Dream Angel : Heaven Waits (10 page)

“He smells like candy!” She whispered excitedly before dropping down and running back, her steps quicker than before.

“What’d she say?” Elvis poked me.

“She said you smell as sweet as candy,” I laughed and Elvis smirked while also blushing.

“Well, you are awful charming, you know,” I reached over and pinched his cheek.

“Ah… stop fussin’ on me now. Look… the mom, she’s comin’ back.”

I glanced up to see Grace’s mom dragging her off the playground by one arm.

“No, she’s not.” When I turned back, he was already up and walking down to the lake, his laughter echoing in the breeze.

“Oh, you’re a brat.” I raced after him.

My intention was to pass him, but with reflexes like lightening, he snatched me by the waist and pulled me back into his arms.

“Come here, you.” He spoke through clenched teeth while encircling me from behind.

Laughing, I rested my back against his sturdy chest. “What did little Grace share with you?”

“She asked for me to give her grams a kiss for her when I get back to heaven.”

“She knows you’re an angel?”

“Children see much more than we give them credit for.” Leaning down, Elvis pressed his warm cheek against my cool face. “And, they rarely miss the miracles.”

Standing at the lake’s edge, wrapped in his strong embrace, I watched the water as it stirred; gently moved by a cold night’s breeze. Heat radiated from Elvis’ body and I snuggled closer to his warmth as though he were a campfire.

“Was Grace what you wanted to share with me?” I spoke softly, hesitant to break this peaceful silence.

“No, your surprise lies here.” Elvis pointed towards the water.

As if on cue, the wind stopped. Strands of my hair fell softly to my shoulder.

“Watch closely, baby girl.” His breath felt hot against my ear.

All was still. My breath slowed in anticipation of Elvis’ gift. Even nature held its breath as not even a leaf fluttered in the trees. And when a small swell began to spread over the glassy surface, Elvis loosened his embrace. I leaned in for a closer look.

As though an unseen rock had dropped into the calm surface, the water began to ripple. The circles grew larger, and slowly a familiar reflection came into focus. I watched as the two people I love most, my mother and my father, walked hand in hand. The sun was high in the sky over their heads, and as bright as any Atlanta day in June. Like a mirror to the other side, I imagined this beautiful scene to be a glimpse into heaven. A lump grew in my throat. My heart longed to join them.

But when my father turned and placed a soft kiss on my mother’s lips, I felt a rush of concern.

“My daddy, is he… he’s not…” I dared not utter the word out loud.

“No baby girl, he’s very much alive. He’s only dreamin’.” Elvis gathered me back in to his arms, encircling me from behind, and I exhaled my relief in to the cold pre-dusk air.

I closed my eyes and fell back against Elvis’ sturdy frame. My rapid heartbeat slowed, and quickly I reopened my eyes not wanting to miss one blessed moment.

“This is the type of love God wishes for you Samantha,” Elvis uttered close to my ear.

His words sank in deep, stirring my thoughts as I watched my parents holding each other.

“A God sanctioned love, blessed in this life and the next.”

My heart was listening, and I understood his meaning, but my attention was locked onto my mother. It had been more than two years since I had seen her. Tears swelled in my eyes as I remembered how tired and frail she looked on her last days on Earth. She looked so happy here, resting in my father’s arms, no sign of the ravaging cancer that had taken her life.

Oh, how I’d missed her. And I was pondering my life without her when my mother’s eyes turned to look out from her watery stage right into mine. I jumped back against Elvis’ chest, and his arms tightened around me for comfort.

“Easy, honey.”

“Did you see that?”

The same gentle smile that had calmed me as a child glowed. My father’s lips moved silently as he chatted by her side, unaware of our connection. Mother watched me while she quietly listened.

“Your mama is quite the lady.” Elvis spoke as if he knew her firsthand. “She wishes for you the same happiness she had with your father. We all do.”

The lake began to stir again, and the forms of my parents became blurry, and then began to fade. My mother’s smile widened, in one final goodbye, just as the doorway to heaven closed.

“Mama told Daddy they would never be apart.”

My mother’s bedside promise to my agonizing father was still vivid in my mind. I could clearly see my father, kneeling beside her, holding her as she took her final breath.

“She is a wise woman.” Elvis kissed my temple.

“How did she know?”

“She knows God.”

“And love?” I was beginning to understand.

“Baby, if a man and a woman have God, they have everything.”

A bird struck up a tune somewhere in the park.

“Have you always believed this?” I asked and a long silence followed.

“My mama preached it, but I guess I thought my situation was too complex to practice it.” He paused as if contemplating the lesson inside his own words, “Had I a bit more time, I would have done things differently.”

“Too bad you can’t go back.”

Elvis turned me around to face him.

“No. It’s too late for me.” His eyes were soft as they scanned my face. He rested his palms gently against my cheeks, cradling my face, and the warmth from his soul seemed to reach out to my own.

“Are we having “the talk”?” My eyes narrowed, and he began to chuckle, light at first but growing by the minute.

When Elvis laughed, he laughed with his whole heart. It was impossible not to join in.

“God has a great plan for your life, Samantha,” his chuckles settled, “And, let’s just say that I was sent to ensure you get over a few bumps, “safely”, and get on with it.”

I should have felt happiness to hear that God had a plan — Lord knows I didn’t have one — but still my wide smile faded. I’d hoped these bumps were long behind me.

“So… about these challenges I have to “get over”. Is one of them you?” I asked, and I knew I was right when I saw that sideways smile of his.

***

A light mist moistened the night’s air as Elvis and I walked along the now-empty streets, our footsteps echoing in the night. A soft glow from the street lamps lit our way. The city had gone to bed. We strolled, both of us content in the stillness.

Keep God at the center, Elvis had preached back at the lake. My parents had set a great example of love transcending time, but I had never experienced anything close to what my angel was suggesting. I had been more than a little left behind in the love department, and I pondered my forever-single situation the whole way back to the hotel.

When Elvis released my hand to open the door to my room, the separation from his touch woke me from my thoughts. Standing in the open air corridor, rain drops, the size of marbles, began to fall. I watched as each one, unique from the other, splashed to the ground outside the shelter overhead.

“I’ll be in my room if you should need me,” Elvis said softly.

“But…” I started, but was interrupted by the seemingly always impossibly timed ringing of my cell phone.

I made no move to answer it.

“You should take
this
call, honey.” Elvis looked pointedly at my purse.

Sighing, I began to rummage around. And I was just about to give up when my fingers stumbled over their mark.

“Hello,” I grumbled.

“Samantha?” My father’s reprimanding tenor fired in my ear.

A smirk slipped over Elvis’ lips as he stepped to the doorway.

“D…Daddy?” I stuttered like a child caught sneaking out of the house.

Elvis pushed the door open and stepped aside. I hurried past my angel, nibbling absorbedly on the tip of my finger nail.

“Where are you?”

Silence.

I prayed this would be the time I could quickly deliver an acceptable response to my father.

“Sa-man-tha.” He spoke my name in broken syllables which was never a good sign.

When I still didn't respond, Elvis only chuckled and then reached over to gently remove my finger from my mouth.

“I’m here, Daddy.”

After a soft kiss goodbye, Elvis initiated his departure.

“Where in the world are you, baby girl?”

I watched as Elvis crossed my room, and headed towards the adjoining door that led to his. For once, I did not dwell on the emptiness of his leaving. Instead, I was taking too long to give my father an answer, and could think of nothing he’d want to hear that wasn’t a bold-faced lie.

Elvis paused briefly, watching me in sideways glances. Only the truth will do, I realized. And my angel gave a nod, an indication of his approval, before stepping through the door and closing it behind him with a smile.

“I’m in Alabama?” My confession sounded more like an inquiry to what I hoped was a good answer.

“Alabama?” Daddy’s voice rose.

“See, daddy, it’s complicated, but I had gone to Memphis and…”

“Yes, yes, Heather mentioned that, but why are you
driving
back to Atlanta, Samantha?”

Heather,
her name meant this phone call wasn’t random at all. If daddy had called Heather, then that action alone sparked a dozen red flags. Heather and my father rarely spoke. They were opposites, often agreeing to disagree. Suddenly, I was listening very carefully.

“I appreciate everyone’s concern daddy, but I just needed some time to myself.”

“Well, I don’t think a female should be driving that far alone.” My father grumbled.

“I know you’re worried, but I will call you first thing tomorrow morning. I promise.”

“Well, I suppose that’ll have to do.”

“Daddy, were you napping earlier?” I casually shifted the subject. I knew good and well how much he loved his ritualistic afternoon nap.

“What?”

“Did you get your nap today?”

“Why?”

“Was it a pleasant sleep, Daddy?”

“A pleasant sleep?” He repeated my question, slowly, and after a noticeable pause.

My father was never at ease discussing things of the heart, unless it was in the safety of a large church congregation.

“Did you have sweet dreams?” I held back a snicker.

“What does any of this have to do with you driving alone across the country?” Daddy’s voice rose once again.

“Nothing, I was just checking to see you were getting your rest.”

There was no need for me to question further. My father’s inability to share his dream told me all I needed to know. He had indeed been dreaming, just as Elvis had said. I smiled, happy to prove my angel was right: love does reach to Heaven.

“I have to go now, Daddy. I’ll call you soon.”

“But…”

“I love you.”

“What?”

“I said, I-love-you.” I chuckled.

“I love you, too, baby girl. Be careful, please.”

“I will,” I said in close, and hung up the phone, flopping gratefully onto the well-worn hotel bed.

My father was worried. And as much as that warmed me, it also concerned me. It was unusual for Heather to involve my father in my crisis. It went against the best-friend clause. Something was out of place. I vowed to get to the bottom of it.

Standing at the window, I mindlessly twisted my hair. I watched as the rain bounced in a deluge of tiny circular balls from every roof top. The reverberation was hypnotic. And when the sky sparked with a flash, and a moment later a loud crack sounded, I almost jumped out of my skin.

The clock by the bed displayed the default time of 12:00.
This storm could last all night,
I moaned, and glanced at his closed door. As much as I wanted to knock, I had to consider if it wasn’t best that we stayed apart for the evening. My heart sank with the thought. Then again, if he invites me into his sanctuary, I might actually sleep, I thought, and tilted my eyes to the heavens.

“I promise to behave,” I told the Lord, and then smiled.

Who would have thought that shy little-me would actually be considered a threat? And while I stood there, staring at the four beige walls around me, I half expected God’s response to appear like with Moses and the burning bush.
Absurd
, I let out a chuckle, but then quickly held my breath to listen. Nothing. Shrugging, I opened my travel bag and dug for my sleep wear resigning to a night alone. I lifted my cherry-red silk night gown, and could not help but frown. How presumptuous of me. I should have brought my flannels!

Standing in front of the vanity mirror, I brushed out my long dark hair, stealing a glance back to the door between me and my angel with every stroke.
Daddy always did have the worst timing
, I pouted. Elvis all but ran to the solitude of his room.

I slipped on my night-gown and sat down on to the edge of the bed with a sigh. The long shiny fabric reached my feet, and I realized my toes matched the garment perfectly. The irony of such a thought-out detail, made me laugh out loud. And then in looking down to my low neck line, I rolled my eyes and flopped back to the bed.

Unease sank in. Lying on my back, I counted the tiny flakes that sparkled inside the aged plaster on the ceiling. I stroked my stomach, shifting the soft fabric over my skin with the palm of my hand in small comforting circles. What was he thinking leaving me here alone? He knows I’m a big chicken.

I should go over there and knock on the door
, I craned my head to look over at the barrier. It seemed to glow red with a forbidden do-not-enter sign. Sighing, I lifted one shapely leg into the air and pointed my toes upward. The fabric fell to my hips. I had my mama’s legs, I considered, slender yet shapely.

“Samantha!” A voice bellowed from next door, and my startled scream filled the room. I slapped my hand to my mouth, and jumped off the bed. What’d I do now?

My bare feet padded on the worn carpet as I drew near the door and laid my head against the aged wood.

“Come in here, Samantha.”

Grimacing, I cracked the door and peeked. I spotted Elvis’ long, lean frame lounging across the bed, his gaze focused on a thick book he held in his hand. My mind switched channels, and the seductive entrance I had many times rehearsed in my head in preparation for just this opportunity was useless here. Besides, he was reading the Bible, and probably the King James version.

He was fully dressed, right down to his well-shined boots. I stood momentarily paralyzed, both wanting and feeling unworthy of his attention. And when his eyes rolled up from the good-book and settled on me, I fought the urge to tug at my nightdress.

“I-I was lonely in there all by myself,” I pointed back to my room, where oddly I was ready to return at any moment.

Elvis pursed his lips and nodded.

“I was!” I set my jaw, all too aware of the message my alluring attire must be suggesting.

In what looked to me like slow motion, he closed the imposing black book calmly inside his two hands. Unable to maintain my insolence, I dropped my stare to his boots, which were as still as the wind before a striking tornado. That nervous energy, he always seemed unable to control, was gone. He seemed to be having a moment of — I didn’t know what — an evaluation of his own emotional condition or contemplation over my motives, but once again, I compulsively began to nibble on my finger nail.

“Alright, get in.” Elvis said, and I could have sworn I saw his lips twitch before he quickly regained his control.

With the Bible still in his strong hands, he folded his arms over his chest and watched me attempt to get comfortable in my new environment. I wriggled into position as the golden etched bindings nearly glowed in the dim lamp light.

“Situated?” His eyes danced.

“Yes, thank you.”

“You should be the one reading this, you know.”

“I read the Bible.” I said rather smartly for a woman who didn’t want to sleep alone.

His eyes widened. “Oh? Was it while you were planning your, uh… attire.” His eye brows quivered like that Marx brothers’ character from the movies. All he lacked was that absurd cigar.

“Funny. If I make you uncomfortable, I can leave.” I sat up.

“No, you don't,” he snatched me by the arm with a chuckle. “I-I think I can handle you.”

He was joking, but I could feel his hand trembling as he held my arm firm. The struggle we were destined to share was painfully real.

“Your virtue is safe anyway, I promised the Boss.” I tried to lighten the situation, and he struggled to hold his composure.

He drew in a deep breath, through his nostrils, which evoked a sensual snarl that quickly tickled me. And when I started to laugh, he managed to hold his chuckle for only a fraction of a second before he slipped into outright laughter.

“Was the promise made with or without crossing your fingers?” He roared, and his humor skipped as he tried to catch his breath.

I shook my head at him. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?” I said with a smile that only grew wider the more he laughed.

“Well, if you weren’t so cute mad,” he brushed the bridge of his nose with his hand, an attempt to hide his amusement.

“Very funny. Why don’t you be a good angel and read me something from the Bible?” I slipped my hand under my pillow and settled in.

Elvis regarded me with great interest before opening the thick book. His eyes scanned the delicate pages as if trying to decide what was best.

“Here, lets read like my daddy used to when I was small,” I leaned over and placed a finger randomly on the page. “I’ll pick, and then you read.”

He watched me with eyes that sparkled with humor, and then without a word, he looked down and began.

“My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouth, so that they may not hurt me.”

When he was done, his face softened in the same peaceful way my father’s used to when in awe of God’s perfect timing. I wanted to reach out to him, but instead rested a soft touch to his arm. No words were needed to describe the feelings that lingered under all of our jousting.

“Come’ ere, let me hold you.” A sensual smile flickered across his lips.

“I gave my word.” I heaved a sigh, and enjoyed his exaggerated scowl.

“Get over here, woman,” he grumbled as he slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his arms.

Side by side we lay. Inside his embrace, a different kind of love stirred. It far overshadowed the physical passions between a man and a woman. We were bonded by something stronger than the flesh, and I knew he wished more for me than a single moment of passion. He wished for me what he could not give me — a lifetime, my lifetime, of love.

If only I could convince my heart.