Disclaimer:
I don't own Tess, Monica, or Andrew – they belong to CBS, Martha Williamson, etc. I'm not using this for money, either.
Claimer:
I do however own the characters of Jezebelle, Tracie, Annie, and Brent.
Characters:
Monica – an Irish caseworker Angel
Andrew – an Angel of Death
Tess – a caseworker angel
Jezebelle – a new caseworker Angel
Annie – She's 25, married to Dr. Brenton McCalistor, and the mother to Eve Teresa.
Brent – He's 30, married to Annelies McCalistor, and the father to Eve Teresa.
Tracie – She's 6 & ½ and the daughter of Annie & Brent.
***
Solitude
***
Tess looked at her two charges as they chased each other around the field. They hadn't received a new assignment yet, although they had been told to stay in the place between Heaven and Earth – something about a new caseworker.
Tossing a handful of dandelions at Andrew, Monica caught sight of an angel in human form headed their way. She looked about the equivalent of an eighteen-year old with shoulder-length red-brown hair and caramel colored eyes. She looked about 5'6", and dressed in blue jeans with a white button down shirt over a white tank top – and no shoes.
The girl walked up to the two angels, and Tess was quickly beside the group.
"Hi. I'm Jezebelle – and no I'm not like Jezebel from the Bible." She said, jokingly.
Monica snickered, "Hi. I'm Monica, and this is Andrew."
"I know – We've know each other for a fairly long time."
Tess looked at the newest caseworker, "I'm Tess."
"Hi." Jezebelle looked at the group, "I was told to met you guys here before we went to an assignment."
Andrew smiled. He remembered Jezebelle – They had started worked in the same departments once or twice and the two enjoyed see each other. During days off, they'd go do something together. Jeze had this childish soul with this knack for knowing what both enjoyed.
Jezebelle smiled back. Andrew could be so nostalgic sometimes.
Tess looked at her tw…three charges – She'd just been informed that Jezebelle was her student for this case. "Well, let's get going."
Jezebelle looked at the elder angel, "One thing though – Call me Jeze. I don't like being called Jezebelle, 'cause it gives people the wrong impression." She said. Most people mistook her name for Jezebel from the Bible – it never mattered that she spelled it differently.
"I can't imagine why." Monica said, smiling. The group started to walk, and then disappeared into the air.
---
The four angels looked at a woman and her young daughter as she walked down the street toward the small playground.
"That's Annelies McCalistor, Annie to her friends. And the little girl is Eve Teresa – her daughter – most people call her Tracie."
"Where's Tracie's father?" Jeze asked.
"Dr. Brenton McCalistor – the most popular doctor in town. He has a private practice that leaves little time for his family, and Annie's beginning to doubt their marriage."
"Why?" Monica asked.
"I don't know, Baby. That's all I've been told."
The three other angels nodded.
---
Jezebelle rang the bell on the two-story, Victorian style, light blue house. As she waited for someone to answer the door, she looked around the yard. A small garden of daisies was growing by the cobblestone pathway, and nearby were two sun chairs. A watering can was near the smaller of the two chairs, as well as a pair of adult sized gloves. Over Jeze's head was a wrap-around porch that went around the second floor. The porch was whitewashed with a wicker table and chairs set in one corner. Peeking around a corner, she discovered that the yard was actually a field that looked smaller from the road.
Suddenly, the door flew open and in the doorway was a little girl in a yellow sundress. Over the dress was a smock, covered in pink paint. Her hair was done in pigtails with yellow ribbons and she wore a pair of clear jelly sandals.
"Hi." The girl said, smiling.
"Hi. I'm here to talk to your mommy. Could you get her?" Jeze asked.
"Tracie! Honey, who is it?" Annie called, coming to the door. "Hi. Are you Jeze?"
Jeze nodded, "Yes. I hope it's okay that I'm a little early. My friends had to get to their new jobs."
"That's okay. It's actually pretty nice of you. I've got some errands to get done, so I guess I'll show you around the house before I go."
Jeze smiled, "That would be great."
---
Annie stepped into her husband's office and looked at the new receptionist. She appeared to be a young woman, probably Irish from her hair and eye color. She wore a light blue suit with black sandals, and her hair was held back with a black clip.
"Hello, I'm Monica." Monica said.
Annie laughed to herself – she was defiantly Irish, "Hi. I'm Annelies – Brenton's wife. Do you know if he's free for lunch?"
Monica looked down the list of patients for the day and looked back at Annie, "I'm sorry. He's only free for fifteen minutes after Mrs. Jenkins at 2."
Annie shook her head – like usual. She sighed, "Thanks for looking. It was Monica, right?"
"Yes." Monica smiled.
"It nice to have met you. If you're free for lunch, this is my address." Annie handed Monica a piece of paper, "Feel free to come by. I don't have anything to do, and my daughter is spending the day with a new babysitter. Bye, Monica."
Monica smiled and settled back into her seat.
---
"Okay, next stop – Flower shop." Annie muttered to herself. At least Monica seemed nice, and Annie hoped she would drop by the house. When Tracie was with a babysitter during the day, Annie didn't see much of her and consequently, Annie would get bored. Boredom usually led to a couple glasses of wine or champagne – and a new babysitter the next day.
Annie pulled herself back to reality as she pulled into the flower shop's parking lot. She grabbed her purse and got out of the car. She walked up to the door, opened it, and relished in the scent of fresh flowers. She took in a deep breath and began to look among the flowers.
"Can I help you with something?" A warm, rich voice said.
Annie turned around to come face to face with an older, dark skinned woman. "No. I was just looking around."
"Take your time, baby." Tess said, with a smile on her face.
Annie smiled and looked back at the flowers. She leaned over and smelled a small group of tiger lilies. She picked out three of them and walked over to Tess. "What happened to Leona?" She asked, taking out her wallet.
"She went to visit her grandson. I'm Tess. I'll be here while she's away." Tess said, ringing up the flowers and then wrapping them.
"I'm Annelies McCalistor, but most people call me Annie. I live in the blue house on Grendall street." Annie said, taking the flowers.
"It was nice to meet you, Annie. I hope I'll see you again."
"You too."
---
Annie pulled up her house about an hour after she left, and Tracie came running.
"Mommy!" Tracie yelled, happily.
"Hello, honey did you miss me?" Annie asked, as she hugged her daughter. She'd only been gone forty-five minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.
Tracie shook her head, "Jeze said she wants to talk to you."
Annie nodded, and put down her daughter. Annie took Tracie's hand, and walked back to the house. She opened the door, and walked into the living room.
"Mrs. McCalistor, Can I talk to you for a moment about Tracie?" Jeze asked.
Annie shook her head, "Tracie, honey, could you go play in your room for a little while?"
Tracie smiled and skipped off toward her room. Annie turned back to the girl who stood before her.
Jeze began, "Mrs. McCalistor, I was talking to Tracie about things she does during the week." She said down and Annie sat beside her, "She said she doesn't attend school and the reason she spends all day at home is because she has no friends to spend time with. I know this is probably overstepping my bounds, but she should be in school. This is your decision because you are her mother. However, Her intelligence is evident in everything she does. School could be a good thing for her." Jeze said softly. She hoped Annie wouldn't become enraged – she hated when people were angry. To her surprise, Annie smiled.
"I have been thinking of placing her in school. I'm just not sure if that's what I want to do with her yet. She's still so young. I know this is selfish, too – but I have no one to spend the day with, to talk about clothes with and so on."
Jeze smiled, "She's beautiful child, Mrs. McCalistor. You won't regret letting her learn. And I just got out of school and I have no plans for today or tomorrow. If you don't mind me tagging along – I'll spend the day with you."
"That's very kind of you, Jeze. And please, call me Annie."
Jeze smiled and stood up. The huge grandfather clock in the dining room began to chime, and the doorbell rang. Jeze walked over to the door and opened it, revealing Andrew, Tess, and Monica standing on the porch.
"Hi, Monica. Please come in." Annie said, seeing who it was. Monica motioned for the two other angels to follow, they entered the house, and took off their coats. Jeze hung them on a hook in the closet nearby and looked at the angels in front of her.
"Annie, this is Andrew and I assume you've met Monica and Tess." Jeze said, and then pointed to the flowers and the 'To Do' list, which had 'See if Brent is free for lunch'.
"These are the friends you mentioned?"
"Yes." Jeze smiled. "Why don't you guys go in the kitchen and have coffee or something?" She said, placing emphasis on the word Coffee, "I'll take Tracie outside to play in the yard. Please think it over. Oh, and by the way, Andrew's the second grade teacher at the elementary school – He'd be Tracie's teacher. Talk it over with him." Jeze looked up the staircase, "Come on, Halo. Let's go outside!" She said excitedly, to the six and a half year old sitting on the top step. Tracie giggled and took the steps two at a time.
"Can we play on the trample-ample-ine?" Tracie asked, smiling.
"Sure. Race you outside." Jeze said, and took off with Tracie right behind her.
Andrew laughed, "She maybe older then she looks, but she'll always have the soul of a child."
Annie smiled. It had been years since she'd heard anything about souls, and she hadn't been to church since she was eleven – maybe it was time. But then again, the same God who was supposed to love her was destroying her marriage. After a moment, Annie looked at her guests and smiled again. "This way." She said, guiding them to the kitchen. Fresh coffee had already been prepared, and Monica delighted in the smell.
---
"So how old is Tracie?" Andrew asked.
After sipping her coffee, Annie answered, "She'll be seven in five months, but she's bright for her age – or so I've been told. She's always painting and doing workbooks."
"And she's not in school?"
"No. I never enrolled her - I'm ashamed to say, for selfish reasons. My friends have all moved away, and any that were left behind…haven't talked to me since my daughter was born. They all thought I was evil or something for marrying Brent and having my daughter when I was 19. I haven't even talked to my mother in almost five years. My dad's the only one who comes to visit. My sisters and brothers consider me a disgrace."
Monica sighed and looked out the window in front of her. Jeze was jumping on the trampoline with Tracie and laughing happily. Jeze looked toward Monica and waved. Monica waved back.
"I assume Jeze told you that she could stay with you tomorrow?" Tess asked.
Annie smiled, "She has. She's very sweet. I don't know any kids her age that would want to hang around with me."
"Well, I'm sure she'll have fun with you. If you bring Tracie by the school tomorrow, I'll make sure she's in class." Andrew said, remembering how Jeze had this calming effect on humans. They never saw her – yet they were always calmest around her.
"I thought I had to enroll her first." Annie said, curiously.
"I can fill out part of the forms during lunch, and you can finish them when you pick her up."
"Tracie! Where you running to?" Jeze yelled, as the blonde-haired child ran into the house and up the stairs. Jeze ran past the others red-faced and laughing and followed Tracie up the stairs.
Annie laughed. "Maybe school would be good for my little hyperactive angel. Andrew, I pity you."
"Why?"
"Because you are going to have to chase her all over the place. I sincerely hope you have lots of energy." Annie laughed before drinking the last of her coffee, placing the cup in the sink, and walking into the living room.
---
"Remind me again why I couldn't be the florist?" Jeze asked, as the four angels watched the starry night.
Tess, Andrew, Monica, and Jeze were sitting in a field on the edge of the McCalistor property. The field had originally been a grazing field for cows, and because it was so huge three families shared the piece of land. Somewhere, there was a fast-moving stream – all four could hear the sound of rushing water. Trees lined the perimeter of the property and in one families yard was a small orchard.
Tess answered the red-brown haired angel, "Because you look the youngest."
"Tess, I'm older then Andrew." Jeze pointed her finger at him, "Don't say it!"
"What?" He asked, laughing.
A fairly confused Monica looked at Andrew and Jeze, "How come you just became a caseworker if you are older than Andrew? Should you be an Angel of Death, too?"
Jeze groaned, "See what you've started! Now I have to explain it!" She pushed him softly.
"You shouldn't have said anything, Halo-babe." Andrew teased.
"Not that name again! The last time you called me that, something bad happened." Jeze pointed out.
Andrew looked down, "Something bad is going to happen soon, Jez."
Jeze looked at her friend, "Like what? Is He passing over me to promote you again?"
"No. Tracie…is going to die."
---
End of part one.
Cassie Jamie