Unbreakable Love (21 page)

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Back at the house, Jennie slept peacefully while Nate sat stiffly on a chair next to the bed watching her. Nate loved the way her hair fell across the pillow and her eyelids fluttered as she dreamed. Despite the fact that he dreaded what was coming, he was happy, the happiest he had ever been.

Around one in the morning, the phone rang. Nate knew exactly who it was and even what they would say. Dealing with death was not new to him. He had sat by dozens of protectees as they were told that their loved ones were gone and he always knew those who passed on were well cared for. Normally, death didn’t bother him, but this time he felt the pain on a very personal level.

Since he was already awake he picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”

A gruff voice on the other end of the line asked to speak with Jennine Townsend. Gently, Nate shook Jennie and told her she had a phone call. Still half asleep, she took the phone and listened as the police officer described the horrible circumstances that took her parent’s lives.

“Are you sure?” Jennie asked the officer several times.

This stranger, who was accustomed to delivering bad news, assured her that her parents were in fact dead and did it with very little emotion. When the officer hung up, Jennie absently dropped the receiver on the bed, climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom without saying a word to Nate. It was almost as if she were in a trance, moving on instinct alone. Before long Nate could hear a repetitive beeping, like the rhythmic beating of Jennie’s heart, telling him the phone was off the hook. He grabbed the receiver and placed it back in its cradle just to silence the reminder of the phone call. A few minutes later, Jennie came out and climbed back into bed, turning her body facing away from Nate. It was then that Nate realized that the shock had already worn off and she was quietly crying.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently.

Jennie didn’t answer right away, so Nate waited patiently next to her on the bed. After what seemed like an eternity of listening to her cry, Jennie whispered, “They’re dead. My parents are dead.”

Not knowing what else to do, Nate climbed under the covers with her and gently held her as her soft tears turned to wrenching sobs. Hours later, just as the sun was peeking over the horizon, from total exhaustion Jennie finally fell into a fitful sleep.

Nate was allowed to stay with her for the first few days, but just like every assignment before, once the job was complete he was expected to leave. He told Jennie he needed to go home to get some more clothes, but he knew he would never see her again. As he brushed back the curls from her face and delicately kissed her lips, he tried to memorize everything: her rich green eyes and the light crop of freckles on her nose, even the scent of her skin and the way it felt to hold her long, delicate fingers. When he finally pulled away, Nate took her hands and caught her eyes one last time.

“I love you Jennie. I’ve always loved you.” Jennie’s emotions were so raw from the last few days’ events that as she smiled, the tears that were so close to the surface began to well up in her eyes.

“I love you, too, so come back soon,” she responded, letting go of his hands, unaware of how precious their time together was.

The air that rushed in where warmth and light had been as they held hands felt stark in contrast, punctuating the end of their time together.

Mustering every bit of strength that was left inside of him, Nate forced himself to leave with only one thought to give him solace. Celeste would follow and Nate would be erased from Jennie’s memory forever. Celeste always followed the rules. He could depend on that.

Only thirty minutes after Nate was gone, Jennie’s doorbell rang. Since the passing of her parents, Jennie had been bombarded with well-meaning visitors. Some brought food, others their condolences. Either way, she was used to the doorbell ringing without expecting anyone. Jennie wiped her dish-soaped hands on a towel before heading out to the front door. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Nate’s Aunt Celeste standing in the doorway looking a little nervous.

“Celeste,” she said, falling back on her deeply ingrained good manners. “Please, come in.”

Celeste stepped into Jennie’s house and looked around as if she were uncomfortable just being there. Finally, she turned back to Jennie.

“Can we sit on the couch?” she asked using an unusually soft voice. Jennie had met Celeste a couple of times, but for the most part, she didn’t know her very well.

“Sure,” she responded. Celeste went straight for the couch and sank into it as if she were relieved to have something supporting her. As soon as Jennie was seated near her, Celeste said, “I’m so sorry about your parents, Jennie.”

Jennie responded with a well-practiced, “thank you.” After that, an awkward quiet set in. In a room toward the back of the house, a sitcom could be heard playing on TV. Every few minutes, canned laughter would come from the room, but other than that, it was still. Celeste had begun to wring her hands nervously as the heavy silence settled around them. Finally, Celeste couldn’t wait any longer. She straightened herself up and laid her restless hands on her lap before addressing Jennie.

“Jennie,” she began trying to sound official, “I am here to tell you some things that are going to be hard to believe, but I need you to listen until I am done.”

Jennie suddenly looked alarmed. “Nate, is he…”Jennie’s voice trailed off as she thought about all the terrible things that could’ve happened to him in the short time he’d been away.

“He’s fine. Nate’s okay,” Celeste reassured her. Jennie’s body sagged with relief. Celeste continued, now not just wanting to talk but needing to finish what she’d started.

“Jennie,” she began again, “Nate was sent to you in September to be your guardian angel. He is what in our line of work we call a protector. Our time here on Earth is short in comparison to what we experience before and after we are born. Your parents’ time was done, but you have a solemn and important job to do. You must raise your sister to become the extraordinary person who will someday become our first woman President of the United States.”

Jennie, who had already shifted through several facial expressions while Celeste spoke, burst out laughing as if Celeste had made a joke of some sort. Quick-tempered Celeste grabbed Jennie’s hands and said, “This is not funny. Everything I’m telling you is true.” Then Celeste did what she had never done for any human, she showed her. With the aid of Celeste’s powerful touch, Jennie’s mind suddenly felt alive and active in some unexplainable way. Their connection was not completely unlike the sensation with Nate. All at once, light and understanding began to course from Celeste to Jennie, sending with it pictures and words of what her life would be like in 35 years. Kate’s life and hers played out like a movie except ten times more vivid and detailed—almost overwhelming Jennie to tears.

Finally, Jennie cried out “make it stop,” and Celeste abruptly released her hands, simultaneously taking back the powerful images. Jennie’s eyes were wide with wonder now. Believing Celeste wouldn’t be much of a leap. She could not deny what she had seen and felt, and now she was locked in and ready to listen.

“Now that I have your attention,” Celeste stated, “I’d like to finish. You must understand that in order to save your life Nate broke critical rules, and the whole falling in love with you thing, well, that was forbidden.”

“So he does really love me?” Jennie broke in. Celeste grunted. She was starting to remember why she’d stopped working directly with humans: they were annoying and impatient.

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth, “he loved you before, and that love couldn’t be kept from you both here on Earth. That’s why he was not supposed to touch you. I was trying to keep you both from remembering your history together until after he kept you alive.”

All of a sudden, a surge of understanding coursed through Jennie, answering all the questions that she’d been wrestling with. So many things began to make sense, even in the light of how ridiculous the explanation should have seemed. Jennie was quiet now, sitting perfectly still and hungry for more information. Celeste continued.

“Because of his disobedience, Nate will no longer be a protector, and, to be honest, I am resigning today as his supervisor because they will likely fire me for what I am about to do.”

“What are you about to do?” Jennie asked with a hint of both awe and fear in her voice.

“I am about to do nothing. I’m supposed to come here and erase Nate from your memory so that you can go on with your life, but I cannot bring myself to take away the memories of the only man you’ll ever truly love.”

Jennie hung her head, suddenly sad that so many people had to pay for her happiness. “Do you have to be punished?” Jennie implored, “Can I do anything to help?”

Celeste reached up with her thick hand and rested her palm on Jennie’s cheek. “No, Jennie,” she said gently, “choices have consequences both in the heavens and on the earth, but when Nate has paid for his choices he will come back and you will remember him. That will make the punishments worth it.”

With Celeste’s last words, Jennie suddenly realized it might be a long time until she saw Nate again and that she might never see Celeste again.

Almost as if Celeste could read her mind she said, “Don’t worry; the comforting angels are already on their way to give you strength and peace. You’ll be all right, Jennie Townsend.”

Finally finished speaking, Celeste slowly took her hand away from Jennie’s cheek. Jennie reached up and touched the spot on her skin that still lingered with unusual warmth. That warmth gave her a sense of peace and wellbeing. After listening to all that Celeste had to say and all she showed her, Jennie knew that Celeste was telling the truth. She was so sure, in fact, that she knew time would not fade the validity of her feelings.

“Thank you for what you are doing today— your sacrifices, I mean,” she said to Celeste.

Celeste rose from the couch where she was sitting and faced Jennie, who was already standing.

“You must understand,” Celeste began, “I didn’t do it for you or Nate, really. I did it for true love, the kind that lasts through the eternities.” Then Celeste chuckled as if enjoying some private joke and said, “It turns out that Alberto was right:masked behind all that bravado and posturing, I really am just a hopeless romantic.”

Jennie didn’t understand her last comment, but she didn’t ask. “Well, thank you for what you have done for Nate and me, no matter what the reason.”

Slowly the two walked to the door, both knowing that once Celeste was gone, their lives would become more difficult, at least for a time. In the pit of her stomach, Celeste could feel an ache that she hadn’t felt because of a human since Maria and her family. As usual, she wasn’t handling the complex nature of human emotions very well. She couldn’t wait to leave, to make that unbearable pain go away.

Just as Celeste was about to grab the doorknob, she remembered one last thing she had to do. She reached down into a large purple purse slung over her shoulder and pulled out a slender black box.

“Nate doesn’t know I took this from his house,” she explained as she held the box in her thick hand. “He can’t give it to you now, but we’re breaking rules, so I figure—why not? I know he would want you to have it.”

Jennie took the small box and eagerly opened it. Inside was the delicate necklace with the angel charm that Nate had given her at Christmas. Jennie smiled, unable to ignore the irony in the situation, and then took it from its box and cupped it gently in her hand.

The gold chain felt cool against her warm skin. Just touching the well-thought-out gift lifted her heavy heart and made a small smile tug at the corners of her tired lips.

“Help me?” she asked Celeste as she stretched out the chain across her neck and tried to hook the delicate clasp from behind. Celeste rolled her eyes but helped her anyway. Once the necklace was securely fastened, Jennie turned to her.

“Thank you,” she bubbled as she ran her fingers across it.

Feeling the weight of the chain around her neck heightened the reality of Celeste’s words, and having something tangible to remind her of Nate’s return brought with it hope for the future.

“You’re welcome,” Celeste mumbled, but she had already firmly grasped the doorknob, making her intentions perfectly clear. She had limits and she’d reached her threshold of patience with the entire situation.

Not knowing what else to say, Celeste simply nodded as if to say goodbye and then slipped through the door. Jennie ran to the window to watch Celeste walk away but found that she seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving her alone with her thoughts. After lingering at the window for a minute she finally turned away, ready to face the lonely days that she knew were coming. With two fingers still resting on the necklace Jennie went back to the kitchen to finish the dishes. Just as she began to rinse the dirty plates, Kate walked in the room.

“Where’s Nate?” she asked innocently.

Jennie replied with confidence, “He has some unfinished business to take care of, so he will be gone for awhile.”

“Will he be back?” Kate asked with her head in the refrigerator while she rummaged around trying to find something to eat.

Jennie reached up with her soapy fingers and touched the angel necklace. “Yes,” she stated simply, “someday Nate will be back.”

With Nate gone, Jennie relied heavily on Marissa to get through the next few months. Jennie told everyone Nate had a family emergency and would be gone for a while. Celeste never told her to keep Nate’s true nature a secret, but somehow Jennie just knew it was the right thing to do. Besides, it helped keep their relationship untouched by the naysayers and gossipmongers of high school.

Jennie buried her parents on a warm spring day. All of the citrus trees that lined the cemetery were in bloom, filling the air with a sweet scent that would forever remind her of that difficult day. Soon after, Jennie was made Kate’s legal guardian and they began their new life together, depending on each other for survival. Keenly aware of Kate’s future, Jennie continued to encourage her little sister by getting involved in local politics. Side by side, they worked to promote their favorite candidates, learning much about the political process along the way. Two months later Jennie graduated, and three months after that she moved her sister to Washington State so that she could begin college and Kate could start over without the burden of her parents’ memory around every corner. It was hard, the hardest thing Jennie had ever experienced. She not only lost her parents but also became a parent at the same time. Sometimes she felt so alone, but then, without an obvious reason, she would feel a surge of strength from some unseen force and she would know the comforting angels were there.