by Mary May
“I have never played with an assignment as it is forbidden,” he stated with much self-satisfaction.
Gideon knew he would have to ruin that perfect track record, so with a challenging smile he turned to Raphael. “I bet you can’t do it! I bet you couldn’t go down there and tickle Luke’s face if your right wing depended on it!” Gideon winked at Skye as he goaded Raphael.
Raphael frowned at the implied weakness of his character. “I could if I had the desire to do so.”
Gideon shook his head sadly. “I don’t think so; I really think it’s beyond your capabilities to make a baby laugh.”
The other angel huffed up with indignation. “I could so make a baby laugh, and I could do it better than you any day of the week, Gideon the Mighty!”
Gideon folded his arms across his chest and nodded his head toward the two children who were playing with blocks on the floor of their room. Cleo was putting away laundry and walking past every couple of minutes to check on them. He shrugged his shoulders.
“Ok…prove it then.”
Realizing that he had been baited, Raphael narrowed his crystal blue eyes at a now-smiling Gideon as he dropped to the floor. Watching for Cleo, he knelt down on his knees and spoke to the two children.
“Hello, babies, are you playing with your blocks?” he asked. Gideon guffawed loudly above him, elbowing Skye who was now enjoying the game and smiling. Raphael ignored him and tried again. He reached over and knocked the tower of blocks over that Luke had been building. It had the opposite effect, for the toddler started crying as all of his hard work crashed to the floor.
“Oh! Oh, no… I’m sorry, little baby. Here, I’ll fix it. Look, I’m stacking them all back up for you. Look! Luke, watch!” Quickly he stacked the wooden blocks back in a neat stack and waited as Luke stopped crying and Cleo suddenly stuck her head in the door.
“What’s the matter, little man? Are your blocks not playing right?” She reached down and wiped his face then kissed his blonde head. Then not wanting DJ to feel left out, she kissed his head, too. After Cleo had left, Raphael tried again. This time he tried with DJ.
“Hey, there, DJ, watch this!” He started making a series of facial expressions that were supposed to be funny, but the only ones laughing were the two angels floating near the ceiling.
“I am trying to concentrate. Do you mind?” Raphael glared sternly at Gideon and Skye. Gideon shook his head and covered his mouth to hide his smile.
“No, don’t mind us; go right ahead. I’m clearly watching a master at work. You are using some highly unusual techniques. Truly, I’m just privileged to witness them in use.”
Raphael stood up and considered his next move then smiling he turned around and stretched out a pure white wing. Both boys looked up in awe as he fanned it slowly back and forth. Luke smiled and Raphael looked up at Gideon in triumph.
“That was just a smile, pretty boy, but you’re getting closer.”
Raphael reached the tip of his wing out and brushed the boy just under his chin and then stared in amazement as Luke’s face broke out in a wreath of smiles and he let loose with a full belly chuckle.
“Again! Again!” Luke demanded. So once more Raphael tickled the boy’s chin, making him squeal with laughter; then he tickled his brother’s chin, too, until both of them were laughing so hard that Cleo came to see what in the world had them so tickled.
Raphael floated back to the ceiling, giving Gideon a smirk of accomplishment. Gideon bowed his head in defeat.
“I stand corrected, Raphael. It appears your abilities are greater than I first suspected.” Gideon left the twins’ rooms to go check on Charlie. Later that night he heard Sabrina tell Devon that she didn’t know what had gotten into the twins that night, that they just wouldn’t go to sleep. Every time she left the room and she thought for sure they would be asleep in just a minute, she would hear them squealing in laughter for no apparent reason.
Gideon flew alongside Charlie as she rode Stormy up the fence line. The girl was a natural on a horse; they flowed as one as the horse galloped swiftly under her. Nate was right behind her on his horse. They had been out checking fences after a recent storm. Charlie turned Stormy through a gate to go check another part of the fence line when she realized she had turned him too sharply and was going to bang her knee on the heavy wooden post. Almost at once she knew she was in trouble because she had lifted her knee too high. She felt herself falling off the other side of the horse and was heading directly under the horse’s pounding hooves. Suddenly she felt two large hands grip her on both sides of her waist and pull her back up into the saddle. Pulling back hard on Stormy’s reins, she pulled him to a snorting stop just as Nate came riding up beside her with a surprised look on his face.
“That was a cool trick, Charlie! How did you do that? I thought for sure you were a goner! How did you pull yourself back up like that?”
Charlie looked behind her then all around her. Then she looked at Nate.
“I didn’t! I mean I couldn’t! I mean I didn’t do it, Nate!” she stammered out, clearly confused and shaken. Nate looked at her, frowning.
“What do you mean you didn’t do it? You had to have done it, Charlie. No one else was near you. How else did you get back in the saddle?” Suddenly Charlie smiled then kicked Stormy into a walk as they headed across the field. Nate came up beside her looking at her like she was crazy.
“Why are you smiling like that, Charlie? Are you ok?” Charlie nodded her head then smacked her horse on the rump.
“Race you to the other side!” As they flew across the field, Charlie whispered, “Thanks, Giddy!”
Gideon told Edgar the story later that day as the old butler sat rocking out on the porch.
“I heard her thank me, Edgar; she still remembers me even after all this time.” Edgar nodded as he rocked. His eyes that were growing dim with age looked at Gideon with amusement.
“You did everything in your power to make sure the child didn’t forget you, warrior, so why do you act surprised to find that is the case?”
Gideon scowled at him. “I didn’t do it on purpose, old man. I didn’t understand what I was doing at the time.”
“So what excuse will you use for all the time you spend playing with twins and with Kinsley? That child already should have stopped seeing you long ago, yet I know she still does, for she watches you when they come over. Of course, her spirit eye may close at a different age than other children. I’m not sure, but she watches you closely, so you need to be careful with her,” he warned. “Gideon, we need to speak of other matters as well…”
He trailed off because Gideon got to his feet suddenly. “No…no, we don’t. I better go check on Charlie.”
Edgar grabbed his wrist and stopped him. “We are running out of time. If you keep running off and avoiding this, we won’t be prepared. I know you know what I am talking about.”
Gideon looked at him for several long seconds before he finally sat back down slowly and nodded his head. “I know. I just don’t want to face it,” he admitted sadly. Edgar chuckled softly as he resumed his slow rocking.
“It’s my death we are talking about; shouldn’t I be the one who has the trouble facing it?”
Gideon smiled slightly. “I don’t think you have ever had trouble facing anything, old man; you are the strongest person I have ever met. At the risk of sounding like a complete sap, it has been an honor to know you and to call you my friend.”
Edgar’s chair stopped rocking as he reached over and took the hand that Gideon held out. “It has been a pleasure, warrior, most of the time. For the record, that did make you sound like a sap, but sometimes sounding like a sap is exactly what one should sound like.” The two sat talking long into the night discussing what needed to be discussed before Gideon helped Edgar into his room and said goodnight. He left the old butler snoring peacefully and flew up to the roof of the cabin. While not nearly as large as the roof of the estate, the view was actually more beautiful. He wasn’t s
urprised to find Charlotte sitting on the edge in her usual position with one bare foot tucked under her. She turned and smiled when she saw him approaching and scooted over to make room for him.
“Hi, Gideon, everyone asleep?” she asked. He sat down next to her, more thankful than ever that the Lord had opened their eyes so they could see each other. He knew that Edgar’s time was fast approaching; he would miss his old friend so very much.
“I’ll just take that as a yes,” Charlotte said with a teasing grin on her lips. He looked at her and smiled, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, yes, everyone is asleep. Do you ever wonder what that would be like? To sleep?” he asked. She scrunched up her nose in way that he kind of thought was adorable.
“Sometimes I have, but sometimes when I watch my human wake up from a nightmare, I’m glad I don’t sleep. After Sabrina lost Luke, she used to cry in her sleep so much that I wished she didn’t need to sleep.” Gideon remembered that as well. She would wake up with her face wet with tears. It was so hard on her to lose Luke; it made him wonder why they would ever risk so much pain.
“Because the wonder of being truly loved outweighs the risk of being hurt would be my guess.” It wasn’t until Charlotte answered that Gideon realized he asked the question out loud.
“I know that Sabrina would go through the pain all over again to experience the joy.”
Gideon looked puzzled. “How do you know that?” he asked.
“Because she married Devon,” Charlotte laughed and shook her head at Gideon’s total lack of understanding.
“Well, I guess you do have a point there. I sure didn’t think too much of that guy when he first showed up, but he has grown on me.”
“Yeah, I didn’t either. I couldn’t read him. He was too dark and too…I don’t know, too something,” Charlotte admitted. Gideon looked at her in surprise.
“Really? You felt that way, too? I never could quite put my finger on what it was with him, but it’s gone now. I know he loves Sabrina and Charlie. Since he gave his heart to Christ, he feels more open and readable.”
Charlotte frowned at him then reached over and gave him a hard poke in the chest with her finger.
“Yes! Of course I felt that way about him; Sabrina is MY human to watch over, Gideon. Sometimes I think you forget that. Charlie and Sabrina were only a package deal for you while she carried Charlie.”
Rubbing his chest that actually stung a little from her sharp little finger, he replied, “I know, Charlotte. I’ll admit to being a little territorial when it comes to Sabrina, but I certainly don’t mean to knock your skills as her guardian, so please don’t take offense.”
“Nah, I know you don’t mean to come in and take over; that’s just part of your nature. That’s why you are a commander. You are a natural leader. If you get out of hand, I’ll just poke you again.”
Grinning down at her, he agreed. “Deal!”
Chapter 7
A year later…
Sabrina looked out the window as she heard the school bus stop then start up again after dropping Charlie and Nate off. She set out the glass of milk and plate of cookies on the counter for her hungry daughter. The hour after school was special. It was Charlie and Mama time because they usually had the house to themselves as the twins were generally still napping and Cleo was having her prayer time. Edgar was spending more and more of his time in his room. Sabrina worried about her friend. She knew that he was getting on up in age, and he was starting to show it. Charlie was so close to Edgar that she knew it would be especially hard for her. Perhaps she should try to prepare her for it by bringing up heaven and what happens when loved ones die. Charlie already had knowledge of heaven. She was raised hearing the Bible read daily and attending church, but more than that, everyone in her family had a real relationship with Christ, including Charlie herself. She had given her heart to the Lord when she was eight. Sabrina just wanted to reaffirm what she felt her daughter already knew. She was praying silently for wisdom as she heard Charlie come in the front door.
“Hey, Mama, are the twin terrors still snoozing?” Charlie sat down at the bar and reached for the plate of cookies and the glass of milk, gobbling down two before Sabrina could even form a reply to her question. The way that Charlie inhaled her food it was a good thing she had a high metabolism! Smiling, Sabrina leaned against the counter to watch as Charlie wolfed down her after-school snack.
“Yes, they are. You know no one is going to steal your cookies, Charlie; you can take time to actually chew them,” she teased. Charlie smiled around her mouthful of cookie then took a long drink of milk.
“I know, Mama, I’m a total pig; I get it. But I’m so hungry when I get home. I’ll chew the last cookie, I promise.” Good as her word, she actually took bites of the last cookie and finished it like a little lady then emptied her glass of milk.
“There! I’m going to go saddle up Stormy. Me and Nate want to go riding today before the storm hits. Is that ok?” She started to get up, but Sabrina stopped her.
“Actually I wanted to talk to you about something, honey.” Charlie stopped and looked at her.
“What is it, Mama?”
Sabrina paused then waved her on. “Nothing, baby, it can wait. Go for your ride, but be careful, ok? The storm may move in quicker than expected. Keep an eye on the sky.” Shooting her mom her sunny smile, Charlie nodded then headed out to the barn.
Charlie saddled Stormy then met Nate down by the creek that divided Devon’s land. Easily jumping the narrow strip of water, Charlie trotted up to where Nate was waiting.
“What took you so long, Charlie? Did you have to put on lip gloss or something?” Nate teased. Charlie gave him a droll look. He knew she didn’t wear that stuff! For one, she was too young, and for two, she didn’t see the point. But she didn’t let his taunt go unanswered.
“The day I take the time to put on lip gloss, Nate Jackson, I promise it won’t be for you; now are we riding or what?” Grinning at her sassy response, Nate kicked his Appaloosa, Jack, into a fast gallop and they headed into the woods. For the next two hours they rode the various trails, enjoying each other’s company. The nearly four year age difference didn’t seem to matter when they rode together because Charlie could handle whatever Nate dished out, and all she wanted to do was ride. But soon the wind started to bend the treetops and whip Charlie’s long hair into her eyes, making her remember her mother’s warning to keep an eye on the sky. Looking up through the swaying trees, she realized that she might have recalled that warning too late.
“Charlie, we better head back home fast! This storm blew up fast! Stay right behind me!” Nate yelled out the words trying to be heard over the now-howling wind that was driving leaves and debris into the air. Charlie just nodded and dug her heels into Stormy’s sides. The gelding seemed to sense her urgency because he leapt into a hard run, keeping right on the heels of Nate’s Appaloosa. A loud crack of thunder directly overhead had Charlie cringing in her saddle and praying for God to see them safely home.
Flying low and fast right over Charlie and Stormy, Gideon was doing some praying himself trying to keep the worst of the flying debris from hitting them as they raced through the storm trying to get home. He had been able to deflect most of the bigger pieces, but he couldn’t stop all of them. He knew she was getting hit and she bravely never said a word. She just sucked it up like a little trooper and rode on, keeping up with Nate. They were nearing the halfway point when the clouds let loose with the deluge of freezing rain that had the riders soaked in seconds. Nate pulled his horse to a stop and checked on Charlie.
“Are you ok? Can you keep going?” he called out. Unable to speak through her chattering teeth, Charlie just nodded. Nate gave her a smile of encouragement and they continued on. The rain forced them to slow down. Charlie was secretly glad because she was having trouble hanging on to the reins or even staying in the saddle. Her fingers had long gone numb with cold, along with her legs and feet. She was riding more by memory than by
feeling. When she had left, she didn’t even think of grabbing a jacket, for the weather had been mild. Once the storm hit and the rain started to fall, the temperature had dropped a lot; now she was shivering all over. It took her a moment to realize that Stormy had stopped moving. When she looked up, she saw why. They had reached the creek; the small stream that they had jumped over so easily just a couple of hours ago was now a raging torrent of dark water. She looked up at Nate and for the first time she saw real concern in his dark brown eyes.
“Wha…wha…what do we do now?” she stammered out through chattering teeth. Nate looked up the creek then down creek. He motioned with his hand for her to follow. They rode a ways in both directions looking for a safer place to cross, but nothing looked any better than the place they had crossed earlier. They rode back and sat looking at it for a couple of minutes. Finally Nate reached over and took Charlie’s nearly frozen hands into his own, rubbing them hard, trying to warm them up.
“What do you think, Charlie? I can jump across and go get help for you if you are too afraid to try and jump across. I’m not picking on you right now -- I want you to understand that. That is a big jump and I don’t want you to do it if you think you can’t make it. I would put you on Jack and ride double, but honestly my hands are so frozen I’m afraid I couldn’t hold on to you when we landed. So be real honest with me. Do you think you can handle this jump?” Charlie looked at the creek and the water that was now threatening to flood its banks. She knew Stormy could make the jump, but could she hang on? If only her hands weren’t so cold! If she didn’t at least try, someone would have to come get her and she would be stuck out here even longer. That thought had her nodding her head.