Genesis

CHAPTER 23 You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Ty dropped me at my house at about twelve-thirty, giving me a few minutes to say hi to everyone. I burst through the front door to find them all, including DB, sitting in the living room watching a movie and eating popcorn.

"Hello, family, DB," I greeted them exuberantly.

"Hello, Essie," Laurie and Hollie answered in unison.

"You're very cheery," my mother pronounced.

"Am I?" I replied evasively as I scurried up the stairs to change for work. Five minutes later I was out the door and on my way to face Michael.

I arrived at the nursery at about a quarter to one and Michael was already there, trimming one of the topiaries near the door of the retail building. He looked up and smiled as I drove past to my parking spot, but continued his task.

I was unsure if I should bring up anything regarding our conversation from last night. Thankfully, customers began arriving before I had even made it inside, which made it impossible to discuss anything personal with Michael during our short shift. They were bustling about, up and down the aisles, scouring each display for the perfect pansy or deciding which bulbs they wanted to plant now for a spring debut. We were able to do nothing more than that which our jobs required.

As five o'clock neared, I grew anxious, not wanting to get into a possibly lengthy discussion with Michael. Ty was going to pick me up at my house at six and I couldn't afford to spare the time. Frankly, I didn't care to hear anything else about him being evil. I was choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt and I would make that clear should Michael say anything.

I rung up the last customer at a couple of minutes after five and Michael turned the sign when he walked her to the door.

"Thank you, ma'am. I hope to see you again," he said, flashing his beautifully imperfect smile.

"Oh, you will," she replied, obviously charmed.

He caught me shaking my head. "What?" he asked.

"You have such a way with people," I said sincerely.

"I genuinely like people."

"Is that part of your job as an angel?"

"No. But it is why I chose to be here in human form."

Why did I say that? Now we were talking about angels. "That's nice," I said dismissively.

"You know, Essie, just because I opened up to you last night doesn't mean that we have to talk about angel stuff all the time."

"How did you..."

He walked over to me and gave me a hug. Other than the soft vibration that was present wherever our bodies touched, which I was getting used to, it felt natural and comfortable to be in his arms. "Don't worry about it. Whenever you want to talk, I'm available. Now, go on. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"But how did you know what I was thinking," I pressed. "You said you couldn't read minds."

"I can't read your mind, but one of my gifts that I forgot to mention last night is empathy. All angels are empaths. We can actually feel other people's emotions when we're tuned in. I could feel that you were anxious about talking, that's all."

"So, you're tuned in to me?"

"Apparently. I didn't realize it until just now," he said reflectively. "I must be tuned in to you for a reason."