Four-Footed Angels

by J. T. Livingston

  Bertie sighed. “Yep…afraid so…and her mother can’t get her nose out of that damn book long enough to see that something isn’t quite right with her little girl. They were there to visit the little girl’s grandmother…now, they’re waiting for their ride to pick them up.”

  Doug felt helpless at times like these. He wanted to rush back inside and tell the mother to take a close look at her daughter, to schedule an immediate check-up, but he knew how insane that action would be. Parents today were so busy with their schedules and their own lives, that they often failed to notice the simple, warning signs that surrounded them every day. “I wish we had the power to change things like that…” he whispered.

  Bertie shook her head. “You and me both, handsome…you and me both.”

  Doug opened the van’s passenger door and waited for Bertie to get buckled in. “I don’t know why I worry about seatbelts…it’s not like we really need them…” He went around to the driver’s side and took another look at the little girl, through the automatic doors.

  A car pulled up in front of the hospital and the mother and daughter walked, hand in hand, to it. A man, who Doug assumed to be the father, came around and opened the back door for the little girl. He watched while father and daughter embraced and continued to watch until the little girl was secured into a booster seat. He saw the man’s brows press together and heard him say to the woman, “Bella looks tired...is she feeling all right?” Doug watched the mother turn around and cast a cursory glance at the little girl, at the same time her cell phone rang. She waved her hand at her husband as she turned back around to answer her phone. “Oh, she’s fine, don’t be such a worry-wart…hello? Oh, hi, Patricia!”

  The little girl turned slightly in her seat as the car pulled in front of the café’s van. She smiled and waved at Doug as their car went past. Doug lifted his hand to return her wave, and, like Bertie, made the spontaneous decision to present her with another “glow.”

  The smile on the little girl’s face lit up the night.

  32. Heaven - Stephen and Regina Discuss their Pasts

  Amanda’s parents walked hand-in-hand along one of the many golden paths. Heaven contained every species of flowering plants known to man, well over four-hundred thousand of them, and a wide assortment of them lined both sides of the walkway. Regina sighed deeply as she appreciated the horticultural beauty surrounding her…everything from pansies, alyssum, calendula, nemesia, tulips, marigolds, celosia, lobelia, begonias…they were all there, thriving together, and their aromas were tantalizing.

  She was lost in her own thoughts when she felt Stephen lean down and kiss the top of head.

  “You looked like you were a million miles away,” he smiled.

  She offered him a cock-eyed wink and answered back, “Well…we are in Heaven…it very well could be a million miles away, right?”

  Stephen put on his best scholarly face and said, “Actually, the spiritual instructor I listened to earlier today explained the three heavens to us. I honestly can’t say that I remember ever learning that in church; if I did, it didn’t stick.”

  “Well, at least you attended church…” Regina frowned wistfully. “I’m still amazed that I actually made it to Heaven at all. I mean, my parents never took me to church, and I never felt the inclination to go with you when you went. I hadn’t made up my mind, back then, whether or not I even believed in all of this…do you remember?”

  Stephen nodded. “Oh, yes…I do remember. I remember praying every night that you would have a change of heart and come to know and believe in God as I did…that never happened, did it?”

  Regina shook her head. “No…well…at least not until the moment of impact, when that car crashed into me. I don’t remember any pain, but I do remember seeing the most brilliant light I had ever seen in my life…it was so bright I couldn’t have opened my eyes if I had wanted to…I don’t think I had died at that point.”

  “What else do you remember,” Stephen prodded.

  Regina stopped and kneeled down to pick a handful of colorful pansies. “These will look so pretty on the kitchen table…” she spoke softly before standing back up. She turned and looked up into the eyes of the only man she had ever loved. “My eyes seemed to adjust quickly to that bright light and from a distance, I saw…a shadow…the form of a man…at least, I assumed it was a man…coming toward me. I never saw his face…just the outline of his body…but I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was Jesus, Himself, coming toward me. He…held open his arms…and…” Regina took a deep breath before continuing. “It’s hard to explain, but the moment He opened His arms, I knew the choice was mine, and mine alone. I could go to Him, or…I could turn away from Him the way I had my entire life on earth. Why He allowed me the choice, I have no idea…I was not a follower or a believer…but, well…I felt this calmness come over me…I knew I was dying, that I would never see you or Amanda again in that life time…I felt something, or someone trying to tug me away from Him, but the pull toward Him was stronger. I reached toward Him and said ‘forgive me’…and…He did.”

  Stephen was quiet for a moment. “The coroner said you most likely died immediately upon impact…”

  Regina shrugged and they continued walking toward their mansion. “I guess it’s true that you never know what really happens between someone and God in the moments before they die. I will never fully understand why He believed me in that last, split second, but…I am so thankful that He did. Otherwise…I would never have been able to see you and Amanda again.

  “Well…let’s hope that it will be a long, long time before Amanda joins us in Heaven!” Stephen laughed.

  “Hmmm…” Regina said softly, “Could be sooner than you think if the Rapture comes. If the non-believers on earth had any real clue what was waiting for them here, they would be filling the pews of every church down there.”

  The couple walked in amicable silence for the next half-mile. Suddenly, Stephen stopped and spread his arms out wide. “Seriously, will you just look at all this! The walls surrounding us are what…two-hundred feet thick…and look at all the stones…jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, ruby, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, turquoise, jacinth, and…amethyst…”

  Regina laughed out loud. “Well…someone certainly paid attention in class today.”

  “Indeed I did, love, indeed I did. I want to learn everything there is to learn. But…I’m not sure what the last two stones are made of…they’re absolutely brilliant and even more beautiful than the others…” Stephen smiled.

  “That’s because the last two stones that decorate these walls only exist in Heaven…the people on earth will never see them unless they end up here. So…what else did you learn in class today?”

  “Oh,” Stephen shrugged, “You know…standard textbook stuff…the twelve gates are actually twelve pearls, with each gate made of a single pearl…the great streets, as well as some of these beautiful walkways, are made of gold, pure as transparent glass…we don’t need light because there is no night time in Heaven…the glory of God provides us all the light we need…the gates to Heaven will never be shut…and, nothing impure will ever enter into it…”

  Regina nodded and added, “Nor will anyone who does anything shameful or deceitful…only those names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will enter Heaven’s gates…”

  “Okay,” Stephen smiled. “That’s enough of lessons for one day. Hey, I’m just thankful that we don’t have to worry any more about overdue bills, going to the hospital for treatments, overdrawn bank accounts…and best of all…there’s no complaining, no hate, no crime, no fear, no back-talk…”

  “Whoa!” Regina laughed. “You must be forgetting about Bertie!”

  “You’ve got a point,” Stephen exhaled. “Lots of sassiness and back-talk there!”

  “She is definitely one spirited angel, for sure,” Regina nodded. “I’m just thankful that Amanda has her three guardian angels watching out for her. When do you think we’ll be able to vis
it her dreams again?”

  “I was actually talking to Martin about that before class this morning. He told me that things in Thomasville will be coming to a head very, very soon.”

  “And, Sam…” Regina looked worried. “Is Sam alright?”

  Stephen raised his brows in mock shock. “You’re kidding, right? Have you forgotten that Sam is Amanda’s angel dog? No…Sam is fine…he’s doing what he was sent there to do. If everything works out according to plan, I expect Sam will be running in these fields with us again in no time at all.”

  “I miss him…you know…I wasn’t there when you got him for Amanda, but I was here when he crossed over. There’s a meadow over that hill there,” Regina said pointing to the far left. “When animals die, especially the domesticated ones, that’s the point where they enter Heaven. I know people on earth say that they cross over the Rainbow Bridge, but there is no such bridge. It’s just this wide-open, beautiful meadow with a dense wood line surrounding it. There is a fairly large bridge the covers a gigantic koi pond, and that’s usually where the pets’ former owners wait for them to step forward out of the wood line. If there’s no one waiting for the pet…think of all the abandoned and homeless pets…then they wander off to one side of the field and wait for someone here to come take them to their home. They don’t usually have to wait very long.”

  Stephen listened with rapt attention. “Nobody has mentioned this to me…do you know where this meadow is…can we go there now?”

  “Sure we can…come on, follow me…keep up if you can!” Regina challenged her husband as she took off toward a hill that looked to be about five miles in distance.

  “Can’t we just teleport ourselves there?” Stephen laughed as he raced to catch up with his wife.

  “No we cannot!” Regina chastised him. “Where would the fun in that be? Come on…it’s closer than you think!”

  The couple laughed all the way to the top of the hill, until Stephen stopped suddenly and looked down at the meadow below them. “Oh…my…God…” he whispered. “Look at them, Regina…”

  Regina grabbed his hand and guided him down the hill. Dogs and cats of all sizes and shapes lifted their heads when they heard them approach. Some of them barked, some of them whined, and a large group to the left watched them quietly before lying back down upon the soft grass. Regina pointed to the quiet group. “Those are the ones who never knew love on earth, who never had a home, or a family, or a regular meal, or a safe place to lay their head…there are so many of them, but they will all eventually find a place here…I’m sure of that. The choice is theirs…we cannot pick them…they have to pick us…”

  Stephen ran to the center of the field and got down on his knees. Hundreds of family pets ran toward him and offered kisses and their own version of lap dances before running off to continue their play. The quiet pack of pets did not move until Stephen stood up and walked over toward them. “Hello…” he said softly as tears flooded his eyes. He had to remind himself that they were not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness that these abused and abandoned animals would never be alone again. He wished he could take them all home with him, but he remembered what Regina had said…that he would have to wait for them to choose him…

  One by one, several dogs and even more cats stood up and stretched. They lifted their noses into the air and decided that this was the person with whom they wanted to share their fur-ever lives…the person they would trust and love…for all eternity…

  Regina stood off to the side petting an array of wild and domesticated animals. “Well…all I can say is that it’s a good thing the Lord has provided us all with large mansions and plenty of acreage!”

  “…that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:10, NKJV)

  33. The Night Before

  It was almost ten o’clock when the angelic chimes sounded at the front door to the Heavenly Grille Café.

  Max sat at the counter with Amanda and Tyler. Tyler was on his third helping of banana pudding, and, although he felt a bit gluttonous, he did not feel guilty about all the food he had consumed. He convinced himself that he was providing his body the energy it needed for what was coming down in less than twenty-four hours from now.

  Sam and Spartacus lay on each side of the front door and raised their heads when Bertie and Doug pushed open the door. Buster was curled up close, next to Sam.

  “Well, it looks like the gang is all here!” Bertie spoke loudly. She bent down to rub the heads of the dogs. “I hope Max has given all of you plenty to eat…”

  Sam’s eyes turned to their golden shade as he nudged against Bertie’s hand. “I had forgotten how good Max’s cooking was…yes…he fed us plenty…”

  Bertie nodded and whispered, “Well, that’s a good thing, but there’s plenty more where that came from, so you just let me know if you want some more.”

  Spartacus whined softly and licked her hand. “Well…maybe one more of those pork chops before we leave…”

  Buster bounced around Sam’s head. “My favorite part is the bone…I’ll take another one of those, please!”

  Bertie ruffled the tops of their heads again and laughed, “You got it, sweet things!” She stood up and made her way toward the counter where Amanda was already sliding off the stool and coming toward her.

  “Well…” Amanda grinned. “Tell me…did you meet Izzie? What did you think of her? Is she going to be good for Amos?”

  Bertie grabbed Amanda in a fierce hug and kissed her cheek. “You bet your sweet ass, she is!” she laughed.

  “BERTIE!” Max scolded at her choice of words.

  Bertie walked over to him and punched him against his massive forearm. “Ouch!” she said as she shook her hand. “I swear that both you and Doug are consuming steel and concrete…either that, or I’m losing my touch…that almost hurt!” She looked back at Doug and found him winking conspiratorially at Max. “I saw that, handsome…and if the two of you think you can change me after all these years, then you’ve both got another thought coming!” She pursed her brows together and stared back at Doug. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and pour everyone some coffee?”

  Doug shook his head and laughed softly. “Your wish is my command, Bertie.” He touched Tyler’s shoulder as he walked by. “Max makes great banana pudding, doesn’t he?”

  Tyler nodded. “Oh, yeah…it only took me three helpings to decide just how great it was.”

  Everyone returned to their stools at the counter. Bertie motioned for Max to scoot over so that she could sit next to Amanda. “And to answer your question, Amanda…yes…we met Mrs. Isabelle Ghent, and…I have to say…this looks like the real thing. I would venture to say that Amos Brown’s single status will soon be coming to an end. Yep…she’s a fine woman…Amos is lucky to have found her…”

  Amanda took a sip of her coffee and mumbled beneath her breath, “I doubt if luck had anything to do with it…”

  Bertie looked her square in the eye and shook her head in silent warning, while casting a sideway-glance toward Tyler. “It would seem that luck and love are in the air…”

  Amanda blushed at Bertie’s innuendo and smiled back. “Yep, so it would seem…”

  Doug poured fresh coffee for everyone and Max stood to his full seven-foot height. “That’s good news about Amos. No one is more deserving of love than he is, but…I think Tyler has been waiting for everyone to get here so that he can catch us up on the latest plans to bust the dogfighting ring. Tyler?” He motioned for Tyler to continue.

  Tyler pushed the empty dessert bowl away from him and stood up to face everyone. “It took the help of a lot of people, but the bust that was scheduled for next week has been moved up to tomorrow night; the organization has another informant who told them that Little John has moved his fights up to tomorrow night, now that he thinks the bust is scheduled for next week. There will, also, be simultaneous b
usts taking place in North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, and Florida. These busts have been in the works for almost a year now. The different agencies have been observing and gathering all the facts and information on everyone involved. They actually all liked the idea of moving the bust up one week…you know, in case word has gotten out that it was supposed to happen next week. I just hate that so many animals have already had to die while waiting for this to happen.”

  “Have you ever attended one of these fights, Tyler?” Amanda asked.

  Tyler exhaled and nodded. “I hate to admit it, but…yes, I have…I’ve had to since I’ve been at the Abbott ranch…in order to keep my cover.”

  Max placed a hand on Tyler’s shoulder and nodded. “We won’t be there to witness what happens tomorrow night, Tyler, so…would you educate us a little on what Sam and Spartacus will go through?”

  The two dogs moved to stand on each side of Tyler, and Buster begged for Amanda’s lap. Tyler flinched slightly when Sam’s eyes glowed golden again for a quick second. Once, again, the dog seemed to be smiling at him. He knelt down and wrapped an arm around each dog. “Yeah…sure…” He kissed each dog on the top of their head and stood back up.

  “You have to try to put your heads where these dogfighting professionals are…to them, a dog is not a domesticated pet. They are the main source of a $500 million industry. There are currently about 40,000 known dogfighting professionals across the United States. The sport used to be confined to the South, but it has become increasingly popular throughout the entire United States, Russia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.”

  Doug leaned his arms on the counter and folded his fists beneath his chin. “Forty thousand? I had no idea. I’m guessing this is not a new sport, is it?”

  Tyler shook his head. “No, it isn’t. In fact, the history of the sport in the United States can be traced all the way back to the early 1800s. People began to lose interest in it in the 1930s when their sense of humanity began to kick in, I guess. Anyway, it still continues, even though it is now illegal in all fifty states and in many other countries around the world. It’s actually a felony in most states now, and…it is illegal to possess dogs for fighting in all states except for Georgia, Idaho, and Nevada.”