The Heavenly Grille Café

by J. T. Livingston

  Sam’s barking was growing fainter, as was the laughter between her parents. Amanda tried to get back to the meadow, but the dream was ending. Amanda reluctantly opened her eyes, stretched her arms above her head, and glanced sideways at her alarm clock. “It should be going off right about... NOW!” she grinned as she reached over and hit the off button. “Good morning, Lord!” she smiled as she stretched again. “I hope you gain lots of recruits today and your disappointments are few.”

  Amanda made her way to the kitchen; she thought she might put a pot of coffee on before she jumped in the shower. She was surprised to find the kitchen lights on and Kris already awake and sitting at the kitchen table. “Well, hey there, you! Whatcha doin’ up so early?”

  Kris ran her fingers through her hair and smiled back at Amanda. “Actually, I haven’t been to bed yet.” She nodded toward the coffee pot. “I just put on a fresh pot.”

  “Oh, bless you!” Amanda grinned as she searched for her favorite green, travel mug. It was as old as dirt, but it was the only cup with a lid that never leaked. It was also her very first coffee mug, and had been a gift from her father. They had shared a cup of coffee every morning from the time Amanda turned fifteen until the week before her father died. Amanda poured her coffee and returned to the table. She was shocked, and pleasantly surprised, to see her Bible lying open on the kitchen table.

  Kris had been reading Amanda’s Bible.

  Amanda took a deep breath and offered up a quick, silent prayer of thanks.

  Kris knew that Amanda was trying to hide her look of surprise, but she saw it immediately on her friend’s face. She glanced down at the Bible and back up at Amanda. “I hope you don’t mind. I was all keyed up after getting off work last night. Dean came over and we sat around for hours talking about some new leads that have come in. He helped me get my thoughts together about the next public announcement I’ll be making next week. Anyway… after he left, I just couldn’t get to sleep so I put on some coffee and tried to watch television. I read every magazine in the house, dusted all the furniture…”

  “Sounds like it was a productive night for you,” Amanda grinned.

  Kris stared at her best friend for a long moment before continuing, “Today’s the second of February, Amanda. It’s been almost two months since my baby...”

  Amanda walked over to Kris’ chair and put her arm across her friend’s shoulders. “I know… but they’re going to find her, Kris. I feel that with every fiber of my being. You’ve got to stay strong and keep believing that she is coming home.”

  Kris nodded. “Yeah, well… I’m working on that. I have to admit…my faith in her coming home to me is stronger today than it was a month ago.” She patted the open Bible with her fingertips. “I think this is helping…”

  “I’m so glad, Kris.” Amanda was trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. “Have you been praying, too?”

  “Are you kidding?” Kris laughed. “Ever since that first Sunday I went to church with Dean, I’ve been down on my knees every day, talking to God… not so much for myself, because I’m still not sure he’s all that concerned about my well-being… but, more along the lines of Him just keeping Charlotte Grace safe and healthy. Kris paused for a long moment before she said, “There is one thing I haven’t been able to do, though…”

  “What’s that?” Amanda asked as she pulled her chair around to sit beside Kris. She glanced down at the Bible and noticed that it was turned to the Book of Psalms.

  “Forgiveness…” Kris replied, shaking her head. “Amanda, I don’t know if I’ll ever have it in my heart to forgive these people for what they’ve done. How do you forgive someone who has completely turned your world apart, ripped out your very heart… how?”

  Amanda nodded toward the Bible. “Through the grace of God, that’s how. You’re reading my favorite book in the Bible, Psalms. Why don’t you turn to Chapter 30, verse 5, I think…”

  “Leave it to you to have the damn book memorized,” Kris smiled. She flipped over a few pages and found the chapter and verse. She looked over at Amanda.

  “Go ahead,” Amanda nodded. “Read it out loud.”

  Kris shrugged. “Okay, if you say so.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

  Amanda smiled and nodded. “Now go to chapter 118, verse 6.”

  Kris flipped through several more pages and read, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

  “Amanda, what…” Kris began.

  Amanda put her finger to her lips and shook her head. “Okay…just one more that I’ve memorized over the years. Go to Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12, verses 13 and 14.”

  “I’m glad you’ve got these tabs on your Bible,” Kris grumbled, “Or else, it would take me forever to find anything. Even with the tabs, it took her a few moments to find the book of Ecclesiastes. “I don’t think I’ve read anything in this book yet,” she mumbled. She found the chapter and verses Amanda had quoted and read them aloud. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Kris looked up from her reading. “How in the Hell have you memorized all these? I can’t remember most of what I read an hour ago.”

  Amanda smiled and sipped at her coffee. “The more you get into it, Kris, the more sense it will make. You’ll discover favorite verses, favorite stories, and, you will want to go back to those again and again.”

  “Hmm…” Kris mumbled. “That last one there – is it telling me that it’s not up to me to judge these people who took Charlotte? Does that mean that it’s okay I’ll never be able to forgive them for what they’ve done?”

  “That’s right, Kris. It’s not our place to judge,” Amanda nodded, “These people, if they go to Heaven, will have to stand before God one day and be judged by Him for the things they have done. It’s not our place to know their hearts, or to understand why they’ve done the things they’ve done.”

  “And will God forgive them for what they’ve done?”

  Amanda nodded. “If they are truly repentant for what they’ve done and ask His forgiveness, then… yes, He will forgive them.”

  “Just like that, huh?” Kris sounded bitter. “Well, I guess He’s gonna be pretty pissed with me because I’ll never forgive the bastards…”

  Amanda kept quiet for several minutes. She watched as Kris first closed the Bible and then her eyes. Her best friend looked so very tired. “The forgiveness is for your benefit, Kris, not for the kidnappers. You won’t have a choice. If you’re going to be able to move forward with your life, then you have no choice... you will have to forgive them. If you don’t, then it will be like a poison slowly eating away at your insides. For your sake, and for Charlotte Grace’s sake, you will eventually have to come to a place in your heart where you truly do forgive them.”

  “Well,” Kris said as she shoved her chair away from the table. “I can tell you one thing for certain. That day won’t be today.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose and yawned softly. “I’m going to bed now. Why don’t you stop by the coffee shop tonight and I’ll treat you to one of those giant cinnamon rolls you love so much?”

  “I just may do that,” Amanda grinned. “Get some rest.”

  An hour later Amanda bounded through the café’s front door, grinning as the angelic chimes announced her entrance. “Good morning, everyone!”

  “It’s just me this morning,” Max yelled back from the kitchen. “Get yourself in here and sample this omelet casserole. If you like it, I’m going to add it to the menu tomorrow morning.”

  “Where is everyone?” Amanda asked. “I mean, I know they don’t have to be here first thing in the morning, but I don’t think Bertie and Doug have missed a morning yet since I started working here.”

  “Oh, they’ll be back
any minute now. They were listening to the CB radio in the back and heard there was a crash on the interstate involving one of our regular truckers.”

  “Oh, no!” Amanda cried.

  Max waved his hand and shook his head. “No, no, he’s okay. It’s just a small fender bender, or at least as small a fender bender can be on an eighteen-wheeler.” Max grinned. “They rode out to take him some coffee and biscuits while he’s waiting to settle things.”

  “Aw, that is so nice of them,” Amanda shook her head. “You know… both of them… Doug and Bertie… they’re always there to help when someone needs it.”

  “Well, now, isn’t that the way it should be?” Max asked. “Folks helping one another and not expecting anything in return?”

  Amanda’s eyebrows rose in mock disbelief. “I wish!”

  Max handed her a plate filled with the steaming casserole. “It has to start somewhere, Amanda. One good turn deserves another.”

  Amanda was quiet while she shoveled the omelet casserole into her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored the rich, buttery flavor mingled with cheeses, country ham bits, and scallions. “Oh, Max…” she sighed, her eyes rolling back into her head.

  “I take it that you approve of the casserole?” Max grinned. “I’ll make sure it gets put on tomorrow’s menu. There’s some chocolate milk in the fridge if you want something to wash it down.”

  “Just coffee, please. Chocolate milk might interfere with all these scrumptious flavors.”

  Max began wiping down the counters and looked at the clock. “The parking lot should start filling up any time now. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you… I heard that Kris has started going to church. Is that true?” Of course, Max already knew the answer to his question.

  Amanda stopped chewing and perked up. “You heard right! That is most definitely true! I’ve been meaning to tell y’all about that, but I always seem to get side-tracked. Oh, and get this, Max… I found her reading my Bible this morning.”

  “You don’t say?” Max grinned. “Now that really brings a smile to my soul.”

  Amanda nodded. “She’s changing, Max. I can see it a little more every day. She still has a long way to go, but I think she is learning to depend on the power of prayer.”

  “Well, that is a blessing, indeed,” Max smiled.

  Amanda nodded. “Yes, it is, but… like I said… she has a long way to go.”

  “It will take time, Amanda,” Max interjected.

  “I know, and, well… I know she has reason to be angry with the people who took Charlotte Grace, but, I think… well, I think she’s going to have a hard time letting go of the hate she has for them. I’m not sure she will ever be able to forgive them, Max. Nope, forgiveness may never come for them… not from Kris, anyway.”

  “It may seem that way now, but… forgiveness will come in time,” Max reassured her. “Once she gets a firm grip on her faith, forgiveness will soon follow. It’s inevitable.”

  “You sound pretty sure about that...” Amanda began, “But how can you be so sure it will happen for Kris?”

  Max had his back to Amanda but he had heard her last question. He was about to do something that went against the rules, especially his own rules. He had only done it a few times in the past hundred years, but he felt the timing was right; and, he felt that Amanda was the right person to see it.

  “Oh… my… God!” Amanda’s hands flew to her mouth and she gasped loudly when Max turned back around to face her. She almost choked on her last bite of omelet. She watched in awe and amazement as the most brilliant hue of gold she had ever seen emanated from Max’s entire body.

  “Oh… my… God…” Amanda repeated as she gulped in more air before falling to her knees.

  Max chuckled. “Well, no… I’m not God, but…”

  CHAPTER 32

  Contact with the Kidnappers

  Amanda remained in a kneeling position, utterly transfixed at the transformation taking place before her very own eyes. She was so mesmerized at what was happening that she didn’t hear the door chimes sound; so, she wasn’t immediately aware of Amos Brown’s presence behind her, filling the doorway to the kitchen. She never once took her eyes off Max; she couldn’t have even if she had wanted to – which she didn’t. She knew her mouth was hanging open in awe but she was powerless to close it. She didn’t dare blink and she wasn’t sure when she had taken her last breath.

  Amanda decided that breathing might be a good thing, so she slowly closed her mouth and inhaled deeply through her nose. She felt someone kneeling down beside her and finally glanced over when a large, black hand rested upon her own.

  Amos had quickly joined her on the floor. His eyes were also glued upon the glorious transformation taking place less than ten feet from him. He shook his head gently from side to side and mumbled, “Oh, sweet, Jesus…” He closed his eyes, silently wishing that his father and brother were here to witness and share this blissful scene with him.

  While Amos’ eyes remained closed in silent prayer, Amanda continued to stare at the man before them whose feet now floated a good foot off the ground. She marveled at the shards of gold and white beams that seemed to burst all around him, serving to illuminate his presence. Even though Amanda saw neither wings nor a halo, there was no doubt in her own mind that an angelic presence now stood before her and Amos.

  “Max?” she whispered, pulling her hand from beneath Amos’ touch, and holding it up toward Max.

  Amos’s head was still bent in prayer, his eyes squeezed shut, and both hands now folded tightly against his chest.

  Max floated slowly downward until his feet were firmly planted on the kitchen floor. He held both hands out toward them and smiled, “Please… both of you… come on, get up off that floor. Trust me, there’s only one person deserving of your worship, and… that person is, most definitely, not me!” Max directed his next smile to Amanda. “Amanda, why don’t you help Amos stand up?”

  Amanda reached over blindly, feeling for Amos’ hand, still not daring to take her eyes off Max. Somehow, she managed to assist Amos to a standing position; or was Amos the one helping her to a standing position? She blinked hard as it suddenly dawned on her that Amos did not appear to be as shocked as she was at Max’s angelic transformation. True, he had not said a word since mumbling “Oh, sweet, Jesus”, but there was a soothing calmness about him that she was lacking entirely. Amanda looked deep into Amos’s soulful brown eyes, glanced back at Max, and returned her attention back to Amos. “Oh, my God! You knew?” she choked. “How… why didn’t…”

  She looked back at Max, an angel, whose feet now touched the same floor she and Amos stood upon. She followed Amos’s suit and squeezed her eyes tightly closed. “Good Lord… I think I need another cup of coffee…”

  Amos nodded his head and grinned his toothless grin. “That’s a mighty good idea, Miss Amanda… yes ma’am…maybe coffee is what we’s all need right about now…”

  The golden glow was gone.

  Max was just Max again.

  He walked over, stood between Amos and Amanda, and placed a hand upon each of their shoulders. “You deserve an explanation, Amanda, and I promise we will sit down and discuss this at length later, but, I’m afraid we just do not have time for that right now. I do realize that I probably didn’t pick the best time to reveal myself to you, but I also know it was the right thing to do.”

  “Uh-huh…” Amanda nodded.

  Max grinned and hugged her tight. “I also know that I can trust you… and Amos… to keep this little revelation to yourselves.”

  While Amos and Amanda remained in a subdued, dumbfounded state of mind, Max rubbed his hands together and grinned. “Well, alright then, we have work to do. The café will be filling up any moment now and we’ve got a lot of hungry mouths to feed this morning. Oh, and by the way, Princess… yes, it is true… Amos did know the truth about me.” He smiled again and watched as Amanda opened her eyes, only to immediately close them again, shaking her head in obv
ious disbelief. “Open your eyes, Amanda. It’s true. I am a messenger of God, not a Heavenly angel, per se, but an angel nonetheless. I have been around for a very, very long time.”

  Amanda opened her eyes at the same time Amos squeezed her hand tightly in support. “I honestly don’t know what to say. I mean… I keep waiting for someone to pop out with a camera and say that I’ve been punked or something… that maybe I’ve been part of a reality show all these months and didn’t know it, but…” She looked over at Amos who was beaming from ear to ear. “And, you! You knew…”

  “Well, let’s just say, it be something I kinda suspected for a while now. It’s a long story, Miss Amanda,” Amos nodded. “And, I’s be proud and glad to tells you all about it sometime soon.”

  “Oh you can bet you will!” Amanda grinned as her mind finally began to accept the reality of what was happening. She looked up at Max and took a deep breath. “Okay, so…you’re an angel… okay… yep, you’re an angel. So… now that I’ve seen you transform yourself from a greasy spoon cook to an angelic being, I’m guessing that you just expect me to go out there, work all day, and pretend like this is just another normal day at work, right?”

  Max laughed a deep, bellowing laugh. “I know it is a lot to ask, Princess, but, for now… well, yes, that is what I need you to do. Besides, that is what we hired you for, right?”

  Amanda threw up her hands and nodded her head. She wanted to give Max a hug but now that she knew he wasn’t just her boss, and not just a cook at an out-of-the-way diner, she wasn’t sure how appropriate that might be. “Okay, okay… I think I can do that, but… I do have one question that has to be answered right NOW…”

  Max watched her pretty face pucker into one of stubborn determination. “Why does that not surprise me? I already know what you’re going to ask, Amanda; and, yes… Bertie and Doug are angels, too.”

  “I knew it!” Amanda shouted. “I knew Doug was too handsome and good to be just one of the guys. Bertie, though? Now, that’s definitely a surprise!” She turned to leave, arm in arm, with Amos.