St. Matthew’s Cathedral

Devon showered and dressed in preparation of his jaunt to St. Matthew’s Cathedral and hopefully see Archbishop Michael Richelaue. Before he left he gave a passionate kiss to Jennie and told her to have fun. As an after thought he asked before he walked out the door as to how much time would they need for their project? Jennie, replied “I think about five hours should do.”

Devon finally added, “Jennie would you like me to bring back some food for you and your team?” She replied, ” no that is alright, we will order a pizza in a little while.”

“Ok”, replied Devon, “I will see ya later.” He arrived a little early to the church, so he signed up for one of the abbreviated tours of the Cathedral. He was amazed at how beautiful the church was. It also had quite a storied history as well. The tour lasted less than 30 minutes, which was perfect because it brought him right to the time the mass would start. There was a large turnout for the rare appearance of the Archbishop. The mass lasted a full hour, and he had to admit, the Archbishop was a master at what he did. His sermon was not boring and you could tell that the congregation was enthralled by it. When the mass was over the Archbishop went out to the front of the church to shake the hands of the congregation as they exited the building. Devon waited for the entire congregation to exit before he went up the the Archbishop.

Archbishop Richelaue greeted Devon warmly and said that he had been waiting expectantly for his visit. Without any prompting, he asked Devon if he had some time to talk? Devon replied that yes, he had all the time in the world.

Archbishop Richelaue replied, “Very well, young man, if you would be somewhat kind as to follow me to my office.” Peter said, “Yes, your Eminence,”  as he respectively followed behind the Archbishop. When they entered his well-apportioned office, the Archbishop sat down behind his massive hand carved mahogany desk. After he was comfortably ensconched in his overstuffed chair, he motioned for Devon to be seated.

The Archbishop started by saying, “I am sure you are curious as to what I wanted to talk to you about. Well, frankly, I was a little surprised at how our previous meeting turned out. I never, in my wildest imagination, did I expect to be having this conversation with you. As our conversation progressed, I began to realize what an amazing young man I had before me. An individual whose skill set would fit very well with our needs.”

The Archbishop continued, “the Catholic Church over-the-counter years came to the realization that they needed a group of highly trained individuals who whose loyalty was beyond question  to not only protect the Pope, but to carry out certain delicate operations from time to time that were necessary to maintain the sanctity of the church. You may or may not have heard of the protective detail. The function of the Genarmerie, as they are known, is by no means a closely guarded secret. That is guarding the Pope. What is not so well known is their secondary mission, which is what I have already eluded to. If you choose to accept this position, you will receive training in line with some of the best trained special forces in the world. While your salary will not be exorbitant, you will receive free housing, which in Rome is no small matter. When not on special assignment, you will guard the pope and any visiting dignitaries that may be holding meetings at the Vatican. Another perk is that you will have access to the Vatican Library.”

The Archbishop continued, “I am now going to list the basic requirements of the Gendarmerie: New recruits must be unmarried Roman Catholic males with Swiss citizenship, between 21 and 30 years of age, and at least 5 feet 8.5 inches (1.74 meters) tall. In addition, they must have a professional diploma or high school degree and must complete basic training with the Swiss military. I want to reiterate that these requirements can and have been set aside from time to time for special circumstances. I know you are 36 years of age, and I also know that you have asked Jennie to marry you and that she has accepted your proposal. Of this, I want to congratulate you. I want you to know that the opportunity that I am offering you is very special and has only been done  less than a handful of  times. So you should feel very honored by my proposal. Secondly, the only person who can set aside these requirements is the Pope himself.* There is one requirement that cannot be overlooked and that is the language requirement, Devon you will be required to learn Italian. Quite a few of the instructors are bilingual or even multilingual, but you can’t rely on that. Will that be a problem, Devon?”

Devon stated that this wold not be a problem, during his search for his sister’s kidnappers he had picked up the rudiments of both the French and Italian languages, so he did not forsee any problem in becoming fluent in Italian.

*(I am playing a little fast and loose with the requirements, and I have no way to corroborate if this has ever taken place. The extracurricular activities of the Gendarmerie can only be inferred, but based on their fanatical level of training, it seems a bit of overkill for simple guard duty. I have included in the Appendices an article written by Hernan Sergio Mora on the Vatican Gendarmerie, which will hopefully give a little more insight into this security corps.)

Devon queried respectively, “Your Eminence, I want to thank you for generous offer, and while I am very tempted to say yes immediately, I am no longer single man, before I make a decision I have to discuss it with Jennie.”

“Devon, I would expect nothing less from you. You may take as long as you need to give me your answer. If you have no further questions for me, I need to make a few important calls.” The Archbishop concluded.

“Thank you your Eminence,” Devon stated as he stood up and turned to leave.

As Devon walked out into the hallway, he looked at his time piece. By his estimation, he still had almost three hours to kill, so he decided to go and see a matinee movie. When he stepped into his Bentley, he checked his smartphone to see what was playing at the local theater. As he scrolled down the screen on his phone, he came a Ross the The Sound of Freedom. Even though the subject matter hit a little too close to home, he thought that seeing the movie might be cathartic.

By the time they movie was over, Devon was balling like a baby. When he finally dried his tears, he had to admit he did feel a little better. Maybe he was starting to heal a little. Since Jennie and her group were going to going to be having pizza, he decided to grab a bite to eat. As he started back to their townhouse, he came to Five Guys hamburger establishment. He decided what the hell a little guilty pleasure was in order.

Devon had to admit the food really hit the spot. When he finished his burger and fries, he texted Jennie to see if they were finished. She replied back almost immediately that they were just wrapping things up, so it was safe to head on back home. She added that the girls wanted to meet the man who was going to make an honest woman out of her.

When Devon entered the front door, he could feel the girl’s eyes looking him over. After a few minutes, they smiled and gave Jennie the thumbs up as they chimed in unison that he would do. After the four of them chatted a little while the two girls grabbed up their books and bags and said their goodbyes. They both gave him a once over as they exited the front door

Jennie stood up and walked over to Devon and jumped into his arms, and started kissing him. When she finally came up for air and exclaimed, she had missed him. With a wink and a nod, she motioned to the bedroom, where he continued to carry her as he kissed her on the way. After a few rounds of lovemaking, they fell asleep in each other’s arms. After their nap, they woke up starving, so they heated up the leftover pizza and devoured it.

As they finished their evening snack, Devon brought up the discussion he had with the Archbishop. Jennie listened intently as he relayed back to her what the Archbishop had said. When he had finished. Jennie asked him if this was what he wanted? Devon replied that it sounded very interesting. He further added that it would be a no-go if she wasn’t on board with it. Jenny said that she had three weeks left of this semester, which was her last one. She hadn’t started applying to any law schools yet. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to jump right into law school or maybe take a semester off. Besides, living in Rome sounded like a dream come true. So, without any hesitation, she said, “Let’s do it.”

Jennie excitedly exclaimed, “You know this means that we have to get married in Italy.” Then, with a burst enthusiasm, she finished, “Maybe the Pope can marry us?”