“You’re more than lucky, my little friend.” Columba said. “And what has An taught you today?”
Tiffany paused. She stared down at the multitudes milling around the base of the pavilion and at those on different levels, poking their heads out of the windows.
“I think the journey, the looking is the most important thing.” she said. “I think we learn something from trying—or maybe not from just trying, from doing.”
We all looked at her. That’s when Joe stood up and I could tell he had something important to say.
“Tif, it’s probably time you learned more.”
More? What was he thinking?
“About what?” Tiffany said.
Joe reached over for a bottle of lemonade and Tiffany nodded yes. He opened both of them.
“Now you need to know how you died.”
“Oh, Joe, we’re all so tired,” I said. ”Do we have to go into this now?”
“But I want to know, Claire. I want to know.”
I didn’t say anything. I don’t think I would have had the courage to risk telling her the story. But Joe seemed confident.
“Tif,” he said, “sometimes, adults try to do things right, and yet, we make mistakes. Especially on Earth, people can suffer from these mistakes, sometimes a lot. We can ask forgiveness; however, and try to go on with God’s grace. “
Tiffany nodded for him to go on. I put my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in.
“One morning,” he said. “Your mother made a grave mistake with you. She left you in your car seat too long. She didn’t mean to, and she has regretted it every day since. But it happened.”
“Left me in the car too long? I don’t understand how—“
“It got too hot in there. You died from heat exhaustion.”
Tiffany stared straight ahead, as if she were trying to recall the experience. “I was just a, just a baby, so I don’t, I don’t. . .oh, Claire, I’m so confused.” She buried her head into my chest and I held her.
“She loved you dearly.” I said.
Joe got up and sat on the other side of Tif. “Of course she did, like I said, she’s thought about you every day since. And God has helped her through this, I’m sure of it.”
Tiffany pulled away and sat up straight. “How do you know?”
“Because I’m a parent. I know. And I’m not making excuses for your mom, but I represented a client with a similar set of facts.” Joe said.
We nodded for him to continue.
“The father was an emergency room physician. The mother, an attorney. The mom always took the young son to daycare, but this morning, she needed to leave early, so the plan was for the dad to take the toddler.
“He got a call in the car while he was still in the driveway of his home. It was from the emergency room. He immediately began to focus completely on a trauma case that had come in. It was his specialty. He drove straight to the hospital and ran in, knowing that someone’s life was in the balance.”
Silence. We knew what was coming.
“He completely forgot about his son, who was asleep and strapped into his car seat in the back seat.” Joe said. “He didn’t remember him until his wife called him that afternoon to ask about something else. That’s when it dawned on him. He ran outside. But the boy was gone. The temperature in the car was over 100 degrees.”
The cloud was eerily quiet.
“He was charged with negligent homicide, went through a five-day trial and the jury acquitted him of the misdemeanor. But the family’s lives were changed forever. He and his wife eventually got a divorce, then oddly enough, got back together after a few years.”
Joe shrugged. I remembered the trial and how it had aged him and everyone involved.
“But, but how could she kill me?” Tiffany said quietly. “I don’t understand how—“
“But it was an accident,” Joe said. “Totally.”
“I don’t remember her. She’s just a blur. I want to see her again.”
Joe looked at me and then back at Tif. “You can, we’ll find her. We’re halfway there.”
“Joe, are you sure? I mean, how exactly would we do that?” I said.
“Tiffany has told me lots about her old neighborhood.”
“Gran told me.” Tiffany said.
Columba’s face had turned grim. I knew he was thinking of the first time he met Joe. Liu An touched his sleeve, whispered to him, and then both archangels stood, their robes fluttering in the light rain’s breeze. Columba took a breath and his calmer countenance returned.
“Tiffany, this is for you.” Columba said and reached into his cloak. He pulled out a small package, tied with a bright blue bow. “Save it for a quiet moment in Zion.”
“I’m proud of you.” I hugged her. “You will find more answers, I’m sure.” I was so glad we had found her and so happy she seemed in a more aware state. Suddenly, the rain stopped. The quiet morning moment seemed to stop all action and then stretch a sense of peace over us for several minutes, as if time itself had stopped.
“The sun is so beautiful over the river.” Tiffany said. “I could stay here forever.”
Joe laughed. “On this cloud? I think you’d get a bit hungry.”
“Wait, my friends, I have an early lunch for you.” Liu An clapped his hands and a feast of rice, chicken, shrimp, cabbage, snow peas, eggplant, and noodles appeared, all served in little wooden boxes that served as trays.
“There is an old saying in my country that anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to Heaven is edible.” An said. We all laughed. In addition to the food, there was steaming hot tea in lovely green and white china cups. We took note of the many pilgrims still making the climb, grateful to be sharing this gorgeous spot together.
When we were finished, Liu An asked the cloud to remove our trays. He held out his hand to Tiffany. She placed her hand in his and he placed his other hand on top.
“Now, I must bid you good-bye, my dear friends.”
“Oh, must we go just now? “ I said. “We just missed the sunrise, so I was hoping we could catch the sunset.”
Joe rested his hand on top of mine. “You’re forgetting I promised Tif we’d go to St. Louis and find her mom.”
“Now? I didn’t know you meant today. Really?”
Columba’s and An’s eyes met. No one spoke. Tiffany and An released their hands and Tif picked at a fluff of cloud.
Then An said, “We must say good-bye. Joe’s sickness is returning.”
Joe froze. “What do you mean?”
“Your hands, my dear friend. When we greeted each other, I felt the bones of your left fingers overcoming their flesh and coming through. You have perhaps six to eight hours before you lose that hand.”
Joe flipped his left hand over and stared at the fingers and palm. “I don’t see anything. Look, Claire, do you?”
I looked, but was too shocked to really see much. Tiffany looked confused and Columba leaned over and put his arm around her small shoulders to comfort her.
“You said returning,” I said. ”How did you know he has had the fever?”
“I, too, have had this sickness.” An said. “In the beginning, I thought my Earth family needed me to visit and somehow to help them. This was foolish.” He put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “You will always have this sensitivity, but it will also help you assist others. As it has helped me.”
“Joe, could I have a moment with you?” Columba said. The two of them walked over to the adjoining cloud. Their voices were low, so it was impossible to catch what was being said, but I could take a good guess. After a few minutes, Columba gave him a hug, they turned and were back beside us.
“Joe, if you like to travel, perhaps you would enjoy a longer trip, but one where you will not risk disease,” Liu An said. “Europa is very nice.”
“No, not Europe,” Columba said. “Europa. The smallest of Jupiter’s moons. Pancho can get you on the next open manifest.”
Joe looked at me as if Liu An and Columba had told him the most amazing story he’d every heard. “Wait, we can go to other planets? Claire, you never told me.”
I pushed myself off the cushy cloud seat. “We haven’t talked much about worlds beside Heaven and Earth. When we get home, ask Laurence. He’s traveled much more than I have.”
Joe nodded and smiled, clearly fascinated by this possibility.
“If this has gladdened you, I am pleased.” Liu An said as he shook Joe’s hand. “Let us now say our good-byes.” He bowed to each of us.
Columba stood. “Tiffany, we’re proud of you. You made a mistake, were found and you learned a lesson from all that passed. And please, do not be afraid of the illness Joe has. It will leave as soon as he arrives in Heaven.”
He reached out his hand to her and Tiffany straightened herself up to her fullest height. “Thank you, Columba. Please thank everyone at the monastery.” They hugged.
“Of course.” Columba said. “Joe, you’ll remember our agreement.” Joe nodded. “An, are you going my way?”
“Yes, I’m stopping by my cloud near you for a few nights, then I’m off to another part of Heaven. I believe the siren song will not be heard at the South West Gate for a while and there are other pathways to Evil.”
“And you’ll be there for others, just as you were for this brave cupid.” Columba said. “Then let us be off.” He and Liu An hovered a few feet above the cloud. “Let it be a golden and peaceful day.” Then they turned and stretched their arms toward the sky.
We watched them fly up toward the east.
Tiffany spoke first. “Funny, An never really said good-bye.”
“Maybe he has trouble with that.” Joe said. “Some people do.”
She shrugged. “Are we really going to see my mom?”
“If I have anything to say about it, yes.”
“Joe,” I said, “you don’t have to risk yourself to do this. I can—“
“No,” Joe said. “Claire, I know you’re worried, and I love you for it. I’m worried, too. But I feel like I need to do this. That this is my task.” He was already in the air and hovering. ”But we can’t dawdle. Let’s go!”
We flew steadily due east for two hours. After we crossed the ocean, Joe pointed out the Rocky Mountains to Tiffany and told her to look for a big river. I wished we could drop down and see the hummingbirds at Inkwell & Brew in Estes, but before I could even think to suggest this, we were far past and Tiffany cried out.
“I see it! I see it!” she said.
“Yeah. Let’s go down, this is it.”
“Joe, St. Louis is a big city,” I said. “ Where exactly are we going?”
“Tif says the Central West End. You remember that area. Lots of restaurants, bars, and new condos. And older neighborhoods, some upscale, some not so much.”
“McAlester Street, near my family’s book store.” Tiffany said. “Oh, I can’t believe I’m going to see Mom!”
Using Left Bank Books as our fixed center point, we were floating down the rows of neighborhoods, checking the street signs. “Lenox Place, Hortense Place -- McAlester Court, here,” Joe said.
We started walking up the well-manicured sidewalk. It was early evening and people were out jogging, pushing strollers, and digging in flower gardens. Some neighbors called out to each other in passing. A small boy of ten or so was trying to walk an older black Lab who was putting up resistance. His dad dashed out the front door to help.
“Tif, this is all interesting, but do you have an address?” I was getting concerned about Joe’s hands. I had noticed that he kept sticking his left fingers in his jean’s pocket.
Tif sat down on a curb and watched as girls about her age did cartwheels and split jumps in the grass of their front yard. Their younger brother rode his bicycle with training wheels up and down their walk. “Do you think they’re cheerleaders?”
“Mmm, possibly. But Tiffany, a street address?”
She looked up at me. “It’s the twins...houses.”
“Twin houses?”
“Yeah. They look alike.”
Joe blew out air. “Twin houses. Okay.” He jogged and flew up the street a bit. Then he turned and motioned to us. “Got ‘em! C’mon!”
We were quickly standing in front of two identical Craftsman homes, with long porches, gently curving roof lines with exposed rafters and wide dormer windows. Each dormer had a window box—one sported red geraniums, the other, white and pink petunias.
“Goodness, they are twins.” I said.
“Yeah, the only difference I see is the door color,” said Joe.
One of the gray homes had a red door and the other, a green.
“Look, look, it’s opening!” Tiffany said. The red door swung back and an African-American couple walked out, followed by three stair-stepped boys.
“Jeffrey, don’t forget to lock up,” said the mom, and the oldest boy pulled out a key and inserted it into the red door’s lock.
Tiffany looked discouraged.
“Let’s look at the other home.” Joe said.
“No cars.” I thought Tif was going to cry. We walked up the front porch’s steps and peeked inside the dark house.
“Nope, nothing.” Joe seemed to be considering something. “It’s about 7ish on a Sunday night.”
“They could be anywhere.” I said. “I think we should head back to Zion. “
Tiffany sat on the home’s front porch swing, her chin in her hands. “We got so close.”
“I wonder.” said Joe. “Do you know where your parents go to church?”
“Nope.”
“It was worth a shot.” I said. “Now, let’s go.”
Tiffany sat up, her face suddenly beaming. “No, wait, I know where they got married—Trinity Episcopal. Gran has pictures.”
“Claire, let’s look. I saw one of those little metal street signs pointing to Trinity at the end of this street. If this is a dead end, we’ll zap back up, okay?”
“Okay. Vamos!”
Trinity Church was a smallish structure, with a parking lot on one side and Evangeline’s restaurant and bar on the other. There were nine pre-teens and teen-agers of various ages in the parking lot. A black guy, looking like he was in his late twenties, was leaning against one of the cars. A bright red Honda sedan pulled through and two younger black girls got in. He waved good-bye to them. The other teens seemed a bit restless.
“Must be the end of a youth event.” I said. “Maybe EYC. Doesn’t look like anyone else is here.”
“Oh,” Tiffany said, “I guess we should just go on.”
The church’s front door opened. A priest and a woman with a short, raven bob walked out, laughing and smiling. The priest turned to lock the door. The woman, who was dressed in jeans and a gray tee, waved to one of the younger kids on the parking lot and moved toward him.
“Good-bye, Mrs. Logan.” said a boy of about 14 with curly reddish hair. “See you next week.”
“See you, Fred. Ben, are you ready?” A young blonde-headed boy, maybe about 10 or 11, and the woman who appeared to be his mother moved to a nearby SUV.
“Mom!” Tiffany flew to her side. The woman paused and tilted her head in Tiffany’s direction. We quickly followed.
“Are you sure?” Joe said as we watched the female quickly shake her head and click the opener for the car doors.
“Logan was my name.” Tiffany said. “That’s my mom. My actual mom.”
We drifted out of their way as they slowly backed up and then left the parking lot.
“Let’s go see
,” I said.
We followed them back to the Craftsman home and watched as they entered the cedar green door. The boy hung a backpack over his right shoulder and turned to go upstairs. His mom flipped on some lights.
We stood on the front porch. Joe and I were on either side of Tiffany. We put our arms around her.
Tif took a deep breath. “I have a brother.”
“Yeah.” I said. “How about that. A brother. And, Joe, we are going back to Heaven now if I have to drag you by the ear.”
We flew a bit wearily but steadily back to Pancho’s. Nobody said much. I was concerned about Joe’s health and I knew Tiffany was brooding over everything she had seen and learned. Joe seemed a tad wobbly when we dropped down into Pancho’s ranch yard, but that may have just been fatigue.
Pancho took one look at us and suggested we stop over in one of her guest houses. There were no protests. We were exhausted and flopped down in the rustic wooden chairs of the little cottage’s living room. I made Joe show me his hands. I could see a tiny patch of bone shining through on the left thumb, but that was all. After what I’d seen when he was really sick, I was comforted.
There was a knock at the door.
I opened it and found a smiling cow-angel holding a tray stacked high with sandwiches. Her bright yellow straw hat matched her lemon yellow leather boots. “Pancho thought you might be hungry.” she said as she placed the tray on the coffee table. “There’s plenty of beer, wine and lemonade in the fridge. And St. Columba left this for Joe.” She handed him a small brown paper package. “Have a good rest.” She gently closed the front door.
“What is it?” I said as Joe started unwrapping. He pulled out a small jar and looked inside. “It’s some type of oil, must be for my hands.”
“Yeah, Columba must have consecrated it as soon as they arrived here.” I said. “Let me help you put it on.”
Joe held out his left hand and I rubbed the soft, thick oil over his palm and fingers. Then we did the other one for good measure.
There were two white muslin gloves in the package, and I slipped them over his hands. “Columba thinks of everything.”
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