"Hey Man..."

Mars watched his reaction carefully, and then sighed. He had misjudged him and felt a bit bad.

"...drive me to the motel."

"Are you sure?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Really, I don't want to make you uncomfortable--I was just trying to help."

"Hurry up, old man." he grumbled.

At that, Priestly had to smile, and the corners of his eyes did indeed wrinkle.

"I like you, Mars--you have a good sense of humor. Once we're on the road, I'll have to tell you a splendid joke I heard from a man who was driving all the way from Tacoma to St. Louis." He held the door open for Mars, bowing exaggeratedly.

Mars sat down and buckled in, smiling at Priestly.

"Surprise me."

"Well, I'll start you off with this one--when I was growing up, I was pretty poor. In fact, we were so poor, we couldn't even afford to pay attention." He beamed at Mars, barely holding back giggles. "...Do you get it? Poor? Pay attention? It's even funnier because it's true."

Maybe this had been a mistake, after all.

"...right," he replied, his smile looking all the more forced now.

"Okay, okay, now let me tell you the one this man told me. What do you call a sleep-walking nun?" He waited eagerly for Mars to guess, barely keeping his eyes on the road.

Mars stared at him.

"...I don't want to know."

"A roamin' Catholic!"

"...are we at the motel?" he asked irritably.

He chuckled.

"No, the motel is still about fifteen minutes down the road. Tell me about yourself while we drive?"

"I'm seventeen, I can drive but I don't have a car, and I'm looking for someone." he replied, clicking his tongue. "That's basically it."

"On that kind of a trip, huh?" he asked. "I suppose I did something similar when I was your age. I take it you aren't missed, either?"

"Not missed? Why would I be here if I had someone who cared?" he replied gloomily. "No. My parents are dead. The only person I have left is my brother, but he's probably dead, too. Guess I'll know when I find him."

"Yeah, I didn't have a family either, when I was your age. Went off on my own and found a new one. But I guess you're not at that step yet."

He adjusted his rear view mirror, from which two rosaries hung, and turned on the radio. A generic rock band blasted from the speakers. "You can change it to any station you want, I don't mind."

"I'm not interested in dating...not right now, anyway," he admitted, sighing. "Not until later. A year, or two. When I'm 18, I'll find a girl and get a job and settle down and have a family and kids, I guess...'least, that's what my parents wanted."

"Well I guess dating is good, but I meant finding a--oh. Oh, no, I didn't mean that--not a biological family. I mean a group of people who love and support each other. That's what family should be. Real families don't have to be related."

He smiled at Mars. "There's no reason you won't find a family soon, okay? You just have to meet the right people."

Mars gave him a harsh look, one that said he was finished talking about the conversation topic.

"...Thanks for the ride," he replied, hoping to change the subject.

"No problem," he replied easily enough, shrugging. "I like helping people in trouble--I like meeting people, and talking to them, and getting to know their stories if they'll tell. I once met a man who thought he was Jesus Christ." He laughed, shaking his head.

"Who knows, maybe in a few years he'll be the only one laughing when Armageddon comes, eh? It's funny to imagine."

Mars glared at him.

"Not funny," he replied harshly. "Fine, I'll change the subject this time. Do you have a wife or a girlfriend? You're old, you probably should."

"Nope, I don't think I've even had more than one girlfriend in my life," he said, shrugging. "I didn't hang out with enough girls, back when I was inclined to date people. Now I'm just a lone traveler."

"Shouldn't you settle down and have a proper family?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. His parents used to say that the only people who weren't married at a certain age were homosexuals. The last thing he wanted was for the man to actually turn out to be a homosexual.

"No, I have more important duties to take care of first. The Lord, for one--come now, do you make fun of all the priests you meet without wives?" He laughed good-naturedly.

"Wait, you're an actual priest?" he asked, almost unable to believe it. "But...then why don't you have a church?"

Though, Mars supposed, it did neatly wrap up the no family thing. Even if it made little sense in other aspects.

"Shouldn't you be settled down somewhere instead of traveling?"