Angel Unawares

Forever Ago

"Great job!" Jade exclaimed as Trey reached the end of the parallel bars. He'd just received his prosthetic legs and was taking his first steps on them. With obvious great effort and concentration, he swung his hip around so that he was facing the opposite direction and slowly began taking careful steps that way. He wobbled and shook a little but managed to make it all the way back, where he sank into his wheelchair in exhaustion. "Whew! That was the hardest thing I ever did!"

"Way to go!" Jade cheered. She went to him and kissed his cheek, which both surprised and delighted him. The first time he'd seen his face in a mirror after his accident, he'd immediately concluded that no woman would ever want to kiss him again. Jade was so proud of him that she didn't even give it a second thought.

"I'm gonna get out of here soon," he swore to both of them. "And when I do, I'm gonna take you on a real date."

"Before the term ends for winter break, I want each of you to submit a compilation of twenty of your best works," Mrs. Williams told her creative writing class. "It can include poems, character sketches, essays, short stories, plays, or any combination thereof. The compilation will be due on the day of the final exam, and it will be one fourth of your total grade for the class."

"So have you decided which of your works you're planning to include in your compilation?" Amber's friend Trendi asked her after the class had ended.

"Well, I'll definitely include my poem about Danny, of course," Amber replied. "I really liked your poem about Halloween."

"Yeah." Trendi giggled. "Well, Halloween's my favorite holiday. It's when they show the coolest movies. Zombie movies are my absolute faves. How about you?"

"I used to like them a lot."

"You don't anymore?"

"Not since...never mind. Let's just talk about something else, OK?"

Trendi frowned. "OK. You started your Christmas shopping yet?"

"Not really." It occurred to Amber that she had about twice as many people to shop for this year than she'd had last year. Last year it had been just Mom, Jade, and Aunt Maria. This year it was all three of them plus the Andersons and Bailey...and Danny, of course.

But what did one buy an angel for Christmas? She had no idea.

That weekend she and Danny were strolling up and down the mall together and she asked him. He looked startled at first, then laughed. "Just think of me as a regular guy. Whatever you'd buy for a regular guy, you could buy for me."

"You mean like a CD or a computer game or something like that?"

"Exactly!"

The mall was decorated with stars and wreaths, and in its center was a giant tree with tinsel and balls, in front of which sat a man dressed as Santa, with a line of children waiting to sit on his knee. "I remember doing that when I was little," Amber remarked.

"So did I," Danny replied. "I used to always ask for train sets, race cars, and cowboy stuff. I remember the year I was three I got the coolest electric train set. My Mom still has it packed away in the attic.

"Aunt Maria made a Raggedy Ann and Andy set the year I was six," said Amber. "I still have them sitting on my bed at home." In a home decor store she found a pretty vase in rainbow colors that she thought Helen would like, and in the same store, she found a set of bowls for Paul and Susan. In the bookstore, she found a book called 'The Girl On The Train' by Paula Hawkins that she thought Jade might like and a book called 'The Prince Of Venice Beach' by Blake Nelson that she thought Bailey might like.

After that, they went to the pretzel store in the food court for a snack and then Danny took Amber home. It occurred to her that hanging out with Danny was, in many ways, just like dating a regular mortal, with the exception of adventures such as the excursion to watch 'Ice Castles' and the trip to Venice, or course.

Unlike the first time she'd visited the rehabilitation center with Iceas and the rest of the group, Jade looked forward to the Christmas party there. Unfortunately, it didn't look as if Trey would be able to go home by Christmas, but his recovery was coming along nicely and he could now walk short distances with crutches on his prosthetic legs.

The group arrived to find the center's physiotherapy gym cheerfully decorated with a table laden with food and a large punch bowl filled with red punch. Trey saw them coming and his face lit up. 'Your boyfriend sure looks happy to see you," Iceas teased Jade.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Jade insisted. Iceas only laughed.

Soft music began to play, and those who were physically able to began to dance. Jade went to stand with Trey. "You don't have to just hang around me, you know," he told her. "If you want to dance with someone else, please, feel free. I want you to enjoy yourself."

"No, thanks. That's all right. I'd much rather hang out with you."

"Well, OK. But you have to admit, I'm kind of boring."

"I don't think you're boring at all!"

The music stopped, and people began to eat and drink. Jade grabbed some cheese and crackers and punch and took them to share with Trey. "It's funny," he remarked. "I remember how, on Christmas two years ago, I was with Ashley at a Christmas party and she brought me cheese and crackers just like you just did. That seems like forever ago."

"I remember four years ago," Jade replied. "It was the Friday before Christmas when I met Danny's parents for the first time. It was in a drug store, and 'Santa Baby' was playing. Funny how you remember stuff like that."

"Who's Danny?"

"My first serious boyfriend. He's with my sister Amber now."

Trey laughed heartily. "Still passing your hand-me-downs on to her, huh?"

"I hadn't really thought about it that way, but yeah, I guess so." Jade laughed along with him.