“I intend to. I want to work with local shelters and maybe get a program together with the church. I have a lot of ideas, but I’ll need to complete another four years of study in the seminary before being ordained. It’s still years of work and training ahead, but I’m excited.”

I tried to sift through this new information he’d thrown at me. In a crazy way, I felt like I’d lost the potential to experience something special. Which was stupid, because there was nothing going on between us except a casual friendship based around a tour.

“I’m happy for you. Knowing what you want to do with your life is a big deal. Have your parents accepted your decision?”

“Now they do. We struggled and didn’t talk for a long time. Finally, they gave me an ultimatum. Said I needed to go to college and complete a degree first on my own. Then, if I still felt strongly about going into the priesthood, they’d accept my decision.”

My eyes widened. “And you did it? Oh man, I would’ve been so pissed at my parents for trying to force me to do something like that. It’s your life, Ian. I want to scream at my mom when she talks down to me about being a chef or tries to manipulate my decisions. They have no right to choose our futures.”

He nodded, but he lacked the moral outrage I expected. “I get it, and that’s what caused our big fallout. I refused at first, but when I took some time to reflect and pray, I realized they may have been right. I wanted to go straight to the seminary, study theology, and work on my bachelor’s degree from there. Now I know it would have been a mistake. I wasn’t mature enough, and I didn’t realize the sacrifice I was truly going to be making. I’m glad I listened to my parents. I ended up attending a four-year secular college and took a wide variety of classes. I lived in the dorm. I partied. I made tons of friends and dated. And in my senior year, I told them I was still sure I wanted to be a priest after graduation.”

“What’d they do?” I asked, breath held.

“They agreed it must be my calling. So now they back me up completely. We planned this trip together, and I remembered how cool my parents really are. We just had to get through a rough patch. I’m even grateful for them pushing me. It helped things become clear.”

I stared at him, astonished at his maturity. “You have it all together,” I murmured. “I wish I was like you. I’m a walking disaster.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about? You are literally the most mature young woman I’ve ever known.”