(Uhhh, I'd say since round about... the beginning.)
(Oh, my.) So that's why Gillian had been so low key and noble and let Tanya do all the yelling and threatening. They must have come off like Dorothy and the Wicked Witch.
A sense of justice stirred inside Gillian. She made a hesitant move toward David.
"David-you don't understand-"
David shook his head. "I understand just fine. Don't try to cover for her. It's better for me to find out."
(Yeah, shut up, minibrain! Now look mildly distressed, slightly awkward. You guess they want to be alone now.)
"Uh, I guess you guys want to be alone now."
(Anyway, you have to hurry to get your ride.)
"Anyway, I have to hurry to get my ride."
(These aren't the droids you're looking for.)
"These aren't-" (I'm going to kill you, Angel!) Flustered, Gillian made one last gesture of apology and almost ran for the door.
Outside, she walked blindly. (Angel!)
(Sorry, I couldn't resist. But look at you, kid! Do you know what you've done?)
(I guess ... I got rid of Tanya.) As the adrenaline of battle faded, the truth of this was slowly beginning to dawn on her. It brought a hint of glorious warmth, a sparkling promise of future happiness.
(Smart kid!)
(And-I did it fairly. It was all true, wasn't it, Angel? She's really been messing around with Bruce?)
(Everybody's been messing around with Bruce. Yes, it was all true.)
(And what about Kim? Is she the one who spreads rumors about people?)
(Like butter on Eggos.)
(I just-she seemed so sweet. When we talked about rumors in the cafeteria she patted my hand.)
(Sure, she's sweet-to your face. Turn left here.)
Gillian found herself emerging from the school building. As she went down the steps she saw three or four cars parked casually in the roundabout. Macon's BMW convertible was one. He looked up at her and gave an inviting nod toward the car.
Other people shouted. "Hey, Jill, need a ride?" "We wouldn't want you to get lost in the woods again!"
Gillian stood, feeling like a southern belle. So many people wanting her-it made her giddy. Angel was grandly indifferent (Pick anybody!) and she could see Amy's Geo a little distance away. Amy and Eugene were standing by it, looking up at her. But getting in a car with Eugene Elfred would be disastrous to her new status.
She picked Cory the Party Guy, and the ride home was filled with his nonstop talk about Macon's party on Saturday. She had trouble getting rid of him at the door. Once she did, she walked up to her bedroom
and fell on her bed, arms out. She stared at the ceiling.
(Phew!)
It had been the most incredible day of her life.
She lay and listened to the quiet house and tried to gather her thoughts.
The warmth was still percolating inside her, although it was mixed with a certain amount of anxiety. She wanted to see David again. She wanted to know how things had turned out with Tanya.
She couldn't let herself feel happy until she was sure...
"Relax, would you?"
Gillian sat up. The voice wasn't in her ear, it was beside the bed. Angel was sitting there.
The sight hit her like a physical blow.
She hadn't seen him since that morning and she'd forgotten how beautiful he was.
His hair was dark golden with paler gold lights shimmering in it. His face was-well-classic perfection.
Absolutely pure, denned like a sculpture in marble. His eyes were a violet so glorious it actually hurt to look at it. His expression was rapt and uplifted... until he winked. Then it dissolved into mischief.
"Uh, hi," Gillian whispered huskily.
"Hi, kid. Tired?"
"Yeah. I feel... used up."
"Well, take a nap, why don't you? I've got places to go anyway."
Gillian blinked. Places? "Angel... I never asked you. What's heaven like? I mean, with angels like you, it's got to be different from most people's idea. That meadow I saw-that wasn't it, was it?"
"No, that wasn't it. Heaven-well, it's hard to explain. It's all in the oscillation of the spatial-temporal harmonics, you know-what you'd call the inherent vibration of the plane. At a higher vibration everything assumes a much more complicated harmonic theme. ..." "You're making this up, aren't you?" "Yeah. Actually it's classified. Why don't you get some sleep?" Gillian already had her eyes shut.
She was happy when she woke up to smell dinner. But when she got downstairs, she found only her mother.
"Dad's not home?"
"No. He called, honey, and left a message for you. He'll be out of town on business for a while."
"But he'll be back for Christmas. Won't he?"
"I'm sure he will."
Gillian didn't say anything else. She ate the hamburger casserole her mother served-and noticed that her mother didn't eat. Afterward, she sat in the kitchen and played with a fork.
(You okay?)
The voice in her ear was a welcome relief. (Angel. Yeah, I'm all right. I was just thinking... about how everything started with Mom. It wasn't always like this. She was a teacher at the junior college...)
(I know.)
(And then-I think it was about five years ago- things just started happening. She started acting crazy.
And then she was seeing things-what did I know about drinking then? I just thought she was nuts. It wasn't until Dad started finding empty bottles...)
(I know.)
(I just wish... that things could be different.) A pause. (Angel? Do you think maybe they could be?)
Another pause. Then Angel's voice was quiet. (I'll work on it, kid. But, yeah, I think maybe they could be.)
Gillian shut her eyes.
After a moment she opened them again. (Angel-how can I thank you? The things you're doing for me ...