"Working With an Angel"

Chapter Six


The elevator doors opened and John looked out at Tank. Tank seemed surprised to see John. Tank’s eyes moved to Angel, who nodded her head in reassurance. He shrugged and signaled for them to get off the elevator. Once off the elevator, Tank pointed to a cart full of gadgets. He began to speak, “Well, this is everything you will need. Try to get back in before my shift ends. Eight AM… sharp.”

“You got it, Tank. I can’t thank you enough. Remember, I owe you,” Angel said with a wink. Angel handled all the stuff smoothly. She gave John all that he was supposed to have and said goodbye to Tank. John followed her out the glass exit and came to realize how long it had been since he had been out in civilization. Just the idea of being free and out made his knees crumble.

“So,” Angel said. “Is this where we part?”

“Should I go with you?” John asked.

“I would rather you not,” Angel told him.

John smiled at her. He thought about leaving her and didn’t like the idea much. He knew if he left her now it would give him more time to get as far from this place as possible. Yet, in the end, something told him he should still go with her.
“I’ll just go with you now, then leave once you get where you need to be,” He said to her with a smile.

“Fine,” She said.

Angel began walking down the empty street and John followed. Angel turned the corner and reached into her pocket. She stopped at a shiny new black BMW 650i coupe. “God, this car is beautiful,” John said.

“I know, that’s why I stole it,” Angel said with a smile.

John sighed and said, “You know, sometimes, you really do act like you belong with these guys.”

Angel failed to respond. Instead, she walked to the driver’s side door and opened it. She jumped into the car and turned it on. John knocked on the window and told her to open his door. Angel opened it with a smirk on her face. Once inside John began to talk to Angel while she shifted out of the parking spot.

“So, you stole this car?” He asked.

“Yeah, I did. After you steal a certain amount of cars you are granted to pick which one you want as your own. I choose this one. I mostly choose it because it was the hardest one of all of them. It’s a beauty,” she said to him.

“Wow, so, you must have one heck of a rap sheet,” He said with a whistle.

“Well, I’ve been here a while,” she replied.

“Yeah, I know, so you must know a lot about doing things like this,” he said.

“Things like what?”

“You know, stealing, sneaking around, all that thug life stuff.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I like doing all that stuff. That’s what makes me different from all of them. They’re monsters.”

“Sure, Angel, I get it.”

“Yeah, well, if you really get it you’ll shut up,” Angel said. “You know,” Angel said after a minute of silence. “You’re an asshole.”

John smiled and replied, “Well, you still like me don’t cha?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Angel said to him.

The drive was not long and John new that soon he would have to depart from Angel. The car came to a stop and Angel parked it. She turned off the car and turned to him. “This is where you leave me,” she said.

“And miss seeing your sister? I don’t think so,” he told her.

“I know so Danger,” Angel replied her tone serious. “This is my business. Stay out,” she added.

“Oh, come on, you need me,” he said.

“For what?”

“Man power, duh!”

“I don’t know about you, but I have never heard any real man say duh.”

“Ha, ha, ha, so funny! Look, I’m just saying that you might need me.”

Angel stared at him long and hard until she finally came to ask, “Why do you want to come?”

John sighed and searched for an answer. Angel watched him and he could feel the heat of her stare even though, he wasn’t looking. John couldn’t find any reasoning for wanting to tag along. Perhaps he was just being foolish. It had been years since he had been with any real woman and but of course, who wouldn’t expect him to want to be with her.

Angel wouldn’t expect it. She expects him to leave. So maybe, maybe he would leave. The more time he had at night, the better. He needed to sneak around and get far. Maybe leaving was better. John put a smile on and looked at Angel. He reached for her cheek and brushed a strand of hair aside. “Truthfully,” he said. “I don’t want to go with you.”

He smiled and opened his door. He got out of the car and walked away. He gave her a slight wave and began his journey. He felt relieved that he was finally out on his own. He was, for the first time in a long time, walking freely. Although, he had to admit, he had no clue what to do next. He was as scared as he was happy.

*************************************

“Man that guy is annoying!” Angel yelled at no one specifically. She sat in her car watching his image fade in the darkness. Just when she thought he would confess some kind of feelings and she would have to turn him down, he just said no! He was annoyingly confusing and as complicated as a woman. She could never figure out his agenda.

Technically, she never could figure out her own. Why was she so worked up about him leaving like that? Why did it matter that he didn’t care to stay with her? Why was she sitting in this car instead of pursuing her sister? Angry at herself she exited the car and began to locate her sister’s new home. She would not think about “danger” anymore.

Taking a deep breath she cleared her mind. She had to pull this off. She had to sneak into the house and into Annie’s bedroom. There was no room for flaw. Looking around the neighbor hood she noted that all the lights were off in the near by homes. It was very unlikely someone would spot her.
The house was large and had three floors. Angel moved around to the back of the house. The yard gate was unlocked and she made sure not to make noise. She checked out the back to find that the second floor had a balcony. If angel had to guess, that was the parents’ room.

Sighing she knew that it would be easiest to get in through the balcony and then move onto the other rooms. She looked around and found a ladder. This seemed almost all too easy. She laid the ladder against the house and climbed up. She grabbed onto the iron poles and swung herself onto the platform. She looked around and made sure she hadn’t drawn any attention.

Satisfied she turned to the glass doors. They were open. “Easy,” Angel said. “Too easy,” she added. Angel opened the glass doors and slipped into the black room. Reaching into the inner pockets of her jacket she thanked Tank. Tank had given her gadgets to get around easier. One of these gadgets was sunglasses that could be used as night vision glasses. She slipped them on and suddenly she could see everything in the room.

When she looked to the bed she saw a couple lying in the bed sleeping. Lit in red was their alarm clock. Three O’three, it read. She has about 4 hours left. Carefully she moved toward the bedroom door. She quietly slipped out and moved down the hall. She had no clue where she was going. She had no clue who lived here.

Frustrated with herself she stopped. She leaned against the wall and took some deep breaths. She had conducted such a poor job in preparing for this trip. I had no time, she told herself. She was left with no other choice. Finally she lifted her body and looked around. She would have to go door to door looking for Annie.

The first door she tried was a hall closet. The second door, a bathroom. When Angel reached for the third door it opened before she could grab the knob and a wide eyed young girl looked out at her. Angel placed a finger to her lips and said, “Shhh.” The girl nodded and opened her door even more, inviting Angel in. Angel looked around and entered. She closed the door and came to her knees.

“Hi,” she said to the young girl.

“Hi, I’m Rita,” the girl said with a Hispanic accent.

“I’m Angel.”

“Angel? Are you going to take me home?”

Angel smile at her and said, “No, Darling. I am not here to take you home. I am here to see Annie. Do you know which room is hers?”

“Yes, but Annie does not like to be awoken.”

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it. Are those your parents in the other room?”

“No,” the girl said. The girl turned around and moved to her bed. She jumped onto it and sat. She sighed and looked at Angel. “They say they are going to take care of me. My parents are in heaven. I was hoping that you were the Angel that would bring me to them but you say you won’t bring me home.”

The words hurt Angel. Angel moved to hug the child but froze when she heard foot steps. Scared she would get caught she quickly told Rita to get into her bed and pretend to sleep. Angel slipped into Rita’s closet and waited. Rita’s door opened and a small boy looked in.

“Rita? I know you’re awake,” he said. He came into the room and closed the door behind him. He moved to Rita’s bed and pulled the sheets off of her.

“Peter!” Rita said. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. “What do you want Peter?”

“I heard you talking, Rita. Who were you talking to?” Peter asked with a small finger pointing at Rita.

“I was talking to the Angel. She’s gone now, Peter. You scared her away.”
Peter gave a bark of laughter and shook his head. “Rita, sometimes I forget how young and naïve you are.”

“You’re only eight!” Rita said standing up. Rita was about 4 inches shorter then Peter. Peter shook his head, raised his chin high in the air, and walked right out of the room. Rita sighed and looked toward the closet. “It’s ok to come out now Angel,” she said.

Angel stepped out of the closet and smiled at Rita. Why were these kids up at this time? Kids cracked her up. She had many memories of Annie acting the same. It never failed to amuse Angel. “Ok Rita, I need you to take me to Annie now,” Angel said.

Rita nodded and they left her room. The climbed the steps to the third floor and passed two rooms. They finally reached a door and Rita stepped aside. “This is it,” Rita said. Angel smiled and nodded. She reached for the knob and opened it. Once inside she felt a sense of home. There were pictures on the wall and even in the dark Angel knew they were of their family.

Rita followed Angel in and Angel closed the door. She walked to the bed and took a seat at the edge. She looked down at her sister and tears fled to her eyes. She hadn’t thought this was possible. “Annie,” Angel said. “Annie,” she repeated.

Annie opened her eyes and jumped up. “Dawn?” She said. Angel nodded her head and Annie jumped into her arms. “Dawn! I can’t believe it’s you!” Annie screamed.

“Shhh!” Angel said. “Believe it, I’m here.”

“Oh man, I don’t know what to say. How’d you get in here? And where have you been? Oh man, I knew you were out there! I just, I just, I-I-I don’t know!” Annie said all too fast.

“Calm down, there’s time,” Angel said with a smile. Remembering her true reason for being here her smile faded. “I got your letter. You said you were going to join the Illegals? I know you think you have a choice in this but you don’t. No,” Angel said.

Annie looked at her and sighed. “I don’t want to join but Dawn… We could finally be together!”

“Why does she call you Dawn? You are Angel, no?” Rita asked. It was then Angel remembered Rita’s presence.

“Rita stay out of this!” Annie said in a bitter tone.

“Annie!” Angel said.

“See,” Rita said as she began to cry. “I told you she doesn’t like to be woken up!” Angel sighed and grabbed Rita. She held her close until she stopped crying.

“Rita, go to bed now,” Angel told her. “And remember Rita, you don’t tell a soul I was here. Not even Peter,” Angel said.

Rita nodded and left the room. For a moment Angel and Annie sat in silence. In the end, Angel said, “Promise me you won’t join the Illegals.”

“Ok, I promise,” Annie replied. She smiled and lightened the mood. “So you have met my brother and sister? They’re a little too much to handle.”

“I don’t see how anything can be a bother in a house like this. So, your foster parents loaded?” Angel asked.

“Just a bit… They foster four kids. They can’t have kids on their own.”

“Where’s the fourth?”

“Jack isn’t home tonight. He’s quite old… 17. The system is close to letting him be on his own.”

Angel nodded. “I missed you,” Angel said to her sister.

“I missed you too,” Annie replied.

"American Family"

Chapter Ten

Danny sat on Lydia’s front porch with Brianna. Since Danielle’s death, Brianna had been sleeping at Lydia’s house. But today, after the burial, Brianna was leaving. Every one was inside and it was just Danny and Brianna. Danny knew that there were words to be spoken. Yet, he couldn’t get them out. Instead, he asked her a simple question. “So, what comes next for you??”

“Well, I’m not sure. My whole life has been dedicated to Brianna. Now that I am no longer a mother I can live differently. Maybe I’ll go back to school. Before, I had to work so many hours just to make enough money that, I couldn’t go to school,” She explained to him.

“Listen, I’m sorry about not being there for you and Danielle,” Danny said.

“It wasn’t your fault. I should have told you I was pregnant. But I didn’t,” She told him. “I’m just glad she got to meet you,” she smiled but her voice strained.

“You know, you don’t have to go back. You can stay here,” Danny offered.

“In Lydia’s house? Nah, I don’t think so,” She said with a bark of laughter.

“I meant you don’t have to go all the way back to Detroit,” Danny said. He didn’t laugh along with her. Quite frankly, it wasn’t funny.

“Danny, I love you to pieces. But, my life isn’t here. My family isn’t here. The only thing tying us together was Danielle. I have to go home,” She said to him.

“But, Brianna,” Danny said not sure how to explain how he felt.

“Danny, let me go. The only reason you want me around is cause I’m the only thing left of Danielle. But, trust me, you don’t need me here to remember your daughter. In fact I buried my baby here, so that she can be with her daddy. Don’t worry about me,” Brianna said.

Danny sighed and nodded his head. Just then Kiral came out from inside the house. Both Brianna and Danny looked at him waiting for news of when her flight left. He smiled at her. “Your flight leaves in three hours. You’re flying first class,” He said to her. “I can drop you off if you want,” he added.

Brianna got up and smiled at him. She extended her arms and he hugged her. “Thank you, Kiral. You’re so handy,” Brianna said with a chuckle. “I’m going to go inside and say goodbye. I’ll get my bags so we can go. Going through security takes a lot,” Brianna added before running inside the house.

Kiral took a seat next to Danny and they both sat there in silence. Breaking the silence Kiral said, “So, how’s life?”

Danny couldn’t help but laugh at the random question. “Life is, well, life is almost back to normal. How about you?”

Kiral winced and shook his head. “Not too good. I wouldn’t be surprised if this baby made us get a divorce,” Kiral said.

Someone cleared their throat and they turned around to see Lydia. “Brianna needs help with her bags,” Lydia said. With those words Lydia was gone.

“You think she heard me say that?” Kiral asked Danny.

“Based on your luck and Lydia’s timing… Probably,” Danny told him. They each let out a sigh and headed inside. They helped Brianna with her bags and before they knew it, Kiral and she were pulling out of the driveway. With Chrissy baby sitting and Lydia upstairs, Danny finally found time to talk to his wife. He found her in the kitchen cleaning the counter. Surely, the counter wasn’t even dirty.

“Sunshine,” Danny said to her.

“Yeah?” Jolene replied.

Danny approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. She froze and dropped all that she was doing. Still with her back to him Danny began to speak. “Do you know how much I love you?” He asked.

“I’m a bit aware that there might be some affection for me present,” Jolene said with a smile.

“No, I love you, with all that I have, I love you. I can’t believe you stay with me after all I put you through. I love you for how great you were with all of this. The fund raiser and everything, the way you helped Brianna. I don’t think I can function without you sunshine,” He said.

“Well, you should know that I will be here, for better or for worse. I’m here and you’re stuck with me. I just think that you should also know that, if you ever hide something like that from me again, well, I won’t be so kind.”

“I can promise you that I won’t,” He said to her. Finally, Jolene turned around and kissed her husband. She held onto him and Danny could feel the passion return.

******************************

Still in the kitchen, Danny looked at his watch then, looked at Jolene. “We probably have Chrissy babysitting for another hour before she calls begging for us to pick them up. Want to put it to good use?” Danny offered with a wink.

Jolene smiled and nodded. Danny grabbed her hand and pulled her through the kitchen and pass the living room. Just as he was about to get her through the door she stopped. “Wait, I can’t leave without checking on Lydia,” She told him.

He kindly nodded his head and said, “I’ll just go turn the car on.”

Jolene turned and headed up the steps and into Lydia’s room. When Jolene entered the room she was shocked at the sight. In front of her, stood Lydia, packing bags full of clothes. Jolene watched, open mouthed, Lydia oblivious to her presence. “Lyd!” Jolene finally exclaimed. “What are you doing??”

“I’m leaving,” Lydia said.

“Where??” Jolene questioned.

“Nearest hotel,”

“Why??”

“Because, this marriage isn’t working. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“You don’t mean that!” Jolene yelled at her.

“Yes, I do.” Lydia said. She didn’t stop packing for one minute. She was a woman on a mission to get away from a home she had made with her husband.

“Oh wow,” Jolene said. She didn’t know what questions she should ask first. So instead, she just watched as Lydia moved around some more.

“Can you believe he said, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a divorce’?” Lydia said sounding infuriated. “Divorce? Divorce!” Lydia let out an evil bark of laughter. “If he wants a divorce then, Jolene, I will give him the divorce of a lifetime!” She said.

“Lyd, I don’t know what to say,” Jolene explained.

“You don’t have to worry about saying anything. It’s over,” Lydia said.

“Are you sure? I can’t let you do this if you really don’t want to…”

“Look Jo, really, just go home. Go to your perfect family and let me endure the divorce I was sure I was destined for. It’s a family thing. We all end up alone and old. I knew it and he wants it. So, fine,” Lydia said.

Jolene couldn’t help but get angry at Lydia. “You know,” Jolene said firmly. “I would have thought that after all of this you would stop calling my family ‘perfect’. Because, we aren’t. But, it seems, no matter what we do, that is all you will ever see it as. There goes Jolene, she’s in love! Picture perfect family, yada, yada, yada.” With those words Jolene left.

Of course, Lydia came running after her. “Jo! Jo!” She yelled. Jolene stopped but, didn’t turn. “I’m sorry,” Lydia said. Jolene nodded her head and continued walking. “I know,” Jolene replied. At that Jolene was gone. She was going to enjoy the rest of her day with her husband and eventually her family.

Sitting in the car with Danny, Jolene held his hand. Things would be back to normal. She sighed in relief. She would now be able to sleep. She would now be able to love her husband and live her life the same. Although, the memory of Danielle would always be there. And she would constantly go to visit her. She wouldn’t dare let Danny forget. That girl helped Jolene to answer the one she had always wondered about. At the end of the day, could her and Danny make it through the worse and come back stronger then ever? The answer: Without a doubt.

*********************************************

Lying in her new hotel bed, Lydia typed up the last of her story. She hadn’t told anyone about the story. It was a story of a man and a woman who didn’t live happily ever after. It was about a couple who stayed together no matter what happened and a girl who found her dream man. It was about Jolene and Danny, the perfect family ending, the couple who didn’t end happily ever after, her parents, and the girl who found her dream man, Chrissy. Lydia couldn’t quite write herself in the story. She couldn’t write a story because she wasn’t ready to give herself an ending.

Lydia knew very well that, no matter how hard you wished, the ending didn’t always stay the end. Sure, she could call herself and Kiral the couple that didn’t have the happy ending. But, the truth was, she wasn’t sure this was the end. Secretly she knew this was just a minor setback. Love was something that stayed. If anyone had taught her that, it was Jolene.

Lydia sighed and hit save. She turned off her laptop and put it to the side. She brushed the bed sheet back and curled into it. The warmth was amazing and the room was comforting. Hopefully, tonight, she would sleep wonderfully. Tomorrow would be a hard day ahead.

*****************************************************

Kiral pulled his car into the driveway and jumped out of it. The house was dark and quiet. He entered cautiously and turned on the lights. When he discovered nobody was downstairs he went up the steps. He headed directly for his bedroom. When he turned on the light the bed was empty. He looked around then checked some of the other rooms. Removing his clothes he tossed it in the clothing bin. Heading to the draws he pulled out some clothes to take a shower. He wondered where Lydia was but he wasn’t too worried.

Kiral took a shower and came out feeling better. He entered his bedroom and to his surprise Lydia still hadn’t came home. Scared, he went for the phone. He dialed Jolene’s number. “Yea?” Came Jolene’s voice.
“Uhm, do you know where Lydia is?” Kiral asked.

“Oh man, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to be the one to tell you this. Why don’t you check your bed for like a note or something. Lydia loves to be cliché. She would probably leave you a note.” Kiral moved to his bed and rummaged through it.

“No note, can you just tell me?” he said demanding.

“I’ll show you. Why don’t you take a walk to Lydia’s closet.” Kiral walked to the closet and opened it. His jaw fell at the sight of empty hangers. There wasn’t a single piece of clothing left. He quickly ran to her draws. He pulled them open and out and found that there was nothing in them. He moved to the bathroom next and even her toothbrush was gone. He sighed.

“She’s gone to a hotel. She said something about divorce. I’m sorry, just give her time,” Jolene said.

“Yeah, thanks, bye,” Kiral said. He took a seat on the bed and sighed. His wife was gone. Staring out into space he felt his heart break. This couldn’t be so. He wouldn’t let it.