threats of 'Thou shalt not....' . It gave off more of a 'Come in and I'll teach you, help you, counsel you, minister you type of place. Steve didn't feel the least bit out of place; in fact he moved to the front and sat down on the long benches. Laying his head back, he enjoyed the quiet.

His mind wandered to how happy he was at the Glen. He had Millie and Brook, the business and plenty of new friends. Andy and now Lucy had come to stay at the boarding house and he grew fond of them fast. He would be sad when they left but by the same token he'd be happy to seen them succeed.

Maybe while he was here in the church he could say a little prayer for them. He wasn't sure how that worked because it had been a long time since he set foot in such a place. He wasn't even sure he ever talked to God before. Did he even believe in God? He wasn't sure.

Closing his eyes he tried to feel something but nothing touched him. Visions of his past played before his minds eye and he remembered how he and Millie were married. It wasn't very official and he felt a little sad over it. Maybe he should do something about that.

The thought of it made a sweat break out on his brow. He suddenly felt a little woozy as the floor began to drift away from him. Shuffling his feet didn't seem to help so he flailed to get his balance. What the hell....ooops, heck was this all about?

"Millie."

Did he say that out loud?

"Brookie, darling?"

That too?

Their faces came to him and both of them were crying. What had he done? Had he neglected them somehow? He loved both of them more than life itself how could he ever hurt them?

There was another voice behind him and it was a new one, a man's. "Sir.."

He felt himself stand up from the pew but the floor still was not there. He wobbled and closed his eyes against the vertigo. When he finally managed to open his eyes he felt a cold chill. There he was standing in nothing but his boxer shorts and every person who had moved to the Glen was in the pews behind him, glaring.

"What?"

He had no idea what he'd done to deserve this. Heat rose in his cheeks as he did his best to hide those boxers. Suddenly the floor came back and his feet stuck to it like they were glued.

"Sir.." the voice came again.

His eyes felt funny and suddenly they opened for real. He was sitting there on the front pew again. His breathing slowed and he turned to see the man who belonged to the voice.

"Uh, oh...I'm sorry. I...the door was open and I just wanted to see what the place looked like."

"It's okay." the man said. "I'm Reverend Harris, Alistair. You are?"

"Steve...Moran. I think I fell asleep."

"Yes, you did and you seemed to have been dreaming, Steve. You were talking in your sleep. Is something wrong?"

"No..but yes..but no..but yes and I know exactly how to fix it." Steve offered his hand. "Nice to meet you, Rev. I'll be back to talk to you soon. There's something else I gotta do right now."

Steve marched out of the church toward home but he stopped just outside of the door to turn around. He dug down in his pocket and pulled out a few dollars that he had stashed there. Jamming them into the tithing box he smiled at the Reverend once again before heading directly home to the boarding house. It didn’t take him long to find Millie who had her nose buried in a cookbook. She stood at the counter in the kitchen so involved in the book that she didn't hear him come in.

"Millie!" he shouted as he marched up to her hand grabbed her from behind. Spinning her around he dropped down on one knee. "Millie, baby. I've got a question for you. Honey, you're the love of my life and I was wondering if you'd marry me?"

She was dumbstruck for a moment. Reaching down she placed her hands on his cheeks. "Aw, Steve. We're already married. Remember the 'hand fasting thing'?"

"Yes but....let's do it right baby. Let's do it at the church." 

She thought for a moment. Looking down into his eyes she smiled. "Steve, yeah. Yeah, I'll marry you again."

"Woohoo!" he exclaimed as he stood to claim his bride with a kiss.

TBC