Angels Among Us

Angels Among Us: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Joy had never been so nervous.  She woke up early -- barely four-thirty the next morning -- and could not go back to sleep.  All she could think about was Gabriel.  He was coming...and they were going on a date.  A real date...her, with a man, on a date.  Oh, heavens!  A date!

She hadn’t been this nervous when she agreed to it, not even when he said he’d kiss her the first chance he got.  It was the waiting...and the thinking, and the waiting, and the wondering, and more waiting.  

By the time Simon stumbled out of bed at seven, she had already showered, fixed her hair and scattered assorted outfits on her bed, deliberating between casual or dressy.  Not that she had a lot of choices for the dressy part, but there were some.

“I should have asked where we’re going,” she mumbled to herself after breakfast.  Simon had left to help Mr. Fitzgerald and his family prepare for the birthday party, and she was alone in her bedroom, staring at the clothes on her bed.  Every clean article of clothing in her closet had been pulled out and paired with another in hopes of finding that right outfit.  Even a sequined dress from an old Halloween costume had been added to a pair of black heels and a shawl, but Joy knew she’d never actually wear that...or if she could fit into the dress anymore.

As noon rolled around, Simon was still gone from the house, and Joy had narrowed down her date attire to three -- no, wait...um, four -- outfits.  She had washed the breakfast dishes, returned to the bedroom and hung up half the clothes.  She vacuumed and dusted the living room, went back and put away most of the rest.  She ate a small sandwich for lunch while studying the remaining clothes on her bed, and finally decided to go with a combination of casual and dressy.  A simple white blouse with a pair of navy chinos and the gold heels that originally went with that sequined dress.  She found a gold wide-link chain in her jewelry box and some loop earrings, and she nodded, thinking that this was it.  She wouldn’t think about it any longer.

Then she went into her bathroom, soaped up her hand and removed her wedding band.

Simon didn’t say anything about that when he popped in to change his clothes for the birthday party, but Joy knew he noticed.  How could he not?  She kept rubbing her finger, feeling lost and confused without the ring anchoring her down.

But when the blouse popped a button as she dressed, Joy was right back at square one.  Simon heard her muffled scream of frustration and knocked on her door.

“Mom?  You okay?”

Joy tossed the blouse on her dresser, put a t-shirt on, and opened up the door.  “Yeah...I’m fine.  Just can’t find anything to wear.”

Simon frowned at he pushed up his glasses.  “But you’re wearing clothes.”

“I mean...something nice for this date.”

He grinned and rolled his eyes as he understood.  “Why are girls always so fussy about how they look?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed, moving back to her closet.  “It must be wired into our DNA.”