| Chapter 20 The next several days passed by quickly. Angel had watched as Brian and Aleisha became completely consumed with one another. They did everything together, and had settled into a routine. Brian had turned his cell phone on and listened to all of the messages. There were several from Kevin and the other guys, most were from his mom. He'd deleted all of them, when he came to the last one, it was from Nick. Out of all the messages he got, this one brought tears to his eyes. He deleted it, looking up to see Aleisha staring at him with concern, "You OK?" He nodded, "Yeah, that was a message from Nick. He just said that he forgave me for what I did to him, and that he was praying for me." "Aww, that's sweet," Aleisha said. "Yeah," Brian said, turning his phone off and laying it on the coffee table. "You aren't gonna call them back?" Aleisha asked. Brian shook his head, "No, not yet." Aleisha got up and went to the kitchen to make supper. She knew Brian was having a hard time deciding what he wanted to do. She'd seen him pick his phone up several times, only to put it back down again. She didn't want to push him, knowing that it was going to be hard for him to go back and face his friends and family, and try and explain everything that had happened to him. Brian walked in the kitchen and looked at her, "What are you making?" "Cookies," she said. "For supper?" he asked. Aleisha laughed, "No, for after supper. It is Christmas Eve you know." "It is?" Brian asked, confused. "Yes it is," she said, "I always make cookies for Christmas Eve." "Man, I guess I lost track of the days," Brian said. Aleisha smiled, "Well that tends to happen when you're busy doing other things." He laughed, "Yeah I guess so." "Why don't you go see if there's a movie on," she suggested. Brian went back over to the couch and turned the TV on, flipping through the channels. He stopped on a commercial for Touched By An Angel that was airing that night, it was guest starring Nick Carter. "Leisha, we gotta watch this," Brian said, "This is Nick's first acting gig." Aleisha walked over and looked at the TV, "OK, supper's almost done, we can watch while we eat." Angel got up and walked over to Brian, looking at him. She then lay down at his feet, looking at the TV. "Is she watching?" Aleisha asked. Brian looked down, "Looks that way." Aleisha laughed, "Sometimes I think she's more human than some humans I've met." Brian just laughed and turned his attention to the TV screen, as the show started. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Come on guys, your gonna miss the beginning," Nick yelled into the kitchen. He was excited that his show was airing, but he was also a bit nervous. Everyone filed into the room, taking seats so they could see the TV. Lyn walked over and sat down next to Nick, squeezing his hand. He smiled at her as the show started. Everyone watched in awe. Nick was playing a talented artist, that had everything going for him. He was engaged to a lovely girl, and had opened his own art gallery. That's where the angels came in, Monica got a job as Nick's assistant at the gallery. Everything was going great until Nick's fiancee was killed in a car accident. For the rest of the show, Nick tried to deal with her loss. He managed to alienate all of his friends and family, and turned to alcohol to help deal with the pain. He was angry at God for taking his fiancee away from him, and by the end of the show, he was suicidal. Monica found him in the gallery, holding a gun and completely distraught. Monica tried to talk to Nick, to no avail. He yelled at her to leave him alone, but she wouldn't. Then he pointed the gun at her, tears streaming down his face, telling her once more to leave. That's when Monica revealed herself to be an angel. She took the gun away from him, and told him that God did care about him, and that He didn't want him to suffer like he was. Nick argued with her, asking if God cared about him so much, why'd He take his fiancee away from him? Monica said that God doesn't take people away, that it is just part of life, that we die. She told Nick that God wanted to help him rebuild his life, and give him new happiness and joy, all he had to do was ask. Nick wiped his tears and took Monica's hand, saying that he did want to find love and happiness again. As the show came to an end, it showed Nick, hiring a new assistant for the gallery, and getting his life back on track. Nick thanked Monica as she left, and Monica could see that the new assistant and Nick were starting to like each other. As Monica left, Tess and Andrew joined her, commenting on how God can take the worst of circumstances, and turn them around, all anyone needed was faith. Nick watched as the show went off. Everyone in the room was in tears. They all stared at him. "God Nick, that was awesome," A.J. said, wiping his face. "I think you found your calling," Howie said. "Nick, the plot..." Kevin started. "I know. I had no idea when I did it, that we'd actually be living through it," Nick said. Kira reached over and grabbed a tissue from the box, "Anyone else?" Kristin and Lyn both reached for the box. Everyone laughed at how emotional they all were. "Well, lets go eat," Howie said, getting up and heading to the kitchen. Everyone got up and followed, congratulating Nick on a wonderful job as they went. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian was in tears, as was Aleisha. He had stopped eating halfway through the show, pulling his knees to his chest and biting on his fingernails as the show progressed. Aleisha knew it was hitting home with him, and hitting him hard. By the time the show was over, Brian had been crying for thirty minutes, with no signs of stopping. Angel got up and put her paw on his foot, whining at him. Brian wiped his face and dropped his feet down off the couch. Angel then put her head in his lap, looking up at him, her green eyes filled with compassion. Brian patted her head, and took a deep breath trying to calm down. "Bri, can I get you anything?" Aleisha asked. He nodded his head. "What?" she asked. "My phone," he said, looking up at her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone was seated at the table. The girls, and Howie, had prepared the traditional Christmas feast, loaded with all the trimmings. Kevin got everyone's attention. "Guys, I know that we don't normally do this, but I'd like to say a prayer before we eat," he said. Everyone agreed and bowed their heads. Kevin stood up and looked at his friends before he started. Then he took a deep breath, "God, thank you for all the blessings you've given us. Thank you for helping us all through the past year, and thank you for being with us during the hard times. Please be with Nick and the decision he has to make. Help him to make the right one. And God, please be with Brian where ever he is. Please help him to realize that he needs you to help him, and please bring him home to us soon. Amen." Everyone sat there for a moment, letting the words of the prayer sink in. A.J. finally reached over and grabbed a bowl, scooping himself some before passing it. They all settled in, filling their plates, and joking around, when someone's cell phone rang. Kevin reached in his pocket and pulled his phone out answering it. "Hello," he said. "Kev, it's me," Brian said. Kevin dropped his fork, "Brian! God, where are you? Are you OK?" Everyone stopped eating, listening to Kevin. "Yeah, I'm OK," Brian said, "I um, I saw Nick's show, and um, I just wanted to call." "Brian, when are you coming home?" Kevin asked. Brian looked at Aleisha, "Um, I'm not sure." "Brian, I'll take you whenever you want to go," Aleisha said. "Bri, is someone else there with you?" Kevin asked, hearing her voice. "Yeah, a friend," he said. "A friend?" Kevin asked, somewhat suspicious. Brian laughed, "Hang on a sec." Brian put his hand over the phone and was talking with Aleisha. "Kev, what's going on?" Howie asked. Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "Some one is there with him, it sounds like a girl. He's talking to her, but I can't understand what they're saying." "A girl?" Nick said. "Kev?" Brian said. "Yeah," he said. "I'll be home tomorrow night sometime," Brian said. "Oh Bri, you don't know how much I've wanted to hear that," Kevin said. "I'm bringing a couple of friends with me too," Brian said. "A couple?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, I'll explain everything when I get there," Brian said. "OK, be safe," Kevin said. Brian smiled, "I will. See ya tomorrow." "Alright," Kevin said, hanging up. He looked up grinning from ear to ear, "Brian's coming home tomorrow night." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "What was that about a couple?" Nick asked. "He said he was bringing a couple of friends with him," Kevin said. They all exchanged glances, wondering who it could be. Nick felt that familiar feeling of dread come over him. He took a drink and tried to hide what he was feeling. Just then Lyn's phone rang. She grabbed it, "Hello." Nick watched as she argued with the person on the phone, finally saying that she'd see them in the morning. She hung up and looked at him, "I have to go back." "Go back? Home?" he asked. "Yeah, something's come up with the takeover, some bankruptcy filing and accusations of false financial reports. I have to meet with the board in the morning to decide what to do," she said. Nick's face fell, he wanted her here. Lyn saw his reaction, "Nick, I'm sorry. But if I don't go, we could lose our shirt on this one." He nodded his head, "I know. It's just they have terrible timing." She laughed, "I know, it sucks. Let's finish supper, then you can drive me to the airport." Nick nodded his head, knowing he could do nothing but let her leave, and still feeling that knot in his stomach, that was making him more and more uneasy. "Well, lets make a toast," Kevin said, holding his glass up. "To answered prayers," he said. Everyone smiled, "To answered prayers." Chapter 21 |