Chapter 19

Two days later was their last full day in San Juan. Angel and Collins went to the beach again, because Angel wanted to go, but she was not nearly as animated as she had been the first time they'd come. She wasn't even up for a climb to the cave. She waded forlornly in the surf until Collins gathered her up and brought her home. He understood that she was missing San Juan already. She didn't know if she would ever see her family again, and that thought weighed heavily on her mind. Once they got back to Abuelita's house, Angel started crying and could not stop. Collins didn't know what else to do, so he put her in bed and held her until she wore herself out and went to sleep.

That evening, Angel barely spoke English all night. She wanted to spend as much time with Abuelita and Connie as possible. Collins wasn't sure what to do with himself, Angel had never ignored him before, so he sat and read until it was time for bed.

Chapter 20

When they got to the airport the following afternoon Abuelita held one of Angel's hands, Collins the other. Abuelita took Angel to get her tickets and check her bags. Connie pulled Collins aside.

"Abuelita asked me to ask you. . ." Connie took a deep breath and continued. "She wanted me to ask you to contact us if . . . when . . . before . . ." Her face crumpled a little. Collins simply nodded and hugged her.
"I will."

Collins checked his bags, got his tickets, and rejoined Angel and her grandmother. He smiled warmly at Angel and took her hand. He was rewarded with a small watery smile. The four of them went through security and found their gate. They were a little early, so Angel and Abuelita sat together, talking softly. Angel sat with her arm protectively around her tiny grandmother's shoulders. When Collins looked at them, he saw fresh tears coursing down their similar faces. Connie sat nearby, watching them. Collins sat next to Connie and put his arm around her.

Connie turned to look at the big man sitting next to her.
"I will miss her so much. She has been my best friend since I can remember, but I am so glad she has you."
"She will have me, one way or another, until we both die."
Connie smiled through her tears and kissed Collins' cheek.

"Thank you."

"For what?"
"For being Angel's new family. She is blessed."

"She was blessed in her original family too."

The two smiled and hugged one another.

Their flight was called for boarding, so Collins picked up Angel's backpack and his own book bag. Angel stood slowly, still holding Abuelita's hands. They walked all the way to the ramp, hand in hand, tears flowing freely. Collins managed their tickets and Angel kissed and hugged both Abuelita and Connie separately, then joined them all in a group hug. Collins waited patiently and hugged first Connie then Abuelita. When he released the smaller woman, she held onto his hand and spoke earnestly to him for a moment or two. Collins looked to Angel for translation, but whatever she had said had set Angel into a fresh bout of tears and she could only shake her head. After a moment, Connie spoke up.

"She says that she has always loved her Angel, no matter who she is. She was always afraid that Angel would never find the kind of love which she deserved. She says it has set her mind at ease, meeting you. You are the man she has always hoped Angel would find. The kind she should spend her whole life with." Collins had to fight off tears of his own as he pulled Abuelita into another trademark bear hug.
"Gracias." He whispered into her ear.

"Gracias." She replied.

Collins pulled himself together a little, sighed deeply, and reshouldered their bags. He went to Angel and put his arm around her shoulders. With a wave and a flurry of quick words, Angel allowed herself to be led to the boarding ramp. She turned around to watch the two women shrinking into the distance. They waved until she was out of sight. Since Angel could hardly see through her tears, it fell to Collins to be her leader. He held her shoulders carefully, supporting her slightly as they boarded the plane. He found their seats and put her into the window seat as he put their bags in the overhead compartment. Collins took the aisle seat. Angel barely noticed, she was busy looking out the window at the terminal, trying desperately to catch a last glimpse of her family. Even though she couldn't see them, she waved fiercely, as if they could see her.

Once the plane took off, she put her head on Collins' shoulder and went to sleep immediately. The emotional stress of the day had obviously been more than she could handle. Collins took out a book and read for 15 minutes or so, then, realizing he had read the same sentence four times without getting any meaning from it, gave up and put it away. He turned off the reading light, leaned his head on Angel's, and went to sleep.

When he awakened an hour later, the sky outside the window was almost dark. He was unaware at first what had wakened him, and then he realized that Angel's head was no longer beneath his. His head was resting now on Angel's shoulder. She was looking out the window silently.

Collins blinked a few times, clearing his eyes.

"Hey, babe, feeling better?" Angel turned her still-swollen eyes to him.

"Yeah." She sounded tired.

The captain came over the intercom, announcing that there had been a storm over Orlando, that their landing might be a little bumpy. Angel's eyes widened and met Collins'.
"It'll be ok, sweetheart. These pilots are amazing. And we've got a whole hour before we get to Orlando. Maybe it'll clear off some."

'And if it's not ok, there's nothing we can do about it anyway,' he added mentally. He wouldn't dare say that aloud in Angel's current emotional state.

Angel looked out the window for a long time. Collins understood her melancholy, but he desperately missed his exuberant Angel. He just held her hand and looked out into the night sky with her. After a long while, she spoke up.

"Look how beautiful the stars are, Collins. It's like you could touch them. Think we'll ever be closer to them than we are right now?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." He smiled to himself. His Angel was perking up some.

They sat in silence for a while longer . . . Eventually the pilot came back on to announce their descent into Orlando. The skies were clear, visibility was good, but the wind was strong. Their landing would be a bit rough, he said. Angel reached for Collins' hand.

The pilot hadn't been exaggerating. It wasn't the worst Collins had lived through, but it was sufficient to scare Angel. She held onto Collins' hands so tight it hurt while the plane shimmied its way to the ground. They landed safely and Angel sighed deeply. Collins smoothed her hair, kissed her forehead, and held her close. A moment later, they stood together. Collins got their bags from the overhead and they left the plane.

They had a short layover in Orlando. It was just enough time to find their connecting flight, eat some dinner and take their meds. They sat side by side in the terminal, eating Chinese food and teasing each other. It was getting late, and Angel had distinct dark circles under her eyes. Collins couldn't help but notice that they had become more prominent more quickly lately. It worried him, but he didn't mention it. Their flight began boarding, so they threw away their trash and got on their last flight of the day. Angel watched the stars for a while, then pulled out a magazine. Collins lifted the armrest between their seats and snuggled her into his arms. He had never had any interest in the kind of magazines which Angel liked to steal out of the dumpsters of the bookstore down the street from their apartment, but now he read over her shoulder and commented upon the articles. They sat comfortably passing the time for quite some time. As they got closer to New York, Collins noticed his lover's body tensing. She soon lost interest in her magazine and held it loosely in her hands. She looked out the windows, but it was cloudy now and there was nothing but an undulating grey sea of clouds beneath them. Angel found this fascinating too. She watched the clouds for a while, then the stars. Collins found himself beginning to nod off again. He had no idea how long he had been asleep when he was awakened by Angel clapping her hands in delight.

"Collins, wake up! Look at this!"

"Wha- baby . . . what is it?"

She pointed out the window.

"What do you see?"
"Look at the clouds!"

He leaned over her and looked down. The clouds were glowing orange over some city beneath. It was a phenomenon that he'd seen before, but never really noticed.

"Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it the most amazing thing you've ever seen?"

Collins smiled. That was one of the things he loved about Angel. She had a way of seeing things in an entirely unique way, causing him to see things through her eyes.

"I hope it's still cloudy when we get to New York! But not windy, that wasn't any fun."

Collins checked his watch and yawned. By his estimate, they had another 30 minutes of flight time left.
"We'll be there soon, baby. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"What time is it?"

"Almost nine o'clock. It's gonna be late when we get home. We'll have to catch the Q33 Bus and take it to the F-line. That'll take another hour or so to get home."

Angel sighed and laid her head on Collins' arm.

"I can't wait to get home." He kissed her hair.

"Soon, darling."

Finally the announcement came of their descent into New York. Angel sat up to watch. It was still cloudy, and the city glowed through the clouds. Angel watched, enthralled. Collins leaned over to watch too. It was really only mostly cloudy, he noticed. There were several places where the city sparkled through the breaks. The effect was really stunning, a huge glowing mass with a few sparkles of distinct light here and there. Angel thought it looked like magic. They began to descend through the clouds. Once the plane broke through the clouds, Collins felt her tense beside him, and he realized that she was holding her breath. He laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You were holding your breath." Angel laughed at herself this time.

"It kinda felt like we were going underwater."

"You're right, it kinda did. Weird."

Finally, they landed in New York. Almost home. They gathered their things. Once they were inside the airport, Collins looked at Angel. The dark circles under her eyes were so prominent her eyes looked sunken deep. He checked his pocket and found a folded wad of paper which he didn't recognize. He pulled it out and counted ten 20 dollar bills.
"Angel, did you put this here?" He showed her the money.

"No."

"Do you suppose. . ."
"It must've been Abuelita." Angel grinned. "She always used to do that, put little gifts in our pockets when we were leaving her house."

"Angel Dumott-Schunard, I suggest we use your grandmother's gift to get us home. I propose a taxi."

"Ohh, Collins that is the best idea I've heard all day! A taxi will only take 20 minutes at most!"

Within the hour, they were carrying their things up the steps to their third-floor walkup. Collins found the key, while Angel waited, sitting on the stairs, exhausted. He made her wait while he brought in all their luggage. Last, he came back to her, picked her up, and carried her to their bed. Without even undressing, she snuggled under the comforter and was soon fast asleep. He got into the bed beside her and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Chapter 21

Less than six months later, Collins had to make good on his promise to call Connie. He called her on October 20th to tell her that Angel needed her. She and Abuelita were on the next flight out. Thanks to Collins, Angel did get to see her family again