by Thornton, EJ
"Wait! Martin! Stop!" Pearl commanded. "Get out from behind her now! She hates that!"
I quickly flew back in front of her. I moved so quickly that I accidentally stirred some of the artwork on her wall. Jeannie whipped around quickly enough to see her artwork move. She got really tense.
"I'm sorry," I told her. "I wanted to see what she was doing."
"It's okay. Jeannie absolutely hates anyone behind her, human or angel. See how she's arranged her space? She has it so nobody can sneak up on her and get behind her."
"Hey ya, Judie," Jeannie said, while still turned around, trying to figure out where the breeze came from. "It's break time. Wanna take a walk?"
Judie, the one who had all the music trinkets on her desk, looked over at Jeannie, then at her watch. "Sure."
Jeannie got up quickly from behind her desk. She leaned against a wall to wait for Judie to change from high heels into slip-on flats for their walk. Pearl, George, and I tagged along.
They worked downtown, but near an old residential neighborhood, with old trees and pretty gardens--a nice break from the office.
"Okay, so what happened this weekend?" Judie asked with great anticipation, once they got out of everyone's earshot.
Jeannie seemed to forget about everything that just happened and began to explain. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, I got a sitter on Friday and I went to the pub with Anne. Jeremi was there, running the Karaoke. I sang 'When Will Anyone Ever Really Love Me?' and 'I Need A Hero In My Life.' That felt really good! You get all that anger out, singing really loud like that. Everybody claps and tells you how great it sounded. It's so cathartic. I love it. Then I finally got Anne up there. She was quiet at first, but she got into it. She sang a slow song. It was nice."
"Where was Jeremi?"
"He came over to see me, so I'd have company while Anne was singing."
"You mean to keep anyone else from coming over and talking to you while Anne was singing." Judie smiled slyly.
Jeannie blushed, smiled and said sarcastically, "That's what you think."
"That is what I think!" Their eyes met and Jeannie looked away quickly. Judie enjoyed teasing Jeannie.
"Where was I?" a flustered Jeannie asked.
"He was keeping you all to himself," Judie answered.
"Quit it! After Anne sang, he got up and sang this duet, where he sings both parts--guy and girl--it was amazing. Everybody loved it. Then he got all these requests for him to sing these really bizarre songs. People asked if they could sing with him and stuff. The place was really rocking. It was fun."
"Sounds like it."
"Then this young guy nobody'd ever seen before comes in and sings 'Amazing Grace.' The whole place got quiet. I'll tell you it was something. In a bar, 'Amazing Grace,' and everyone loved it. It was awesome." Jeannie drifted back in memory for a moment, lost in her own world daydreaming.
They walked for a bit in silence, then Judie said, "So, did you see him later?"
"Huh? Oh. Only when I was on exile, we went to a park by the river."
"Exile?" I asked Pearl.
"It's when her ex-husband has the girls at her apartment. She has to leave. He lives in a really bad environment. So she lets him come over to her apartment to see them. It is for the best! She calls it 'Exile.'" She usually takes a book and goes up to the pub or to a movie. It's a lonely time for her. So she tries to go where there are people she can talk to."
I nodded that I understood well enough.
"So what happened?" Judie prodded.
"Well . . ." Jeannie acted like she was going to tell all. Then she decided to keep her friend guessing. "I just went home."
"Right!" Judie said. Their eyes met and Jeannie looked quickly away. "I knew it!" Judie said.
"Oh, hush up," Jeannie blushed. They arrived back at the office again and needed to get back to work-type conversation.
"You working late today?" Jeannie asked.
"Yes, the deadline is coming up and the users keep changing their minds about what they want. You know," Judie answered.
"Yeah, I know," Jeannie said, using the same tone as Judie had. They both laughed and went back into their office building, back to their desks and back to work.
Pearl turned to me. "Well, Martin, now you know as much about Jeremi and Jeannie as she's willing to let anyone in on. She's growing closer to him, but they're also both erecting walls to keep from getting too serious. They both feel something very strong for each other, but it scares them."
"It looks like she has good friends," I said.
"Soon, they're both going to find out who their real friends are," Pearl said.
George sighed in agreement.
"So, she's going to be the mother of my next grandson. I like her. Is she really up to this?"
"We're going to be there to help her through. She'll be all right," George assured me.
"That's an awful lot to ask someone to do for someone else. Is this going to disrupt her life? What about her family? What about her girls? What about her job?"
Pearl said. "There's more going on here than merely hoping Jeremi will come around." I looked at her perplexed, so she went on. "Ever since Jeannie was a little girl, she always wanted three children. Under different circumstance maybe, but this way it's better. There are a lot of things this experience is going to teach her, things that she needs to learn to grow spiritually. Tests she needs to go through so that her faith will grow and she can get back on track, too. She's more on track than Jeremi, but she needs a wake up call too. This baby will be a great reward for her, her girls, and her family. There are several specific lessons that are going to play out here, for her and her extended family. The baby's presence is for Jeremi and for his side of the family, but Jeannie's family is going to be greatly blessed, too."
That was the first moment I caught a glimpse of how perfect God's plan for us really was. He took so many complex situations and blended them together to make each piece fit perfectly. This was going to be interesting to watch.
George motioned that it was time for us to go.
"Good-bye, Martin," Pearl whispered, "I'll see you soon."
She smiled. I waved good-bye. The next thing I knew, George and I were back in Heaven.
Chapter 6
I sat quietly beside a crystal sea and tried to absorb everything that I had learned in the past few hours. It seemed like much longer than that, but on Earth, I had been gone less than a day.
"Time's increments are now meaningless to you. You only feel like time passes when you're down on Earth and right next to your living loved ones. You can make it seem as fast or as slow as you want to while you're in the world," George told me.
"I just want to sit still for a minute or an eternity--whichever applies." There was so much to absorb, so much to think about.
George smiled, "Just reflect, Martin. Think about what you've learned and reflect on what you're going to do. Do you want to be alone or do you want to talk to someone special?"
"Another dream?"
"No, other angels," he replied quickly. "Sheila and your parents want to see you."
I got a second wind! I wanted to see them, too. Before I could say "Yes" there they were.
"How are you doing, son?" Dad asked.
"I've been busy," I said and he smiled knowingly. "It's all so overwhelming. Who our angels are and what they're doing. I'm completely amazed and awestruck."
"It only gets better, Dad," Sheila said.
"That's right, you're with your babies!"
She positively glowed when she acknowledged her new assignment. "I'll see them grow up and get to help them when they need it. It will be special. Of course, I'd like them to feel how close I am, but I'll keep letting them know through ways they'll understand." Sheila smiled broadly.
"So, Dad, after you died, did you guard one of us boys?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I respected all your angels. I was allowed to guard the whole family with them and that's what I did."
&nbs
p; "Even after mother remarried?" He nodded. "Was that hard for you?" I thought that it might have been difficult for him to watch her with someone else.
"I love your mother so much, I had to find a way to help her bear the burden of raising you kids without me. So, I found the best man I knew. I very much approved of who she remarried; in fact, I was the one who made sure they met. The rest was up to them, but I got them together. When you look at the greater good, which is Heaven's perspective, selfish feelings like jealousy melt away. They are replaced by concern and respect. That's how it is in Heaven and should be on Earth."
I missed these talks with my dad so much. He'd always made so much sense. I used his example in countless sermons to illustrate righteousness and goodness. I loved listening to him all over again. I drew it all in and sighed contently. He picked my stepfather; I could believe that. We joked about that from time to time. It's great to know we were actually right about it. Mother squeezed my hand and looked into my eyes and smiled. I did the same. Words were unnecessary. It was just love so strong you could almost see it flow between us.
"Dad," Sheila whispered, "we ought to get back to Mama."
"I want to stay a little longer, this feels so good to be back with you," I said.
"Oh, we're going with you," my mother said. "When families come together, it's a reunion for angels, too." She patted my hand and we were in the house, back in Glory's bedroom. She sat in my recliner, leaned forward, held her arms tight around herself again, just like this morning. The sweetest sight, however, was her angel, Naomi. Glory thought she was sitting on the chair, but Naomi was underneath her in the chair, rocking back and forth like a rocking chair. She held my Glory tight. Naomi rocked Glory back and forth on the chair. Poor Glory was so lost in her grief, it broke my heart.
"Do you want to take over?" Naomi asked me.
"Yes," I said. She got up and I quickly slipped in where she had been. Glory felt the change and readjusted herself with me and I rocked her.
"I'm Naomi," her angel told me. "I'm the cousin who had the accident when I was ten. I was able to grow up with her and then take over as her angel when I was ready."
"She talked about you a lot," I reminisced. "She loved you very much."
"And I love her. We're going to get her through this, trust me. She really will be all right."
"I believe you." I rested my head on Glory's back. Her back relaxed a little and I gently rocked her for several minutes.
There was a soft knock at the door. It was Vivian. "Are you all right, honey?"
"I was just sitting here, imagining all the times he sat in this chair, hoping somehow I could feel him still in it," Glory replied.
"Does it help?" Viv asked.
"Oh, yes. I can still feel him here. I can still smell his cologne and hair cream that rubbed off on this old chair. I like sitting here, it helps." Tears welled up in her eyes again and I stroked her cheek. Her hand went up to her cheek right after I did that.
"Can I get you anything?" Vivian took her hand.
"Who was that on the phone a little while ago?"
"Peter. He and the family will be here tomorrow morning."
"Jeremi?" Glory asked with an added quality of concern in her voice.
Viv nodded. "Jeremi, too."
"Martin was so worried about that boy."
If she only knew. I was glad she was plesantly ignorant of it - at least for the moment.
"Do you feel like being around people? Sarah's doing her best to keep up with everyone who's arriving, but there're an awful lot of people and it's getting a little out of hand." Viv held out her hand to help Glory up.
Glory wiped the tears from her cheek and took a deep breath, nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
So we all went to the living room. George stopped us all before we went down, saying, "Let's give them some room." With that, all the angels got very small and flew. He said in my ear, "It's easier to maneuver when you're little when there're lots of people. It's a new perspective." He smiled. "Try it."
"How?" I asked.
"Just imagine it and it'll happen," he answered.
So I did and I was small and it felt really strange, everything so big, but I could easily fly wherever I wanted. We all went to the living room. My mother had already seen Sarah's angel, my grandmother, her mother. It was like one of the reunions when they were alive; hugs and kisses, smiles and laughter. It warmed my heart so much.
This explained why there was always so much love any place the family all got together. There were loving reunions on all levels, earthly and angelic. The angels were right, this did keep getting better and better.
So much was going on in the house, it was hard to keep track of it all. Sheila's children, some of my cousins and their children were there. Terrance was there again. People gathered in small groups and retold stories of our adventures. They laughed and cried at the same time.
All the young children played together, my grandchildren and some nephews and nieces. The highest concentration of angels was around them. I zoomed down around the children. They played on the kitchen floor, a combination of blocks and towers. Terrance stood there, watched them and drank a glass of water. From time to time, he instructed them on which move to make next. There were six children there, ages nine years (Sheila's oldest) to six months (one of my grandnephews). The baby was trying to chew the blocks. The baby's angel played peek-a-boo with him. The angel swooped in close and around his charge and back. It made the baby giggle.
The other children were confused, wondering what could possibily be making him so happy.
"He's just a happy baby," his seven-year-old sister said, when all the kids gave the baby a peculiar look.
Then they went back to their game. A couple of the other children's angels got in on the fun and followed every move the baby's angel did and that made him laugh harder. Sheila's oldest child looked at him, like he was crazy and said, "There's something wrong with that child." That statement upset her angel slightly, so her angel took a dive into Terrance's water and threw the splash right on the top of Sheila's daughter's head. All the other children laughed.
"That's what you get for saying that." Terrance laughed and made a quick move to avert the slap she aimed at him. She gave him an eyeful of attitude as he left. He just laughed. She shook it off, wiped it off and played with the kids again. Terrance told the story to the next person he saw, pointed and laughed.
Glory heard the baby laugh and came into the doorway to watch.
"See, Grandma, see?" Sheila's oldest said and pointed at the baby. "Something's wrong with that child!"
"Hush, let the baby play with the angels," she chided her granddaughter. Then she just stood there. I believe she tried to imagine what the baby saw. The more she watched and imagined, the more peaceful her expression grew.
George was the only angel left beside me now. I asked him, "Can she see what is really happening?"
"Glory is a wise woman, Martin," he assured me. "She knows, without a doubt, that the angels are all around her. She's watching for signs. She sees this one and it gives her comfort."
I watched Glory. The more she watched, the more peaceful she got. The more peaceful she got, the more fatigue took her over. Thankfully Naomi was holding her up, because nothing else was.
George went and buzzed around Vivian's ear. She was sitting down talking to several people about the day's events. As George buzzed, she swatted at the disturbance like a fly, but her head turned enough to see Glory. Vivian realized what was happening. She got up immediately, excused herself from the conversation and went over to Glory, put her arms around her and Glory leaned on her friend and they both went over to the couch. A couple of the men came closer to see if they could assist, but the women insisted they were fine.
"Do you want to go to bed?" Vivian asked.
"I'm fine, honey. I'd like to stay right here with everybody." Glory patted her hand to assure her friend that all was well.
"Whatever you want, dea
r." Viv kept hold of her hand.
The conversation Vivian had been involved in picked up where it left off. I watched Glory as she slowly sank back into the couch cushions. There, surrounded by all of her friends, family and angels, she drifted peacefully off to sleep. Vivian watched this progress. As soon as Viv was sure Glory was asleep, she shooed people out the door. They all looked at Glory and blew her a kiss as they left. They told Vivian and Sarah to call them anytime for anything. Viv and Sarah promised they would.
After everyone was gone, Sarah went to Vivian and hugged her tightly. Vivian held her like a mother. She loved her like a daughter. When Sarah regained her composure, they cleaned up the living room and kitchen very quietly. The angels helped where they could.
Naomi sat with Glory, Naomi had closed her eyes.
"Is she sleeping?" I asked George.
"No. She's reflecting on the day. When you see a brighter glow, then she's praying. When our charges are sleeping, it's our free time. If our charges are safely tucked in their beds and if all is safe, one of the family's angels can watch over the house. That way we can be notified if trouble begins while we're gone from them. It's our time to visit other people we love, living and angel. It's a time of great learning for us. It's a time of great discussion and wonderful fellowship. It's your choice; you can go anywhere and be with anybody."
"Can I just stay here?" I asked.
"Yes. But I hope you'll understand if I leave for a while. Just call my name if you need me, I'll be right back here with you."
"I just want to be here tonight, with her." I referred to Glory, of course.
"I know," George replied. "You always put her first. You were a good husband."
"Thanks," I said. George disappeared. I sat on the other side of Glory and held her hand. She stirred a little. I kissed her goodnight. "I'm so sorry you're going through all of this," I whispered in her ear. I bowed my head in prayer. "Dear Lord. You have received me into your Heaven and for that I am truly thankful. I pray now for my family, for my wife, for my children, for my children in trouble and their future children. I pray that you'll always love them, comfort them and guide them in your ways, sending your messengers to help you help them. I love them and I love you and I thank you Lord for a wonderful life. All Praise and Glory to you. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen."