Chapter 39: Stay Tuned
Alastor went to open his front door when the bell rang.
He didn't expect to find Prince August's imp with a big grin and a reusable bag.
"Hi!" She smiled.
"Well, good day as well, little one!" Alastor greeted. "How may I… Hey!" The imp stormed up the stairs. Alastor teleported after her. "Young lady, do you whose house you are running around? And why are you running?"
"Sorry! Hi! I'm Trixie! Ya probably remember me because I was at that business dinner at Rosie's, but I don't think you primarily remembered me, because I highly doubt that Overlords bother remembering imps' names, because we're like three layers beneath you!" Trixie quickly kicked the door open, startling Angel Dust into dropping a kettle of hot water, burning his set of lower hands.
"Ow! What the? Alastor, who the fuck is this?"
In her jittery movements, Trixie quickly grabbed a tray, a bowl, and a soup spoon. She started quickly assembling the stuff she had brought in the reusable bag. "Sorry! Hi! I'm Trixie! I work for Indigo's friend, August! I mean, August's also MY friend because we knew each other since diaper years, but I don't think I'm enough of a friend to be a FRIEND with a capital F, you know, because there's no way your best friend can be the servant who kept you company in a madhouse full of toxic relatives! Anyway, I brought a Colchis kelp soup! It's like THE best soup to cure dehydration, and I should know because August had to eat it a lot every time his family made him sick! If you're worried about it being poisoned, August said he'd mail you the medical bills, because his dad was like 'Hey, your friend might not be vegan like you', so he went through the trouble of carving out fugu fish hearts! Makes very good dumplings, if you ask me, but Lord Cain has an odd allergic reaction to fugu fish that gives him rashes! I don't really care why he has it, but we never stay in the same kitchen when he's cutting up fugu because, ya know, the whole thing where you try to hurt him directly, you'll get seven times the pain! Anyway, August is taking his dad to the hospital in Sloth! And I can't believe how transphobic Circe is! You'd think a witch would be as progressive as the times!" She quickly tossed the fugu hearts into the soup bowl, mixed it up, and slammed the bowl onto the tray.
Alastor reached for Angel Dust, but Trixie was faster and shoved the tray in the Radio Demon's hands. "That's for Indigo! Make sure she's relaxed, and I can't wait to see you guys next year! By the way, what's up with the whole unresolved tensions between the two of you? I mean, I know one of you is an asexual cannibal and the other a gay pornstar, which is like something only a fanfic writer or fan artist can dream of in shipping, but you two look liked an oddly well equal couple, and that's saying something because I don't see a lot of good couples in Envy! I bet Indigo's really lucky to have you as her dads!" Trixie shook hands with both of them. Angel Dust winced in pain as the imp squeezed his burned hands. "Anyway, have a nice last-week-of-the-year, hope Indigo gets better, and hopefully you can quit your jobs and make one great family! Bye!"
"Hey! What the fuck is wrong with you?" Angel Dust exclaimed.
Trixie tilted her head as her tail wagged crazily. "Huh? Oh, I ate like a fuck ton of amphetamine! It's how I stay awake, and I end the day with dysuria or some shit! Bye!"
Out of the blue, rather than taking the staircase, Trixie jumped through the window. Alastor and Angel Dust quickly looked out, worried she hit the sidewalk or something. Oddly enough, the imp was still jittery enough to get up and run through the streets. Several cars crashed into streetlights.
"I tell myself I've seen everything in Hell. Clearly, I'm wrong!" Angel Dust declared. His burns made him wince.
"Wait here."
Alastor quickly teleported into the room of the sick child. Indigo had cocooned herself in the bedsheets, but popping out of them did not give her the image of a butterfly emerging. More like a chrysalis reverting back to a caterpillar. Indigo sat up.
Her arms seemed thinner.
Alastor lost his smile.
"What's the ruckus?" Indigo groaned. "And… why aren't you smiling?"
"I'm just worried about you, my dear." Alastor tried to force a smile on himself. He couldn't. Shaking it off, he placed the tray on Indigo's lap. "Kelp soup and fugu hearts."
Indigo's finger stirred around the soup. Picking out a heart, she curiously sniffed it before plucking it into her mouth. Her eyes popped wide. She snatched the bowl, draining the broth right into her mouth. Quickly slurping the kelp and herbs. The fish hearts, she slowly ate them like expensive chocolates.
The sight disheartened Alastor.
Rosie had promised to bring to him envy supplements, but Indigo was craving more.
Indigo burped after eating the last of the fugu hearts. "Gosh, this was SO good! Where did you get them from, Alastor?"
Alastor knew it was just the organ of a common fish. Had it been another universe, he'd have applauded her potential cannibalism. Had he not been so worried right now, he'd criticize her for her manners.
NEVER attack a demon to directly consume the envy from their hearts! That was Rosie's warning to Indigo.
One day without eating envy and she had nearly attacked Angel Dust's brother. Angel… At this rate, could he keep this information?
"Alastor?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for the soup."
Alastor managed to fake a soft smile. "Of course. Keep resting for today, alright." Alastor took the dishes away. He watched Indigo properly tuck herself. Sighing, he headed back to the kitchen, finding Angel Dust rubbing an aloe vera lotion on his burnt hands.
"I thought I told you to wait so I could take care of that!" Alastor used his magic to clean the dishes in a hurry, rushing to Angel Dust.
"Not the first time I got them burned, Al. Why do you think I have this?" Angel Dust showed off the lotion bottle.
"But I could have removed them with my powers!"
"I didn't want you to waste them on me."
And Angel Dust beat Alastor in the argument. The Radio Demon's inhale caused a lot of static scratches in Pentagram City's radios. He exhaled.
"Alright… Angel, I think we need to talk… And maybe where we won't bother Indigo's rest…"
"Is your radio tower soundproof?"
"Yes?"
"I'll put Fat Nuggets with Indigo. I need to talk to you as well."
Minutes later
Since Alastor hadn't fixed his elevator, the two demons took the stairs to the radio tower. By the time Alastor opened the door to his broadcasting studio, Angel Dust was out of breath.
"How… long was… that fucking thing broken?" The spider demon panted.
"Oh, it's been broken since 1959!" Alastor admitted. Angel Dust hissed at him. "Well, to be fair, it was around the time my rivalry with Vox bloomed. I figured I'd leave the elevator in its poor state in case he managed to break into my house."
"You could have said something!" The spider demon hissed. Shaking his head, he went to check out the large window leading to the balcony. Though the window was closed, the winds were heard against the glass. The recording studio was perhaps the tallest facility within the radio tower… if there were others. Angel Dust could see a majority of Pentagram City.
He was pretty sure he could see Vox's headquarters right across town. Figured…
Alastor quickly dusted his dashboard. He clasped his hands together…
"So… We need to talk… Do you… wish to start?"
"Me?"
"Yes!" The Radio Demon blurted out. Dreadful static scratches echoed throughout the room. Alastor quickly went to the dashboard and toyed around with the controls, reducing the static to scratches. "I apologize. The tower is connected to me. I tend to be out of my domain more often to vent. I always fear that my powers might expose my vulnerabilities through the radios. Yet, with how it neutralizes an intruder's supernatural powers, I am usually at my safest here."
"What's your idea of safe, exactly?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's… actually what I want to talk about." Angel Dust pulled a chair, hoping Alastor would sit down. The Radio Demon declined, so Angel Dust pushed the chair aside. "I know the past few days were shit… And they kinda got worse the moment we had to go to Bootleg Borough… And… That night at the Goetia palace… I don't know if it was the booze, but you asked me if you could have a knife… You wouldn't kill yourself, right?"
Alastor's eyes twitched. His response was a laugh. "Me? Self-harm? You must have been drunk!"
"Al… I don't have time anymore to get drunk." Angel Dust gestured to Alastor. "YOU were drunk on absinthe. Even if it wasn't due to the booze, you still asked me for a knife." He then dared to point Alastor right in the chest. "Ya even offered to sleep on the couch. Because ya said ya should. Why do you think I slept in your couch last night? And no, it's not because we don't have a third room. I didn't want to hear the shit I heard you say while you were drunk… only awake." Pinches of red appeared in his mismatched pink eyes. The kind of red where you threaten to show tears. The static got a bit louder. Alastor clasped his hands.
"It's nothing to worry about, my friend!"
"Worry… WORRY?" Angel Dust got angry. "This is bullshit! We LITERALLY had a conversation on why we can't trust each other, and now?" The spider demon stood over Alastor. "It's infuriating, Alastor! I give myself ALL the valid reasons why we can't work! But this year? Vox, my shitty family… Indigo… Ah!"
Angel's stomping startled Alastor. His shadow scurried off, accidentally knocking a record onto a vinyl. An odd fusion of electro swing and pop instrumental music began to play.
"Angel…" Alastor reached out for the spider.
Angel pulled his hand away.
Angel: A fling's easier. A fling's forgettable.
We might be more, but it's unacceptable.
Alastor teleported himself to face the spider.
Alastor: Darling, I'm just the evil Radio Demon.
I'm not exactly the prized product of Eden!
When Angel Dust tried to walk away, Alastor took his hand, leading him into a small foxtrot.
Alastor: You switched channels, so I hear anew.
It's a brand-new tune, which gives me a brand-new view!
Angel Dust: I switched channels, so you hear anew.
I am SO screwed!
Angel burst the windows open, the winds flying in as Alastor followed him in the balcony. They couldn't even hear the sounds of traffic accidents and demons screaming.
Alastor: I don't know why you make me stay tuned.
I don't know why your tears give me more pain.
If there's a chance, I'd heal that wound.
There's something in your smile that goes to my vein.
Angel Dust: I'm sorry, but I can't stay tuned.
You can't jump with me on this wild love train.
Ain't ready for a fresh wound!
It's so scary how your smile goes to my vein!
Both leaned against the railing. They looked downwards at the world beneath them. Some demon was decapitating another, leading to a demoness to fawn over the winner. A car nearly ran over a stroller, but the parent crushed the hood with her fist. An antique shop was being vandalized, only for one of the burglars to blush when his teammate revealed the broken window display shaping out a heart.
Alastor: It's fun to watch you kill, your fingers dripped in blood.
Angel Dust snorted. "Seriously?
"You should see yourself chopping meat," Alastor pointed out, making the spider demon roll his eyes.
Angel Dust: Not the type for romance, yet you make me feel safe.
Strawberry pimp, killer of souls, thanks for not putting me in chains.
Alastor: Shoutout to you, cher, now you gave my heart quite a thud!
Angel held out his hands to Alastor. After some hesitation, a real smile came when red and pink fingers connected. Pentagram City almost seemed non-existent as they danced.
Alastor: You switched channels, so I hear anew.
It's a brand-new tune, which gives me a brand-new view!
Angel Dust: I switched channels, so you hear anew.
Vox's SO screwed!
For this moment, nothing else existed besides the tower's lights. Both danced to each other's level in the darkness. For this moment… they forgot about the things dividing them.
Both: I don't know why you make me stay tuned.
Something in you makes me forget my pain.
If there's a chance, you healed my wound.
There's something in your smile that goes to my vein.
Now I know, I want to stay tuned.
You and I can jump on this wild love train.
I can now fix a fresh wound!
It's so amazing how your smile goes to my vein!
Despite the lights, as they slowed down in their dance briefly, all they could see were their respective red and pink eyes.
Alastor: None in Hell treat me how you do.
Angel Dust: Turn my heart's switch, you're all I'd listen to.
Both: I don't know why you make me stay tuned.
Something in you makes me forget my pain.
If there's a chance, you healed my wound.
There's something in your smile that goes to my vein.
Now I know, I want to stay tuned.
You and I can jump on this wild love train.
I can now fix a fresh wound!
It's so amazing how your smile goes to my vein…
Alastor and Angel exhaled. Things around them went back to normal. Just not the new look in their eyes.
At the same time
Indigo watched them from the recording studio.
Her eyes twitched in worry.
She didn't even have to ask to figure out that Alastor's radio magic was as emotional-driven as her butterflies. The radio in the living room, on the other hand, had no issue broadcasting the ballad. Even in obliviousness, Alastor's powers had used enough filters to make Angel's voice unrecognizable.
The idea that Alastor was serenading another was what led Indigo to climb up to the recording studio, despite the remaining drowsiness. She was initially relieved that it was just the guys… until she saw the ON-AIR sign on the dashboard.
She turned off the sign, ending the broadcast. The guys were still laughing outside while she struggled to go downstairs.
She leaned against the banister, sluggishly walking down. Her steps felt heavier. Was it the drowsiness or the guilt?
Once in her room, Indigo cocooned herself in her bedsheets. Good thing communications with Octavia was all she needed for online activity…
Papillon_Party_Hearts: Heard something I shouldn't have.
Gothchick18: What happened?
Papillon_Party_Hearts: Deer emoji + Spider Emoji = Heart emoji Music Note emoji
Gothchick18: :O :O :O
Gothchick18: U SERIOUS? Your dads were singing on the radio?
Papillon_Party_Hearts: Not my dads. How did u know?
Gothchick18: Am in Loona's van. Shopping shit. Your dads' song broke the car radio.
Indigo's eyes widened at the text.
Papillon_Party_Hearts: TELL ME IT DIDN'T GO VIRAL!
Gothchick18: …
Papillon_Party_Hearts: It went viral, didn't it?
Gothchick18: Eh.
Gothchick18: Your spider daddy's voice is unrecognizable, but awesome. Either the crowds think RD has a new voice actor for his broadcasts or that he has a mysterious boyfriend. Celebrities sometimes hide their personal lives from tabloids.
Papillon_Party_Hearts: OK. I'll try not to worry.
Gothchick18: Stay the fuck off social media!
Papillon_Party_Hearts: D OK, OK!
Much later, in the Envy District
Vox's nails scratched his desk's surface more than 660 times, thickening the marks until they threatened to break it in pieces. The envy boiling in him made electricity crackle through his pinstripe suit.
The bolts finally burned the boombox to a crisp.
Vark looked up from his chew toy.
The song playing previously on the boombox had unfortunately downloaded into Vox's private memory card.
The more he thought of that revolting ballad…
You make me stay tuned.
You and I can jump on this wild love train.
It's so amazing how your smile goes to my vein.
Vox broke his desk.
Whoever the bitch was singing with Alastor on the radio… The worthless demon who thought they could be better than HIM!
Vox's yell let to a power outage throughout the Pride Ring.
At the same time
Phthonus, Nemesis, and Oizys looked up from their charts.
"Did anybody else just feel this odd sense that an unlikely suitor is jealous of an unknown competitor?" Phthonus tapped his fingers against the table with ecstasy. "Someone's getting VERY envious!"
"We'll go back to our fields AFTER we discuss the phases!" Nemesis organized the charts in chronological order. "OK, in order. What's phase 1?"
"Culling the envy resources in the Pride Ring." Oizys summoned a jar of lamb's blood. "Mixing this with red paint will be invisible to demons, but the angels will think they're getting a 'come-where-there-isn't-a-lamb-blood-on-the-walls' permit. Lucifer would care less of a few extra souls gone. The turf wars will clean up the evidence!"
Nemesis nodded. "Phase 2. We have someone go to Earth to find that grimoire and remove the evidence of the eclipse! Phase 3. We catch as many of those bugs as we can, and we deplete the rings' natural essences of sins. Not so obviously, though, but enough that the rings but ours are vulnerable."
"Phase 4. Using the abandoned blueprints we took from August, we repurpose that Sin Drainer." Phthonus proudly showed off the rolled blueprints. "Make heavy water out of the compiled envy. Lock away the other stolen sins before the machine can create a whole through all the rings. Phase 5. Finish machine."
"Phase 6. Get Ines to finish her marinating by eating an envious heart. An Overlord's heart, ideally." Oizys nodded.
"Phase 7. The filth comes back home, and final phase, her filthy mixed blood opens the barriers separating the Three Realms. Final Phase: we win!" Nemesis clasped her hands. "OK, any questions?
Oizys raised her hand. "Lizzie asked me this just before I got here. Wouldn't the whole plan be a whole lot faster if we, you know, corrupted Ines? Brainwash her or something?"
"No, that only works on social media or conversion camps." Nemesis dismissed it. "What's our motto?"
"'What isn't envied or envious is useless,'" the three embodiments of envy quoted together.
"No, Father wants her to succumb to her cravings. Relish in them." Nemesis rubbed under her mask in thought. "Fuck, you're actually right… Ugh! Marinating her is one thing, but with her powers… She could have her swarms spread envy in nature. More envy for our heavy water… But pollinating won't do. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need to make Ines ENVIED! Envied enough that all of Hell's bitches will emit enough envy for us to collect."
Nemesis and Oizys turned to Phthonus. The Grand Duke of Jealousy's eyes were closed beneath his mask. Hands together in a prayer mode, his horns were emitting purple signals. A received signal, and he shuddered in glee.
"Uh… Vox is jealous… And Ines is with the Radio Demon… and Valentino's whore…" He grinned. "Oh…"
"What?" Oizys asked.
"This is almost too easy! But we'll have to wait until the new year…"
…
With the symptoms going away, Indigo felt like bigger shit. A whole afternoon of napping didn't help her. Snuggling with Fat Nuggets didn't help. Best she could do was stare at the window… thinking more of the louse she was.
Remembering when she used to cry actual tears…
She wasn't in the room in Alastor's property. She was in the hospital back in Maryland. Back when she was thirteen. When she was still with her father, close to him so he could hug her.
Your daughter will walk just fine, but with all the stretching her legs had to do while skating, her fall did a number on her tendon. It's my profession requiring that Ines never ice-skates again.
The hospital was now a public bathroom. The women said nothing for her father getting in to hug an eight-year-old Ines. The pygmy sperm whale was enough to terrorize her. Her classmates jeering 'scary cat' at her still continued when Mr. Coeurdor brought her back. 'Scary cat' turned into 'daddy's girl' when she sat on his lap during the bus ride back to school.
Now, she was in her preschool principal's office. Her father had just come back from a business trip, only to arrive last minute after Ines' grandfather had called him. Babysitting her in Aaron's absence, Ines was being picked up from preschool by her grandmother only to witness a conservative parent calling her grandmother a 'crack whore' who was brainwashing her white ward into stealing jobs. Augustina had struck the bitch with her purse. Ines was crying in the principal's office due to the arguing. Though the bitch and her child were punished with a permanent ban, it didn't change the fact that seeing her father and grandparents yell at others made her cry.
Finally, she was in her nursery. Her father had difficulty cradling her. Somebody else picked her up. Maybe one of her grandparents?
שקט, בייביבאג.
עוףלעברחיבוקהשמש.
תשכחמהחושךשסביבך.
זכורתמידאתאלהשאוהביםאותך.
טוסוחלוםלעברארץהפלאותשלך.
טוסונחתעלהידשליקירך.
Who sang this? It wasn't in Spanish or French…
Hush, baby bug.
Fly towards the sun's hug.
Forget the darkness around you.
Always remember those who love you.
Fly and dream towards your wonderland.
Fly and land on your loved one's hand.
Ines recognized her father's voice as he sang the lullaby in English. The lullaby had calmed her down and she was now sleeping soundly in her crib.
That lullaby worked on her when I…
Indigo didn't notice Alastor coming in until she felt him sitting next to her.
"Indigo?"
There wasn't static in his voice. She doubted he was smiling.
"Are you alright?"
She still avoided his red eyes in favor of the red sky out the window. "Nothing…"
"Ines."
She looked back at him. A small smile was the subtlest he could show. "You know we're worried about you, right?"
"I know…" Indigo tried to cocoon herself in her bedsheets again. Alastor caught her hand, stopping her.
"But?"
Indigo sniffed. "I just miss my dad…"
"Ines…" Alastor put his arm over her while his spare hand gently caressed her head. "You have every right to. Eternity isn't enough to make me forget my mother. Nearly every day, I tell myself I didn't deserve a saint like her. Your father was robbed of his only child. A good one…"
Ines snorted. "I'm in Hell…"
"Nearly everyone lands in Hell."
Ines dared to lean against him. "I'm scared, Al… I don't think I can be redeemed… And I don't want to leave everyone behind… I really care about you guys…"
Before a caterpillar egg could trail down Ines' cheek, Alastor quickly wiped it away. "Don't think about it for now, alright? We can discuss about it after the new year."
The young demon silently nodded.
"Are you still feeling tired? Angel and I were hoping to have dinner, all three of us. I did some shopping. How does jambalaya sound?"
Usually, it would sound great. However, Ines was distracted by the small purple glow she was spotting in Alastor's liver. Not enough to make her hungry, but… the presence bugged her.
"You got envy in your liver," she said. "I thought your envy was fake…"
Alastor didn't flinch. "Yet here you are, resisting the hunger." He shrugged. "My envy is insignificant. Too insignificant to sate you."
"But WHY do you have envy?" Indigo pulled away from his hold. "What are you envious about?"
"Nothing of relevance." Alastor poked her blue nose.
"Alastor.
"Well!" He clicked his tongue. "Maybe I am a little jealous of the presence of a kind paternal figure you had. Angel Dust and I certainly never had any of those."
"Yeah, Henroin's a b…" She changed her choice of word when Alastor gave her a warning smile. "A bigmouth with a sense of morale smaller than a cockroach… Never heard you talk about your dad…"
"I'd rather not. He was the first person I ate in my life!" Alastor laughed. "And I ate him in Hell! Six times until he finally offed himself! The ONE time I approved of lethal self-harm!" He laughed some more until the tone behind his smile turned sour. "Of course, I found out later that my mother ascended. She deserved it."
Indigo smiled softly and jumped out of bed. "Now I'm the mood for jambalaya!"
"Young lady, wash yourself first!" Alastor rose up. "Rinse that sickly smell of sloth out of you before dinner!"
…
The angel and her cherub stood by the front door.
"You think she'll answer?" The reindeer cherub asked, her concerned expression coming from the situation rather than the large jambalaya pot she was carrying. "It's been days since Martin and Psyche left."
"I can only pray…" The angel knocked on the door. "Augustina? Mon amie? It's Beatrice and Snowbell."
"We brought some homemade jambalaya for you!" Snowbell held up the pot. "Beatrice and I made it together."
The door opened, but it wasn't the angel they were expecting. Rather, it was the butterfly cherub who assisted the house's residents.
"How are you today, Mona?" Beatrice asked.
"Fair, but I want to say better for Mrs.'s sake." Mona sadly shook his head. "She's been skipping on church a lot. Eating less. Lord Eleos is worried about her." He let them inside. "Your jambalaya always warms people's hearts, Lady Beatrice. Perhaps it will warm hers."
They quietly went inside. Mona showed them the dining room. Augustina was sitting on the armchair by the window. The old woman's angelic pastel colors were desaturating from her heartbreak. Her rose-pink wings wrapped her like a comfortable blanket. Cheeks wet, eyes staring at the floor… As if to look down at the Earth.
"Mrs.?" Mona politely said. "Beatrice and Snowbell are here to see you… They brought over Beatrice's jambalaya pot."
Augustina didn't move.
"Snowbell and I will go prepare bowls for all of us."
The two cherubs excused themselves, taking the jambalaya pot to the kitchen. Beatrice walked up to Augustina, knelt before her, and held the old angel's hands in hers.
"Augustina, I can only imagine your sorrow. I felt like I was drowning when I saw how my son died." Beatrice looked at Augustina. "You love your granddaughter so much… I just want to help you."
"She's only sixteen… And trapped…" Augustina whimpered. "We're failing…"
"Never say that! We only fail if they are truly gone! Besides, Psyche said that you and Martin found out where she was in Hell. I'm sure that the Lord's granddaughter will bring yours back…"
"I don't know what's going on, Bea…" Augustina shook her head. "Our mariposa is fading… I feel like wherever I used to feel her, it isn't her… Ines was such a good girl…"
"But she still exists," Augustina reassured her. "I know that feeling. I still sense my son… but whenever I sense him, it's not the way I used to when he was alive. But just sensing is enough to know that they still exist, and there's still hope."
Snowbell and Mona each brought two bowls of jambalaya to the dining table. At Beatrice's encouragement, Augustina joined her and their cherubs at the table. All said grace quietly in their natural dialects.
The cherubs burst into smiles as they ate.
"I always feel like I'm in a sunny beach with a school of shrimps jumping over the waves while crocuses bloom on the fields," Mona savored his spoon full of jambalaya.
"Mona, why do you never just say 'it is delicious' rather than the unnecessarily dramatic critique?" Snowbell asked.
"It's a matter of praise, Snowbell. 'It is delicious' only works when we cherubs cook, but when an angel cooks, their food must be praised like the great souls they are!"
"You are very kind, Mona." Beatrice smiled.
Augustina was frozen, her first spoonful still in her mouth.
"Oh, dear. Augustina, are you alright? You're more frozen than a toad in a river full of gators…"
"Should I get the first-aid kit? Call a doctor? A therapist? One of the Virtues?" Mona started to sweat. "I fear inevitable expel if I fail to serve my assigned angel."
Augustina swallowed her jambalaya. Her eyes blinked.
"Ines is in Hell…"
"Yes, mon amie," Beatrice said. "We know that."
"Ines is in Hell… eating your jambalaya."
Cherubs and angel from the early 20th century looked at each other. They had a hard time processing the sentence of the Colombian American angel.
"Could you… perhaps explain your epiphany? I am confused and wish to help." Beatrice put down her glass.
Augustina suddenly slammed her hands against the table. "YOUR jambalaya, Beatrice! The same texture… The same spices… The VERY specific amount of saffron you put in there! Your signature jambalaya has that VERY. SPECIFIC. TOUCH OF SAFFRON!"
Snowbell gasped in horror. "The secret ingredient! How'd she know?"
"Mi nieta está comiendo el jambalaya de Beatrice! Está comiendo su jambalaya en el infierno!"
"Augustina, that can't be right." Beatrice got up. She feared Augustina's grief was reaching new levels. The elderly angel took a bigger bite. She blinked again.
"Ella todavía lo está comiendo!"
Mona and Snowbell cautiously ate their jambalaya as well. After a minute of waiting, they shook their heads. Whatever Augustina was experiencing, the cherubs weren't experiencing it.
"Maybe I cooked it too long?" Beatrice took her spoon and apologetically scooped from Augustina's bowl. Augustina didn't budge. Snowbell looked apprehensively at her mistress.
Beatrice took a bite.
The jambalaya tasted just fine. Nothing overcooked…
Yet…
Somewhere else, certainly neither in Heaven or Earth, somebody was eating HER jambalaya…
And…
Well, my dear, I'm not one to spoil, but the key is in the saffron. That's why my mother did the best jambalaya I've ever eaten in life AND death!
Beatrice dropped her spoon. Snowbell flew and caught it.
"Lady Beatrice?"
"Mon petit garçon…" Beatrice's hand clutched the fabric of her dress over her heart. The woman struggled to not cry. "My son's still in Hell… And he's taking care of that little Ines…"
"Oh, gracias!" Augustina went to hug the sobbing Beatrice. "Dios bendiga a tu hijo! Bendicelo!"
