Halo

shouting to look me up and down. “Who’s this?” she asked brusquely.

“Nicola!” Bernie snapped at her. “Where are your manners? This is Beth. Beth, this is my fifteen year old — Nicola.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said grudgingly. “I don’t know what you’d want to date him for anyway,” she added, jerking her head in Xavier’s direction. “He’s a total loser and his jokes suck.”

“Nicola’s going through her angsty teen phase, and she’s lost her sense of humor,” Xavier explained. “Otherwise she’d appreciate my sharp wit.”

Nicola looked daggers at him. I was spared having to formulate some sort of response by the entrance of Xavier’s eldest sister, Claire. Her hair was straight like Xavier’s and hung loose around her shoulders. She was wearing a knitted cardigan, black jeans, and high boots. Despite the previous shouting match, I could see that her face was friendly.

“Wow, Xav, you didn’t tell us Beth was so stunning,” Claire said, coming over and giving me a hug.

“Actually, I think I did,” Xavier replied.

“Well, we didn’t believe you.” Claire laughed. “Hi, Beth, welcome to the zoo.”

“Congratulations on your engagement,” I said.

“Thanks, but it’s so stressful at the moment, I don’t know if Xavier’s filled you in. Just yesterday I got a call from the catering company who said…”

Xavier smiled and left us to talk. I didn’t have much to say, but Claire chatted easily about the wedding arrangements, and I was more than happy to listen to her. I wondered why such a happy occasion should be so difficult. According to her, everything that could go wrong was going wrong, and she wondered whether she had broken a mirror or something to bring about such bad luck.

Bernie came back into the kitchen, looking for Xavier, who stuck his head through the back door, holding a pair of tongs.

“Xavier, hon, run upstairs and get the little ones down here to meet Beth. They’re watching The Lion King.” Bernie turned to me. “It’s the only way I can get them to be quiet for half an hour.”

Xavier winked at me and disappeared into the hallway. A few minutes later I heard him coming down the stairs, followed by the sound of little bare feet slapping against the floor.

Jasmine, Madeline, and Michael burst into the room. They stopped dead when they saw me and stared openly in the way only small children can get away with. Madeline and Michael were the two youngest ones, and they both had blond hair, big brown eyes, and smudged faces from eating chocolate cookies not too carefully. Jasmine, who had just turned nine, was a very serious-looking child with big blue eyes. She had long Alice in Wonderland hair held back with a satin ribbon.

“Beth!” Michael and Madeline yelled, overcoming their initial shyness. They sprinted over and took a hand each, pulling me toward the toy corner. Bernie looked a little worried about the onslaught, but I didn’t mind. I liked spending time with the souls of children in the Kingdom, and this was much the same, only messier.

“Will you play with us?” they pleaded.

“Not now,” said Bernie. “Wait till after dinner before you go annoying poor Beth.”

“I’m sitting next to Beth at the table,” announced Michael.

“No, I am,” said Madeline, shoving him. “I saw her first.”

“Did not!”

“Did so!”

“Hey, hey, you can both sit next to Beth,” said Claire, wrapping her arms around them and tickling them.

I was suddenly aware of a little figure at my side. Jasmine was looking up at me with her wide, pale eyes. “They’re very noisy,” she said softly. “I like quiet better.”

Xavier, who had come to stand next to me, laughed and ruffled her hair.

“She’s very thoughtful, this one,” he said. “Always away with the fairies.”

“I believe in fairies,” said Jasmine. “Do you?”

“I certainly do,” I replied and kneeled down beside her. “I believe in all those things, fairies and mermaids and angels.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And just between you and me, I’ve seen them.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened, and her little rosebud mouth fell open in surprise. “You have? I wish I could see them.”

“Oh, but you can,” I told her. “You just have to look very carefully. Sometimes you find them in places where you least expect them.”

When it was time to eat, I saw that Bernie and Peter had cooked up a feast. I looked at the platters of barbecued pork and sausages and ribs and felt suddenly very worried. Xavier must have forgotten to tell them that I didn’t eat meat. It wasn’t ethics so much as that our constitution didn’t handle meat well. It was difficult to digest and made us sluggish. Even if this hadn’t been the case, I wouldn’t have wanted to eat it anyway. The very idea made my stomach churn. But they had gone to so much trouble, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them. Luckily, I didn’t have to.

“Beth doesn’t eat meat,” Xavier said casually. “Did I mention that?”

“Why not?” Nicola demanded.

“Look up vegetarian in the dictionary,” Xavier said sarcastically.

“That’s okay, sweetheart,” said Bernie, taking my plate and piling it high with baked potatoes, grilled vegetables, and rice salad. “That’s not a problem.” She went on scooping, even though the dish was full.

“Mom…” Xavier took the almost overflowing plate away from her and set it down in front of me. “I think she’s got enough now.”

When everyone had been served, Nicola picked up her fork and was about to take a mouthful of rice when Bernie glared pointedly at her.

“Xavier, hon, would you say grace?”

Nicola purposely dropped her fork with a loud clatter.

“Shh,” Jasmine said, and the whole family bowed their heads. Claire kept a hand on both Madeline and Michael to keep them still.

Xavier made the sign of the cross.

“For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. And may we always be mindful of the needs of others, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

He finished and looked up, his gaze locking with mine for a split second before he broke away and took a sip of soda. In his eyes I could see so much understanding, a connection of faith between us, and in that moment I couldn’t have loved him more.

“So, Beth,” said Peter, “Xavier tells us you moved here with your brother and sister.”

“That’s right.” I nodded, feeling the food stick in my throat as I waited for the inevitable question: What about your parents? But it didn’t come.

“I’d love to meet them,” was all Bernie said. “Are they vegetarian as well?”

I smiled. “We all are.”

“That’s weird,” said Nicola.

Bernie shot her a furious stare, but Xavier only laughed.

“I think you’ll find there are a lot of vegetarians in the world, Nic,” he said.

“Are you Xavier’s girlfriend?” interrupted Michael, pushing his beans around on his plate and prodding them with his fork.

“Don’t play with your food,” Bernie said, but Michael wasn’t listening, he was looking at me waiting for answer.

I turned to Xavier, unsure what I should or shouldn’t say in front of his family.

“Aren’t I lucky?” Xavier said to his little brother.

“Oh, spare us,” Nicola started but Claire elbowed her into silence.

“I’m getting a girlfriend soon,” said Michael in a serious tone, and everyone laughed.

“You’ve got plenty of time for that, kiddo,” said his father. “No need to rush.”

“Well, I don’t want a boyfriend, Daddy,” said Madeline. “Boys are dirty, and they make a mess when they eat.”