by Multiple
“You are wound up tighter than a drum, my friend,” Josh whispered in his ear. “Being celibate and alone is downright unhealthy.”
Daniel stared at him. It hadn’t occurred to him he had been celibate for what, a month now? He was surprised his needs hadn’t surfaced like they had been. How could Josh know this?
Several women walked past them, suddenly primping their hair and straightening their posture. A skinny blond girl in her late twenties with enormous breasts leaned into the glass case, almost cutting the two men off mid-stride. As she opened the door, bringing out a half gallon of non-fat milk, she revealed a huge cleavage and breasts that almost leapt from her stretchy white v-neck top. She didn’t look at the men, but she smiled knowingly. Daniel smiled at Josh, who tilted his head to the side and watched the girl’s ass wiggle alluringly down the aisle. She wasn’t Daniel’s type, and then he realized he was comparing her to Audray.
There was no comparison.
Am I losing my manhood?
“You need female companionship, bad,” Josh said, tearing his eyes off the blonde to look at Daniel.
“I have a meeting in the morning. Can’t make it too late of a night,” Daniel answered, creating an excuse why he hadn’t gone for the blonde. “But I probably do need a break. I’m stoked for you to see what I’ve been doing.”
Daniel was slightly disappointed when he heard Josh’s flat response behind him: “I can hardly wait.”
Josh and Daniel were finishing up their dinners, sitting at the dining table next to the open kitchen. Daniel made an occasion of their re-connection by setting a formal table, complete with candlelight and good wine. When he wanted to be, he was a very good cook. He and Josh usually dined on a fare that was heavy on lean, slightly rare meat, light on rice, heaviest on greens. Over dinner, they’d shared a bottle of red wine, and it was now at the bottom.
“So you haven’t said you if like my new stuff,” Daniel said, offering Josh the last of the bottle.
Josh grinned. “Sin Zin, of course, my friend.” He held out his goblet. He inhaled the scent, then sloshed the wine in his mouth and closed his eyes as he swallowed. “Heaven.”
They both laughed. “God, I’ve missed you, my friend. Forgotten how much fun it was to eat and drink,” Daniel said.
“And screw. Don’t forget the screwing part. Part of your Latin heritage, Daniel, and very important to your physical well being,” Josh said, pointing his fork at Daniel’s chest.
Daniel frowned. He didn’t need to be reminded.
Josh grinned and played with a piece of steak with his knife, not looking up at Daniel. “You amaze me. Where do you find this recent inspiration?” He pinned him with a serious stare.
“I think it’s the bounce,” Daniel answered, not even sure why.
“Bounce?”
“I was at the bottom, I mean, really at the bottom. I hit, but I recovered. When you’re at the bottom you have nowhere else to go. The only way is up.” Daniel shrugged. “As for inspiration, I don’t know, Josh—it’s coming from somewhere. Somewhere out there.” He wanted to remain a little guarded.
Josh sat up straighter and scanned the room before he answered. “Daniel, you see this talent of yours as something given to you from somewhere else. Don’t you understand the talent is coming from you? Can’t you accept the fact that you can do anything you set your mind to do—it’s just a matter of confidence?”
“Well then, why do I feel inspired some days and not others?”
“That’s just the human condition—just life. Look to yourself for the source of that power to create. It’s all here, man,” he said as he tapped his own chest with his clenched fist. “Have faith in yourself. Believe it. There is nothing else to believe in.”
“Maybe I have a muse.”
“A muse? What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Josh’s face got red. He started to stand, then seemed to change his mind and remained at the table, but threw his knife and fork on his plate in disgust.
“You know, a fairy, a spirit—someone or something watching over me. I’ve sensed it in dreams lately.”
Josh scanned the room again. “That’s pretty crazy, my friend. I’d be careful saying things like that.”
“What could be the harm? If I choose to believe it?”
“Be careful believing in things that will cause you pain, Daniel. Be very, very careful.” Josh’s brow was furled, eyes squinted. Then his face relaxed and he checked his watch. “We should go. I took the liberty of making some plans on your behalf. A new place on Fourth Street just opened up. I’ve not been there yet. Some friends will be stopping by.”
Josh stood up, and as Daniel pushed his chair away from the table, he noticed how under the dim light of the dining room, Josh’s skin seemed almost translucent. A faint blue vein extended over his jaw line and disappeared into the tissues of his cheek. His features were not the classic good looks of a great lover of women, but he commanded a handsome presence, perhaps less from his features and more from a place of power.
Daniel started to speak but noticed the center of Josh’s dark eyes flash a sharp red light for just a fraction of a second. Josh kept scanning the space, as if searching for something.
“What do you keep looking for?”
Josh held up his keys. “Keys to the kingdom. Let’s go rule the night, and get some serious ass.”
A tingling sensation ran all over the surface of Claire’s body, like a threshold had been breached, almost as if the tiny flash from Josh’s eyes had been a probe of some kind. Had Josh recognized her? She felt a chill of fear run up her spine.
Two seconds later the door opened again. Daniel hit the “set” button on his repaired alarm system, which began a soft repeat rhythm. Claire stared at the closed door and waited. Her angel intuition told her this act wasn’t over yet.
There was movement at the doorway again. Josh appeared at the window, and then he entered the room through the door without opening it, just as Claire had earlier. He stood as if addressing the space in general. He inhaled deeply as if needing to smell her fear.
She held her breath and tried to think of nothing but pure white light.
Before he exited, he turned, gave a low bow, and vanished through the door just as he had come.
It was past midnight and Claire was reading at the attic window when she saw the headlights come up the driveway and heard the sound of a car door opening. She peered out. A young redheaded girl was kissing Daniel. Her hands slid to the front of his pants, making him jump. Laughing, he extracted her arms and pushed her gently back into the rear seat of Josh’s car, closing the door. Another redhead was in the front, arms outstretched. He leaned in and gave her a kiss as well. She nearly pulled him into the car through the open window, dragging Daniel’s shirt up almost over his shoulders. He worked hard to get disconnected from the woman’s arms, just like he had the first one. Both women were pleading with him to stay.
Josh stood next to the driver’s seat, car door open, and addressed Daniel from across the top of the car. Music played in the background. Daniel tucked in his shirt, and said something back. Everyone laughed just before Daniel turned to go up the driveway. Josh called out to him, loud enough for Claire to be able to hear.
“Daniel! Think! Think, man!” When Josh didn’t get an answer, he continued, “Your loss is my gain.”
Daniel waved over his head in acknowledgement, but did not turn around as he made his way to the front door.
There was a second where Josh looked up to the attic window and gave a little nod. There was no red flash of light and no prickling sensation on Claire’s skin, but she held her breath just the same.
Josh backed his car down the driveway and away from the house. Headlights disappeared around the bushes and down the street.
Claire willed herself through to the top of the stairs and watched as Daniel sauntered up. He staggered a bit, but he was dancing, humming a Latin tune and moving
his hips, turning a fantasy partner. The sight of him took her breath away. The sound of his gentle singing set up a buzzing in her ears.
Off came his shirt. A wave of strong cigar and whiskey smell overtook her. He laid his pants over a chair and then removed everything else. He warmed the shower as he danced naked in the room. Claire watched his reflection in the floor length mirror. Steam entered the bedroom from the readied shower, fogging up her view.
Under the warm water’s splash, he continued singing. Claire poked her invisible head through the shower curtain and watched him soap himself then let the water sluice the white bubbles down his skin. She loved the smell of the spicy gel he used tonight, a hint of cinnamon and orange. He shampooed his hair. She followed ripples of water over the natural tan of his smooth muscular body as his hands scrubbed at his scalp.
Daniel toweling off intensified the smells for Claire. Mixed with the fading scent of the cigars, soap, and shampoo was the smell of his clean skin, and something else she was beginning to recognize as well as feel and almost smell: the passion of his soul. The emergence of this scent was usually a good sign; it meant the charge’s recovery was well underway. Claire was pleased.
A lingering doubt crept in when she realized he hadn’t painted today. Perhaps a little change of pace was all it was, since the passion was returning to his soul. That couldn’t be bad.
But of the most concern to her was Josh’s reoccurrence in Daniel’s life. She was going to need to do more research on this. She remembered the white stones Mother had shown her and hoped that once she separated Josh from Daniel permanently, she would never think of those cold stones again.
Chapter 12
When Daniel went off to a meeting with a client, Claire put in a voucher for money so she could wear something other than what she’d brought in her duffel. At night, when she was at work, she wore her beautiful eyelet lace gown, which resembled a man’s nightshirt. Claire assumed this was Father’s design; he seemed to prefer his Guardians be dressed in clothes that did not show off their curves when they were working in case they became visible in their exuberance. But what they wore on their off days was up to them. She hadn’t had time to properly pack. Except for her favorite pair of jeans, her wardrobe was simply lacking.
Doris drove her to Macy’s and tossed a purse of money over the cab seat. When she looked at the amount, Claire had no idea how much it would buy.
“He wants receipts, you know.”
“I know.”
“And, Doll, nothing flashy.”
“Oh, I know.” She grinned. She’d done this before.
“Usually you go for the sporting goods stuff, Claire. Macy’s today?” She gave her a wink. “And don’t even try submitting a receipt from Victoria’s Secret.”
They both laughed. What a picture that would have been, Mother Guardian looking over the receipts and seeing one from a lingerie shop.
Claire needed shoes so she could ditch the black slippers. She had an affinity for light colors, but being late fall, there weren’t any. Everything was black, maroon or shades of brown. On the back wall of the shoe department, a display of Crocs caught her eye and she was immediately attracted to the bright colors. She picked out a yellow pair in Mary Jane style, and placed them on her feet.
Perfect.
With her slippers in one hand, she found some plastic charms in various shapes and sizes. Someone had placed these inside the holes of the display Crocs. They called them “jewels.”
Too good to be true.
She picked out several: pink daisies, yellow and gold stars, a couple of red hearts, and a couple of gem-like stones in purple and green.
A separate holder had jewels with logos she didn’t understand, including a red bird with a topknot, a shark, and a bull’s head. She liked the one that was a letter “A” with a halo over it.
Get that one for Angela. She found one with a stylized “C” for Claire and went to the checkout.
The charms cost more than the Crocs, which surprised her.
Oh well. She had to have them.
She told the saleslady she would wear her yellow Crocs out.
“Go Cubbies,” the lady said as she handed Claire the bag. Curious. What could she possibly mean?
She gave the lady a smile, but had not a clue.
Claire was aware of the makeup and fragrance counter to her left. Although she needed neither of makeup nor fragrance, the brightly lit display cases, track lighting, and music attracted her. She touched the silver and gold trimmed gift sets wrapped in cellophane, loving the sensation and sound as they crinkled under her fingers. She overloaded on scents as she walked around the aisles, sampling the fragrances on her human “skin.” Soon, however, her nose started to itch.
One of her favorite things to do in the human world was to spray the scent in the room and then walk through it, something an older guardian taught her. That’s what they did in Heaven with their dust, but there it was a multisensory experience. Dust brought forth emotions. Perfume was a faint imitation.
Just for fun, Claire occasionally liked to wear a little makeup, something she wasn’t allowed in Heaven. It did commit her to staying in human form, because the makeup couldn’t disappear like the rest of her body. A made up face walking down a mall without a body attached to it scared humans. It had only happened to her once before and she was loath to repeat it. A woman had fainted, then woken and made the sign of the cross, which Claire had found ironic.
Risky or not, one of her most favorite things was to have her make-up done at Macy’s. The counter girl bounced in like a brightly colored flag on the end of a ship. Her jet-black hair spiked out in tufts at the back and sides of her head behind her ears. She was short, Claire’s height. She was probably in her twenties, with a flawless, pale face with large brown eyes done brightly in shades of green and fuchsia. These were not colors Claire would have thought to wear together on her eyes.
“Can I try something on you?” the girl asked in a perky manner.
Claire agreed, and placed herself on a white and chrome stool. Peering into a mirror, she noticed her short blond hair had spun out of control but glistened under the overhead lights. She wasn’t used to seeing herself. Her blue eyes were lighter than she remembered. A young man wearing lots of eye makeup with streaked blond and black hair asked her if she wanted some sparkling water.
“Perfect,” she said. Though she didn’t usually drink anything, she liked the way the bubbles felt on her tongue.
The makeup artist started the process of showing her the cleansing products. She pouted a bit when her cotton square revealed not a speck of dirt on Claire’s face.
“Your skin is exceptional.” Counter girl scrunched up her face as if deep in thought. “You must have just showered. There’s not a trace of anything on here.” She held up the brilliant white pad, flicking it back and forth with a small wrist action. Claire nodded, since there was no way she could explain the truth.
She enjoyed the sensuous experience: the gentle facial massage, the warm water rinse, the application with the pads of the artist’s fingers as she applied moisturizer. The girl possessed a cheerful disposition and bantered on about what she was doing and why. It was background noise, like the music in the store. Claire loved the whole experience. She wondered why there never was a place in Heaven where angels could enjoy this kind of happy pampering.
Maybe someday Father will let me open a spa in Heaven. She almost giggled at the thought.
The girl wore a very flowery scent Claire liked as well. She thought the tattoo on the girl’s forearm of a small frog was out of place on her delicate white skin.
“Can you make me look sexy?” Claire surprised herself when these words came out of her mouth. She blushed a bit, but that was what she wanted.
Countergirl gave a devilish giggle. “Right on. Hot date tonight?”
“You have no idea.”
Countergirl sighed. “Okay, Let’s knock his soc
ks off and make you a real sex siren.”
I’m thinking about him taking off more than his socks. She wished she could show Daniel that side of her. Perhaps she would chance it and appear to him just once this way. She wanted to see the reaction in his eyes as he beheld her painted face. What other parts of his body would respond?
Now was time for the dramatic eye paint. Claire watched with a hand-held mirror as the girl applied each layer of color, starting with a pale green, going darker in the crease of her eyes. She added the fuchsia to the ends and a bit in the crease, blending the color. Claire had to admit, with the dark eyeliner, blackened lashes and bright eye shadow she looked completely different—completely desirable, she hoped.
The woman Claire saw in the hand-held mirror at the end of the session did not resemble the girl who’d walked in. She was shocked at the change. Her face was as bright as one of Daniel’s canvases. Her eyes were mysterious and dark, and she practiced flashing them. But her lips were luscious and pink, the lip-gloss plumping them up. She could wear them like this every day, she thought.
“Oh, honey, you are sexy. And your skin is fabulous!” Fabulous was a word they hardly ever used in Heaven, but Claire loved the way humans said it. Several of the other helpers came over and admired the canvas that was Claire’s face.
Countergirl gave her more of the light pink lip color, glazed over with gloss that tasted like cherries. Claire had to have it.
“Now just one more thing.” Claire was trying to imagine what could possibly be missing as she looked at her transformation in the mirror.
The girl brought out a small silver can and shook it. “Close your eyes.” There was a hissing sound that lasted only a second. “Ok, now open them.”
On Claire’s forearm were tiny sparkling particles that caught the bright lights of the counter. In the mirror, she saw this sparkle had fallen all over her hair, her forehead, nose, and shoulders. Countergirl held up the little metal can, her big smile showing large white teeth.
