BROWNIE: An Angel's Visit

by Linda Stanley Dalton

  “Hi Mommy,” Michael said almost matter-of-factly. He had no idea how wonderful those two little words sounded to her ears.

  Though her legs felt weak, Lauren strode to her son. Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. She felt cleansed by the tears of happiness on her face as they washed away all the sadness and despair. She was weeping when she reached her son; she touched his sweet face with shaking hands. She looked into his eyes. “Oh Michael, my precious Michael!” She kissed his face repeatedly as her tears fell like big raindrops onto his cheeks.

  “Mommy, you’re getting my face all wet!”

  “Nurse Abigail was checking his IV when she realized he was staring up at her,” Jeb explained. “And before that, he squeezed Doctor Anderson’s hand. This is the most wonderful Christmas gift.”

  Lauren was laughing and crying at the same time, her heart filled with utter joy and gratitude. She knew how close she had come to losing her baby; she had gone so far as to give him up to God. “Thank You, God. Thank You, Jesus,” she murmured. She stroked Michael’s hair lovingly and sighed. “This is the best day of my life, second only to the day I gave birth to you!”

  “Mommy, I was afraid I missed Christmas,” Michael said. “I feel like I’ve been gone for a really long time. And Mommy, I saw Daddy.”

  “And someday you’ll see him again,” Lauren told him. It was hard to speak with emotion choking her throat. “But you’ll have to forgive me for being happy that you’re staying here with me.”

  “I’m just going to reach around you and check on this young man’s incision,” Jeb said and Lauren stepped aside to give him room. “Let’s take a look.” Jeb opened the front of Michael’s hospital gown and pulled away the bandages. The drain tube was free of Michael’s body and lying idly inside the gown, it looked as if it had not been used. He couldn’t believe it as he looked at his young patient’s chest. To his amazement, there was absolutely no sign that the child had endured open heart surgery—there were no stitches, no incision marks, not even a bruise. Perfect, radiantly healthy skin was all there was. “Beautiful,” Jeb breathed.

  Lauren’s breath caught in her throat, almost choking her, as her gaze fell on her son’s chest. “I—“

  “I don’t know what to say either!” Jeb stammered.

  Jeff entered the room and stopped in his tracks when he saw Michael’s mother standing with Jeb at the bedside. “I couldn’t get a hold of Lauren. Now I see why.”

  Jeb turned to him. “Doctor Jeff, come on over here and take a look at this.” He looked at Alan. “You too, Doctor Springfield.”

  Both physicians let out audible gasps at the sight of Michael’s perfect, unmarked chest. “How can this be?” Jeff asked. “I can’t believe it, yet I know what I see!”

  Jeb watched in surprise as Alan began to laugh, reaching his hands up into the air and turned his face upward toward Heaven. “Thank you, Jesus!” His tears spilled down his unshaven face.

  ***

  Michael was out of any sort of danger and Jeb was on his way out of the hospital and going home for a second time that night.

  “Do you think I can crash on your couch for a few days?” Alan asked as he and Jeb made their way down the corridor from Jeb’s office to the elevator.

  “Sure, if that’s what you want, but I figured you’d want to find your wife and fix what’s wrong between you.”

  Alan shrugged and let out a sigh as Jeb pressed the button for the elevator. “I don’t know if there is going to be much to patch up.”

  Jeb shot him a surprised, disapproving look, not certain he’d heard Alan right. “So you had a fight; big deal! You’ll work it out.”

  Alan wagged his head. “I’m not so sure about that, Jeb; this wasn’t a mere fight.”

  “It’s your business, of course, but I think you’re giving up awfully easy,” Jeb offered. “Then again, you and I have been out of touch for a long time. Our college days are old memories and we’ve made lives for ourselves, very different lives it seems.”

  “Did you ever wonder why I always walked away from you the moment you started bringing up your belief in God? Your Jesus speak?” Alan asked while out of habit, Jeb pressed the elevator button again. “Or why I broke every promise I made about going to church with you?”

  Jeb shrugged. “I figured you simply weren’t interested.” He sighed impatiently. He was tired and more than ready to go home. “Where is the stupid elevator?” He banged on the call button even though he knew he could press it a thousand times and it still wouldn’t make it get there any faster.

  “There are things I never told you,” Alan said, drawing his old friend’s attention. “I acted like I wanted no part of it, like I had no idea who Jesus is and could care less. That’s all it was, an act.”

  “Why would you put on an act about that?” Jeb asked, temporarily distracted by his friend’s words, redirecting his attention from his quest to somehow command the elevator to arrive.

  “Jeb, I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was ten.”

  Jeb’s mouth fell open. “Seriously?” He himself had been thirteen. “I never knew that, never even considered it. What happened?”

  “I already knew I was going to be a doctor. I was going to care for the poor, be a sort of combination street doctor and saint, and heal God’s people, even those who couldn’t pay for medical care. It would all be for His glory, His Kingdom. Yep, I was going to save the world in the name of Jesus, or at least a little bit of it, as much as I could cover.”

  Jeb remained silent. At his friend’s revelation, he felt a sharp stab of guilt because he had never aspired to be that type of doctor, not even as a boy. He wanted to heal people, particularly children, but he had never gone so far as to commit his medical career to God. It turned out that way in the end, with all victories claimed in Jesus’ name, but that was not on his mind when he first thought about becoming a doctor.

  “I audibly heard God’s voice once,” Alan continued. “He told me that I would do great things in His name.” He shook his head and closed his eyes at the powerful memory that brought him great shame because he’d relegated God’s voice to an inconspicuous, invisible part of his heart and soul; had buried it all deep within himself because it scared him to comprehend that God had something for him to do, a task he had feared he would fail to carry out. “I’d almost forgotten about that, about hearing His voice. I was stupid!”

  “Stupid? You? You’re a brilliant surgeon, Alan.”

  “That wasn’t it, Jeb. I would do great things in His name, not mine. It was His plan that I become a medical missionary in poor areas of the world. By the time I got to college, I didn’t want to do that. I told my mother if she didn’t stop mentioning it, I’d never speak to her again. It turned out I liked flashy cars and hot women. I lost my taste for altruistic endeavors when I fell in love with a woman who is a humanist and very, very far from believing in one God, capital ‘g’. It’s not her fault; I was the one who chose to give the Lord the brush off and pursue her instead of my calling. I fell hard for Leslie, and all my feelings for God, and what I knew I was supposed to do for His Kingdom, went out the window. It was one or the other, Leslie or Jesus because there was no way I could have both, not with her. I don’t have to tell you how that one went.”

  Jeb was speechless, could only listen in amazement at his old friend’s brutally honest words. This was an Alan Springfield Jeb never would have guessed existed, not in a million years or more.

  “If you don’t mind my asking, why is Leslie so anti-God?”

  Alan rubbed at his eyes, not sure where to begin or how much to tell. She was his wife and he did not want Jeb and Kenni to prejudge her by the behavior they had witnessed. “It’s an ugly story. The condensed version is that her grandfather was an extremely rich philanthropist. Everyone thought he was this wonderful saint, a great man of God—Deacon of his church, an elder—too good to be true.”

  “I take it this was not the c
ase?”

  Alan nodded. “He was a swindler and a wife beater who terrorized his children. When word got out, there was a nasty scandal and long before Leslie and I got together, my mother-in-law tried to commit suicide over it. For Leslie, the idea of God and Christians became something obscene and she can’t handle what happened to me, or that I’ve changed.” He cleared his throat. “Leslie lost it when I told her about my visit from Brownie. I think she came with me because she was convinced that she could talk some sense into me. She has no idea what this is all about, and she doesn’t want to know. She just wants it to all go away—period, but it’s not that simple.”

  Jeb realized he had been holding his breath and exhaled. “Alan, I had no idea. I never would have guessed, not by the way you live or the way you talk. You were planning to be a medical missionary? I’m impressed! When you came to operate on Michael, you were full of talk about religion being a crutch, how faith needs to be in one’s self and one’s abilities, not subject to the whims of God.”

  “I don’t know if I was trying to convince you or me,” Alan admitted, suddenly very tired. “And then I had an encounter with an angel and realized that I’ve been fooling myself all this time. I’ve made a lot of money; I’ve got a lot of stuff. I’m a good doctor, but I’ve been living as if I’m to thank for my success and skill. Now I know better, and I also know I’ve got to make it right, no matter what it takes, whatever the cost.”

  The doors to the elevator car opened and Jeb patted the other man’s shoulder. “Don’t give up, man,” he encouraged him as they wearily entered. “Give Leslie some time to adjust, maybe she’ll come around.”

  “You have always been an optimist,” Alan said as he leaned against the walnut paneling lining the interior wall of the elevator. “She’s pretty set in her beliefs. She has no use for Jesus because she thinks that life is here and now and that’s all there is. Talk to her about Heaven, or even worse, hell, and she walks away and closes both the physical and spiritual doors in your face.”

  “God honors marriage,” Jeb said optimistically. “You never know what God will do.”

  Alan shrugged. “Maybe He’ll talk some sense into her.”

  “Maybe He will at that. Let’s head home for now. We have a guest room; Kenni would have a fit if I made you sleep on the couch. Maybe after you’ve had some sleep things won’t seem quite so bleak.”

  Alan became aware of the fatigue he’d been fighting off as a deep, dull ache suddenly invaded his body. Despite his weariness, he was at perfect peace with the decision he had made. “My friend, I’m not bleak. I know Leslie and I’m okay with it, whatever the outcome. This is something she has to work out for herself.”

  “I couldn’t simply walk away from Kenni,” Jeb remarked. He added silently that he was grateful that God hadn’t put his marriage on the line. Marriage was sacred to God and Jeb wondered why He would divide Alan and Leslie.

  “Jeb, you and Kenni put God at the center of your marriage, of your very lives. Don’t you see that there’s a difference between the two of you, and Leslie and I?”

  “I guess I just see marriage as marriage.”

  The elevator doors opened to the lobby. “I’m not sure it’s that simple; at least not in my case,” Alan speculated. “None of this is simple, but I know I have to put my trust in the only thing that matters, and that’s God.”

  ***

  Morgan saw the first signs of morning light appear in the southwestern Ohio sky as she sipped coffee, enjoying its warmth spreading through her chest and warming her hands. It had snowed throughout the night, but the accumulation was light, perhaps an inch or so. It had stopped, at least for now, and soon the sounds of the plows would be heard all over the community as city and county workers headed out to clear the streets for the finale of the Christmas shopping season.

  Yawning, Morgan adjusted the warm, crocheted throw around her shoulders. She and Marcus had talked most of the night, stopping to spend time with Angela when Jack brought her home, before tucking her into bed with Little Brownie and Lovebug to keep her warm and cozy. Somewhere around three o’clock, Marcus went to bed but Morgan wasn’t tired. She had spent the last several hours on the couch, watching the snow fall in the illumination of a security light in the back yard, and counting her many blessings.

  Thanks to Marcus, for the first time in years Morgan’s parents would be spending Christmas with them in Ohio. Her brother, Morris, and his wife and two boys were also coming. Due to Morris’ business obligations, their flight would not arrive in Dayton until close to midnight, but he was coming. Morgan was free to be with her family; Marcus knew the secret of Miranda, and she looked forward to renewing their relationship.

  Morgan bowed her head and stared down at her hands. She didn’t know why she had been blessed, but knew she was. Her daughter had defeated leukemia, had survived all that the disease had put Angela through. Morgan’s and Marcus’ mutual love was still very much intact—they would make it. The business was prosperous and it seemed all they could ever want had been given to them. She also hoped they might have another child.

  She closed her eyes. “Thank You, Lord,” Morgan said in a voice barely more than a whisper. She had never really tried to talk to God. Sure, there were hasty prayers of the “God, help me!” variety when the car wouldn’t start or she was in imminent danger. And there were the “Thank God” forms of praise when things worked out, even though it hadn’t seemed like it would. Am I praying? Morgan doubted it, but she pressed on: “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to pray, but I do know how to say thank You, and I guess that’s a start. Thank You for my daughter, for her life and for healing her. And though I know I don’t deserve him, thank You for Marcus. And thank You for allowing me to see Miranda…and Stephen.”

  Tears filled her eyes as Morgan looked up, seeking God’s face through the ceiling of her home. “I don’t know how to do this, God! Pitiful that a woman my age should have no idea how to pray, but I don’t. Thank You for the wonderful doctors and nurses who helped Angela along the way.” She cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes. “Thank You for a special nurse named Kenni Hastings who loved and cared for my daughter when I was unable to. And please forgive me for what I tried to do to her because of my own selfishness and insecurity. Thank You for stopping my little plan from working.”

  ***

  “Brownie!” Charlie shouted excitedly at the top of his lungs as he hung up the phone. Lauren had just called to tell him that Michael was out of the coma. He was going to be just fine! “I’ve got wonderful news!” Charlie stood in the doorway where the kitchen and living room met, and looked toward the bedrooms off the other end of the living room. It was quiet, disturbingly so. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly eight-thirty. Brownie usually drank his tea right about now before leaving for the hospital. He called out his friend’s name once again but there was no reply, only the deafening silence Charlie equated with loneliness.

  “Uh oh,” Charlie breathed and walked the short distance across the living room to the guest room where Brownie had stayed. The door was open, and the room was exactly the way it was before Brownie arrived. There was no evidence the angel had ever been there.

  Charlie bowed his head as a feeling of sadness washed over him like a cold winter rain, chilling him to the bone. While Brownie had not mentioned leaving, Charlie knew he was gone. They’d had a wonderful time last night at dinner; they had talked and joked, enjoyed the perfect fellowship. Brownie’s presence had filled the loneliness in his life and he knew he would miss him terribly.

  “Thank you, Father. I knew Brownie couldn’t stay with me forever, and that he would return to You, where he belongs. Thank You for sending him into my life, for sharing him with me. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again.” Charlie sighed and realized he had tears in his eyes. Thanks to Brownie, he knew that his son, Austin Charles, waited for him in Heaven. While Charlie didn’t credit his getting to know Lauren to Brownie, he still felt that he
had been a part of it, even if it was simply to encourage him toward her. Those who had been honored to know Brownie were profoundly touched by him.

  “Thank you, Brownie,” Charlie said as he looked upward and smiled. “I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but thank you my dear friend. I’ll look forward to having tea with you one day, at a time only God knows.” He chuckled. “I hope you have honey up there; it’ll be your turn to supply the tea next time!”

  Chapter 27

  Jeb awoke, finding the space beside him empty. He listened for the sound of running water from the master bathroom, for evidence of Kenni’s morning shower. Not hearing it, he sat up in bed. “She always starts her day with a shower,” he mumbled, looking at the clock. It was just past nine o’clock and he was late for work. Then he remembered it was Christmas Eve day and he didn’t have to be in until noon, and that Kenni had told him last night that she was covering for one of her nurses whose mother had suffered a stroke.

  Feeling better after having found a timestamp for the events of his day, Jeb sank his head back against the pillow and enjoyed the peace. He was seldom able to simply lie in bed and let his thoughts roam free, the pressures of time temporarily suspended. He smiled as it occurred to him that this was the last Christmas he and Kenni would be alone, a childless couple. Not one, but two babies would soon take center stage in every moment of their lives, and he felt gloriously blessed as he lay there following along with his imagination as it created snapshots of what the future might hold. He saw two babies crawling around the living room, all smiles, baby talk and dimples, with drool-dampened bibs around their necks as they cut their teeth. He couldn’t wait to see their children, and like uncountable fathers before him, to hold them in his arms and marvel at the miracle of ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes.

  As a pediatric physician, he knew that the blessing of having children came with sleepless nights battling childhood illnesses, teething and the like. They would face bumps and bruises, scraped elbows and knees, possibly even broken bones….