Demon
Chapter 5

Stefanie

I’m so relieved to see Jonathan playing with his friends. This last week has been so strange, starting with the trip to the hospital and then the last several days of his unusually lethargic behavior. But now he’s in the yard, throwing the ball to his dog, and apparently having a good time. It still seems a lot quieter than usual, but maybe that’s because Natalie and Timothy came along. They’re younger, and generally less boisterous, so that might be influencing the way they are all playing.

I feel a weight lifted from me. Phew. I think that I can start believing that Jonathan is going to be okay. Good thing, because I have so many other things to think about. I managed to get through finals week, but I still have to prepare for Christmas. We haven’t even put up the tree yet, we’ve been so rattled with everything going on. So I have to do that, wrap presents, generally prepare for the holiday.

I’m also anticipating my final semester starting next month, along with my internship. I feel a little burp rising in my throat, and cover my mouth even though nobody is in the house with me. And that, of course. The baby that’s on its way. I feel gassier than last time. A lot of this pregnancy is different, but it’s possible that it’s just because I was only a teenager then and I’m a lot older now. Well, I’m just 25, but that still is a big difference from being in high school.

Lots of things are changing. For the better, it seems. I feel more hopeful now that Jonathan is definitely improving. I pull out a piece of paper and start making a list of stuff I need to get done.

Ron

Brenda and I have hauled the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the attic to go through them. We figure we’ll go get the tree tomorrow, but she wanted to check out what I have here before she decides what to bring over from her house. It seems like while the kids are all over at Jonathan’s house is a good time for us to do it.

I was a little worried about them going over there, after all the drama that happened last week. But Gabe and Natalie assured me with total sincerity that it will be fine, everybody will be able to get along perfectly well. And last night they seemed to be okay together when we visited. I’ve decided to trust them, and hope for the best. After all, the fight at the library was a complete aberration. Although I’ve seen Jonathan tease the kids a few times, it had never escalated into a fight before. I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t happen again. After the accident at the school playground Monday where Gabe and Jonathan both got hurt, I’m pretty sure that whatever set them off last weekend has been long forgotten.

I’m watching Brenda go through the boxes of decorations. It doesn’t take her very long, since I don’t really have a lot. She looks up at me with a crooked smile on her face. “I’m thinking I’ll want to pretty much bring everything over. These are fine, but mine are the ones with all the memories.”

I chuckle. “Are you dissing my divorced dad decorations?”

“Well, maybe,” she laughs.

“Good. This stuff is all generic and boring.” I look into the box in front of her, and see the one unique ornament. I pull it out and hold it up. “Except this one, of course.”

She smiles and takes the little luminaria. “Ah, yes.”

“That’s the ornament that started it all. When Natalie saw it last year, she asked me about it, and then she hatched her scheme to have you come over to set up luminarias with us.”

Remembering that night, I am flooded again with love for Brenda, and I lean across the box to give her a kiss. She reciprocates tenderly.

We are in such a good place right now.

“Let’s do it again this year,” she suggests, after several minutes of smooching. “The luminarias. We’ll all be here again. Really here. I’m sure the kids would love it.”

“Yes,” I agree, reaching up to tuck a stray lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “Let’s do it. A new tradition.”

Gabe

We’ve been playing and throwing the ball to the dog for an hour or so, I guess. I’m taking turns with Jonathan. He’s doing it, but not goofing around like usual. He seems happy enough. But still very different.

Natalie is watching and helping get the ball from Socks, especially when it’s my turn to throw it. It’s hard for me to bend down to get the ball with the crutches. My ankle is starting to hurt, but I don’t want to say anything about it.

Natalie, though, apparently gets the heads up from Angel. “Jonathan,” she tells him, after Socks drops the ball in her hand, “I think it’s time for us to go home now. Thank you for playing with us.” She hands the ball to him, and touches his shoulder as he takes it. “Bye, Jonathan. We’ll see you again soon. Probably tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” he says.

“Bye, Jon,” I tell him. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Bye.”

As we’re heading home, Timothy says, “That was very interesting. We’ll have a lot to talk about. I asked Guardian to monitor his feelings.”

“Angel was watching everything too,” Natalie says, walking next to me as I swing along on my crutches. “I got the sense that he wasn’t expecting everything that happened, but he hasn’t told me what yet. We’ll talk about it when we get home.”

Sometimes I can’t believe how much is going on that I never knew about before. Here my sister and her friend have this whole other life of guardian angels going on, that nobody else knows about. It’s so strange. I’m glad that I’m part of it now, though.