"Why do you get to choose before you do one, Wes? It just isn't fair."
Wes held up his hands. "One of us has to start the game, right? I'm the oldest, and I'll still have to take a turn. In the end it won't matter that I went first, but someone has to. Or we'll never get started. You do want to play, don't you Kevin?"
Kevin looked at his feet. "Yeah, but I don't want to use straws, because one of us has to hold them. I want all three of us to have a chance at getting the first dare."
Wes frowned. "We can't play Straw Games without straws. And I'm sure as heck not asking Mom or Dad to hold them!"
Kevin looked around the room. "I guess instead of having a short straw, we could mark one with a permanent marker. Then we can pull them from a hat. What do you think, Matt?"
Matt shrugged. "Fine by me, I just want to get started. We're wasting time."
Wes grabbed the straws, and walked over to an old dresser. He opened a drawer, and took out a marker. After he marked one straw, he grabbed a knit cap. "This isn't going to work, let's use a box."
The other two boys nodded.
"How about your toolbox?" asked Kevin.
Wes emptied the metal container, and put the straws in.
"No looking!" exclaimed Kevin.
"Wait! What's the first dare?" asked Matt.
Wes scrunched up his forehead for a few seconds, then grinned. "How about, whoever goes first has to sneak into Saint Francis Church right after sundown, find the sacramental wine, and bring out a bottle as proof?"
Kevin gasped. "Alcohol? We aren't actually going to steal and drink it, are we? This is wrong, I'm out."
Wes darted towards the door and stood in front of it, cradling the toolbox. "Of course not. First, it's not stealing. The church gives it away every Sunday. We're just going to get it a little later than everyone else. And take enough to last a while... but we won't be going back for a long time, so it's just getting our share. And second it's not really wine, it's just grape juice. They give it to everyone, even little kids. You don't think a priest would give little kids real wine, do you?"
Kevin shrugged. "I guess not... but I still don't like this."
Matt shook his head. "I don't like it either. It really does feel like stealing, and either way we're grounded for life if we're caught."
Wes snorted. "We won't get caught. Father Joseph is blind as a bat, deaf as a stone, and slower than a snail."
The other two snickered.
Wes looked at the box. "Who wants to draw first?"
Matt and Kevin took a step back.
Wes sighed. "Fine, I will."
He looked towards the ceiling, and closed his eyes. He plunged his hand into the toolbox, and made a show of scattering the three straws. When he pulled one out, his friends cheered.
"You got your own dare," laughed Matt.
Wes smirked. "At least I got an interesting one!"
They stood on the sidewalk, studying the magnificent stone structure.
"I wonder how they even built something like that?" mused Kevin.
Wes grunted. "What I'm interested in knowing is where they store the wine."
"There should be some at the altar," suggested Matt.
Wes nodded. "I'm going to try there first, but I'm curious about where the extra is kept."
Matt kicked a small pebble down the sidewalk. "No idea, but you better get going. We still have two more dares after you're done."
Wes went in the front. It was unlocked as usual, despite the building appearing to be empty. He boldly walked up to the altar.
He looked around, and frowned. "Nothing? I was sure it would be here..."
After searching several rooms which were obviously offices, he sat on a back pew. "They'll never let me live it down if I leave empty handed."
Wes resumed his search. "Maybe this hallway leads to a storage room. It has to be somewhere in this place."
He tried several doors, all with the same result. "Everything's locked..." he grumbled.
He kept trying, until a knob turned with a soft squeak. Wes grinned. "This is more like it."
He slowly opened the door. "Weird, this looks like an apartment. Father Joseph lives at church?"
Stealthily Wes shut the door, and hid behind the couch. After several minutes, he crept out. "I guess he's either out or this place is for guests. Lights are on, so I better hurry."
"Maybe it's in the kitchen, in a cupboard or something," he thought.
The first door led to a small, spotless bathroom. The second one was the kitchen. When he emerged he was holding a bottle, and grinning from ear to ear.
"Hello Wesley Granville, to what do I owe the pleasure?" said an older male voice. His tone was calm and measured.
Wesley's stomach dropped. "Father Joseph?"
The man chuckled, and placed a straightback chair in front of the exit. He sat down, and set a small paper sack under the chair. "That's my name, don't wear it out."
Wes looked at the bottle in his hand, then at Father Joseph. "Uh, hello? I was just here to..."
The old man laughed, loud and long. "I know exactly why you are here, young man. Believe it or not, I was also ten at one time. Now if you will kindly put the bottle down, I would like to discuss a trade."
Wes gently set it on the floor, and backed away as if it might lunge at him.
Father Joseph picked up the sack. Inside was an empty wine bottle, and also a full bottle labeled Concord Grape Juice. The man carefully poured the grape juice into the wine bottle, and worked the cork into the top. "My proposal is this: you leave with this bottle, and promise never to break and enter anywhere, as long as you live. I don't expect you to start acting like a saint or anything, just no more breaking the law."
Wes nodded, speechless.
Father Joseph stood, and moved the chair. "Oh, and can you please do me a favor? Don't spread the word that I can see and hear. These encounters are my only real source of entertainment."
Wes looked at his feet. "I'm never going to tell anyone about tonight, Sir."
The old man chuckled as he opened the door, and stood aside. "I hoped you'd feel that way."
Wes sprinted out of the church as if chased by wasps, and didn't stop running until he was home. Matt and Kevin were on his heels. The trio stopped on the front porch, panting. They sat on the antique porch swing.
Matt took the bottle and admired it. "What did you see in there? Man, you ran out of there as if the place was full of demons, instead of it being the house of God."
Wes blushed. "I'd rather not talk about it. Maybe you'll find out for yourself one day. I'm headed in, you guys will have to finish the game without me."
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