Angels Among Us

Angels Among Us: Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Mr. Fitzgerald’s birthday party was a smash hit.  As it turned out...Mr. Fitzgerald was “Fitzy” from Wallace Lockwood’s army days.  The two older gentlemen sang old camp songs, marched around Fitzy’s small apartment and told boisterous stories to anyone sitting still long enough.  They were very entertaining, especially to Simon, who adored both men.  Joy helped Mr. Fitzgerald’s daughter, Poppy, by acting as a hostess, keeping plates and cups full and cleaning up where needed.

Gabe stood in a corner, just watching her.  He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off Joy.  Everything she did was graceful and amazing to him.  His love seemed to bloom with every movement she made, and he was eager to get her alone again.

Finally, the party died down.  And Simon, who was supposed to spend the night with a friend, belligerently left when Marcus and his mom showed up.  Gabe’s grandfather sat with Mr. Fitzgerald, going over old scrapbooks and continued to reminisce, and Gabe checked his watch.  They had half an hour to get to the restaurant, so he went to look for Joy.  He found her in the kitchen with other women, still cleaning up, and he took her by the arm.

“Joy,” he murmured in her ear.  “We need to be going if we’re to make our reservation.”

Joy smiled at him.  “I will be just a few more minutes.”

Vicki swatted at Joy with a dishrag.  “Go!  We’ll handle the rest of this.  Besides, I’ll have to drag Lacey out of here with a tow truck, so I can stay and help.”

“But--”

The daughter, Poppy, laughed.  “No, no...thank you, Joy, but we can finish up.  Go on.”

Joy chewed on her cheek.  “Um..okay, if you’re sure...”

“We are,” all the women chorused, smiling at Gabe as they did.  They’d all heard from Granddad during the party that Gabe was taking Joy out for dinner, and most of the women there knew that Joy never went on dates.  It was a novelty for them, to hear such a thing.  They’d teased both Gabe and Joy all night about it.

Joy took another few minutes to say goodbye to everyone and wish Mr. Fitzgerald “Happy Birthday” -- again -- and Gabe stood by the front door with her coat in his hands...impatiently waiting.

“Okay, okay,” Joy laughed, seeing him.  “I’m coming.”

Gabe helped her into her coat and opened the door.  They walked out into the  brisk December afternoon toward his limo.  He opened that door, too, and she sighed.

“I’m not used to such things, doors opening for me and such,” she said.  “So, if I say something that offends your manners, you’ll have to excuse me.”

“As long as you know that I love doing them,” he replied.  They settled into the back seat, sitting next to each other, and Libby pulled out of the retirement center, heading toward downtown.

“Where are we going?”

Gabe adjusted his coat and smiled.  “It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t really like surprises.”

“You’ll like this one.”

He watched her stare out the window, her fingers twisting among each other in her lap.  Finally, he couldn’t wait much longer.  It had been over three hours since he last kissed her.  Gently, touching a fingertip to her chin, he turned her face and leaned over.  She let him kiss her, but it wasn’t the same as before.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Joy.”