In spite of the clear skies the night before, Monday dawned cloudy and a little chilly.
Martha went out onto the porch to get Grigio's bowl, so she could feed him at the same time she fed Scruffy. Looking down, she saw that the previous day's food in the bowl was untouched.
"Huh! This might mean the deal's off," she chuckled to herself. She looked up at the leaden sky. It looks like it's going to rain, too. Oh, great—we don't want the smell of wet dog fur in the house all day!
Leaving the bowl on the porch, she turned and went back into the house to begin making the family's breakfast. Before entering the kitchen, she called up the stairs, "Kids, you need to take Scruffy outside before it rains—and don't forget his leash!"
"Okay!" Candy yelled back.
A moment later, both kids and the dog clattered down the stairs. Jonathan went to the closet under the stairs to find the leash, latched it to Scruffy's collar, and all three of them went out the door, closing it with a slam.
It immediately reopened. "Sorry!" yelled Jonathan, who then closed it, again, gently.
Chuckling, again, Martha continued preparing breakfast.
Soon, Sister Kathryn came down the stairs with her little red book, peeked into the kitchen to greet the housekeeper, smiled, and then went outside, as well.
Upstairs, Captain Gregg patiently waited until he judged Carolyn had finished dressing, then popped into the captain's quarters. As usual, she looked quite lovely, though not very well rested, he noticed.
"Madam, did you not sleep well?" he asked, with concern.
"No, I didn't," she replied, somewhat crossly. "Where were you last night, Captain, when Kate and I were having all kinds of excitement?"
"Excitement?" The captain grew alarmed. "What happened?"
Carolyn threw up her hands, dramatically. "Oh, nothing much! A coyote just had a verbal conversation with my cousin, that's all!"
"What do you mean?"
"The coyote! He talks! With people-words! I heard him!" Carolyn sputtered, almost incoherent in her agitation.
Captain Gregg regarded her, thoughtfully, stroking his beard with his right hand, but not replying.
"I did! I am not imagining things!" she exclaimed further, stamping her foot, imagining that he was thinking she was losing her mind.
"My dear, I believe you," he hurriedly assured her. "We already know he's not a natural animal. I am just considering what this new discovery means."
With his words, Carolyn relaxed, a bit. At that moment, she longed for him to hold her in his arms . . . if only he had arms with which to do so. She would feel so protected, so safe.
"So, what do you think?" she asked him, sighing as she diverted her mind, once again, from her desire.
"I think I need to have some words with the coyote, myself," the captain replied. "You might go downstairs for your morning coffee, however." He disappeared—to find the coyote, she assumed.
Carolyn brushed her hair, patted a little color on her cheeks and lips, and went downstairs to do as he suggested.
In the kitchen, she found herself a larger mug than she typically used, and filled it to the brim with coffee. She skipped her usual sugar and cream, and set the mug on the counter to cool a little.
"Where is everyone?" she asked Martha.
"The kids took Scruffy outside, and Sister Kathryn is outside, too—praying, I think. She had her prayer book with her."
Just then, there was a knock at the back door. Martha unlocked it, then stood back to allow Candy and Jonathan to enter the kitchen with Scruffy.
"Grigio is out front with Captain Gregg and Katie," Jonathan reported, "so we came in this way, instead."
"That was probably a good idea," Martha remarked, dryly, remembering the still-full bowl of food remaining on the front porch.
"Excuse me, please. I want in on that conversation out front," Carolyn said, as she walked toward the foyer. "Kids, you eat. We'll be in for our breakfast in a bit."
Martha, shook her head and sighed, then addressed the children. "You heard her. Sit down, you two."
Carolyn opened the front door, and stepped out onto the porch. All turned to look at her, including the coyote. The captain was practically glowering, but Sister Kathryn looked a little amused. What was going on? Carolyn looked from one to the other, questioningly.
"Daniel wants to know who I am, and what I'm doing here," Grigio explained to her, conversationally.
Even though she had heard him speak the night before, she had not seen him speak, and now, Carolyn gasped in shock. She found herself momentarily speechless.
Finally, she choked out a question. "What are you?"
"It really depends on the situation, Carolyn," Grigio replied, cheerfully. "Sometimes, I'm a messenger, and sometimes, I'm a guardian. In all situations, I am what you would call an angel. I change my appearance accordingly, depending on the need."
"So, what do you really look like, then?" asked Jonathan's voice behind Carolyn. She spun around to see him poised in the open door, and Candy also peeking out behind him. The only person now missing from this astonishing encounter was Martha. Carolyn turned back to the business at hand.
The coyote grinned, again. "I really don't look like anything," he answered the boy. "I don't have a physical body. So, Scruffy's safe. Since I don't really have a body, I don't need to eat little dogs."
"But we see you!" Candy exclaimed.
"Well, yes, Candace, because by my nature, I have the power to manipulate matter, so I can take on any appearance necessary. See?"
Now, instead of a coyote, a dark-haired boy, appearing just about Jonathan's age, wearing blue jeans and a plain, green T-shirt, stood smilingly before them.
"But, Captain Gregg looks like his picture . . . .
"Yes, he does, Jonathan, because Daniel is not an angel. He's a human being who just happens to be separated from his body, right now." Grigio, now appearing as a red-headed girl about Candy's age, wearing a light-blue gingham dress, winked at him, and grinned. "But he'll be getting it back, eventually—new and improved!"
"Were you in Italy with that priest?" Jonathan asked.
"With John Bosco? No, that wasn't me. It was another guardian, though."
"What's your real name?" Candy inquired. "It's not really Grigio, is it?" "Grigio" did not sound like a particularly angelic name, to her.
"No, but it will do, for now. You couldn't pronounce my real name."
Carolyn, still trying to gather her wits, asked, in confusion, "Are you male or female?"
The little, red-haired girl smiled impishly, and speaking in the masculine voice Carolyn had overheard the night before, said, "Actually, neither. It is not in the nature of angels to have gender."
"So, why the charade?" Captain Gregg rumbled, impatiently, feeling his own control slipping a little.
"The sisters prayed for protection, Daniel, and God sent me to serve them as one of seven guardians. The coyote form was appropriate for the environment."
"The shape of the Trickster!" the captain said, suspiciously, remembering Sister Kathryn's story.
"The coyote is a perfectly good form, as are those of all creatures the Creator causes to exist," said the being, with dignity. "It is true that some of the fallen ones have also taken on the appearance to cause mischief, but like all unfortunate occurrences, God uses this to accomplish His own purposes."
"'Fallen ones?'"
"Yes, Daniel. You know who they are, and what they can do. You've already dealt with at least one of them, yourself."
"But coastal Maine isn't the southwestern desert," Sister Kathryn pointed out the obvious. "Why did you assume the same form, here? It isn't 'appropriate to the environment,' to use your own phrase."
"It was the form you already knew, Kathryn, and were accustomed to." Grigio looked like the coyote, once again.
"So, am I in some danger, that you were sent to protect me?"
"You're not in any more danger than usual for someone who vacations in Maine," said the coyote, reasonably. "I am sent here as a messenger, not as a guardian. There is already a guardian, here."