Demon
Chapter 27

Margaret

“Ooh! Ooh! Frank! Here they are!” I jump up from the seat by the window where I’ve been watching and waiting for Brenda to drive up. We offered to go down and pick them up at the airport, but Brenda said since there are four of them we wouldn’t all fit in one car. And besides they’re planning to do some sightseeing after the wedding so Ron wanted to rent a car. So we’ve just had to wait for them to arrive.

I rush out into the driveway as they are pulling in, Frank sauntering along behind me with much more dignity. I am just tickled about this whole visit, and so excited to spend some time with Brenda and the kids.

And with Ron, I suppose. I haven’t seen him in quite some time, probably the last time when we visited Brenda in San Diego a couple of years ago and he was picking the kids up for visitation. I am happy for Brenda, since she sounds so excited about this whole thing, but I can’t stop feeling a little leery of Ron. He broke her heart once. What’s to stop him from doing it again?

The kids come running over to give us hugs. “Holy smokes, Gabe, you are growing like a weed! I think you’re taller than me now!” He grins and stands on his tiptoes while he is hugging me, just to emphasize how tall he’s gotten. I scooch a little lower so that I have to look up at him, and we both laugh.

Natalie is waiting with a smile, and I grab her for a hug next. She isn’t growing much, still just a tiny little tyke. I know not to be fooled by her size though, this kid has deeper thoughts than most adults I know. “Oh, Natalie,” I say, while I’m giving her a squeeze, “I’m so glad to see you! I hope you’re enjoying the bible I sent?”

She smiles. “I am! I have it right here,” patting her backpack. “I’ve read most of it, and I really am enjoying the stories. Although some of them are way stranger than you would know from just hearing the usual stories about Christmas and stuff.”

I laugh. “No kidding! Well, I’m looking forward to chatting with you about all that. We should have plenty of time to talk after the wedding.”

She nods happily. The kids head into the house, and after giving Brenda a kiss on the cheek, and nodding at Ron, I follow them in. I’ll leave Frank to help sort out the luggage.

Ron

I have to admit that I’m a bit nervous greeting Brenda’s folks. I am pretty sure that I’ve been persona non grata around here for years, and here I am just cavalierly showing up to marry their daughter. Again. I suspect I’ll have to replace a way to prove myself.

Margaret just gives me a terse nod then follows the kids into the house. Frank comes over to the car where I am unloading the kids’ suitcases from the trunk.

“Ron,” he says, nodding at me.

“Frank,” I respond.

Hoo boy. Yeah, I have some work to do.

He helps with the bigger luggage while Brenda gets the lighter bags.

Natalie

After we put our stuff down in our room, where we will each have a twin bed to sleep on all week, I ask Gabe to come with me. “I have to show you something,” I say.

“Um, ok,” he says, and comes with me out into the hallway.

Mom and Dad are in the living room talking with Grandma and Grandpa. I take him down the hall towards the kitchen, and stop in front of a painting. “Check this out,” I tell him.

It’s the guardian angel painting. Two tiny kids are walking over a river on a shifty looking bridge, while a beautiful angel stretches her arms out over them. This is one of my earliest memories.

“Huh, look at that!” Gabe leans in closer to inspect it more carefully. “It’s a guardian angel!”

“Yes,” I tell him. “I remember being here when I was super young, and seeing this painting, and thinking that it was Angel. That was back when I used to carry my beanie baby around all the time. I remember Grandma coming and talking to me about the painting, and that was the first time that I realized that other people couldn’t see my Angel.”

He looks away from the painting, down at me. A sort of sad expression crosses his face. “Is this hard for you? Sometimes? Knowing that you are different?”

That’s an unusually deep question for my brother. I smile and look down, but then I try to give it the consideration it deserves. If he is going to think a deep thought, I need to be serious about it. “Well, maybe, but probably not the way you would think. The hardest part for me isn’t really that I’m different from other people. It’s that I’m sorry for them. I wish they could see their guardians too. It’s the most important part of me. It’s really wonderful, and I wish so much that everybody could share it.”

Brenda

Oh my gosh, my Mom is so funny. She is insisting that we comply with the tradition that has Ron not seeing me from the night before the wedding until we are actually at the church. She told me that we need all the luck we can get to make this marriage stick the second time around. So, Ron is going to the hotel a night early, and will stay in our room by himself Saturday. We were already planning to leave the kids with my folks after the wedding, so that we can have a couple of days to ourselves. But then we’ll want to grab the kids during the days for the rest of the week to take them around and show them the sights. My Mom insists she is pleased as punch to have them sleep here all week.

So after staying here at my parents’ house for just one night, Ron is already packing back up to go.

“I’ll take the car with me, but let me know if you need it for some reason,” he says.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. I can borrow one of my parents’ cars if I need to, and we’re all going to the church tomorrow.” I’m in my old bedroom, where we squeezed into the double bed together to sleep last night. The kids are in the other room. Ron is putting his toiletries back into his case while I watch.

“I’m going to miss you tonight,” he tells me.

“Me too.”

I think I have to bring up a possibly sore subject before I let him go. “Did you ever manage to get hold of your Dad?”

He sighs. “No. There still isn’t any answer, and as far as I can tell he doesn’t have an answering machine. We did send him the invite, but I don’t know if he’d want to come anyway.”

Ron hasn’t had a good relationship with his Dad, ever since his Mom died many years ago. He has a little brother who he keeps in touch with sporadically. But Ken moved away from Albuquerque a long time ago, and had to send his regrets since he and his wife are busy with their twins. As far as we know his Dad still lives in Albuquerque, but there’s been no contact for years.

I don’t want to pressure him, but I feel like he shouldn’t give up. “Do you want to try to replace him today? I don’t want to pressure you, honey, but I’m worried that you’ll regret it if you don’t at least drive over there and see if he’s home.”

He sits on the side of the bed and leans his elbows on his knees, running his hands over his clipped hair while he stares at the carpet. I give him a minute to think. He looks up at me, his blue eyes resolved. “You’re right. I don’t want to live with regrets. I’ve done enough of that.” He leans over and kisses me. “Thank you. I think I needed your little push. I’m going to drive over and knock on the door. Honestly, I don’t know if he even lives there any more, but all I can do is try.”

I put my arms around him. “I’m glad you’re going to make the effort. At least you’ll know that you did what you could.” I’m leaning against him, as we both sit side by side on the bed. I nuzzle against his neck, and kiss along his jawline. “I’m really going to miss you tonight.”

He laughs, then leans down to kiss me properly. “We’re old enough that we can control ourselves for one night. Not like we’re in college any more.”

We let go of each other reluctantly, then he stands and gets his bags. “Text me about what happens with your Dad.”

“I will. Think of me tonight.”

I chuckle. “Believe me, I’ll dream of you all night long.”