The Angel Alejandro

by Alistair Cross

  When Tiffany returned with their food, the table had mostly been cleaned up. She watched curiously as Madison sopped up the last of the coffee.

  “I was rude,” Alejandro explained.

  Tiffany reddened at him, then placed their plates in front of them and pulled a full honey bear from her apron pocket.

  Alejandro reached for it and when their hands touched, Tiffany’s mouth opened as if she were going to speak. She hesitated and, at last, said, “I have overdue library books. And a credit card bill I haven’t paid.”

  Madison tipped her head, confused.

  Tiffany glanced at her, turned even redder, then hurried away

  * * *

  Nick Grayson couldn’t help staring at the young couple. The girl was petite, probably no more than five-foot-three, and somewhere in her early twenties with blue eyes and delicate features. Her hair was a stream of wavy black curls that flattered her porcelain skin.

  She was undeniably attractive, but it was the young man with her who had Nick’s attention.

  He was one of those guys who would have turned heads in a ratty pair of sweatpants and a grease-stained T-shirt, but in the crisp white shirt rolled up at the sleeves and tan khakis, he had the diner’s full attention. His skin was the sun-kissed color of a man who spends a lot of time outdoors, his head a golden nimbus of close-cropped hair.

  But it was his face that Nick couldn’t stop staring at. It commanded attention with strong features that appeared to have been chiseled from a piece of marble - an Adonis come to life. There was a disarming warmth about his eyes and mouth that Grayson thought a strange contrast to his otherwise powerful features. This guy would definitely stand out in a lineup. His poise and demeanor were unusual, too. For starters, he had the wide-eyed awe of a toddler at a carnival.

  The two men at the counter occasionally turned to stare and mumble. Mr. Hairnet seemed unable to focus on the grill, and Tiffany the Teenager went distractedly about her duties, stealing glances at him. The guy’s a total babe magnet.

  Nick’s assessment was marred however, when the love-struck waitress brought out the young couple’s plates. Nick was paralyzed, his final forkful of hash browns suspended in mid-air as the guy squeezed an entire bottle of honey over his pancakes and ravished them with his bare hands. With just a few swipes, the plate was polished, and the young man smiled with manic glee as he chewed then began licking his fingers clean.

  When he was finished, his companion, who’d been staring with the same stone-faced shock as the rest of the diner, said something sharp to him in hushed tones. She stole embarrassed glances around the room and, as if someone had pressed the play button, the rubbernecking patrons and staff began moving again - trying to look preoccupied by their plates, the ends of their hair, whatever was sizzling on the grill.

  “Who’s the starving wonder boy?” asked Nick when Roxie brought him his check.

  “I’ve never seen him before in my life, but the girl he’s with is Madison O’Riley.”

  “O’Riley. As in O’Riley’s Rocks?”

  “That’s the one. Her mother was a little off her rocker to begin with, but not too long ago, she finally cracked. Had a vision or something and went to Las Vegas to preach the gospel.” She frowned. “She left that poor kid behind.”

  “That’s a damned shame.”

  Roxie smiled. “She’s doing all right. Mommie Dearest deeded her the house and business. She’s better off this way if you ask me.”

  Nick watched as Madison O’Riley wiped down her companion’s honey-coated hands with a napkin dampened with ice water.

  “Anyway,” said Roxie, “you have a good day. I hope you’ll come back.” She gave Nick a suggestive smile and headed toward the kitchen.

  Nick stared at his tab. The amount was scratched out and written underneath it was Roxie’s phone number. He smiled and pulled a twenty out of his pocket and tossed it on the table. Shrugging into his beige windbreaker, he headed for the doors, nearly tripping over a cluster of small dogs - and one fearless black cat - who had all lined up to whimper, trill, and stare through the glass.

  “You guys hungry?”

  But none of them, not even the spunky little beagle with the whipping tail, gave him any notice. He continued to the Highlander, gazing at Roxie’s number. He knew calling her would be a bad idea. He crumpled the receipt and almost tossed it, but at the last minute, shoved it into his pocket. Just in case.

  Bart’s Ark

  Alejandro gazed around the pet store with wide eyes, gasping when he saw a kennel of kittens. “Feline cubs!”

  Cubs? “We’re not here to see kittens,” said Madison. “I need to get koi for the pond.”

  But Alejandro already had his fingers through the gaps in the cage where a tangle of kittens climbed and tumbled over each other to sniff and lick him, mewing and rubbing their faces against his touch.

  Madison glanced at their bowls and saw they had plenty of food and water, but apparently they couldn’t get enough attention. This surprised her because Bart Aberdeen wasn’t simply an animal lover - he was an animal fanatic. It wasn’t uncommon for the man to get weepy when someone adopted a puppy or kitten - he had no qualms about giving the pets permanent residence.

  The place had everything a happy pet needed - toys, scratching posts, fluffy pillows and cushy pet beds in spacious kennels for all. She wondered if adopting from Bart’s wasn’t actually doing the pets a disservice.

  A little gray tabby fought the crowd of kittens and had Alejandro’s finger all to himself. He nibbled at it and Alejandro laughed - it was a buttery warm sound that made Madison’s heart swell a little. She’d never heard him laugh and hoped to hear more of it before he ended up … wherever it was he was supposed to be. In the few hours she’d known the guy she was becoming attached - and nothing good could come of that. Still, she almost hoped they wouldn’t uncover his identity - not right away, at least.

  “That’s Felix.” Bart Aberdeen approached on squeaky shoes. He was a balding rotund man with an always-smiling face, and on his shoulder, a colorful parrot perched, tilting his head at them. Bart twinkled at Alejandro then pointed at the gray kitten. “He’s only four months old. When the Parker’s cat, Prunella, had her last litter, they couldn’t find homes for Felix or his sister, Lucille.” He nodded at Felix’s twin, who was unsuccessfully nudging her brother out of the way for a turn at Alejandro. “The poor things. But I talked Mrs. Parker into having Prunella spayed.”

  “Who’s your friend?” asked Madison, nodding at the parrot.

  Bart gave his signature high-pitched laugh. “Oh, this is Pirate. Pirate the Parrot. He’s new, aren’t you boy? Old man Greer left him behind when he departed for the pearly gates.”

  The bird stuck his neck out to gawk at Alejandro. They eyed each other with interest. “He’s not very friendly,” said Bart. “He doesn’t talk much, but I’m trying to warm him up. I think he’s depressed.”

  “Who’s a pretty boy?” Pirate said in his flat discordant parrot voice.

  Alejandro stepped back and blinked.

  Bart looked stunned.

  Felix the kitten gave a squeaky meow, beckoning Alejandro back.

  Bart laughed and looked at Alejandro. “I don’t believe I’ve met you.”

  “Oh,” said Madison. “This is Alejandro. He’s, uh, visiting from out of town. Alejandro, this is Bart Aberdeen.”

  Bart held out his hand and Alejandro gave it an uncertain pat as Pirate the Parrot strained to get closer. “Who’s a pretty boy?”

  Bart appeared confused by the hand-pat. “A pleasure to meet you, Alejandro.”

  Madison sighed. I really need to show him how to shake hands.

  Bart returned his attention to the gray kitten. “Felix has been neutered recently, haven’t you, sweet boy?” He stuck a finger in the grate to stroke the kitten, but Felix only had eyes for Alejandro. He gave another lonesome mew. Bart turned to Alejandro. “His sister, Lucille, has been spayed as well, and I’d like to kee
p them together.” Lucille stared at Pirate the Parrot and licked her lips.

  Madison said, “We’re here to get some koi for my pond and-”

  With a startling spread of wings, Pirate the Parrot hopped from Bart’s shoulder to Alejandro’s and began polishing his beak along his cheek. Alejandro laughed again and at the sound of it, Madison melted a little more.

  Bart reached for the parrot. “Oh! Pirate. You rascal, get back here!”

  But the bird dodged him, ducking away, and flapping his bright green wings.

  “He doesn’t fly well,” said Bart. “He broke his left wing and it didn’t heal right.” He smiled at the parrot. “But he tries.”

  “Poor fellow,” said Alejandro. He stroked the bird under its beak and Pirate became calm. His hand moved to the bird’s left wing, and he touched it lightly. Pirate didn’t flinch. It must have been an old wound.

  Bart turned his eyes to Madison. “You’ve finished the koi pond, you say?”

  “I did!” Madison beamed. “Everything’s in place. I even got the heater going to get them through the winter.”

  “That’s very exciting.”

  “Who’s a pretty boy?” Pirate nibbled at Alejandro’s ear lobe.

  “You are.” Alejandro chuckled, shrugging against the feathery tickles.

  Madison wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anything so sweet in her life.

  “He sure does like you.” Bart carefully lifted the bird from Alejandro’s shoulder. The parrot squawked and beat his wings, not wanting to leave his perch.

  “I think he likes me, too,” said Alejandro.

  Bart succeeded in replacing Pirate on his own shoulder. “I think it’s because he loves the puppies, and he can smell them on you.”

  Alejandro tilted his head. “Puppies?”

  “You smell like puppy breath,” explained Bart. “I can always tell when someone’s been getting licked by the little buggers. It just warms my heart.”

  Puppy breath? They hadn’t been near the puppies. Madison leaned in and sniffed. Alejandro’s scent was as strong as ever - all vanilla.

  “Well,” said Bart, “You know where the fish are. Let me put Pirate back and I’ll help you pick some out.” He squeaked away.

  “Come on,” said Madison. They passed the puppies, who clambered closer, their wet, sniffing noses poking through the grates of their kennels. Birds leapt to the bars of their cages and called out. Even the guinea pigs seemed intrigued, pressing their funny little faces to the glass, their noses pulsating.

  On the fish aisle were several long aquariums of goldfish and other sea life, and in tandem, the lazy floating creatures became alert, following Alejandro as if he were magnet and the tiny fish were shards of steel. It was strange, almost spooky.

  At the koi tanks, Madison tried to identify which ones seemed hearty enough to adapt well to a new environment. She couldn’t tell one way or the other, but as they schooled to the glass, an idea struck. “You have a way with animals. Maybe you worked with them. Does that sound familiar?”

  Alejandro shrugged. “I am not sure.”

  Madison found herself locked in that unearthly gaze of his. He smiled and said, “Maybe I was a pet store owner like Mr. Aberdeen.”

  “Or a veterinarian.” She tried to envision it and couldn’t.

  Bart Aberdeen’s squeaky shoes betrayed his approach. He now had on a green rubber apron and carried a stepladder and a net.

  Alejandro watched in amazement as Bart began scooping fish. “Does half a dozen sound like a good amount?”

  “You’re a mind reader,” said Madison.

  Bart swished the net around in the water, setting his sights and doggedly persisting until he made the catch, then divided the koi between two water-filled bags, tied them and handed one each to Madison and Alejandro. He bent and peered at the fish. “You be good for Ms. O’Riley.” He looked at Madison. “I’ll go get you their food and take it to the register.” Then he left, a spring in his squeaky-shoed step.

  Alejandro stopped a moment to play with the kittens, then, at the register, a young man with a protruding Adam’s apple rang them up, his eyes on Alejandro. A little girl in braids and her young mother paused near the specialty dog bone bins to stare as well. Madison wondered if all the ogling unnerved Alejandro, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was fixated on the bagged fish, talking to them. They seemed just as taken with him.

  Madison paid the clerk and grabbed the bagged fish food. As they headed to the exit a piercing shriek rang out.

  A boy of perhaps four twisted out of his father’s grip and beelined toward them.

  “Tommy!” The father’s voice boomed as he took off after his son.

  The towheaded boy sprinted, arms flying, giggling maniacally as he latched onto Alejandro’s leg. Alejandro clutched the bags of fish protectively and gaped down at the boy.

  “I’m so sorry.” The father trotted to them. “I don’t know what’s got into him.”

  The toddler was fastened to Alejandro like a strip of Velcro.

  “Tommy, let go of the nice man.” The father gripped his son’s arm and pulled.

  “No!” The boy shrilled and buried his face in Alejandro’s thigh.

  Alejandro looked at Madison, helpless. “There is a young cub on my leg.”

  Short of kicking the child, she had no advice to give.

  The father tugged at his son, his embarrassment turning to anger. “That’s enough, Tommy!”

  “No!” The boy giggled.

  People stared and pets stirred. Dogs barked, puppies yipped, birds screeched. Madison crouched and tried to reason with the child. “Don’t you want to see all the animals, Tommy?”

  “No!”

  She gave his arm a tug but he was rooted in place.

  “I’m so sorry about this.” Exasperated, the father locked his arms around the boy’s torso and lifted him. Tommy was horizontal now, a flag waving in the wind, his father the breeze that carried it.

  “Noooo! No, no, nooo!” Tommy’s shrieks reverberated through the store. “He’s Santa! He’s Santa!” There was no giggling now, just the screams of a coming tantrum. Dogs howled in concurrence with the harrowing wails.

  Alejandro balanced on one leg, fish clutched to his chest, eyes wide with wonder as the man tried to pull his son away.

  “Let go!” cried the father. A hard jerk cost Tommy his grip, and the man and his son flew backwards, knocking down a display stand of cat and dog collars and toppling onto the white tiled floor. The boy screamed in earnest now.

  Madison rushed to help but wasn’t sure how.

  Tommy fought against his father’s restraint - he screamed, kicked, and reached out to Alejandro.

  Bart Aberdeen appeared, hands waving like spooked birds. “Sir, are you okay, sir?”

  The father struggled to his feet, his boy intact. “Tommy! Enough!” His face was red, sheened in sweat. “Stop it!”

  But Tommy fought on. “No!” He kicked back and Bart Aberdeen gasped as Tommy nearly slipped headfirst to the floor. Madison made a move to rescue him, but the father hefted the boy upright in a quick save.

  Several dogs howled. The cashier ducked as Pirate the Parrot - who apparently could fly after all - swooped perilously close to his head. The little girl in braids began to cry. Her mother pulled her close. Bart Aberdeen brought his hands to his mouth, his fingers doing a frightened little dance near his lips, his eyes wide as full moons.

  The Parrot circled the store, and spotting Alejandro, dove toward him.

  Madison ducked, but Alejandro didn’t flinch as the bird lit on his shoulder. “Who’s a pretty boy?”

  “Noooo!” screamed Tommy as his father locked his arms tighter around him. “I want Santa!”

  “Be still.” Alejandro’s tone was soothing, a cool balm on an angry wound. He placed his hand on the boy’s head and the moment he touched him, the child’s body relaxed. Outside, clouds broke, brightening and warming the room. Tommy fell silent.

  The chirps
of birds halted with alarming suddenness, the howling and barking of pups clipped off so abruptly their echoes could be heard. The weeping girl in braids fell silent. It was as if the entire shop was listening very, very closely … and it was disturbing.

  Little Tommy’s furious red face returned to its natural color, and Alejandro withdrew his hand, the father watching his movement as one might watch a flying saucer.

  Madison was equally stricken and realized she’d stopped breathing.

  “I’m so sorry.” The father’s voice was a whisper now. Anything else would have sounded like a shout. “He’s never behaved this way before. Are you okay?”

  “I am okay.” Alejandro’s saintly smile calmed Tommy further. “You will be good, Tommy. Okay?”

  Tommy nodded, as smooth and calm as the gentle wave on a quiet sea.

  Bart Aberdeen tried to retrieve Pirate from Alejandro’s shoulder. The bird screeched and pecked his hand.

  “Ouch!” Bart looked betrayed and made another unsuccessful attempt.

  “Go to Mr. Aberdeen,” Alejandro told Pirate.

  The bird spread his wings and hopped onto Bart’s shoulder.

  Madison watched, speechless.

  Oblivious, Tommy’s father crouched and set the boy on the ground. “Are you going to behave now?”

  Tommy stared at his shoes. “I will, I promise.”

  “Tell the nice man you’re sorry.”

  Tommy looked up at Alejandro and grinned. “You smell like hot cocoa and candy canes.”

  “Tommy! Say you’re sorry!”

  Tommy sighed. “I’m sorry.” He turned to his father. “But he does smell like cocoa and candy canes, Daddy. He does!”

  The father gave Alejandro an apologetic smile and took off, dragging Tommy behind him. The child craned his neck and called, “Bye!” to Alejandro.

  Madison felt displaced, as if - yet again - she’d stepped into a new dimension.

  Alejandro sighed. “That young cub was very polite.”

  “What the hell happened?” asked Madison.

  Alejandro shrugged.

  The usual pet shop noises resumed. A bird chirped. A dog barked. A cat meowed. Pirate the Parrot called, “Who’s a pretty boy?”