Title:
Dark Angel
Name:
Joy
Email:
SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com
Rating: PG
I dreamt about her last
night. I felt her watching me. I could sense her next to me. She whispered
something, but I didn't understand. She smelled so good. I don't want o open my
eyes. I don't want to face the world yet. I don't want to face how things are
going to be now with me feelings out there on paper. It wasn't too intense…
I'll just open my eyes slightly and warm up to the idea of the day.
What is that? Why do I have a piece
of paper lying beside my head?
Oh my god! This is Max's writing!
Where are my glasses? I need my glasses! She wrote me a poem! She wrote me
back… How in the world did I get to be this lucky? OK I can breathe…what'd she
write?
Life and Love, whoa! I hope…
she may just mean I'm full of life and love. Then again maybe she means… nah,
she couldn't… maybe, her life and her love. Oh god, if only. Purpose and
Mission, well, I have that coming… a glass of wine and a fine meal,
there she goes thinking with her stomach again.
I can't believe she wrote me this… I
can't believe she did this for me. She has no idea what this means to me. OK,
since I have known her she has cooked me dinner, brought me a grapefruit and a
chicken, and now this. This is the only non-food related object. This is the
only thing that won't fade…the only proof I have of her involvement in my life
if she were to leave tomorrow… that and the ton of blood circulating in my
system. I forgot that… Why do I do that? The most basic and sacrificial thing
she gave me and I always forget. I guess that's because it is so basic and
sacrificial. It shows my need for her… I'll just lie here a few more minutes
and think about her.
Bling just arrived. He is going to
massively chew me out for not being out of bed yet. Oh… Wait, he can help me do
something for Max. "Bling!" I yell.
"Why are you still in
bed?" he asks.
I hand him the poem that Max wrote.
I watch his expression grow in confusion and pleasure over the words.
"Max?" he asks. I nod. "That is not an excuse to stay in
bed."
"It is when we've been going
back and forth about my poetry for the last several days. I showed her one I
wrote about her last night. She liked it enough to swipe it… so I wrote her
another one. I left it out for her to find. It was just like this one… I'm
savoring the fact that she echoed my sentiments and tried her hand at poetry
for me. I know Manticore did not have a poetry class."
Bling is making a face at me.
"What?" I ask.
"Sounds like the ball is in
your court… I promise your next move should not be conducted from your bed or
anywhere near your bedroom, so get your ass up!"
I chuckle at him, knowing he's
right. I maneuver myself to my chair as Bling busies himself making breakfast.
What am I going to do now? She liked the poem… Hey I can… Yeah, I can. In a few
minutes I'm ready to face the world and am ready to get my next move together.
I search my hall closet for my ink
well and calligraphy pens mom got me in high school. I next find a pad of
drawing paper. This is perfect. Now to find a suitable frame. I don't ever look
at this picture of Uncle Jonas and Margo, so this will do for my mission.
"Logan, what are you doing? You
need to eat, man," Bling calls from the kitchen.
"I'll be there in a
minute," I retort, having all the parts of my present set up on my desk. I
roll into the kitchen laughing to myself about the conversation I had with
Peter, my dearly departed bodyguard, about Max.
"What are you giggling
about?" Bling asks with a disapproving look.
"First, I was not giggling… and
second, I was remembering Peter's reaction to my looking for Max after she
broke in here."
"Oh yeah… What'd he think of
our favorite superhero?"
"He asked if I was identifying
the perp or my new girlfriend. I responded I'd be more likely to drop it if I
had been man handled by a size three."
"The man knew his stuff,"
Bling says to get a rise out of me.
"Hey, I wasn't looking for a
girlfriend."
"No… You were looking for a
superhero to manipulate into working for you and, wow look, you did it!"
Bling says dripping with sarcasm. I had no idea that he thought that is what I
did to Max.
"Whoa… You believe that?"
"Hey, you and Max have a
complicated relationship, but I honestly believe if you hadn't been shot, you'd
never have seen that lovely lady again… You do have to admit Logan, you do have
a tendency to manipulate her for your own purposes. I mean now, you're finally
getting down to your real feelings for each other, but initially you were a
prick!" Bling says bluntly. OK. I'm totally at a loose. Dammit. I hate to
think my best friend feels that way about the way deal with the woman I love…
whoa… Where'd that come from?
"Bling, how often do I do that
to Max?" I ask honestly.
"Not so often anymore, but you
do have a way of implying that because your desires are to save the world,
you're always right. You hide behind the mission to get your way. It's kind of
childish."
"Will you hit me the next time
you catch me doing that?"
"With pleasure!" Bling
says offering me my food.
"Will you also run something
down to Jam Pony for Max for me?" I ask.
"Sure… What are you up
to?"
"I'll show you when it's
done."
I'm ready to start putting it
together. Where is my book? There it is. Now, to find the poem I wrote the
night we met… There it is. OK. Now, let's see if I can remember how to make
words look pretty on paper…
No ink smudges or anything. It only
took me three tries, but oh well. It's done drying so I'll just mount it in the
frame. All right. "Bling!" I call.
"What's up?"
"You wanted to see what I was
making Max," I say as I hand over the framed poem.
Dark Angel
Silently
approaching
Creeping
about my apartment
The
black cat that just crossed my path
A
Thief
My
belongings in a bag at her side
My
bodyguard in a heap on the floor
She
could be Bast
The
goddess of all goddesses
Eye
of Ra, Protector, Defender,
Who
lives forever
Forever
is my wish,
To
stare at this goddess before me
Gorgeous
Eyes,
dark and foreboding
Lips
I long for
A
body to die at the touch of
Curls
descend the face of perfection
A
dark angel
Crash
My
angel has wings
Landing
below unharmed
Sleep
will not come
I
must find you
Just
to gaze at you again
My
Dark Angel
Bling's eyes hoops over the words
and finishes. "Well, at one point you had it right. At one point you did
know how you felt about her… If you ever dare to tell me that you aren't like
that with Max or 'It's not a date,' I will beat your skinny ass."
I have to smile. Bling is probably
more attuned to how I feel about Max then I am. "I'll wrap it up and
you'll take it down to Jam Pony?"
"Sure- Mind if I hide out there
until I see her reaction?" Bling asks.
"Only if you tell me her
reaction."
"Not a chance rich boy… I get
so little joy from this psycho third grade relationship you have. I will not
contribute to the problem."
Oh I'm third grade, am I? "What
do you call spying on Max's reaction?" I ask.
"Voyeurism!" he responds.
Damn. I can't argue with that.
OK. The poem is wrapped and labeled.
Now, if everything goes well maybe I'll know where this is going by dinnertime.
"Bling.
It's ready!"
"OK lover boy… I'll take this
over then see you tomorrow. Good luck."
"Thanks!" I say. OK. Now
all I can do is wait.
