RIPPLES AROUND THE WORLD
(Disclaimer: I have no business connection with JOAN OF ARCADIA. My only purpose in writing this story is to have fun and maybe share it.
(Author's Note: This story is part of a series that takes place in the year after the show ended. A listing of the other stories is on my profile. The main events that have happened since May 2005 are
Joan has married Adam and let him into the secret.
Luke and Grace are also in the secret, and they have become lovers. Thanks to a divine favor, they can sometimes share dreams even when physically separated.
Joan and Adam are at a small Pennsylvania college, Luke is at Harvard, and Grace is working for an international famine-relief agency
At the Girardi home, Helen knows Joan's secret but has not decided yet what to do about it. Kevin has married Sister Lily and the couple are expecting a baby.
Chapter 1 No Contact
An encrypted Email from Grace Polonski to Luke Girardi, dated Octover 21, 2006:
Hey, dude.
Your encryption system is awesome. Finally I can talk about visits from G-d without using code like "You-know-who", like the characters in HARRY POTTER.
Of course we can also communicate when we share dreams (although that in itself is a different kind of communication…), but I'm reluctant to try that now. I'm rooming with Madame Marque, the Frenchwomen you met in Italy, the day you fell off the horse (yeah, I know that you don't want to be reminded about that). I don't know whether or not I talk in my sleep, but if I do, she's likely to overhear some really weird stuff when we make love. Try to not to get too horny. And even if you do, don't try finding another girl, or I'll turn our next shared dream into a nightmare.
Well, on to practical stuff.
We've finally landed in Rasselasa, the site of our first project. The first sight of the capital was startling. I had heard the country was very poor, but here in the capital I can see skyscrapers and superhighways, and people carrying around cellphones and laptops. Madame says that it's a matter of transportation and infrastructure. The capital is prosperous because it's connected to the outside world. It's the hinterland, where transportation is poor, that needs food. Being able to grow the food rather than import it over poor roads is just what they need, and so the situation is tailor-made for our agency. No wonder they wanted to be sure I could ride a horse or other animal in an emergency.
But that's not the real reason I'm writing. Something weird has happened.
We were about to get on the plane in Rome when a stewardess summoned me. I asked if they was something wrong with my baggage. She went "it does have something to do with baggage, Grace."
The first name clued me in: this was a Stewardess G-d. I guess it made sense, her descending from the sky all the time, haha. Anyway I said "Do I have to go on a mission now? I'm busy!"
"This will be easy. Just watch for a maroon briefcase with a chipped side."
"Can't You do that? You're all-seeing."
"Just watch."
"Am I supposed to pick it up?"
"Just watch."
"Wow, You're full of revelations today. All right, I'll watch."
Well, I watched. And while we were waiting for a bus to take us to a local hotel, I spotted it. An Asian-looking man with a beard was carrying it. I kept an eye on him, but he disappeared into a men's room, where I definitely couldn't follow him. A few minutes later I saw the case again, BUT A DIFFERENT GUY WAS CARRYING IT. European, thin and he looked very nervous, like he was up to something.
I was tempted to walk up and ask him where he got it, but there were several reasons not to. It wasn't part of G-d's instructions; She said "Just watch". The guy looked on edge, and suppose he was armed? Besides, I didn't want to look crazy, my first hour in a new country. That's happened to Joan often enough. So I let him go.
Well, I just watched, and now I'm confused. Was I supposed to do something more? What is going on, and why is G-d concerned about it? I don't know, so I decided to write you. You can discuss it with Joan and the others if you like. But I'd delete the remark about your being horny, if I were you.
--- Grace
An encrypted Email from Luke Girardi to Grace Polonski, dated Octover 22, 2006:
Yeah, it sounds weird. It might be total innocent, but if so, why would God want you to watch it?
If something sinister is going on, I can make some guesses, based on what Dad has told me about his work. I suppose the first guy has smuggled contraband through customs somehow, and he wants to deliver it to the second guy, without attracting suspicion. So he goes to the men's room, puts the briefcase in a corner, and does his business. A few minutes later another guy finishes doing HIS business, and picks up the briefcase. The guys never meet, and they may not even know what each other look like. Nobody else would notice, unless their attention was on the briefcase, as yours was. But why God wanted you to see it and do nothing, I don't know.
I wouldn't feel guilty about fluffing it. You did what God told you to. I suppose there will be ripples down the road (oops, that's a mixed metaphor).
And don't worry about my finding another girl. All girls pale compared to you. Though don't tell Joan or Lily that I said that. I know you hate all that mushy stuff, so I'll stop there.
Looking forward to our next dream, whenever it comes ---
---- Luke
TO BE CONTINUED.
(Author's Note: the nation of Rasselasa doesn't exist. I invented it so that I would be free to make up details for the story)
(Author's Note: Grace's spelling of "God" is a practice of some Jewish denominations, obeying the Biblical injunction never to speak or write the name of God. Grace changed her last name from Polk to Polonski on graduating from high school)
