Angel Unaware (32 page)

GUARDIAN ANGEL
? Like glass smashing against a wall, all hope of going back to Earth splintered into tiny, irretrievable fragments around Dora.

Dora didn’t want to be anyone’s Guardian Angel. She wanted Tony and Penny. She wanted to go back. But she’d known all along it would be impossible. Still, the disappointment of the finality of being stuck in Heaven hurt more than she could express.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, but even to her own ears the words lacked sincerity.

With a gentle finger, Gabriel raised Dora’s chin. “Or you can return to Earth as a mortal.”

Dora couldn’t believe her ears. Suddenly, the sun threatened to blind her with its brilliance, the sky had become even more blue, and the sound of her heart beating rapidly in her ears nearly deafened her. Joy flooded every corner of her being. She had to force herself to stand still and not jump up and down and shout with happiness.

“You mean I …” She was almost afraid to say the words. Afraid Gabriel would tell her she’d misunderstood. But she forced them through her trembling lips. “I can go back to Penny and Tony?”

Gabriel nodded. “If you want to.”

“If I want to? I’ve never wanted anything more. When can I leave?”

Gabriel smiled and glanced at the other Archangels. They were grinning broadly. “Just as soon as we can arrange it. The Council still has a few … ah … loose ends that need tending.”

Dora tried to restrain herself from hugging Gabriel. After all, one didn’t go about hugging Archangels. But the joy racing through her made it impossible to adhere to decorum. She launched herself at Gabriel and flung her arms around the highest ranking Archangel in the cosmos.

“Oh, my!” Gabriel squeaked in surprise, her celestial demeanor thrown into disarray. Nevertheless, she returned the hug.

Over the Archangel’s shoulder Calvin grinned at Dora, his smile spreading from ear to ear. Dora had to wonder if it was because of true happiness for her or because he would at last be free of his most troublesome angel. Either way, she couldn’t help returning his grin.

Finally, she released Gabriel and, a bit embarrassed at her spontaneous show of affection, whispered, “Thank you.”

“There’s little to thank me for, my child. You’ve earned this. Your deep concern for everyone, even those who might not deserve it” — she cast a glance in Calvin’s direction—” while you put yourself second, was most impressive. Only someone with a big heart could have done it. Not many mortals have the capacity.” She patted Dora’s hand. “As for your thanks, none are necessary. We are simply righting a terrible wrong.”

A troubling thought occurred to Dora. “What about Tony and Penny? Will they remember me as … as an angel?”

“Tony’s memory will be wiped clean of anything related to your being an angel. It’s better this way. Adults seldom handle things like this well. However, Penny will be allowed to retain hers. She will recall seeing an angel, but she won’t make the connection to you.”

Real fear prevented Dora from speaking immediately. Finally, her need to know overpowered her fear of what Gabriel might answer. “Will Tony remember he loves me? That I love him?”

The early Christmas morning sun danced on the rippling surface of the Earth Pool, sprinkling the pristine robes of the angels gathered around it with splashes of rainbow colors. As each angel stepped forward in turn, Gabriel oversaw the solemn process.

Raphael, his face unusually serious, sprinkled the surface with a fine, silver powder. “I give Dora love, joy, and the light of a new life.” He stepped back as the surface swirled and the powder disappeared beneath its surface.

Zadkiel, a rather wiry angel, was next. He sprinkled the pool with a pale blue powder. “On you, sweet Dora, I bestow the gift of forgetfulness and in its place present the gift of memories of a life fully lived and filled with love, family, and happiness.” Taking another pinch from his pouch, he repeated the action. “On you, Millie and Preston Sullivan, because of your unselfish benevolence, I bestow the gift of a life produced from your love of each other and for your fellow man.” Again the surface swirled and swallowed the offering.

“For you,” said the next angel, Matatron, a large man with a gentle smile and hands the size of a small star, “I wipe the slate of time clean and record the birth of a family steeped in love and bound by understanding.” The sunshine yellow grains that trickled through his large, thick fingers were quickly sucked beneath the waters.

Michael was next. His massive wings beat the air gently, stirring up wisps of clouds and sending them floating off into the cosmos. In a surprisingly quiet voice, he spoke into the pool as he scattered red dust over the water. “As a mortal, your life will be filled with happiness and, at times, turbulence. I give you the courage to face the trials yet to be. May you do so with mercy, wisdom, and righteousness.”

At last, it was Gabriel’s turn. She’d long pondered over her gift to Dora. Having been closer to the young woman than the others, she felt a deep responsibility for her happiness. After much thought, she was certain what would serve her best.

Pure white sand fell from Gabriel’s outstretched hand. “I give you the strength and wisdom of the women who came before you. Use it wisely. Temper it with understanding and administer it with love.”

Gabriel swirled the contents of the pool with her fingertips to make sure all the gifts were fully absorbed and reached their destination intact. When the water had once again settled into a motionless shiny surface, she peered down into Dora’s bedroom at the Falcone house.

Good-bye, little Dora. Be happy
.

Gabriel waited until she saw a shimmer of rainbow-colored light appear, then turned to the others.

“So be it.”

The group of angels disappeared one by one into the clouds.

Nearby, a small angel, who had remained at the back of the group, opened her wings to take flight. “Lailah,” Gabriel called, “please remain with me. We have some additional business.” Lailah nodded and folded her wings.

When the shimmer died away, Dora looked at herself in the big mirror standing in the corner of her bedroom at the Falcone house. When the familiar image of Dora the angel looked back at her, disappointment flooded through her.

Had they lied to her? Was this some kind of sick joke played by the Archangels for their collective amusement? Perhaps raising her hopes only to dash them to the ground was her punishment for the mistakes she’d made.

Despondent, she sank to the edge of the bed and stared at the angel gazing back at her. Then, clinging to the last glimmer of hope, she looked down at herself. The image in the mirror this time was not a transformation of her mortal form, but an actual reflection of her as she really was. To confirm it, she looked in the dresser mirror. Dora the angel looked back at her.

Something had gone terribly wrong. She wanted to go to Tony, but she couldn’t go like this.

Hurrying back to the big mirror, she called for her friend. “Gracie! Gracie!”

Then she remembered that the Gracie who had been her confidant and friend wasn’t Gracie at all, but actually Gabriel, the highest ranked Archangel. What made her think Gabriel would come running at the beck and call of a lowly angel like herself? Besides, if this was her punishment, then Gabriel had been instrumental in conceiving of it, and for her to reverse a decision was almost unheard of.

Before Dora had a chance to dwell on the thought, the mirror suddenly came to life with splashes of silver, gold, red, pale blue, yellow, and white. In the center of the rainbow of color was Gabriel’s smiling face.

“Yes, Dora?”

Holding her arms out to show Gabriel her robe, Dora asked, “What happened? I’m still an angel.”

Gabriel chuckled. The multitude of colors surrounding her face swirled in a crazy dance. “Be patient, little one. Be patient.” She moved her hand in a circular motion. “For now, go to sleep, Dora. Go to sleep. Tomorrow you will begin a new life.”

The colors on the mirror’s surface began to swirl and then blended into a smear of all the colors. Gabriel’s face began to shimmer and fade, then it vanished like melting snow.

Suddenly, Dora’s eyes grew heavy. Though she fought against sleep, she found it impossible to stay awake. Curling up on the bed, she closed her eyes and drifted off.

Lailah turned away from the slumbering image of Dora in the Earth Pool and faced Gabriel. “Now?”

“Now.”

The Archangel and the diminutive Lailah disappeared into the cosmos and seconds later reappeared on either side of Dora’s sleeping form.

Lailah glanced at Gabriel. She nodded. “It’s time,” she said, smiling gently at the sleeping woman. “Because of our negligence, she has been robbed of something very precious. It’s time we gave it back to her. All of it.”

Smiling, Lailah leaned forward, pressed her lips to Dora’s ear, and in a voice so soft even Gabriel couldn’t hear it, whispered to the woman like she whispered to the babies snuggled warmly in their mothers’ wombs.

In her dream, Dora saw herself as a dark-haired child running through a field of wildflowers into a woman’s open arms. A man sat near her on a blanket scattered with the remnants of a picnic.

“Momma!” Dora cried. “Look!” She pointed heavenward. “There’s an angel in the cloud.”

The man laughed, a deep, rumbling sound filled with delight. “You and your mother and your angels.”

“Really, Daddy. Look. She’s right there.” Dora pointed a chubby finger toward a large white cloud.

The man opened his mouth to speak, but the woman silenced him with a frown. Gathering Dora close, the woman looked up. “I see her, Dora. She must be watching over our little girl for us.”

“But you and Daddy take good care of me. I don’t need an angel.”

The woman laughed this time. “We all need an angel in our lives once in a while, Dora. It’s good that you have yours.”

Dora stared at the cloud. It shifted slightly in the breeze. A smile formed on the lips of the image. She waved a white lily at Dora, and then vanished.

Dora’s dream faded and a new one took its place. This time, she was standing in the foyer of the Sullivans’ house dressed in a frothy, pink dress. Beside her was a very nervous young man in a baby blue tuxedo. He was slipping a corsage onto her wrist.

“Smile, kids.” An older Preston Sullivan aimed a camera at them and clicked.

“Isn’t our daughter the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” Millie’s eyes flooded with moisture.

Preston patted his wife’s shoulder. “She certainly is.” Kissing his daughter on the cheek, he ushered the couple out the door. “Have fun.” Then he grabbed the young man’s arm and pulled him backward. “Not too much fun,” he whispered in the boy’s ear.

For a moment, the young man looked confused, and then, as comprehension dawned, he blanched. “N… no… sir. Ab… absolutely… not.” Again the scene faded.

What followed in the next few hours was a panoramic parade of the high points of her life drifting in and out of Dora’s dreams. Soon she had relived every significant moment from birth to the present—except one.

The final scene emerged.

She and Tony were sitting on the floor in front of the blazing fireplace in his living room. The flames in the hearth warmed her skin, but not nearly as much as the loving look shining in Tony’s eyes. In his hand was a small, square box with a gold bow. Her eyes misted over. She felt as though she’d waited eons for this moment.

Taking her hand, he put the box in her palm. She slowly lifted the lid. Nestled against a bed of black velvet was a diamond ring.

“Marry me,” Tony said. The scene vanished.

Dora bolted upright, blinked, and looked around her familiar bedroom.

Shelves her father had made and hung above the window were lined with the dolls from her childhood. The frilly curtains that her mother had insisted were perfect for the two bay windows filtered the winter sunlight before it spilled across the multicolored, braided rug beside her bed. Relieved it had all been a dream, she turned toward the dresser and its large oval mirror. Looking back at her was a young woman, hair tousled from sleep, her dark eyes bright with excitement.

Her gaze shifted to the dresser. On it sat a framed photo of her, Penny, and Tony.

Tony
!

An overwhelming urge to see him and Penny overcame her. Jumping from the bed, she threw on her robe and slippers, dashed from the room, and down the stairs. Not caring about the six inches of fresh snow that had fallen the night before, she raced across the snow-covered back lawn to his house.

Throwing open the back door, she hurried through the kitchen to the living room. Penny and Tony sat next to the tree. Beside them was piled a colorful heap of torn, discarded gift wrap and ribbon.

“Dora!” Penny exclaimed and ran to her, her new doll clutched under her arm.

Dora picked her up off the floor and into her arms. She hugged her slight body close, overcome by a feeling that she’d come very close to losing her. “Merry Christmas, sweetie.” She kissed Penny’s warm cheek and set her on the floor.

Tony had gotten to his feet. Holding her gaze, he walked slowly in her direction. “Morning.”

Mesmerized, she could only think to answer his question from her dream. Before she could stop them, the words slipped past her lips in a rush. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Tony’s laughter filled the room. “Well, I hope so, since you already accepted my ring.” He lifted her hand to show her the engagement ring encircling the third finger of her left hand.

Heat rose in Dora’s cheeks. How had she forgotten one of the most important moments of her life? She tried to make sense of it. How could she not remember? Carefully, she replayed the dream. “I had a dream that you asked me to marry you, but I never answered. I thought—”

He stopped the cascade of words with his lips. He lifted his head and gazed down into her eyes. The same love shone from them she’d seen in the dream. Intense, deep, and everlasting. “You answered. Trust me, if you hadn’t, I’d remember.”