The Metatronic Chronicles: A Minor Inconvenience

Monday morning came far too quickly for Daniel and Michael but they finally had to admit to themselves that their holiday vacation was at an end and school was once again in session. There was one added novelty in having Alice there handing out lunches, backpacks and giving Michael a good-bye kiss and then a hearty handshake to a disappointed Daniel, but in the end it was still depressing after nearly three weeks of relative freedom.

Alice watched them curiously as they mounted their freshly re-tired bicycles and headed off for class. “Don’t they fly to class?” she asked Mary as they rode out of view. Last evening she had been treated to watching Michael and Daniel fly off to California for their evening training session with Derasthe. To see the two young angels spread their wings and rocket up from the ground to disappear quickly into the sky had been a sight beyond words.

“No, we don’t want to risk them being seen flying any more than we have to.” Mary took her by the hand and helped her toward the kitchen where she sat Alice down at the table. “For you we have class work. Guess who stopped in with your syllabi and textbooks last night while you were napping?” She retrieved a stack of books and papers from the top of the refrigerator. “Your kind, overly pious principal. He didn’t even wait for us to call and verify whether you would be in class or not today.”

“You don’t like him, do you?” Alice had to smile as she thumbed through the papers, checking to see which class material he had delivered.

“No, but as it worked out, it was just as well. Mr. Wilder was all set to go down there and do a little angelic magic on him and the school board but your present lack of balance means that you have to stay here anyway. A tutor is coming by in about an hour and will be spending every morning with you. Then a special teacher for homebound students will come by in the afternoon to conduct classes. This will happen four days a week. On the fifth day, I guess you either do homework or research for class projects.”

“This sounds worse than going to school,” Alice commented, amazed. “And so much personal attention? How will I ever fade into the woodwork and not be noticed? I’ll actually have to do this stuff!”

“Tough isn’t it?” Mary gave her a completely non-sympathetic smile. “So get to work, missy. I’ll go get your school bag for you.”

“Can I watch TV?” Alice asked hopefully as Mary descended the stairs. “Just for an hour?”

“No, dear.” Mary was back down with her bag a moment or two later and Alice began working through the assignments and making notes to herself. In the meantime, Mary spent the next hour whizzing through housework, trying to make the house look somewhat tidy for the arrival of the tutor. She didn’t want anyone reporting back to the school system that Alice was living with a bunch of slobs.

She shouldn’t have worried. It was surprising how fast the morning went after the tutor arrived. He was a college student named Derek Flambe from a nearby University of Wisconsin branch campus, just twenty-one years old and very cute. But Alice really didn’t notice that so much as they took on course after course. Most of it was preliminary stuff to the actual classes, which wouldn’t start until the teacher arrived that afternoon, but it took up a lot of time. When his departure at 11:30 arrived, Alice couldn’t believe how fast the time had passed.

“Alice, I’ll be back tomorrow at nine o’clock, so try to have everything done by then,” Derek said as he packed up his supplies. “We’ll go right through until noon and then your teacher will come at one o’clock and work with you until four. If you get tired, let him know and he’ll give you a break, but I would recommend getting plenty of rest each night. His time is very important and so is yours.”

“Yes, thanks Derek,” Alice said as she kept rifling through all the work they had done. “It makes it easier having you here.”

“Well I was just starting you out today but tomorrow we start spending our time on your day to day assignments as they are given out to you.”

“So who is the teacher?” Alice asked as he finished packing up. “Anyone I know?”

“Probably not. He’s working under an agreement between the university and your school system, so he’s not one of your regular teachers. His name is Jamie Wilder.”

“Wilder?” Alice’s ears perked up. “Wow, I wonder if he’s related to the Wilder family?” Not another one.

“I don’t know. I guess you’ll find out this afternoon. He was just assigned this morning so who knows, maybe he is.” Derek gave her a smile and a wave as he headed out the door to his beat-up VW beetle. “See you tomorrow!”

“Bye…” Alice wilted a little bit, settling back in her chair to absorb all the work they had done this morning. She saw Mary peeking around the corner from the living room, her head wrapped in a kerchief and smelling of Pledge furniture spray. “You can come in now,” Alice said. “It’s safe. He’s gone. And he never even looked at the house.”

“How sad.” Mary answered, tossing the dust cloth and spray can into a workbasket. “So how did it go?”

“You were listening more than doing housework,” Alice grinned. “You should know as well as I do. He was very nice and so far, so good.”

“He was cute, wasn’t he,” Mary giggled a bit as if sharing a girlish secret. “Nice butt.”

“Did you hear him say who my teacher was?”

“No, sorry, that must have been when I was actually spraying some of that stuff on something. Who is your teacher?”

“His name is Jamie Wilder. Do you know him?”

Mary nearly choked as she heard the name. “Jamie? Oh my, Jamie?”

“Who is he?”

“He is James’ nephew and he goes to school in Madison. He’s going to be a teacher so I guess this must be part of his coursework. Or maybe he’s just earning a few extra bucks.”

“So he’s coming up from Madison?” Alice asked. “Monday through Thursday? Almost seventy miles…on a student’s salary? The tutor only came ten miles!”

“Well maybe he’s doing a project on the local campus,” Mary shrugged. “But he’s a good kid—you’ll like him. He looks just like James, only younger. Nearly like twins.”

“Does that mean that he’s…um…he is one, too?” Alice couldn’t quite spit out the word ‘angel’ yet.

Slowly, with some trepidation, Mary shook her head. “We’re not sure yet. He shares the family resemblances but so far, he is not winged. But he certainly has a way with the girls. He once stole a girl almost right out of Michael’s arms.”

“And this guy is going to be my teacher?” Alice was beginning to doubt that having her stay at home to work was a good idea.

“He’ll be fine. He’s really quite nice and personable if that helps. Maybe while you’re working with him, you can find out more about him. James will be pleased that he’s your teacher. I wouldn’t doubt that if he’s an angel, James made the arrangements somehow for the assignment to be made.”

The sound of the mailbox being filled caught Mary’s attention. “Mail’s here. Oh, by the way, while you were sleeping last night, your mom called and she’s coming by this afternoon after your teacher leaves. She’s bringing some extra clothes and books she found.”

“Oh, great. Thanks.” Alice groaned inwardly. She hadn’t been gone long enough to miss her mom yet and with all the events of the past day, having Ellen come nosing around was really the last thing she wanted.

Mary retrieved the mail and was going through it piece by piece when a letter caused her to stop in her tracks. “Oh no,” she breathed to herself.

“Something wrong?” Alice asked as she tried to reorganize her work and make space for lunch.

“ We were expecting this but actually seeing it comes as a bit of a shock.”

“Tell me. I’m an expert at shocks lately.”

Mary held up the envelope and Alice could read the return address. “Oh no…the draft board!”

“Michael has to report for a selective service exam,” Mary sighed. “I hope we can get him a college deferment. We really don’t want him to get drafted.”

“The military?” Alice felt panic rising in her throat. “Oh no, not after all we’ve been through with this baby. He can’t go join the army!”

“If he did, it would more likely be the Air Force,” Mary chuckled. “But just think—how would he deal with a military haircut?”

“I can’t imagine Michael with such short hair,” Alice nodded. “But he would still be handsome, I’m sure.”

Mary tossed the notice into a basket with Michael’s name on it. Everyone in the family had such a basket. “I don’t think we have to worry. He’ll get a college deferment and maybe James can arrange for him to get a 4F rating somehow.”

“4F? How could he fail a physical? He’s so…so…healthy!”

“Good word, Alice. But these angels can accomplish strange things. James is dead set against either Daniel or Michael going into the military. It’s not because he objects to the Vietnam War or anything the military does. It’s that having an angel fighting on your side, no matter who you are, is somewhat of an unfair advantage. James likes to stay as neutral as possible and I can see his point.”

The clock in the kitchen struck noon. Lunchtime had arrived and Alice was starved but before she could rise unsteadily from her chair, the back door opened and James came in. He was laden with some odd purchases, an aluminum walker being one of them. “Hi everyone,” he said as he set everything on a kitchen counter except the walker. “This is for you, Alice.” He brought the walker over to her. “I thought it might let you get around on your own more easily.”

Alice was very surprised but happy to receive such a thoughtful gift from James. “Thank you,” she managed to say as she used the walker to lift herself upward. With a few tentative steps, she grew more confident and triumphantly walked around the kitchen without tottering at all. “Hey, it works.”

“I have someone coming at four to put in a stair lift for you. It shouldn’t take too long and you’ll be zipping up and down those stairs on your own. The walker should be easy to carry along.”

Mary came into the kitchen and gave him a hug. “Home for lunch?”

“No, just to make some deliveries,” he gave her a quick kiss and hugged back. “The stair lift people are coming at four.”

“Four? How convenient!” Mary winked at Alice. “Just when Alice’s teacher is leaving. You know who he is?”

“Let me guess. Jamie Wilder.” James continued unpacking his purchases and Alice noticed a strange looking pulley device. “I called the educational services at UW-Madison and they assigned him as an intern. It’s amazing what a little inside help can do.”

“Who was your insider?” Mary asked as she too examined the pulley device curiously. “What is this thing?”

“You attach it to the headboard of Alice’s bed and she can use it to pull herself up and out of bed.” James took it back from her. “I got it on sale. Anyway, I know a few people in the Letters and Sciences department from when I worked there. They helped me get in touch with Jamie and he requested the assignment.”

“The irascible and very cute Jamie Wilder for a teacher. This should be an interesting semester, right Alice?” Mary glanced over at the wide-eyed teenager.

“I should say so,” Alice responded, sounding eerily like her mother.

James finished unpacking his purchases, revealing a few groceries, some shampoo and a pair of sweat socks that Daniel needed for school. “I’m back to work,” he said as he put the last item aside. “Anything going on I should know about?”

Mary picked up the notice from the draft board. “Greetings…” was all she had to say before James grabbed it for a closer look.

“Oh shit…” he said then remembered the teenager sitting there. “Sorry, Alice. Mary, this means Michael has to go to college no matter what. In the meantime, I’ll get someone to work on getting him classified 4F.”

“Oh, you know people on the draft board too?” Mary asked slyly.

He gave her a sharp look. “You know what I mean. I can’t do it but I know people who can um…advise him…on how to fail the exam.”

“And that would be what? Flat feet? Malaria? Pacheco’s disease?” Mary kept on goading him.

“What’s Pacheco’s disease?” Alice echoed curiously.

“It’s Mary’s way of poking fun at angels,” James answered. “Pacheco’s is a disease that birds get. And no, dear. We’ll do it with some kind of human malady. I don’t want my sons taking sides in a political war unless there’s a valid reason to get involved. And right now, I see no valid reason.” He left out the fact that Asmodeus would probably send them over there just to get in some practice kills if nothing else. Alice didn’t need to know that particular fact about angels just yet. “Anyway, we don’t need to worry about it right away. We’ll let him go to the physical and if he doesn’t fail, he can apply for the deferment. When is it?”

“I didn’t open it,” Mary said. “I didn’t need to.”

“We’ll let Michael open it.” James noted the passing time. “You two need to eat lunch since Jamie will be here soon. I’ll see you later, okay?” He gave Mary another quick kiss and then to Alice’s surprise, gave her a peck on the cheek. “Study hard, daughter.”

Alice quickly blushed and turned her face away. “I will. Thanks.”

James left and Mary started putting together a quick lunch of soup, sandwich and her special cake for Alice. “See, I told you that you are like a daughter to us. He doesn’t do that to our guests, just our kids although Michael and Daniel tend to duck when he tries it.”

Alice’s face was still burning a little. “I liked it. It was just a surprise, that’s all. I blush far too easily.”

“You’re cute when you blush.” Mary glanced at the time. “You just have time to eat and take a few minutes break before he gets here.”

“Right,” Alice nodded as she thought about what James had told her about himself. “What did he mean—he just popped into this world as a human?”

“His human memories begin around nineteen years ago here in Roseville. He just sort of “woke up” in the house of the Wilder family on the outskirts of town.”

“How did he know his name?” Alice asked.

“From photos and records he found. He found his birth record, but no records of any other siblings. It was his older brother Jeremy who later found him, not the other way around. Otherwise, James would not have even known that he or Jamie existed.”

“Were his parents alive?”

“Somehow he wound up at Roseville Hospital where the doctors recognized him. They referred him to UW Hospital in Madison for therapy and he spent a few weeks there.”

“So how did he come to realize that he was an angel?”

“That was not easy. Asmodeus acts like sort of a monitor for angels on this planet and actually came to James right away. But James thought he was hallucinating and ignored him! Can you believe that?”

“Well, I’ve never met Asmodeus, so…”

“You’ll meet him, don’t worry. After his release he got a job at UW-Madison as a custodian, but after a year or two, he came back to Roseville and took back his parents’ old house. He met me, sold the Wilder property and bought the storage business and after our wedding, bought this house with the money left over after the business purchase. And here we are.” Mary finished Alice’s peanut butter sandwich, ladled out some soup and brought it to the table.

“So why wouldn’t he have memories if he was actually born into the Wilder family?” Alice asked as she began nibbling on the sandwich.

“We’re not real sure about that, but Asmodeus thinks it is because the suppressed angel in him is holding it back. It may be returned to him one of these days, who knows? When he finally accepted what he was, a lot of angelic memories were returned to him but not much from his human life. It might be because his parents were pretty eccentric. That’s the rumors we hear in town here but not many people knew them. They kept pretty much to themselves. We’re not even sure how they died. We only know that they passed away together in that house.”

“The doctors didn’t know how they died?” Alice found herself being drawn into the mystery of James Leighton Wilder as she took a big bite out of her sandwich.

“They never told him, he didn’t ask. Me, I would ask, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, of course I would want to know. Why didn’t he ask?”

Mary took a deep breath as she began fixing herself a sandwich. “We suspect it was because they were murdered. They were actually found in the house not long before his memories start, but not a mark on the bodies. His father Leighton Wilder II was found sitting dead in his chair, pipe in his hand and a newspaper on the floor. His mom was found on the sofa, knitting in her lap.”

“And Mr. Wilder knows nothing about it?” Alice had read stories like this and it was always the least likely suspect who did it.

“He wasn’t there when it happened. We found out later that he was working Kelly’s Grocery Store as a stocker that night and was never alone. He worked until ten o’clock and came home to find them dead. This much we got from the police later on but he remembers nothing about it.”

“So he had a job? Wouldn’t people there know about him or didn’t he have friends?”

“Sure and we have pieced together a lot from what they tell us, but it doesn’t help bring his memories back. It’s like reading a history book—we have the facts and figures, but James is not an eyewitness to his own history.” Mary shrugged as she sat down to eat her own sandwich. “So when Jamie Wilder pops up, who are we to say he isn’t a relative? He sure looks like one.”

As if summoned by their conversation, the doorbell rang several times in a row and Mary glanced up to see Jamie waving in a them through the front window. “There he is.”

Alice nearly gasped when she saw what seemed to be a younger, hipper, far more shaggy-haired version of James Wilder standing there banging on the window, grinning and waving. “Oh my! He does look like Mr. Wilder! It’s amazing!”

Mary quickly opened the door and let him in before he attracted neighborhood attention. “Come in here before the neighbors think we’re any crazier than we are!”

“Hi, mom!” Jamie came in, tossed down his bags and threw his arms around her for a big hug. ’Long time no see!”

“Jamie!” Mary gasped as he squeezed the breath out of her. “Enough!”

“And who is this? My student?” Jamie abandoned Mary and headed straight toward Alice to give her a monster hug of her own. “Nice to meet you! I’m Jamie!”

“I’m Alice, nice to meet you!” Alice quickly pointed out her tummy. “Not too much hugging, sorry! Got a passenger here!” The baby let out a small happy-sounding gurgle, confirming that Jamie was a friend, not a foe.

Jamie quickly bent down and took a listen to her stomach. “Oh I hear him!” he said, his grin getting even wider. “Amazing! I can hear his heartbeat and yours both!”

“You can hear that?” Mary asked as she tried to pick up his bags to bring them into the kitchen. The bags were dead weights and she couldn’t budge them.

“I’m getting some interesting abilities!” Jamie confirmed as he quickly returned to the bags and easily hoisted them up. “My hearing is amazing and my sense of smell…well, let’s just say I have to learn to control that one.” He took a quick look around the house. “So where are we going to work?”

“Derek and I used the kitchen table this morning,” Alice volunteered.

Jamie shook his head. “No good. We need a private area for just you. I have a loaner reference library in these bags for you just in case you can’t get to the library. We need space for those in a private area—not her bedroom—where we can work and she can study without being disturbed.”

“I guess we can put her in James’ study,” Mary said, scratching her head. “He never uses it much anyway.” She went to a door that Alice had not yet seen opened. “Hold your breath, Alice. It’s dusty!” Sure enough, when she opened the door a small dim cloud of dust could be seen floating away.

“Can it be cleaned?” Jamie asked pointedly.

“Give me ten minutes,” Mary sighed, heading for her cleaning basket and vacuum.

Alice peeked into the room and saw that it was furnished sparsely but had a desk, a couple of chairs and a filing cabinet. There were a few odds and ends on a makeshift shelf and a radio perched on top of the filing cabinet. It looked nothing like the rest of the house—just Spartan utility.

Jamie unplugged the radio and took it out of the room. After Mary gave it a quick going over, he shelved the reference books and then he and his student settled in for the afternoon.

With the door closed between them and Mary, Jamie helped Alice into a chair and then sat down himself across the desk from her. “So how did you get along with Derek this morning?” he asked as he took a look at the material her tutor had brought along.

“Fine,” Alice nodded somewhat nervously. “He’s very nice. We got a lot of the preliminary stuff done. All the T’s crossed and I’s dotted you know.”

“Yeah, the school system requires a lot of paperwork for this home schooling plan,” Jamie nodded, scanning everything that they had done. “Just for your information, I am working on my teaching certificate and you are part of my student teaching project, so everything we do here will be reviewed by my teaching mentor at your school.”

“Okay,” Alice nodded. It was no skin off her teeth if he had it reviewed by God himself.

“I have your class schedule and your teachers’ lesson plans, so we will be working just as if you were actually in school on a day by day basis. So, your first class on the schedule was third year English and that’s where we start.” He smiled up at her. “Three years of English is unusual. Most colleges and universities only require two—this is a college prep course. Are you going to major in English in college?”

“Thinking about it,” Alice nodded, his blue eyes making her a bit dizzy. “I love to write and draw. I would like to be a writer and English seems like a good place to start.”

“It can be,” he agreed. “You might want to think about taking some journalism and communications classes in college too. If you like English that well, you might enjoy those and it would give you more grounding in writing. What do you want to write about?”

“I don’t know,” she answered shyly. “I’m not really all that sure I’ll have much time for college anyway with this baby so close.”

“I would encourage you to not abandon your dreams because of the baby. There are ways to do it and maybe I can help you.”

“That would be nice,” Alice nodded, her eyes nearly riveted to his face.

Jamie noticed. “Did you have some questions for me before we start?”

Alice paused for a moment, taking in his tall muscular body and sharply focused blue eyes peering out at her from under thick long blond waves. Finally, she shook her head, shyly looking down at her books. “No, no questions. Let’s start.”

The two settled in for the afternoon and once again, time flew by so quickly that Alice was amazed to hear Mary knocking at the door. “Jamie, you have a phone call.”

He glanced at his watch. “That must be the school. I have to go over there from here and my mentor probably wants to go home soon.” He went out to answer it and from the conversation, Alice knew he was correct. Jamie had to go. Somehow, she wished classes could go on for just a bit longer—she had never learned so much so easily before in her life and having his friendly face there helping her along made the afternoon quite memorable.

He came back into the room and began gathering up his things. “So you’ve got some homework for tonight and Derek will be back tomorrow to help you prepare for class. Have any questions before I go?”

“Yes,” Alice said quickly a smile on her lips. “How come learning with you is so easy but in school I have to work so much harder to learn?”

“It is because I am such an excellent teacher, don’t you think?” Jamie teased her back. “Or maybe because you aren’t being interrupted by such silly things as bells, hundreds of other students and grumpy old farts for teachers.”

Alice started laughing as he made a funny face at her. “You are definitely not an old fart teacher!”

“But I can be grumpy if you don’t do your homework so be sure to spend some quality time on it tonight, okay?”

Jamie was just slinging his book bag over his shoulder to go when the Alice heard the back door open and a lot of exuberant noise. Michael and Daniel were home. Almost instantly, she heard Michael’s voice. “Jamie!”

“Michael!” Jamie responded and Alice saw Michael peek into the room, an expression of surprise on his face. “How ya doin’, kid? You too, Daniel?”

“What are you doing here?” Michael asked curiously. “Are you Alice’s teacher? Hi, Alice.”

“Hi,” she answered softly, curious about the relationship between these two young giants.

“In the flesh!” Jamie answered, his voice friendly. “We were just wrapping it up for the day. How were your classes today?”

“Boring, but all right.” Michael’s eyes went from Alice to Jamie and back again. “You aren’t stealing Alice from me, are you?”

Jamie glanced back at Alice. “No, but she’s a sweet kid. You’re lucky to have her. I’m just doing my student teaching project with her.”

“Interesting,” Michael said, surprise still on his face. “No one mentioned to me that it would be you.”

“Just got assigned yesterday.” Jamie waved at Alice. “I have to be off to the school. See you all tomorrow.” He passed by Daniel, who gave him a brief, surprised greeting and left the house.

“Well, I’ll be damned” Michael said to his brother. “Who knew t would be Jamie?”

“Michael, are you all right?” Alice asked as she got to her feet using the walker James had bought for her. “We had a great time this afternoon. Jamie is a wonderful teacher.”

“No doubt of that,” Michael nodded, noticing the walker. “Boy, I leave for a few hours and come home to you bouncing around on a walker and having a closed door session with my worst enemy. And I have three papers to write before Friday to boot.”

“Your worst enemy?” Alice echoed as she approached him. “Jamie? Why?”

“Nothing,” Michael said, wanting to take the words back. Jamie had stolen a girl he was dating two years ago. The two had run into his cousin at the county fair and after seeing Jamie and talking to him, she had slipped away. He spotted her later, walking away on Jamie’s arm and the image was burned into his memory.

“Well, whatever it is, he didn’t do it to me. Can I at least have a hello kiss?” Alice asked.

Michael gave her a brief hug and kiss. “Sorry, seeing him here just kind of rattled me. Hello. I hope it went well today.”

“Did someone clean in here?” Daniel asked, sniffing the air as he ignored his brother. “Things seem different. Less dusty. More like a human being uses this room.”

“Smart ass!” Mary yelled from another room. “You two go work on your own homework. Alice has to do hers too—leave her alone!”

“Javohl, mein mutter!” Daniel started to goosestep away from the den but a swat on the behind from his mother got him to hurry upstairs with his books to begin work.

Michael was left behind with Alice for a moment. “Did he say anything about me this afternoon?” he asked.

Alice gave him a puzzled look, then slowly smiled. “Are you jealous?”

“No!” Michael answered instantly, and then seemed to relent a bit. “Maybe a little. But I trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”

“Wow. You are jealous and I don’t believe it.”

“Why not? You’re sweet, attractive, you love me. Why shouldn’t I be jealous?” He found himself smiling back at her.

“Well, I guess you do care for me after all,” Alice stumped past him on her walker. “Can you help me get a glass of milk?”

Michael followed her and obediently retrieved a glass of milk for her as she sat back down at the kitchen table. “Of course I care for you,” he said softly as he sat down next to her. “But as I said, I’m just on the fence about what kind of relationship we should have.”

“And the angel doesn’t feel that way?”

He gave her a slight smile. “He’s all for it.”

Alice thought about this for a moment. “I think,” she finally said. “That I still don’t quite understand the difference between you and the angel. You said you are both but at the same time, you are very different people. Before your mom comes back and kicks us back to work, I guess I need to know—are you really the same person? Or am I dealing with two totally separate individuals?”

“Let me put it this way,” Michael answered. “We’re integrated personalities. But that doesn’t mean that we are completely blended. It’s more like um say if you clasp your two hands together, you make one integrated double fist. But even though they are now one, they are also still separate. They are still your hands, belonging to you, controlled by you—but one is the right hand and the other is the left. They have different uses, different functions. That’s the angel and me. We are still separate but we work together.”

“Oh,” Alice nodded, still confused. “I see.”

He caught her lie. “No you don’t,” he said slyly. “I don’t even understand it. The angel seems to be the only one who does.”

“Michael… would it ever be possible, as frightened as I am of him, for me to have a one on one talk with the angel, as you call him?” Alice couldn’t believe she was hearing herself saying that but it seemed to be the only sensible thing to do.

“He’d love that,” Michael nodded. “And I wouldn’t mind. Sure, it would be possible.”

“How about tonight, after supper and homework is all done and before you leave for training. Can we do it then?”

The timbre of Michael’s voice suddenly grew deeper as the angel answered. “It’s a date, Alice. I’ll see you then.”

“Whew!” she drew back slightly, shocked at the angel’s sudden emergence. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”

Mary’s voice suddenly intervened. “Homework, you two. Supper is at six o’clock.”

“All right,” Michael was back and irritated at his mother’s interference. “See you at six, Alice.”

Alice finished her milk and then headed back into the study to work on her homework. Mary watched them both go and then went into the kitchen to begin to prepare supper. As she did so, the back door opened again and James entered, home from work. “Hi, sweetheart,” he said, giving her a quick kiss. “How did it go today? I saw Jamie driving toward the school but I didn’t talk to him.”

“Pretty well, I think. Alice likes him,” Mary answered. “He seems like a pretty good teacher.”

“Is she using my study?” he asked, noting that the study door was open just a crack. He removed his jacket, hung it in the mudroom and stomped a few times to remove the snow from his feet.

“She needs a quiet, undisturbed place to work and Jamie put her in there. You never use it.”

“ Well it’s being put to good use then. What’s for supper?”

“It’s feeding time at the zoo tonight so I’m fixing you and the boys a few steaks. Alice and I are going to eat like civilized people—we’re having salad and baked fish for supper.”

“And it’s not even Friday? You are making sacrifices, aren’t you?” He gave her another quick kiss and exited the kitchen to head upstairs to see his sons.

“Happy school day!” he announced, looking in on Daniel who was lying on his bed reading a history book. “How were classes today?”

Daniel gave him a pained look. “Why are you so chipper? I hate chipper!”

“Because it irritates you. Tell me about school.”

“It was all right,” he answered, putting the book down. “A lot of new people, a lot of old people, new teachers, new classes. Same old crap.”

“Coaches come after you again?” James asked.

“Yes, the baseball and track coaches both called me into their offices, and the softball coach left a note on my locker. Every term it’s the same—football, basketball, tennis…they all begin pestering me. Explain to me again why we can’t go out for sports.”

“Because it…”

“Wouldn’t be fair!” Daniel finished for him. “I never understood that until now, but I can control my strength and speed. Why can’t I play baseball or run track? I’d be damned good!”

“ You would be more than good, you would set records right and left and we don’t need the attention,” James answered. “Just be happy with the workouts you get with Derasthe. Don’t those keep you pretty busy?”

“It’s all right. I mean I do like it a lot but it would be fun to be on a team with other kids my age. I’m going to graduate this term—time is running out!”

“I wish you could, Daniel, but as I said…” James’ voice faded as Daniel’s words sank in. “What did you say?” he finally asked. “You’re graduating this term?”

Daniel gave him a sly smile. “The school is offering some concentrated courses on weekends this semester. I have signed up for what I need for my senior year so I am doing both my junior and senior years together. My advisor okayed it and as long as my grades stay up, they will allow me to graduate with Michael.”

James couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re joking! They’re letting you skip your senior year?”

“Well, not skip it—I have to do it. But I can do it along with my junior year courses. I talked to Sandy Davis my guidance counselor and we worked out a schedule for it so I could take classes in the proper order.”

“That’s amazing! It’s wonderful!” James drew him out of the bed and gave him a hug. “I’m proud of you!”

“Well, wait to be proud of me after I’ve done it,” Daniel laughed, hugging him back. “If I crap out, it’s still one more year to go.”

“You’ll do fine. You always do!” James let him go back to his book. “Did you tell Michael yet?”

“He knows. He’s thrilled, sort of…maybe. I couldn’t really tell.”

“I’m sure he’s happy for you.” James was still floating. “I have got to tell your mother!”

“See you later.” Daniel waved as his father went back downstairs, and then went back to his history book.

Michael was seated at a desk in his own bedroom when James knocked on the door a few moments later. “Come in,” he said, knowing who it was after overhearing him with Daniel.

“How did it go today?” James asked as he came in. “Did you like your classes?”

“Actually, yeah, so far they’re all right,” Michael nodded, smiling slightly at his overeager father. It was like this every semester—in fact, nearly every week. James wanted to know about everything that was happening in their lives.

“What are you taking?” James glanced curiously over his shoulder to see what was on the desk.

“Calculus, some college prep courses like third year English and Physics, Art and Dan talked me into signing up for the choir.”

“Choir!” James nodded approvingly. Michael was both an excellent musician and singer but this was the first time he had taken any music courses in school. On the other hand, Daniel had played piano for the choir since middle school. “That’s great! What part will you sing?”

“The angel can sing bass and I am closer to a baritone so it will probably mean I can switch around.”

James noted how Michael referred to his other “self” now. “Michael, can I ask you why you are referring to your angelic side as ‘the angel’ now?”

Michael shrugged. “It seems easier with Alice. She relates to me like I’m two separate people so I guess I’ve been saying it that way just to keep her from getting confused between us.”

“What will happen when you are no longer just two integrated personalities but one angel with a blend of both?”

“Guess I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Michael answered in a somewhat irritated tone.

James knew when to back off. “All right, I guess that works for now. So, are you happy that Daniel will be graduating with you? Maybe you can even both attend UW-Madison.”

“Yeah, I’m happy,” Michael nodded, smiling slightly as he turned back to his homework. “If I go to college, it would be great if we went together.”

“You’re thinking of not going to college?” James asked.

“How can I, with the baby so close and Alice needing me like she does. But maybe I’ll change my mind tomorrow. The angel wants to go to college and commute back and forth. Maybe that would be plausible.”

“Sure it would. It’s only a ten minute flight for you.”

“Well, the commute isn’t the only thing. I have to help Alice with the baby and I can’t just foist it all on mom to help out.”

“If it comes to choosing between you helping with the baby and college, your mom and I would definitely help with the baby. And of course, now when he gets older, he can go to class with you on occasion.”

Michael gave him a strange look. “Metatron? In class with me?”

“You’re right,” James said, giving it another thought. “That’s not a good idea.”

Mary called James from downstairs, letting him know that the stair lift installers had arrived. “See you later,” he said, waving as he closed Michael’s door upon his exit. He paused for a moment and took a breath. Lately dealing with his oldest son was not the easiest thing to do.

Going back to his books, Michael spent the next ninety minutes doing his homework, reading ahead a bit in all of his textbooks and actually got started on two of the three papers he had to write. By the time suppertime was called by his mother, he was pretty much finished with everything that had to be done that night and had a head start on the rest of the week.

Daniel was at the same point in his homework—not much left to be done and the two went down to supper together. Alice, Mary and James were already at the table and there were three large very rare steaks piled on a serving plate. On another plate were a few pieces of baked cod and sitting beside it, a bowl of vegetable salad.

“I’m starved!” Daniel said as he slid into his chair. Michael sat down next to Alice and after saying a blessing the two boys helped themselves to the big cuts of meat. James took the last one and after making sure the men weren’t falling to their meat like ravenous wolves, Mary served up some fish and salad for Alice and herself. When she took the first bite of fish, the men took their signal to begin eating and began to saw away at the steaks.

“You’re eating tonight,” Alice observed as she worked on some veggies. “This is the first time you’ve all actually eaten with us since I got here.”

“I usually eat,” James said. “But since they got their wings, the boys aren’t that hungry. They eat about once a month.”

“Once a month!” Alice echoed. “I’m starving after an hour!”

“But it helps the grocery bills,” Mary said as she cut up her fish. “They went down over $200.00 a month. You boys were eating us out of house and home!”

“Growing teenagers,” Michael reminded her. “ Have to eat.”

Mary glanced at James, and then changed the subject. “Michael, you got a notice from the draft board today. It’s in your mail basket.”

“I saw it when I got home,” Michael said, concentrating more on his steak. “I am to report on Saturday in Madison for a physical.”

“You should never have registered,” James growled softly.

“Had to, dad, that’ s the law. Daniel will have to register soon too.” Michael held up a particularly red piece of steak to take a quick look at it, and then popped it into his mouth. “But I think I have it worked out. I’m going for a college deferment.”

“Then you’re going to college?” James asked, remembering Michael’s reticence earlier that afternoon.

“The angel says I should go and that everything will be fine,” Michael answered.

“The angel? Which angel?” Mary echoed.

“Michael has begun referring to his angelic side as ‘the angel’.” James waited for Mary to start laughing but she didn’t.

“What do you mean by that, Michael?” Mary asked.

“I think he does it because of me,” Alice said, her face a little pink. “I am a bit frightened of that other side of his personality.”

“Can’t blame you there,” Mary shrugged and continued eating. “It’s better than ‘hey you’, I guess.”

“Hey you is good,” Daniel nodded as he ate. “I call him that, he answers to it.”

“Shut up, Daniel,” Michael said. “We’re going to have a talk about it tonight. Maybe after that you won’t be so frightened of me, Alice.”

“I still think you should go for 4F,” James said, going back to the draft notice conversation. “Derasthe can help you do it. He can make you look like you have some dread disease that isn’t too debilitating…just enough to keep you out of the military, like malaria or yellow fever.”

“No, I think I’ll go for the deferment,” Michael chuckled at the idea of him reporting with malaria. “It’s easier.”

“It’s your call. I just don’t want you in the middle of all that fighting in Southeast Asia. It wouldn’t be fair to either side to have an angel involved so centrally.”

“Why not?” Alice asked. “My brother Louie had to register. I mean, they haven’t called up his number yet, but if they did, I would be proud to have him join the military.”

“Your brother Louie can’t wipe out an entire division by himself,” James said. “With a little more training, Michael could easily do that.”

“But wouldn’t that shorten the war, then?”

“I don’t know. But it’s not an angel’s job to take sides in a war.” James let the subject drop. “Derasthe called me at the office today. Or should I say, Dresler Rader. He wants to stop in tonight and check on you, Alice, now that you know that he is helping take care of you.”

“Oh…okay.” Alice was thrilled at the thought of the handsome actor fawning over her, but hoped it wouldn’t interfere with the talk she wanted to have with ‘the angel’ that night. “What time is he coming?”

“I am here now,” an elegant British voice said as Derasthe appeared in the room behind Mary’s chair, wings slightly spread. “Am I in time for dinner?” he asked, noting that the family was eating.

“Sorry,” Mary said. “Not unless you want fish. We have plenty of that.”

“I was joking, my dear,” he said as he bent over to kiss her on the cheek. “Do you mind if I join you to chat?” He pulled an extra chair over from where it was stored by the wall and settled in. “So, what were we talking about?”

Alice was trying to eat without staring at him, failing utterly. He looked so different than when they had first met. At that time he was human but now the being before her was a giant battle-scarred warrior with a scabbarded sword hanging between burnished brown wings and a plain black kilt held up by a wide leather belt.

“We were talking about Michael receiving his notice to report for a draft physical,” Mary said.

“And he’ll fail of course?” Derasthe asked.

“I’m going for a deferment,” Michael answered. “I don’t want to fail the physical. It’s not in my nature to fake my way through examinations, no matter what kind they are.”

“Very honorable of you, but in case you don’t get the deferment, I’m going to fix you up with a nice case of flat feet,” Derasthe said. “Just for that morning, of course.”

“I don’t want any help!” Michael said determinedly.

“You cannot go into the military. You are already committed to an army of another sort and you cannot serve two masters.” Derasthe’s tone intimated that he would not tolerate argument. “That is how it will be resolved.”

Michael fell silent, his face full of resentment as he continued to work on his steak.

“So how is our little mother?” Derasthe asked pointedly of Alice. “Baby doing better or still kicking hard?”

“No, he’s quite a bit calmer and seems more relaxed,” Alice nodded. “I see Dr. Gannon in two days.”

“Very good, I’m pleased about that,” Derasthe nodded. “I’m sure he’ll find that you and the baby are both doing very well.”

“Except for the balance thing, I’ve never felt better,” Alice confirmed.

“The loss of equilibrium is somewhat expected. The baby is probably resting a bit far forward in your womb and is probably quite a solid young fellow. His weight is probably what’s causing you to totter forward all the time. The walker James brought you is an excellent idea.”

“It really helps,” Alice agreed.

“I know you have plans for this evening so I am going to do what I came for right now,” Derasthe said. “You may keep on with your dinner but don’t mind if I just do this…” He slipped a gentle warm hand across Alice’s abdomen and let it rest there for a moment as he used his angelic scanning ability to check the baby and give it another shot of calming magic. Alice seemed surprised but let him finish without interfering. When he withdrew his hand, she felt a delicious warmth spreading through her body. “I gave you a bit of mother’s magic,” Derasthe said. “It will help you sleep and when the baby comes, give you a bit of extra strength and stamina to deal with him. He will be quite a handful, as you know.”

“Thank you,” Alice nodded shyly. His touch had sent a little thrill up and down her back.

“Very good then!” Derasthe suddenly stood up and put the chair back where he had found it. “So all of you have a fine evening then. Daniel and Michael, I will see you in California later tonight, yes?”

“Yes,” Daniel confirmed while Michael just glowered at his plate. “We’ll be there as usual.”

“Excellent! And to Michael the archangel, will you please talk some sense into your human side?”

Michael suddenly looked up and Alice could easily see that the angel in him was responding. “I’ll do my best, Derasthe but he’s quite determined.”

“His service to Metatron comes first. I will see you all quite soon!” Derasthe waved and to Alice’s surprise, simply disappeared.

“He didn’t fly off?” she asked instantly.

“Teleportation is optional,” James answered. “He was probably in a hurry. He’s already home.”

“Wow, do I have a lot to learn…” Alice just shook her head and went back to her meal but something inside her was more serene and more accepting now. Maybe it was for the best. “But all in good time.”

“Wow, that mother’s magic is good stuff,” Daniel commented, seeing Alice’s change in demeanor.

After supper, Michael was just getting ready to let Alice have a talk with the angel when a knock came at the door. To his surprise, he found David and Rick there when he opened it. “What’s up?” he asked curiously.

“What do you mean? We’re rehearsing tonight, remember? Every Monday night—we talked to Daniel about it—didn’t he tell you? It’s Monday night and time to rehearse.”

“Daniel!” Michael admitted his two friends and then called his brother to the door.

“Hey!” Daniel smiled as he saw their fellow human slash angels. “How’s it hangin’?”

“Did we set rehearsals for Monday nights?” Michael asked, somewhat aggravated.

“Oh yeah, we did that. Sorry, what with classes starting, Alice and the baby, movie stars popping in and out, I must have forgotten to tell you. So what’s the problem? You don’t have plans, do you?”

“Well, yeah, in a way, I did. She wants to talk to the angel and I promised her she could do that tonight.”

“So where’s the problem?” David asked as he fidgeted with a pair of drumsticks he had brought along. “Let the angel do his talking and you can rehearse. You’re the one who sings and plays guitar, right? Not him?”

Michael couldn’t believe what David was suggesting. “Do you mean we should split in two and I do my thing and he does his? That’s insane!”

“I did it for fifteen years. What’s the harm? He won’t wander away from you or steal your girl. In fact, without Asmodeus doing the splitting, you can only stay apart for an hour or two. Just let him go do the talking and you rehearse with us.” David stared expectantly at him, like a parent waiting for a child to do the right thing.

Michael looked back and forth between Rick and David, and then glanced at Daniel. “I’ll go ask Alice,” he finally sighed. “Maybe that new mother’s magic Derasthe just gave her will make her more…amenable.”

“Go ask her,” David nodded. “But we’re rehearsing tonight. I have a couple of gigs lined up for us and they could be important.”

Michael turned and went back into the living room, where Alice was trying to get comfortable in a chair. “I have a problem,” he said, kneeling down on one knee next to her. “Daniel set up a band rehearsal tonight and didn’t tell me about it. It’s happening right now.”

Alice’s face grew concerned. “But Michael, we were going to have our talk tonight. I really need to get some clarification on some things from your…your…other side. I was really counting on it.”

“Well, how would you feel if I wasn’t there, but the angel was?” Michael asked.

Alice gave him a strange look. “How could you do that?”

“Apparently, we can split in two…just temporarily, but we can become separate beings. The angel can go talk with you, and then bring you back to me. How does that sound to you?”

“But how will you know what we talked about? Michael, it’s important that you know what is said.”

“When the angel and I rejoin, it will be just as if I was there. He imparts everything he experiences to me and it becomes my experience. I will know everything that happened and he can speak for me.”

“Well…” Alice still wasn’t sure. “If this doesn’t work out, can we schedule a time to talk again when nothing else will interfere?”

“Of course we can.” Michael stood up and for a brief moment, seemed to fade from view, but when he came back, there was two of him. One was the handsome, insecure teenager that she loved so much, while the other was the more massive, infinitely beautiful yet dangerous-looking angel of the heavens. She found it hard to believe that her companion for the evening would be the angel. The angel Michael held out his strong, sinewy hand. “Let’s find a place to talk,” he said softly as she took his hand.

To the teenage Michael’s surprise, both the angel and Alice faded from view, but he knew instinctively that they had gone somewhere safe from interruption. He only hoped that Alice didn’t come back carrying twins.

“Is it done?” David asked, noting the change in Michael’s energy and aura. “It must be—your aura has gone from rainbow to pure blue.”

Michael just glared at him as they exited the house and headed for the heated garage. Without the angel, he somehow felt as if everything warm and wonderful had been suddenly taken away from him. A feeling of anger, resentment and rebelliousness welled up inside and thoughts of getting away came into his head. But seeing Daniel there keeping a careful eye on him, he just kept his mind on the task at hand.