Practically Angels

by Melanie James

  “Fish and chips okay with you?” Daryl asked.

  “Whatever you like. I’m starving,” I replied, walking next to him.

  As we walked, we passed several couples holding hands. My hand accidentally brushed Daryl’s—just for a second. Now, I know I was putting the cart way the heck before the horse, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a sign. Someday, I would walk with someone like that. Of course, it may not be Daryl. I barely knew the guy and I was in no hurry to get all love-struck over someone who might turn out to be a total jackass.

  But an angel can daydream a little, right?

  Daryl signaled an order for two. “So, where you from, Emmy?”

  My brain suddenly drew a blank.

  Our carefully crafted cover story was gone—just gone!

  Where are we from?

  Who are we?

  We spent a whole hour coming up with it.

  “Yes. I am. I mean, we are all from someplace. Right? And I am from someplace, too. After all, it’s not like I just popped out of an egg. Crackle, pop! Surprise!” I said, afraid my nervous laugh made me sound like I was nuts.

  “You okay, Emmy? You seem like you’re having an existential crisis or something. Seriously, do you need to sit down?”

  “Heav..Heaven,” I stammered.

  “Heaven?” Daryl asked, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.

  He was clearly confused by my admission.

  “I mean West Virginia. It’s almost Heaven, right?”

  Bingo! I suddenly remembered.

  “Just kidding. New Haven, West Virginia. Me and my two cousins. That’s where we’re from all right.”

  I sound like a blabbering idiot.

  It was the best back story we could come up with. And hopefully small and obscure enough so we’d never have to run into anyone who was actually from the little town.

  “Thank you,” I said, grateful for the plate of fried fish he slid over to me. “And you? Where are you from?”

  “Born and raised right here in Angel Bay. I’ve never been too far away, except once in high school when we went to state.”

  “State?”

  “State Championships my senior year. I played football.”

  “Football?” I spoke the word like I was learning how to pronounce a new word in Mandarin Chinese.

  Football. Football? What in the hell is football? A game, dummy. But I should know a heck of a lot more about what people do in mortal school. Just play along.

  “Ah, football. I played a bit.”

  “Really?” Daryl seemed instantly impressed with me.

  This was a good move on my part.

  “Oh, sure. Not a lot, but I’ve played my share.”

  “I played safety and running back. What positions did you play?”

  “Ah, with the foot part.” My head instantly hurt.

  Is this what it feels like to have an aneurysm?

  “Punter? Kicker? Both?”

  “Yep. I have two favorite positions,” I replied, only realizing the accidental double entendre after the fact.

  Oh my god. Stop me from talking now.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. You know, it’s good to see Midge’s old store opening back up. Tragic what happened. Just so you know…” he said, lightly clasping my hand. “Even though the DA has all but made it a cold case, you have my word I’ll stay on the case until we learn the truth.”

  The truth? I didn’t even know the truth. It had never occurred to me to learn more about Midge and what happened to her. The way Natasha had made it sound, Midge died of natural causes. And what’s a DA?

  Learning Midge’s fate just became my highest priority. I needed some background information before even trying to have a conversation about it with Daryl or anyone else in town. For the moment, I had to play along.

  “Thank you. It means a lot to us, really. But I’d rather not talk about it tonight. It’s such a pleasant evening. Why bring it up? Thanks again for the fish.”

  “My pleasure. If it would be okay with you, maybe we could catch dinner again sometime? Someplace a little less…crowded,” he said, suddenly interrupted by his squawking radio. “And when I’m not working. I have to go. Brush fire. The fire department is requesting help with redirecting traffic north of town.”

  “I’d love to. Call or just stop by the store anytime.” I handed him a brand-new business card with our store phone number.

  Thunder from several motorcycles rudely overpowered the soft music we’d been enjoying in the background. At least one peeled away from the pack and pulled into the park.

  Daryl waved and disappeared as quickly as he’d arrived. My friends hadn’t returned, and the crowd nearly made an impenetrable wall around the campfire. Opting to enjoy the lingering twilight over the bay, I took a stroll down the dock which stretched along the shore of the bay. I’d reached the far end of the park when I found a bench that looked perfect for relaxing. A somewhat dilapidated old sailboat was tied up nearby, and I’d noticed one of the motorcycles I spotted just minutes before was parked in the grass in front of it.

  A V-shaped ripple moved across the shadowy surface of the water, growing larger as it drew closer to the dock. It was just dark enough that I couldn’t figure out what it was until a large golden retriever sprang onto the dock and made a beeline straight toward me.

  I swear the dog held back from shaking off until I was in range. I could see him judging the distance to his target—mainly me.

  Slowly moving in, closer, closer and in three, two, one…shake!

  The smiling dog expertly showered me with the icy water. Already cold, I squealed from the shock of the freezing droplets splashing all over my body. The dog, taking my protests as an invitation for a hug and kiss, jumped up to give me a wet, slobbery welcome.

  “Down, Mooch.”

  Turning my face, despite the wet slurping tongue, I looked for the source of the voice. A young man, the very attractive motorcycle rider I’d watched through the binoculars was removing something from one of the leather saddlebags on the side of his motorcycle.

  Mooch paused, staring down his master for a few seconds before reluctantly jumping away from me.

  “I’m sure he’s sorry. He usually goes for girls who have been out swimming. He figures they don’t mind water,” he said.

  The closer he got, the better looking I realized he was. Not just his tan muscular arms, but his dark shoulder length hair and dark eyes. While Daryl’s face looked bright and trusting, this man’s face looked mysterious and almost wicked. And it turned me on.

  “Well, he certainly got me all wet.” I cringed as the words flew from my mouth.

  That sounded horrible. Please, Jesus. Stop me from talking to men.

  “I taught him everything he knows. Anyway, you look cold. Here.” He handed me a huge, thick flannel shirt.

  “Thank you,” I said, and I meant it. It was heavy and warm, and just what I needed. “And thank you for the friendly greeting, Mooch. One thing I like about dogs is that no matter how rude they act, they know ‘love conquers all’ like the saying goes.”

  “That’s not what it means at all,” he replied.

  “Oh? Please enlighten me.”

  This should be good. Philosophical lectures from the bad boy biker.

  “The ancients knew love could be destructive. Like being addicted to hard drugs, it can ruin your life. It’s from one of Virgil’s poems. A shepherd named Gallus is completely overwhelmed by love. He begs for help—gods, demons, they all try and fail to help him. In the end, Gallus dies. Another victim of love. Love conquers all.”

  I couldn’t believe I was about to debate the finer points of ancient Latin poetry with some biker in the park. “And that’s what you believe? That love ruins lives, like heroin or crack?”

  He shrugged, obviously trying to stay uncommitted. “Look around you sometime and tell me there isn’t a grain of truth to it.”

  “Sorry, but I believe in love. It’s the best par
t of human nature. You won’t convert me to thinking it’s a dark force.”

  “The ancients also believed there were different kinds of love. The kind you are talking about.” His voice lowered and he stared right through me. “And then there is the passionate, erotic kind.”

  Okay. I think I’ve heard enough from the park bench philosopher.

  “Let me guess, and you want to be my dealer for that sort of love?” I started to remove the shirt to return it.

  “No. Keep it until I come by and pick you up.”

  “Pick me up?” I was totally befuddled and I’m sure I looked it.

  “Yeah. You know, go for a ride. Dinner. Maybe more… probably more.”

  “You’re awfully bold to assume you’re just going to ‘pick me up’ and take me on a date. What makes you think I’d just go with you? Is it because you trained your dog to hop all over me and then offer me a shirt? Or was it the classic Latin book club schtick?” I was about to rip the shirt off and throw it straight into the bay.

  But then he called me out.

  “Because I saw you on the porch of your shop when I drove by. You were checking me out with flipping binoculars. Just admit the truth, you liked what you saw.”

  He had me there. As an angelic being, I was already sick to my insides from spinning all the little white lies. I could hardly utter a straightforward lie after being called out so boldly. To be fair, it was getting fun.

  “Okay, sure. You caught me. I’ll go for a ride with you, but you can forget the ‘probably more’ stuff. I’m not to be messed with.”

  “Fine. See you soon, Emmy. My name’s Zane by the way.”

  “See ya’, Zane. Thanks again for the shirt.”

  Then it suddenly occurred to me, I hadn’t introduced myself. “Hey! How do you know my name?”

  Zane silently lifted his arm, pointing to two girls hanging on each other as they stumbled through the park like the losers of a three-legged race.

  “Emmy, Emmy, Emmy! Hey, Emmy!” Chloe shouted.

  “Oh my god. I see,” I said.

  My friends arrived just as Zane and Mooch disappeared into the shadows.

  “You botch. Batch. Bitch,” Chloe slurred. “You chew right through that hot cop and then go for seconds with the hot biker guy. All that’s left of him is his shirt? You’re wearing his discarded skin like a fur coat? Couldn’t you have saved one for me?”

  It appeared that Chloe was actually crying.

  “I want a sexy beast man,” she sobbed.

  “All right, Chloe. Have a seat,” Jade soberly commanded. “Chloe and I went to the wine tasting tent. As you can probably tell, I didn’t care for it much, but it had quite an effect on Chloe here.”

  “Yeah. You showed…you should try it, Emmy. Makes my not so…so…makes me unshy.”

  “And really drunk,” I said. I’d never had alcohol. It wasn’t something one would find in Heaven, but I’d certainly read about it. “We should get you home for the night.”

  Chloe threw an arm over each of our shoulders and we dragged her back to the store. By the time we’d hauled ninety-five pounds of Chloe upstairs to her bedroom, she was out cold.

  “I have a great idea. Help me get her undressed,” Jade said, slipping Chloe’s dress over her limp torso. I blushed by the time her pale little body lay there, stark naked.

  “Listen to her snore!” I was shocked that such a frail little thing could sound like a foghorn.

  “Now your biker buddy’s shirt.”

  I handed it over and she wrapped Chloe in it.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Chloe is blacked out drunk. Her memories will be a blur, so this will be for entertainment. Sheer entertainment. Goodnight, Belle of the fish fry,” Jade whispered in her ear.

  “Evil. You are evil.”

  “Yes. And you smell like a wet dog.”

  Chapter Nine

  The morning sun brightened our breakfast table. Jade poured the tea, smiling. “How long before Chloe is resurrected do you think?”

  “About now,” I said, lightly blowing the steam from my tea. Chloe yawned and stretched, strolling from her room to the kitchen. The large shirt hung on her like it was a petite bathrobe and that is exactly what Chloe thought it was.

  “My head is on fire!” she announced. Rubbing her eyes, she finally noticed what she was wearing. “Wha-what is this? Is this a man’s shirt?” She spoke with great awe and lightly touched the material like a wizard’s magic robe had suddenly appeared on her.

  “Sure is.” Jade winked at her.

  “WHAT? Oh. My. God. What have I done? Who was wearing this? And where is he?”

  “Hmm. I know it belongs to that hot young biker. Have you seen him around this morning?” Jade asked me.

  “Nope. Not at all.”

  Chloe gently drew open the front of the shirt, finally aware his shirt represented the only stitch of clothing on her body.

  “What if… What if I…” she stammered.

  “What if you what?” Jade asked, mocking sincere curiosity.

  “What if I… Oh my god. What did I say? What did I do?” She gasped with fear and once again peeked at her naked body. “I’ve read about this sort of thing. The regrettable, drunken one-night stand! I can’t believe I fell prey to alcohol and bad choices! It’s just like what happened in Dark Beasts, book two.”

  “It Started with a Whisker?” I knew the exact section of the book she was referring to.

  “Yeah. Chapter three. Oh my god. What if I…what if I…what if I lost my virginity?”

  But she kind of said it in a very loud whisper, and with the speed of an overly caffeinated auctioneer, so it was more like one long word. WhatifIlostmyvirginty?

  “Was it the hot biker at least? Why don’t I remember anything? Come on, Jade. You’re the only one here who isn’t a virgin. How would I know?”

  “Because you’d remember it. Geesh. So many questions,” Jade said. “It’s not like you get something tattooed across your ass the minute you lose your virginity.”

  “Hey, Chloe, did you get any tattoos last night?” I teased.

  Scanning her body for fresh ink, she was relieved not to have found anything. “Check my backside.” She turned and lifted the shirt, exposing her rear end.

  “Geez, Chloe. Put that thing away!” It was the last thing I needed to see at the breakfast table.

  At that exact moment, a motorcycle rumbled past our store. Talk about perfect timing.

  “Ooh, maybe he’s back for his shirt. We can go flag him down and ask him!” Jade was having entirely too much fun.

  I saw Chloe’s lips starting to tremble. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Her skin was so pale it might have been slightly translucent.

  We’d gone too far.

  “All right, enough. We’re just kidding, Chloe. I borrowed that shirt last night. Jade and I put you to bed and dressed you in it.”

  “You…you…” She actually growled, like a fierce little chihuahua. “You…you…fuckers!” she barked, immediately clamping her hand over her mouth. Ripping off the shirt, she threw it at us and stormed out of the kitchen. Her ass once again on display.

  I really hoped this wasn’t going to be a reoccurring theme. I’d seen far too much of Chloe’s backside today.

  Ten minutes passed. “Tick. Tick. Tick,” Jade said, watching the clock. “Okay.” She grabbed a clean cup out and filled it with tea. “Should be…right about now.”

  Amazingly, Jade was spot on. Chloe returned to the kitchen. She was calm, even a little subdued and wrapped in her own bathrobe instead of Zane’s shirt. Taking a seat, she sipped her tea. “I’m sorry that I used that word, and I’m sorry for getting drunk and making you guys carry me back home. But c’mon. That was a little mean of you.”

  Chloe was right. Jade’s practical joke was on the mean side, but it didn’t make it any less funny. At least, in the end, we all shared a laugh.

  “So, you slept with him? You don’t even know him,
” Chloe blurted out.

  “Heck no!” I dove into explaining how I ended up with Zane’s shirt.

  “I do have something else we need to talk about. Daryl brought up Midge. He said something about her ‘tragic death’ and that he was still looking into it. It’s all very mysterious.”

  “Funny. I never gave her passing much thought. I assumed it was just normal, er…natural,” Chloe replied.

  “Me neither,” Jade said. “All we have to do is contact her in Heaven. Ask her what happened. Easy peasy. I’ll call Mrs. Portobello myself.” Picking up her cell phone, she tapped the screen.

  The phone emitted an annoying tone and played a recording. “The number you have dialed is no longer in service.”

  “Okay. No biggie. I’ll call Natasha then.” She pressed the digits into the keypad, waited a minute and sighed when she received the same recording.

  “That’s weird. We must be having some sort of technical difficulties, but we can try later. No rush.” I shrugged. “You know, I didn’t meet many other people from the town last night. How about you?”

  “Quite a few, but I’d be lying if I told you I remembered everyone’s names,” Chloe said. “But we finally met the neighbors from the clothing shop next door. The O’Briens. Tim and Mary? I think. After that, everything was a blur to me.”

  “They seemed like super nice people,” Jade said. “They’re about my parents’ age. Let’s see…we also met a rude big-shot lawyer guy and his not-so-rude sister. I can’t remember either of their names. Then there were the nerdy guys who own the gaming shop and like a dozen other nameless residents.”

  “I’m sure we’ll all get to know each other over the summer.” I had hoped to meet more of the residents, but the way my evening unfolded, it hadn’t happened. I’m sure there would be plenty of other chances to mingle with the locals.

  Jade sipped her tea, squinting like she does when she’s thinking hard. “I’m kind of disappointed though. We never spotted the hot swimmer guy. I would’ve liked to have met him.”

  “Hmmm,” Chloe murmured like an idea was churning in her brain.