It was David, of course.
Gillian turned around and stared at him, blinking. He was standing just inside the doorway, his jacket
slung over one shoulder, the other hand in his pocket. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark. He was looking at
Tanya.
There was a silence.
(How long? How long has he been there, Angel?)
(Uhhh, I'd say since round about... the beginning.)
(Oh, my.) So that's why Gillian had been so low key and noble and let Tanya do all the yelling and
threatening. They must have come off like Dorothy and the Wicked Witch.
A sense of justice stirred inside Gillian. She made a hesitant move toward David.
"David-you don't understand-"
David shook his head. "I understand just fine. Don't try to cover for her. It's better for me to find out."
(Yeah, shut up, minibrain! Now look mildly distressed, slightly awkward. You guess they want to be
alone now.)
"Uh, I guess you guys want to be alone now."
(Anyway, you have to hurry to get your ride.)
"Anyway, I have to hurry to get my ride."
(These aren't the droids you're looking for.)
"These aren't-" (I'm going to kill you, Angel!) Flustered, Gillian made one last gesture of apology and
almost ran for the door.
Outside, she walked blindly. (Angel!)
(Sorry, I couldn't resist. But look at you, kid! Do you know what you've done?)
(I guess ... I got rid of Tanya.) As the adrenaline of battle faded, the truth of this was slowly beginning to
dawn on her. It brought a hint of glorious warmth, a sparkling promise of future happiness.
(Smart kid!)
(And-I did it fairly. It was all true, wasn't it, Angel? She's really been messing around with Bruce?)
(Everybody's been messing around with Bruce. Yes, it was all true.)
(And what about Kim? Is she the one who spreads rumors about people?)
(Like butter on Eggos.)
(I just-she seemed so sweet. When we talked about rumors in the cafeteria she patted my hand.)
(Sure, she's sweet-to your face. Turn left here.)
Gillian found herself emerging from the school building. As she went down the steps she saw three or
four cars parked casually in the roundabout. Macon's BMW convertible was one. He looked up at her
and gave an inviting nod toward the car.
Other people shouted. "Hey, Jill, need a ride?" "We wouldn't want you to get lost in the woods again!"
Gillian stood, feeling like a southern belle. So many people wanting her-it made her giddy. Angel was
grandly indifferent (Pick anybody!) and she could see Amy's Geo a little distance away. Amy and Eugene
were standing by it, looking up at her. But getting in a car with Eugene Elfred would be disastrous to her
new status.
She picked Cory the Party Guy, and the ride home was filled with his nonstop talk about Macon's party
on Saturday. She had trouble getting rid of him at the door. Once she did, she walked up to her bedroom
and fell on her bed, arms out. She stared at the ceiling.
(Phew!)
It had been the most incredible day of her life.
She lay and listened to the quiet house and tried to gather her thoughts.
The warmth was still percolating inside her, although it was mixed with a certain amount of
anxiety. She wanted to see David again. She wanted to know how things had turned out with Tanya.
She couldn't let herself feel happy until she was sure...
"Relax, would you?"
Gillian sat up. The voice wasn't in her ear, it was beside the bed. Angel was sitting there.
The sight hit her like a physical blow.
She hadn't seen him since that morning and she'd forgotten how beautiful he was.
His hair was dark golden with paler gold lights shimmering in it. His face was-well-classic perfection.
Absolutely pure, denned like a sculpture in marble. His eyes were a violet so glorious it actually hurt to
look at it. His expression was rapt and uplifted... until he winked. Then it dissolved into mischief.
"Uh, hi," Gillian whispered huskily.
"Hi, kid. Tired?"
"Yeah. I feel... used up."
"Well, take a nap, why don't you? I've got places to go anyway."
Gillian blinked. Places? "Angel... I never asked you. What's heaven like? I mean, with angels like you,
it's got to be different from most people's idea. That meadow I saw-that wasn't it, was it?"
"No, that wasn't it. Heaven-well, it's hard to explain. It's all in the oscillation of the spatial-temporal
harmonics, you know-what you'd call the inherent vibration of the plane. At a higher
vibration everything assumes a much more complicated harmonic theme. ..." "You're making this up,
aren't you?" "Yeah. Actually it's classified. Why don't you get some sleep?" Gillian already had her eyes
shut.
She was happy when she woke up to smell dinner. But when she got downstairs, she found only her
mother.
"Dad's not home?"
"No. He called, honey, and left a message for you. He'll be out of town on business for a while."
"But he'll be back for Christmas. Won't he?"
"I'm sure he will."
Gillian didn't say anything else. She ate the hamburger casserole her mother served-and noticed that her
mother didn't eat. Afterward, she sat in the kitchen and played with a fork.
(You okay?)
The voice in her ear was a welcome relief. (Angel. Yeah, I'm all right. I was just thinking... about how
everything started with Mom. It wasn't always like this. She was a teacher at the junior college...)
(I know.)
(And then-I think it was about five years ago- things just started happening. She started acting crazy.
And then she was seeing things-what did I know about drinking then? I just thought she
was nuts. It wasn't until Dad started finding empty bottles...)
(I know.)
(I just wish... that things could be different.) A pause. (Angel? Do you think maybe they could be?)
Another pause. Then Angel's voice was quiet. (I'll work on it, kid. But, yeah, I think maybe they could
be.)
Gillian shut her eyes.
After a moment she opened them again. (Angel-how can I thank you? The things you're doing for me ...
I can't even start to tell you ...)
(Don't mention it. And don't cry. A cheery face is worth triple A bonds. Besides, you have to answer the
phone.)
(What phone?)
The phone rang.
(That phone.)
Gillian blew her nose and said a practice "Hello" to make sure her voice wasn't shaky. Then she took a
deep breath and picked up the receiver.
"Gillian?"
Her fingers clenched on the phone. "Hi, David."
"Look, I just wanted to make , sure you were okay. I didn't even ask you that when-you know, this
afternoon."
"Sure, I'm okay." Gillian didn't need Angel to tell her what to say to this. "I can handle myself, you
know."
"Yeah. But Tanya can be pretty intense sometimes. After you left she was-well, forget that."
He doesn't want to say anything bad about her, Gillian thought. She said, "I'm fine."
"It's just-" She could almost feel the frustration building on the other side of the line. And then David
burst out as if something had snapped, "I didn't know!"
"What?"
"I didn't know she was-like that! I mean, she runs the teen helpline and she's on the Centralia relief
committee and the Food Cupboard project and .. . Anyway, I thought she was different. A good
person."
Conscience twinged. "David, I think she is some of the things you thought. She's brave. When that
window-"
"Quit it, Gillian. You're those things. You're brave and funny and-well, too honorable for your own
good. You tried to give Tanya another chance." He let out a breath. "But, anyway; you might have
guessed, we're finished. I told Tanya that. And now..." His voice changed. Suddenly he laughed,
sounding as if some burden had fallen off him. "Well, would you like me to drive you to the party
Saturday night?"
Gillian laughed, too. "I'd like it. I'd love it." (Oh, Angel-thank you!)
She was very happy.
The rest of the week was wonderful. Every day she wore something daring and flattering scavenged
from the depths of her closet. Every day she seemed to get more popular. People looked up when she
walked into a room, not just meeting her eyes, but trying to catch her eye. They waved to her from a
distance. They said hello up and down the halls. Everyone seemed glad to talk to her, and pleased if she
wanted to talk to them. It was like being on a skyrocket, going higher and higher.
And, always, her guide and protector was with her. Angel had come to seem like a part of her, the most
savvy and ingenious part. He provided quips, smoothed over awkward situations, gave advice about
who to tolerate and who to snub. Gillian was developing an instinct for this, too. She was gaining
confidence in herself, finding new skills every day. She was literally becoming a new person.
She didn't see much of Amy now. But Amy had Eugene, after all. And Gillian was so busy that she never
even got to see David alone.
The day of the party she went to Houghton with Amanda the Cheerleader and Steffi the Singer. They
laughed a lot, got whistled at everywhere, and shopped until they were dizzy. Gillian bought a dress and