“I miss this.” She laughed as Bear went wild licking her face.
Welita reached out and held Naomi’s hand. “I’ve prayed to see you one last time. Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayers. I didn’t think I would ever have a chance. After you left, I didn’t see Rebecca anymore. I sensed her presence once in a while, but she never appeared to me again.”
“Uh, Welita. I wasn’t really sent here.” She squirmed in her seat under Welita’s scrutiny. “I’m supposed to be watching someone else. I’m really not supposed to be here.”
“Naomi!” Welita took out a handkerchief from the pocket of her pale blue housedress and fanned herself. “You were not raised like that. We raised you to be a good girl.”
“I know, Welita. But I just had to see you. Besides, Jeremy said it was okay.”
She stopped fanning. “Who’s Jeremy?”
“He’s an archangel. He’s here with me.”
Welita looked around. “Right now?”
“Not
Welita gave her ‘the look,’ and she shrank back. It was a look that could put the fear of God in full-grown men. Welita may have looked older and frailer, but that look of hers could still scare the crap out of anyone.
“He’s doing your work for you?”
“Just for a while. It’s a favor, really.”
“And Lash? Where is he?”
Her heart lurched at the sound his name. She gazed down, studying Bear’s fur as she brushed her hand over it. “He’s still in Heaven.”
“Look at me.” Welita’s voice was firm. “Tell me what happened.”
Slowly, she lifted her eyes to meet Welita’s. How could she tell her what happened? Welita would be devastated if she knew what Lash had done.
“I-I can’t.”
“You love him?”
“Yes, but it’s more complicated than that.”
“What’s complicated about love?”
She sighed. She wanted so badly to tell her, to take the weight she was feeling off her chest.
“I can’t explain, Welita. It’s just...complicated.”
“Yes, you can explain.” She leaned over and cupped her cheek. “Don’t be afraid.”
Naomi felt Welita’s strength from that simple touch as if she were passing it to her.
She placed Bear on the floor, and taking a deep breath she blurted, “I know how dad died.”
Welita inhaled sharply. “He was hit by that senator woman... Jane Sutherland. She was driving drunk. We all know that.”
“Do you remember when dad was little and was in the plane crash and the girl who survived the crash too?”
“How could I forget? I remember thinking that the angels were looking after God’s children.”
“Well, the little girl who survived was Jane Sutherland.”
“Really?”
“And, well, she wasn’t supposed to survive that accident.” She stopped, unable to continue.
“Naomi, tell me.” Welita reached over and placed a hand over hers. “Tell me.”
She couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears ran down her face as the words rushed out in one breath. “It was Lash. Lash saved Jane. Oh Welita, he didn’t know this would happen. I know he did it because he cares so much for people, I just know it. But, if he’d just done what he was supposed to do, dad would still be here, and, and...” She took a gulp of air. “...and maybe I would still be here, too. And we’d still be in Houston, and...and Chuy and Lalo wouldn’t have lost their jobs, and there wouldn’t be stupid bulldozers tearing down the neighborhood.”
Welita held out her handkerchief, and Naomi took it, wiping her nose. “And I keep thinking about that over and over in my head: if only Lash hadn’t saved her. And...and then I think I would’ve never met him. And maybe I wouldn’t be as happy as I was when I was with him, but then I wouldn’t be as miserable as I am now. Welita, I’m so confused.”
Like she used to do when she was little, she threw herself at Welita and dropped her head into her lap, weeping. Bear licked her fingers, trying to comfort her, and that made her cry even harder.
Welita rubbed her back and softly crooned. Spanish rolled off her tongue as she sang the lyrics to Senora Santa Ana, a song she’d always sing to Naomi when she was a little girl and feeling sick. Slowly, Naomi began to feel calmer. Somehow, Welita always found a way to make her feel better, even now when she was an angel, the one who was supposed to help humans, not the other way around.
“Mejita, one of the hardest days in my life was having to bury my own son. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my own enemies. It helped ease the pain knowing that Javier was with your mother. Rebecca told me that when he went to the other side, he was reunited with her. And when you left with Lash, that was also hard. But like your father, I knew that you were with Lash, that you had a love that was everlasting with him.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Mad at Lash? How can I be angry with the person who brings light to your eyes whenever you see him? Even now when you speak of him, you say his name with such love. How could I be mad at someone with such compassion in his heart that he dares to defy orders? You two are the same—a perfect match.”
“Welita, I don’t know what to do. I was so hurt when he told me. I felt betrayed, like he took something away from me. I mean, I know it wasn’t intentional, and I think I understand what he was thinking when he did it, but I can’t help what I feel.” She thought about the struggle she’d felt when she wanted to leave Megan and protect Chuy. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do.
“Let go of your anger and believe in him. Believe in your love. Lean on it. Love is strength.”
“I don’t know if I can. I don’t even know if I can be a good angel,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Angels are supposed to be perfect. I’m not.”
“Ay, Naomi, angels are not perfect. No one is. We are all made in the Lord’s image, and He too feels anger, jealousy, so why not his angels? Why not you?”
“Angels are supposed to have faith. I don’t know if I have that anymore. I almost messed up my first job by...” She hesitated, not wanting to tell her about Chuy almost dying. “Well, there was a courageous person who I thought was going to die in a fire, and I was supposed to watch over someone else, and I didn’t want to.”
“You do have faith. I know you do. You’ve always been stubborn, Mejita. Sometimes it works for you, and sometimes it works against you. Can’t you see you’re fighting against Lash’s love because to accept it means to accept your place with the angels?” Welita cupped Naomi’s face and stared intently into her eyes. “Your place is with them now. Surrender yourself to his love, and the rest will fall into place.”
Naomi heard the sound of heels clacking down the hall, heading towards the room. Bear jumped off her lap and ran to the door, barking. “Someone’s coming.”
There was a soft rapping on the door. “Mrs. Duran. It’s Jane Sutherland. May I please have a word with you?”
“Don’t let her in,” she whispered furiously when Welita reached for her walker.
“Why not?”
“She’s dangerous. She works with Lucifer.”
Welita gasped and made the sign of the cross and muttered a quick prayer. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Luke Prescott is Lucifer.”
“Does she know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then we must tell her.”
“She won’t believe you.”
“You don’t know that. There must be some good in her for Lash to see it and want to save her.”
“That was a long time ago. The senator may have been innocent back then, but she’s a powerful woman now. And may soon be the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. She and Lucifer together would be
