The Angels' Mirror Pack 2: Books Four through Seven

by Harmony L. Courtney

  He walked up to her, taking the hot water from her hands and setting it down. Within moments, he’d swept her into his arms at an awkward angle and begun to beam, pausing a moment to kiss her cheek. The weight of his body against her belly made her squirm a moment before he released her, laughing.

  “Mr. Faires gave me a raise! Twenty-one dollars a week, beginning next month…. Can you imagine? That’s three dollars a week more, all because I do the overtime on Fridays!”

  Shannen’s heart sped up just as the babe within her kicked her in the ribs. A raise! Oh, what a blessing that will be, she thought, picking up her tea and beginning to blow on it. Even though Mr. Faires doesn’t seem to understand Steven stays more than just Fridays. He stays whenever someone else slacks off to make sure things are done, without pay. But at least it’s something.

  “Really,” she asked, almost too choked up for words. Tears were welling in her eyes faster than they had been while reading her book.

  Steven took her by the arm into the living room, and they sat; her book was still laying on their blue paisley couch where she’d left it.

  “That means that when the baby comes, we’ll have enough to get by. Or at least, get by better. I know you’ve been worried sick about it, with all the money it takes for a child,” he said gently. “Maybe we can even have your Imma come stay with us, now that…”

  Tears coursed down her cheeks now. Yes, now that Vater was gone, God rest his weary soul, she thought as she tried to formulate her words.

  “Imma… yes. If… if she will leave home, I hoped she would come here. Now that Shalom and Jerusha have their girls, Michael and Opal have a little one on the way, and Peter is engaged… everyone’s here – or planning to move here – everyone but she and Warren. It might help her decide in the affirmative. Maybe not right away, but….”

  How many times had she asked Imma to move in with them, and how many times had she refused?

  Vater had been gone nearly four months, and it just wasn’t fair. It didn’t seem right that her mother would stay in that empty house, alone with her memories, when her memories could come with her to wherever she was.

  “It’s hard. I can only imagine,” Steven finally responded, pulling her close again as tears came to his own eyes. His suit jacket, wrinkled from the day, pressed against her cheek.

  “When Mother died, and then when Rosie disappeared, I didn’t know what we were going to do, and for a long time, Father was no help. So often gone, and then drunk when he wasn’t. And then, with the accident….”

  She nodded her head.

  Yes… different parent; different circumstances, but he definitely understood.

  She hugged him back, giving him a sweet, slow kiss before disentangling herself from him to go retrieve more tea and get the food to the table. She’d been so engrossed with Gone with the Wind that she hadn’t done it yet.

  At least dinner was already prepared to go, and she didn’t have to cook anymore for the evening.

  “So, I wrote Imma a letter today,” Shannen said, watching her sister-in-law, Jerusha’s face for a reaction as she settled into the couch beside the woman.

  “I know you and Shalom have invited her to come stay with you more than once, but… we thought we’d give it another try. Since there isn’t a long way between us, if she says yes, it’d mean she could spend time with you, Shalom, and little Jeshua as well,” she said.

  The little boy – all of five and a half months old – was napping nearby in a makeshift bed of sheeting in an otherwise empty drawer on the floor. She could see him reflected in that odd mirror of Steven’s mother’s that he’d insisted on keeping nearby – even though it did weird things during thunderstorms. She smiled as she noted that Jeshua’s sheets were just a bit askew around his little body as he moved about in his sleep.

  Shannen dared a glance in his direction for a moment before riveting her eyes to Jerusha’s face.

  Even though her brother and sister-in-law only lived five blocks away, sometimes it felt like they were on the other end of the earth. But once her own baby was born, she hoped that would change, and quickly.

  “Well,” Jerusha finally said. “Don’t be surprised when she tells you it’s never going to happen. She told us – more than once, mind you – that she would never, ever, leave that house on the harbor. Too many memories. She believes your Vater’s presence is still there, waiting for her to join him in God’s time.”

  Shannen sighed.

  She really didn’t need, or want that reminder.

  She had been praying – she and Steven both had – that something would help change Imma’s mind. That being close to family again would draw Imma out of her self-induced depression and seclusion. That with almost everyone in Boston now, Imma would see it was more beneficial to move than to stay put.

  Warren had stayed… he had stayed and now worked on the water like his father had, but that made for visits between he and Liraz few and far between. He brought her fish when he was able, and she made him tea to drink through sugar cubes like Vater had taught him, and they conversed a while, then he would go back to the old Wishart-Laurent house to sleep and begin all over again for the week.

  “Well, I can still believe God for a miracle,” she finally replied, the babe within her kicking something fierce. She placed her hands on her belly. “We don’t know what the future will hold, but we know that God will take care of it all. I just hope that she can see the same thing, with her heart, in spite of the pain. We all miss Vater, we do… and we still love him tremendously, but… he has gone to be with the Vater in heaven. Mother Mary is taking care of him now, and he’s with his own Imma again, and her Imma before her. There has to be a way… something that will draw her to us again, out of her shell.”

  Jerusha smiled at her and patted her hand as Jeshua began to fuss. “Well, just don’t count any chickens before they emerge from the eggs, Shannen. We know she is more stubborn than your Vater ever was… even if she didn’t show it a lot when he was in the house.”

  Sad, but true.

  But she could always hope, couldn’t she?

  She had to… because without that hope, what could she hold to?

  Part One:

  Colliding Expectations

  One

  Vancouver, Washington… December 9, 2019

  “But, Mama,” Cherish yelled from her room. “There’s snow. We shouldn’t have to go to school today. It’s not fair… Majesta prolly doesn’t have to go.”

  Paloma sighed, stopping a moment to pull on the heels she still held in her hand.

  What was the point of mentioning the snow was a mere inch and a half, and that there was more than four inches at Majesta’s house? The logic of it would fall flat on her daughter’s ears.

  “Majesta doesn’t live in this house, Cherish, now get your coat and backpack and come on. We’ll be waiting in the car. Five minutes,” Paloma told her, trying not to get irritated as she turned toward the hallway. “Boys, come on. Head to the car. No more arguments.”

  With barely an inch of snow on the ground, she was thankful the kids were still in school. Unless they cancel partway through again, she thought, shuddering.

  Their school had already done that twice the week before… calling her within an hour or two of dropping the kids off to say that they’d decided to close. As if they didn’t know that snow was in the forecast and ice was on the ground.

  She had too much on her plate today to mess with the school administration – or the weather - yo-yoing her around again.

  She’d missed three meetings due to the snow the prior Tuesday and Wednesday, and so, today was when they’d been rescheduled for. There wasn’t supposed to be snow last night, God. What happened, she thought as the kids finally made their way to the car. They entered begrudgingly, and Cherish glared at her as she got in the passenger-side seat and haphazardly snapped her seatbelt together.

  What? As if she could predict the weather, or the school system?

&
nbsp; “Watch it, young lady,” she said, pulling slowly out of the driveway.

  Once she was on Mill Plain, she spoke again.

  “Listen, you three… I’m not trying to be hard on you today. I didn’t exactly expect the snow to stick around until today, either. I’ve got meetings, and a lunch date with Tom and Tawny, and none of this was expected. That’s why your Papa’s working from home today. He isn’t home because Uncle Jason gave him a day off… and I’m not there with a day off, either,” she began. “If anything, we’re both more busy than ever before at Amethyst & Alabaster with the new line coming out next month. So will you just give us a break? We’re trying. All of us… we’re trying,” she told them, finally unable to keep quiet any longer.

  Their rude and whiny behavior had gone on for long enough. Three days of this was more than she could take, and they knew better. It had to stop somewhere, and God willing, that somewhere would be today; now.

  Paloma turned onto Hearthwood and nearly skidded the van on a patch of ice.

  Once things were under control again, she continued.

  “Now I want you to consider how things were over the weekend. Being grounded when there’s snow isn’t all that fun, is it,” she asked them, feeling like she’d never get anywhere with the conversation if she didn’t lay down the law, and quick.

  “I’d hate to have you grounded today and tomorrow, too, simply because you didn’t want to go to school today and continued to egg me on.”

  Paloma knew deep down that part of it was their excitement over getting a new pet, and she didn’t blame them in that… she was excited, too. As much as she missed Petunia Grace, it was time… and as a family, they’d agreed that, much as they’d like a dog, a cat was more practical for their household. At least for the time being.

  The kids wanted to stay home and play in the snow, yes, but even more, they wanted to be there when the new cat arrived. It was only natural, but it didn’t mean they had to whine about it if they didn’t get their way.

  The cat wouldn’t grow up within the few minutes or hours it took for them to be in class and come home, would it?

  The family had special ordered her from a cattery in The Dalles – a handful of hours away, into Oregon – it was the closest place that carried LaPerms, and was, in fact, where they’d originally been discovered and bred.

  While the kitten had been expensive, she and Edward had done their homework, and a LaPerm seemed the best fit for their little family.

  “But, Mama,” Chosen said. “It isn’t fair. We want to be there when… all we want is to…”

  His voice trailed off into silence.

  “I know you do, Honey” Paloma told him when he stopped midsentence. “I know.”

  She pulled the car into the school lot and they unbuckled quickly. “But the thing is, life will still go on if she arrives before the school day is over. And with the snow, it might be another day or two before she can join us, since temps aren’t supposed to go above freezing for a while. There’s quite a bit of snowy territory right now between here and there,” she told them. “Now, go on. I’ll see you later. Papa’s planning to pick you up, and I won’t be home when you get out for the day.”

  The boys opened the slider and sullenly grabbed their backpacks, got out, and pulled them on.

  Cherish stayed rooted to her seat.

  With a sigh, Paloma turned to her daughter, whose big beautiful eyes reminded her so much of Edward’s.

  “Come on, Honey. I really do need to get going. It’ll be alright. You won’t miss any of the important things, like naming her or spending time with her. I promise,” she told the girl, smiling at her.

  Finally, her daughter shrugged her red velvet-coat clad shoulders and got out. “Whatever,” she said, shutting the door with a slam and walking slowly toward the school entrance.

  Before pulling away, Paloma watched the three red-blonde heads of her children as they bobbed along, their feet sluicing through the remainder of snow at the edges of the sidewalk.

  As she made her way back to the house, she thought more about the newest member of their family.

  While the breeder had temporarily named the cat already, they had already decided as a family to rename her together. They’d chosen a female with a medium-to-long coat in a beautiful tortoiseshell and white coloration.

  They’d wanted to make sure they had another lap cat, but also wanted something that shed less than Petunia Grace had; a cat that was sociable with dogs, when necessary, now that a number of friends and family had them.

  If Mouse, Sylvester, or – God forbid – the sweet but gigantic goo-monster, Mr. Courageous came over, they wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be a hissy fit from their new cat. The breeder had assured them that their cats were born with dogs around; they were used to them, as long as the dogs themselves were cat-friendly.

  It had been the deciding factor, even after traveling all the way to The Dalles. They’d wanted to not only meet their new kitten, but watch for interaction with other animals, as well as themselves. She had been one from a litter of three… the runt, but as lovable as both of her brothers had been. And her coloring had stunned them.

  Are we doing the right thing, God, welcoming another cat into the family so soon, she prayed, pulling into the driveway once more. I sure hope we made the right choice, since we only got to spend half an hour with her at the farm. Will she ever remember us, or will it take a while for her to get used to us again? She seemed so loving and even playful, but….

  With a sigh, she exited the car and headed inside where it was warm again. She glanced at the clock… five minutes late to her first meeting already!

  Thankfully it was just outside in the office, but still… she dropped her purse, locked the front door behind her, grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on the counter, and headed out through the back, waving at Edward on the way.

  “Running late. Love you. See you soon,” she called as she shut the slider behind her.

  Apparently, it was just going to be one of those days…

  Edward watched his wife as she hurried past him out the back and sighed.

  He so wanted to share the good news he’d just received, but now, it’d have to wait. Again.

  It seemed that for the last five or six weeks, they’d both been on the run so much they only got to see each other in the morning at breakfast, sometimes at dinner, and to prepare for bed and do their devotions and prayers.

  “Lord, are we doing too much again? It feels like we’re losing control of our lives and that everything is on hyper-speed and there’s no way to stop it,” he prayed aloud as he returned his attention to the screen in front of him.

  He wanted to tell her that he, Malik, and Jason had made more discoveries about the history of the mirror, and that they’d gotten a new client this morning. He wanted to whisk her away for the day, just the two of them, and catch up on everything they hadn’t gotten to share with one another.

  He missed having her at his side, conversing as they cuddled. He missed their times of genuinely and deeply listening to what was happening with one another.

  Now, it seemed, Sundays after church were their only real time together. When they got that….

  He stood, stretched, and headed toward the kitchen for a quick snack before resuming his task at the computer.

  Boston Red Sox, 1945, he typed into his search engine as he chewed the last bite of his slice of cornbread and swallowed it. He paused for a sip of milk.

  There has to be more to it than what we’ve found so far, he thought, sighing as he glanced through the options that populated the screen. There has to be more to what we’ve found than… well, just what we’ve found.

  He looked back over the roster that had caught Malik’s attention and pondered it for what felt like the tenth time in a week.

  Maybe it had been… he wasn’t counting.

  But what was the connection between Rose’s family, the mirror, and the Red Sox lineup for that year? And was
it the lineup, or a particular player?

  A sudden thought occurred to him, and he ran with it.

  In silence, he went back to the notes he had taken during his conversations with Rose before she’d moved away this second time.

  Even as he reached for and thumbed through the notes, his heart went out to the girl – now a young woman – but he knew he couldn’t make her decisions for her. Now that she was an adult, she would have to live with what she’d done… whether or not she wished to.

  “Okay,” he told himself as he used a finger to find the page he was looking for. “It says here that Steven became friends with a number of the team players, but that he had a beef with a couple of guys named Lamar “Skeeter” Newsome and George “Pinky” Woods… but over what? And is any of that related to the mirror getting shipped off to California that year, or what?”

  A throb went through his head, and he felt nauseous.

  Not another migraine, he thought. Please God… I can’t do this right now. I’ve had three in as many months! What’s going on that, whenever I stay in to work, I end up feeling so ill? What’s changed that would make the difference? I do the same work, I utilize the same types of research…

  He looked at the notes again as the pain subsided a little.

  “So it says here that they’d gone to a movie and things seemed fine; the next day, Newsome and Woods came barging into Steven and Shannen’s apartment, but what could have happened in the interim,” he asked himself.

  “What would have caused two baseball players to storm into someone’s home unannounced? Wouldn’t it have ruined their reputations with the public?”

  Another throb flickered through his head, and he winced, setting the papers aside. He stood, stretched, and slowly walked toward the kitchen, found some Extra Strength Tylenol and got some water and a snack to take with it.

  What was happening to him?

  He pulled his cell phone out and dialed Jason’s number, left him a quick message, and then called Dr. Gregory’s office to see if he could get in to see him soon.