Linda woke up slowly, her brain fighting to stay quiescent. It's Saturday, she thought. I can sleep in, right? Unfortunately, Charlie's cries told her that he had other ideas about the morning. She looked for Amenadiel, but his side of the bed was empty.
So much for sleeping in. She got up, pulled on her bathrobe, and shuffled to Charlie's room to take care of her crying son. On the way, she vaguely wondered where Amenadiel had gone. Making coffee, I hope. She changed Charlie and carried him downstairs, but the kitchen was empty. No Amenadiel.
She was lonely without him. As a trained psychotherapist, she knew that her feelings were her feelings, and that he wasn't responsible for how she felt. Further, she also knew that she was a capable and accomplished woman and, while it was certainly nice to have a companion in her life, his presence wasn't strictly necessary. She could handle things on her own and she could reach out to others as needed. For example, she could call Chloe and catch up on all the activities in her friend's life. They could even get together for lunch, if they wanted to.
Still, she missed him.
She made coffee and a quick breakfast for herself while Charlie sat in his highchair, gurgling quietly and playing with some toys. She looked at her son. It's about time to start him on solid foods. Would he like to try some eggs? Let's find out!
She put a small amount of scrambled eggs on a plastic plate and put the plate in front of her son. He looked at the eggs for a couple of seconds. Linda could have sworn he'd looked up to her to see if it was okay for him to eat the few bites. She nodded. Then he reached down, grabbed a handful of eggs, and stuffed the eggs into his mouth. Most didn't make it all the way to the destination, but some must have gotten there, because he smiled and grabbed another handful. Success!
It's too bad that Amenadiel isn't here to witness Charlie's milestone, she thought. Where was he, anyway?
An hour passed, and still no Amenadiel. Linda tried not to worry about him. It's not like he can't take care of himself. Instead, she took a quick shower and got dressed, and decided to take Charlie to the park. As I do every day. She sighed. Her life was so routine. Last week's house-hunting expedition with Lucifer, Chloe, and Trixie has been a welcome break from that routine—even if their opinions had been relegated to "like it" and "don't like it."
She was glad they had all agreed on the right choice by the end of the day. She looked forward to bringing Charlie over to the new home, when he was a bit bigger. Then she had a thought: When Charlie starts to toddle around, I'm going to have to stay away. They're not going to baby-proof their house just for him. That was a bit depressing to consider. Still, she could have them over here, at her house, from time to time.
She was just pushing Charlie's stroller out the door when Amenadiel walked up to the house. She smiled, trying not to show the relief she felt. She had been starting to get a little worried!
"Hey there," she said. "Want to take a walk with us?"
"Of course I do," he said. "I just had a talk with Lucifer. I'd like to get your viewpoint, if you're willing."
"Sure, so long as it doesn't involve analyzing his motives or trying to give him relationship advice."
"No, I don't think that will be the case." He smiled. "Lucifer seems to be in a good place right now. A great place, actually! I think his engagement and the closeness he feels with Chloe and Trixie have really changed him."
Linda nodded in agreement. She hadn't seen Lucifer for a week—or Chloe, for that matter—but she remembered how he'd interacted with his family-to-be during their lunch last Saturday. She'd been particularly impressed by Lucifer's outside-the-restaurant conversation with Trixie. He definitely seemed to be taking his step-father role seriously. Still, she couldn't help but wonder how things would be changing for the three of them when he was elevated to his new role. He always had trouble keeping focused, and there were bound to be a billion or so distractions coming his way.
As they walked Charlie through the park, Amenadiel seemed to be in a reflective mood; he seemed to be content just to walk next to her in silence. Linda decided to prompt him a little bit.
"You said you wanted to discuss your talk with Lucifer," she started.
"Yes, I do," he replied. "It's just … complicated. I'm trying to sort out how to relate the situation to you."
"Well, I'll tell you what I'd tell my patients. Just start at the beginning. I'll ask questions when I need to."
Amenadiel nodded. "My brother and Chloe will be getting married soon. As soon as feasible, according to Lucifer. The quickest way would be a civil ceremony, performed by the Country Registrar at the Courthouse. But Chloe doesn't want that. Or perhaps, it's more accurate to say that Chloe's mother doesn't want that. Penelope is pushing for a bigger ceremony, to be held in a church, performed by a priest or pastor."
"Ah, the mother-in-law makes her feelings known."
"Yes, indeed. And because the mother-in-law is Penelope, she wants a large formal wedding with lots of guests, followed by a fancy reception."
"And how does Chloe feel about all that?"
"Well, according to Lucifer, Chloe wants a simpler wedding and a much less formal reception. But she still wants something. Let's call it a compromise approach. Perhaps a more religious ceremony with a nice wedding dress, with some guests but not busloads of them, and then a party afterwards. Perhaps at Chateau Seurat, where they got engaged. Something like that."
"That sounds reasonable."
"Oh, I agree! But there's a few wrinkles that need to be ironed-out…"
"Really? Tell me about them."
"Well … it's Lucifer."
"When is it not Lucifer?"
"Right," Amenadiel said. "But this time I think he has a point. You know he has a … difficult … history with churches. He'd go into one if Chloe asked him to, but to actually get married in one? And have a priest or pastor as the officiant? That seems like quite a challenge from his point of view. Especially with—"
"His upcoming 'promotion'," Linda finished.
"Exactly. It doesn't feel right to him—or to me, for that matter—to have a human pronounce them husband and wife. That part about 'by the power vested in me'—that is a thorny issue. The power vested in a religious officiant comes not only from the State, but also from the Church. Ultimately, it's Lucifer's power that is being vested—or, at least, it will be, whenever he gets around to coming to the Silver City to make his ascension official."
Linda thought about Amenadiel's words. "I can see that as being a concern."
"Yes, it is a concern," Amenadiel said. "But there's more to the marriage ceremony than just that one issue. Take the guest list, for example. Who is going to sit on the groom's side?"
"Well, you are," Linda answered. "And Maze and Eve. And me, I guess. And then …" She quickly ran out of names.
"Right. Now we're out of guests for the groom, unless they want to have our celestial siblings there." He paused. "That is an entirely different concern. Anybody who doesn't know who they really are is going to be wondering about all these strange people—all of whom claim to be Lucifer's brothers and sisters. Questions are going to be asked. Questions that have no good answer. We can't all have been adopted, can we?"
"Well, that would be a good answer. A foster home, with lots of adopted children. It would work, I think."
"Perhaps. But do you think our siblings are going to go along with it? They're not going to understand—or even care—about the issue. It's a real possibility that one of my brothers or sisters will get drunk at the reception and show off their wings. That's going to be awkward, to say the least. Or they're going to be honest, and talk about how they really feel about humans. That's not going to go well." He paused again. "But if they're not invited, then they're going to be hurt. And Lucey doesn't need that right now. Michael has already stirred them up against Chloe. Not inviting them to the wedding just adds fuel to the fire. Not to mention that the whole point of the marriage is to show everybody in the Sliver City that Lucifer and Chloe are united, one team."
"Wow. You and Lucifer have really thought about this!"
They finished their walk and started to head back to the house. On the way back, Linda pondered the wedding concerns. What might she suggest? The problems seemed to be daunting.
"Amenadiel," she started. "What if … what if you performed the ceremony?"
#
Bishop Hoffman was a busy man, but he owed this woman a debt, and if seeing her on short notice might help repay that debt, then he would make time for her. He ushered her into his office. Best to skip the pleasantries and get right into the reason for the meeting.
"Detective Decker," he said. "How may I help you?"
She looks nervous, he thought. Perhaps she had good reason to be nervous. The Church had not done well by her. Not at all.
"Thank you for seeing me, Father," she said.
"I'm happy to see you, Detective Decker. Just a small correction, though: Catholic Bishops are not normally called 'Father.'"
She swallowed. "Oh, I didn't know that. My apologies. My ex-husband was raised in the Catholic faith, but we … well, we didn't continue after our marriage. We kind of fell away, I guess."
"Quite understandable, Ms. Decker. Don't worry about it. It's a common mistake."
"Okay, thanks." She paused. "So what are you called, then?"
"Excellency," he murmured. "Excellency or Your Excellency is the normal form of address. But you need not worry about the formalities here in my office."
She smiled. "Got it, Your Excellency."
"But you didn't come here for a lesson in Catholicism, did you?"
"No," she said. "I came here to ask for a favor."
"Detective Decker, I feel terrible at the way Father Kinley misled you and tried to get you to commit heinous acts in the name of the Church. If I can do anything to make amends for his crimes, I certainly will."
"I'm not a Detective anymore," she said quietly. "I resigned from the LAPD a few months ago."
"Oh, really?" he replied. "And what do you do now, if I may ask?"
"Well, I'm now co-owner of Lux, a nightclub in downtown LA. And I recently became a part-time consultant to the Homicide Investigation Division." She swallowed again, he noticed. This conversation was hard for her. "And I recently became engaged to be married." She showed him her engagement ring.
"Oh, congratulations Ms. Decker," he said. "I'm very happy for you and-?"
"Lucifer Morningstar."
"Ahh, Mr. Morningstar. Another individual hurt by Father Kinley. A man wrongly accused."
She nodded. "Yes, Father Kinley was convinced he was Satan himself."
Bishop Hoffman shook his head with sadness. "Father Kinley was wrong. Such a twisted, morally corrupt viewpoint!"
Chloe nodded, but didn't say anything. The silence stretched on.
Finally, he said, "You said you came here to ask for a favor, Ms. Decker?"
"I'm looking for a place for the marriage ceremony. I was wondering if there was a smaller church in your … what do you call it? Bishopric? Diocese? Anyway, I came here to see whether you could use your influence to help me book a church for the ceremony. One that won't ask too many questions." She paused. "Like whether Lucifer is baptized."
"Well, that's a tough request, Ms. Decker. The Catholic Church requires that the people we marry must both be baptized."
"To be clear, Your Excellency, I'm not asking for a Priest to perform the ceremony. We'll have our own officiant. Nor am I asking for the Church to bless or otherwise accept our ceremony as being spiritually binding. I'm only asking for a location. If you want to throw in an organist, I wouldn't object. But that's all I'm asking for."
"Ms. Decker, this is a most unusual request."
"Trust me," she said. "It's a most unusual situation. It's quite … sensitive … might be a good word. Sensitive or delicate. Or fraught with spiritual danger." She smiled. "Just kidding about that last one."
Bishop Hoffman frowned. "Ms. Decker, I'm not sure I can honor your request. Can you assure me that you and Mr. Morningstar are permitted to be married? For example, are you both getting married of your own free will?"
"Oh, yes," she replied. "We're both getting married of our own free will. But the baptism thing is a big problem, to be honest. Lucifer's never been baptized and … it's absolutely not a possibility that he get baptized. Plus, you know, I'm a divorcee."
He made a steeple of his fingers as he considered the request. He could get in substantial trouble if the irregular ceremony came to the attention of his superiors. Still, all he would be doing would be providing a location, nothing more. No Catholic officiant would be involved, and therefore there would be no official record of the ceremony.
"Ms. Decker, I don't know. When is your wedding date? When would you need the church? And for how long?"
"How does Saturday sound, about two weeks from now. Just for an hour, or maybe 90 minutes. Tops."
"That sounds nearly impossible. Our churches are booked months in advance."
She looked at him. "Your Excellency, I know I'm asking for a lot. But as you admitted, the Church does owe me. I'm calling in my marker, so to speak. We can also be flexible on the time, so as to minimize any impact to the ceremonies that are already planned for that day."
He sighed. He did feel a debt to this woman. No doubt her views of the Church had been negatively impacted by Father Kinley and his immoral actions. If he could show her another side of the Church, a merciful and benevolent side, then maybe she might return to the fold one day.
"All right, I'll see what I can do," he finally said. "Now, tell me about your officiant. Is he licensed to perform wedding ceremonies?"
"Yes, I believe so," she said. "In any case, he'll have a license before the ceremony. I think I can commit to that."
"Very well," he said. "Give me your number. I'll call you back within a day or two. Hopefully, I'll have good news."
She smiled at him. "Thank you, Your Excellency. I really appreciate this."
As she got up to leave, he made a mental note to make sure the priest of the church where the ceremony was to be held would understand why the favor was being granted. The entire ceremony would be most irregular, and would definitely cause comment among the members. He was going to have to have a long talk with the man.
And he made another mental note to "drop in" to witness the ceremony, just to make sure that no embarrassment was going to accrue to his Church, to his Diocese, or to himself.