There were some perks to living in a convent without any modern convince except indoor plumbing and heating. They had spectacular gardens. Leta loved exploring all the spots and learning the different plant species. It seemed that she was always finding something new.
Today was not a day for exploring though. Instead of enjoying the tiger lilies, she was in a glaring contest with her Uncle Gabe. She loved him dearly but the man could give a mule lessons on stubbornness. Uncle Mike wasn't helping things by just shrugging and making non-committal sounds. It didn't seem like such a big request. She wanted to leave, maybe even go to college. She wasn't sure. She just didn't want to stay here to rot in a strange kind of limbo.
Uncle Gabe growled, "No! No! Too dangerous. This world is too dangerous to have you wandering around unsupervised. These talking monkeys are violent and unpredictable."
Again with the talking monkeys. She never understood why he always called people that, like he wasn't human or something. It was weird. It also was typical of her uncle.
Before she could say anything, Uncle Mike finally piped up, "You have to understand, Pumpkin. We love you. If anything ever happened to you, we'd be lost."
She knew what they were saying. She got it. It didn't help that she still felt like a prisoner than a beloved niece.
Taking a deep breath, "Bad stuff happened to people every day. Keeping me surrounded by nuns isn't going to guarantee that I'm going to be safe. I have one life. Please, let me actually live it. I'm not talking about getting a tattoo and run off with a punk band. I just want to get out and do something."
Her uncles responded to that in a very strange way. They looked kind of scared. In all her life, she never had seen her uncles scared of anything. Did they really not like punk bands? She wasn't going to ask.
Just at that moment, Mother Superior came from behind one of the hedges with a stern yet amused look, "I knew you two wouldn't listen to her. Most stubborn angels God ever created. Except for the other one."
As both of her uncles straightened up, Leta gave the nun a thankful smile. Mother Superior always called her uncles angels. She felt it was more tongue cheek than anything. There was no way anyone could confuse them for angels.
Mother Superior continued, "She is right. She needs to live her life., not be hidden in a convent. Knowing you two, though I knew that you wouldn't let her go out into the world on her own. Still! I think we can have a meeting of minds. She will still live here, but get a job in town. There can be no objections to that."
Uncle Mike just shuffled awkwardly, while looking down. Uncle Gabe looked like he wanted to throttle Mother Superior, but even he wouldn't do that to a nun. Leta just held her breath. It wasn't total freedom, but it was a start. That's all she really wanted.
Her uncles gave each other a look before Uncle Gabe stormed off. Guess she was going to have to wait for him to calm down to find out if she could at least get a job. She could wait. After all, she had been waiting all her life. A few days would be fine.
Her Uncle Mike's long coal black hair tickled her cheek, as he hugged her, "It will be fine, Pumpkin. As long Mother Superior approves of the job, we'll be behind it. You know Gabe, he hates not being in control of everything. Also hates the fact that he might have to admit that you've grown up. That and he's a total snob. Doesn't think anyone is worth your time. Just promise me that you'll be smart about this. Don't want you to spend all your money on junk food."
It took her a minute to realize that he was giving her the okay to get a job. It took another minute of her hugging him back and laughing with excitement. She was going to be able to do something on her own. This was amazing news to her.
Still laughing, she said, "What do you mean by that? This coming from the man that bought the ice cream shop out. Took them a week to get more supplies to reopen. I'll be wise with my money. Probably spend it on books."
He groaned at that comment, "Could you slow down on the comics? Gabe still hasn't gotten over the fact that you're reading something called Hellblazer. Try staying in this reality for a bit. It's actually nice here."
Leta just laughed some more at his comment. Uncle Mike was the last person that should say that. He was the one that was always telling her stories about angels and demons. Why tells her those stories, if he wanted her to be content with the ordinary? It didn't make much sense to her.
Still hugging her uncle, she looked for Mother Superior. She wanted to know when they could start looking for her new job. She wanted to start before Uncle Gabe could think of some cockamamie excuse to stop her.
The nun laughed, "Slow down, Child. We'll start early tomorrow. Make sure you're properly dressed. We don't need you looking a mess. I think I know just the place to get a job, but we will talk on that later. Right now, you need to smooth your uncle's feathers. He certainly is a bristly one, but he does love you so. Never forget that."
At those words, Mother Superior motioned for Uncle Mike to follow. Leta reluctantly let him go. She didn't want to deal with an upset uncle, but he did deserve some consideration. Hopefully, he would see her side of things. She wasn't holding her breath though. The man was pure stubbornness.