While preparing for my niece’s christening, I met a man different from anyone I had ever known. He was kind, thoughtful, and impossible not to like. But he had made a choice long before we met, one that stood between us. I never imagined how it would all end—or how much it would change me.
I stood in front of Sarah’s house, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. That day, we were finalizing the details for Ellie’s christening, something Sarah had been stressing about for weeks.
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I rang the doorbell and waited. Nothing. I rang it again. Still nothing. Frowning, I tried the handle—it turned easily. The door was unlocked.
Stepping inside, I was immediately hit by a wall of noise. Ellie’s wails filled the house, high-pitched and relentless.
Sarah was darting back and forth, juggling bottles and stuffed animals with the frantic energy of someone running on two hours of sleep. Mark stood nearby, hands hovering uselessly as he attempted to soothe Ellie.
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Silently, I slipped into the kitchen, grabbed a mug, and poured myself some coffee.
A moment later, Sarah rushed into the kitchen, her hair a mess, her face flushed. Her eyes widened.
“Oh, God! You scared me!” she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. “How long have you been standing there?”
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“A while,” I said, taking another sip of coffee.
She frowned. “You could have helped, you know.”
I leaned against the counter. “I’m here for moral support.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
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Just then, the doorbell rang. Sarah straightened, her whole demeanor changing. “Oh, that must be him!” she said, hurrying toward the door.
At least she heard this doorbell.
Curious, I followed her. As I stepped into the hallway, I saw a man standing at the entrance. A very attractive man. Very attractive.
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Sarah smirked. “Claire, are you done with your coffee?”
“Something like that,” I said, my eyes still on him.
Sarah gestured toward him. “Then I’d like to introduce you. Claire, this is Father Nathan. He’ll be christening Ellie.”
I blinked. “Father?” I looked him up and down. No collar. No robe. “Where’s your—” I made a circle around my neck.
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“I’m allowed to wear regular clothes,” he said, amused.
I crossed my arms. “You don’t look like a priest.”
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, still smiling.
“You should,” I said.
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Sarah clapped her hands together. “Alright, let’s go over the details.”
We all moved into the living room. I sat at the far end, keeping my distance from the baby. She made me nervous.
All babies did. Sarah and Mark discussed the ceremony, asking Nathan about traditions and schedules. I tuned most of it out.
“So, what do you do?” Nathan asked, turning to me.
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“Oh, I own an art supply store,” I said.
“You’re an artist?”
“No, but I sell materials for artists. Without me, they’d be nothing,” I said.
He laughed. A real, warm laugh.
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For the first time all day, I felt seen. The meeting went on, but Nathan and I kept talking. Jokes, small talk, teasing. It felt easy. Familiar.
When we were both in the entryway, getting ready to leave, he asked, “Why aren’t you the godmother?”
“Babies scare me. And kids.”
“Oh, I understand. Me too.”
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“But you’re—”
“These will be my first christenings. I just hope I don’t forget that babies can’t swim,” he said.
I laughed. “That’s an honest answer.”
“Lying is a sin. And He sees everything,” Nathan said, pointing to the ceiling. He hesitated, then added, “I’d love to see you at church sometime.”
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I swallowed. “Oh, I wouldn’t call myself particularly religious.”
“Well, if you ever feel like it, I’ll be there,” he said.
And I don’t know why, but I listened to him.
That Sunday, I found myself sitting in a wooden pew, surrounded by families, older couples, and a few scattered individuals like me.
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The church smelled of candle wax and old books. I folded my hands in my lap, unsure what to do.
Nathan spoke with ease, his voice warm, his words thoughtful. He told stories, made people laugh, yet never lost the meaning behind his sermon. People seemed to like him—and oh, how I understood why.
Nathan was impossible not to like.
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After the service, I walked toward him.
“So, you actually came,” Nathan said, smiling.
I nodded. “Yeah. It was… different. In a good way.”
“Glad to hear that. I try not to make people fall asleep.” He grinned.
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“Well, you kept me awake,” I said.
“Would you like some coffee or tea?” he asked.
“I’d love some,” I said, and he led me to his… office? I wasn’t sure what they were called.
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That day, we talked for hours. The conversation flowed so easily—about faith, the church, people, and life in general.
Nathan listened without judgment, spoke with honesty, and made me think in ways I hadn’t before.
I felt more comfortable with him than I had with anyone in a long time. That should have been a good thing, but it wasn’t.
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He was a priest. And it killed me to know that he was a priest—that I could never have a real relationship with him.
Still, I kept coming back. Almost every day, we found something new to talk about.
One day, we sat on a park bench, the sun warm against my skin. Talking to Nathan felt easy, natural.
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“You can’t get married. What would you do if you liked someone?” I asked, glancing at him.
He smirked. “I’d invite her to my services, talk to her, agree to christen her niece, and hope she leaves me alone.”
I smiled, feeling my cheeks heat up. “And if you fell in love with someone?”
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Nathan’s smile faded. He let out a slow breath. “The path I chose requires me to devote my life and love to God.”
I swallowed hard. “I could never do that.”
Nathan turned toward me. “That’s why talking to you is good for me. You challenge me. You make me question things.”
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His eyes met mine. My heart pounded. And then, without thinking, I kissed him.
For a moment, he kissed me back. Warm. Certain. Then, suddenly, he pulled away, his face pale.
“No, this is wrong,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.” He stood up and walked away.
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I sat frozen, watching him disappear, feeling like I had just lost something I never really had.
The next day, my phone rang early. Sarah’s voice came through, shaky and rushed.
“Claire, he backed out! Nathan won’t do the christening. It’s tomorrow! What am I supposed to do?”
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I gripped the phone tighter. “What? Why?”
“He didn’t say. Just told Mark he couldn’t do it.”
I closed my eyes. I knew why. This was because of me. I tried to calm Sarah, but she was too upset.
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After hanging up, I went to the church. Nathan wasn’t there. No one knew where he was.
That evening, a knock at my door startled me. I opened it and froze. Nathan stood there, his expression unreadable.
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“Your sister gave me your address,” he said. His voice was quiet, but his eyes held something heavy.
I stepped aside. “Come in.”
He walked in, standing awkwardly in the middle of my living room. I crossed my arms. “Sarah is panicking. You need to do the christening.”
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Nathan sighed. “I already agreed. My conscience wouldn’t let me refuse.”
Relief flooded through me. “Good. Then why are you here?”
He ran a hand through his hair, looking more unsure than I’d seen him. “I gave up a lot to have the life I have. Years of training, sacrifice, purpose. Then you showed up.” His eyes met mine. “And now, I doubt everything.”
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I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you. I pray, I work, I read, and it’s still you. It should be Him. My mind should be clear. It’s not.”
I stared at him, unable to speak. My throat tightened, my chest ached.
“Screw it,” Nathan muttered. Then, before I could react, he grabbed me and kissed me.
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I kissed him back without hesitation.
He stayed the night…If you know what I mean.
By morning, I stared at the ceiling, my heart pounding. I felt warm beside him, but my mind spun.
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“I can’t believe you actually did this,” I said, barely above a whisper.
Nathan sat up, rubbing his face. “Neither can I.”
We both knew what this meant.
It was the day of the christening. Nathan dressed quickly, avoiding my eyes.
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He muttered something about needing to be at the church early. Then he was gone.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the empty space where he had been. My heart felt heavy, but I pushed the feeling down.
I got ready, put on a simple dress, and drove to the church.
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The ceremony went perfectly. Nathan spoke with warmth and confidence, his voice steady, his smile easy. No one would have guessed he was struggling.
Afterward, Sarah and Mark hosted a celebration. Laughter filled the house, food covered the table, and everyone seemed happy.
Nathan and I left at the same time. We didn’t plan it, but suddenly, we were standing outside together, alone.
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The air between us was thick with unspoken words. I knew this was it. The moment I had been dreading.
“You did well today,” I said. My voice was even, but I felt unsteady.
“Thanks.” Nathan wouldn’t look at me.
I exhaled slowly. “It’s not going to be me, is it?” My voice wavered. “It’s going to be Him.”
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He finally met my eyes. “…Yeah.”
I let out a small, sad laugh. My vision blurred. “The funniest part of all this? I love you.”
Nathan pulled me into a tight hug, his arms lingering before he let go.
“This won’t last forever,” he murmured.
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I forced a smile. “So… see you Sunday at mass?”
Nathan chuckled, though his eyes were sad. “Yeah. But seriously? You’re banned from my services for life.”
He turned, hesitated, then looked back.
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“I love you too.”
Then he walked away.
And that was the last time I ever saw him.
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Before his death, Matthew Perry revealed the truth about Jennifer Aniston
Actor Matthew Perry, who passed away, made millions of people happy throughout the world with his legendary performance as Chandler Bing. Regretfully, despite his ability to make others laugh, he struggled with addiction for years and was unable to assist himself.
Perry published his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing last year, in which he candidly discussed his struggle with addiction. He also disclosed some information regarding co-star Jennifer Aniston among the others.
Over the weekend, Perry’s LA home’s hot tub was discovered to be unresponsive. His death’s precise cause is still under investigation.
The actor, who was born in 1969 to an American father and a Canadian mother, debuted in a movie in 1988 called A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, which also starred the late River Phoenix.
He also starred in Beverly Hills, 90210, and Growing Pains, Sydney, costarring Valerie Bertinelli.
His breakthrough performance came in Friends as the sardonic Chandler Bing. He spent ten years in the job, from 1994 to 2004.
Throughout the course of his multi-decade career, Perry starred alongside Salma Hayek in the 1997 romantic comedy Fools Rush In. He also costarred with Bruce Willis in the 2000 film The Whole Nine Yards and the 2004 follow-up The Whole Ten Yards.
Perry became well-known after landing a role in Friends, one of the most watched television programs ever. But he also began misusing alcohol at that same period.
Kind of, I could manage it. However, I was deeply involved in a lot of trouble by the time I was 34,” Perry acknowledged. However, I did spend some years sober throughout that period. The year I stayed sober the entire time was Season 9. And you know for which season I received a best actor nomination? That ought to tell me something, I thought.
He experienced a health crisis in 2018 after being admitted to the hospital for a stomach perforation. He spent two weeks in a coma and five months overall.
Perry told People, “The doctors told my family that I had a two percent chance to live.” “I was placed on an ECMO machine, which does all of your heart and lung breathing. That is referred to be a Hail Mary. Nobody makes it out of that.
Perry often acknowledged that the other members of the Friends cast knew about his addiction and supported him because they were close in real life as well as on television.
They were really patient and understanding. It resembles penguins. In the wild, penguins tend to support and embrace each other when one becomes ill or severely injured. Until that penguin can walk on its own, they circumambulate it. For me, the actors kind of did that, according to Perry.
But through thick and thin, Jennifer Aniston was the one who was at his side. It was she who kept in constant touch with him through his highs and lows.
He stated, “She was the one that reached out the most,” in an interview with Diane Sawyer from October 2022. “You know, she has my sincere gratitude for that.”
Simultaneously, Aniston was the first to confront him over his drinking issues.
Sawyer mentioned a surprise in Perry’s book when he remarked, “Jennifer, she says, ‘We know you’re drinking.’”
Perry answered, “Yeah, imagine how scary a moment that was.”
As a friend and actor, Matthew made the world a much happier place. They wrote in their statement, “You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the incredible outpouring of love.
The late actor received tributes from admirers, coworkers, producers, and other celebrities.
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