�Are you sure my guardian angel is here?� Kate asked, a small frown forming between her sea-foam green eyes.
�Why, I believe he�s right there in the corner,� Royce said, looking over his shoulder.
�I should like it better if he was closer,� Kate said.
�On the foot of your bed, perhaps?� her father asked.
She nodded. �That would be very nice.�
Royce stretched a beckoning hand toward the corner. �Over here, if you please.�
Victoria patted the neatly-folded comforter. �Right here.�
Kate lifted her head. �He�s there?�
�With his wings folded, ready for rest, just as you should be,� Royce said.
A small sigh escaped Kate�s lips. �All right, Papa.�
Royce bent over her, kissing each smooth cheek and then her forehead. �Goodnight, Kate precious. You are loved.�
Victoria placed a second kiss in each place. �Sweetest dreams, Kate darling.�
At the door, Royce turned down the gas.
�Papa!�
�Yes?�
�You�re sure that my guardian angel won�t leave after I go to sleep?�
�Certainly not. He has strictest orders from the head angel to stay with you every moment.�
�Oh.�
�Goodnight, precious.� Royce closed the door.
In their bedroom, Victoria stood at the glass doors leading to the balcony where they often sat on pleasant evenings. �It�s going to be a bad storm,� she observed.
�I expect so.�
She pulled the drapes. �Kate was trying very hard to be brave.�
�Yes.�
�When I was her age, I was afraid of thunder and lightning. That was before Mother and I followed Father to California. We were living with my grandparents then. Sometimes when there was a particularly bad storm, I�d run down the hall and crawl into bed with Grandmother.�
�Were Audra and the boys afraid?�
"No, I don�t think so. But then, they�d never have told us. Tom didn�t have patience with things like that.�
�Even with his children?�
�With anyone.�
�I see.�
Victoria sighed and took her nightdress from the drawer. �It stormed the morning after we were married. Do you remember?�
�Very well. I brought you coffee and a pastry, and when you�d finished. . .� His eyes lingered on her.
�It was very romantic�breakfast in bed, listening to the rain against the glass doors. . .�
Royce smiled. �A romantic setting should never be wasted, do you agree?�
Victoria tossed the nightdress over a chair. �Totally.�
***********
The cannonade of thunder that shook the room woke Victoria with a start. She was about to turn over and snuggle closer to the warm bulk of her husband when she felt the slightest tug on the covers. �Mother?�
The lightning that lit up the room despite the heavy drapes revealed the small, worried face of her daughter. �Why, Kate, what is it?�
Kate worked hard not to cry. �My guardian angel had to go on �portant business, and he said I should come in here �til he got back.�
Victoria tried not to smile. �Very good advice.� She started to turn back the covers to invite Kate in, then realized that she wasn�t wearing her nightdress. �Oh�Kate�I�I seem to have lost my�nightdress. It�s on the chair beside the table. Would you get it for me?�
Kate frowned. �I�d�rather not.� She hugged the side of the bed as more thunder boomed.
�Kate darling, it�s only a few steps to the chair.�
Kate sighed. �All right.�
Victoria reached across the bed to ascertain that Royce was decent. He was. She breathed a sigh of relief.
�Here, Mother.� Kate handed the garment in question to her mother. �Now can I come in?�
�A moment, Kate.� Victoria pulled the nightdress over her head and shimmied into it.
Royce stirred. �Victoria?�
�Your daughter is here,� she hissed.
�Kate?�
Victoria reached for the child. �Now, Kate, come in with us.� She held the child�s arm as she climbed up. �It seems her guardian angel had important business elsewhere and suggested that she stay with us temporarily.�
Royce turned over and draped an arm across his wife and child. �All right.�
�Maybe the �portant business was looking for your nightdress, Mother, only I got here first,� Kate murmured sleepily.
�Nightdress?� Royce asked, still half-asleep.
Victoria pinched him.
�Oh! Nightdress!�
She pinched him again.
He put his face against her shoulder and laughed softly. �Goodnight.�
*******************
On Friday, the Vandemeres, accompanied by Rand, came for dinner. Kate loved company dinners and especially sitting beside Uncle Rand who helped cut her meat and held bowls for her while she helped herself to other food. She also liked the way Mrs. Vandemere always said, �She�s such a perfect little lady, Victoria!� and made sure that she used her very best manners and didn�t speak unless spoken to.
After dinner, Kate brought dessert into the parlor, one plate at a time, basking in more praise from their guests about how carefully she carried everything without spilling. Then she settled down on her stool beside the fireplace to enjoy her own sweet and listen to the conversation.
�Quite a storm on Tuesday night,� Peter Vandemere observed.
�Yes, it woke me several times,� his wife added. �I was afraid we might have some damage. Fortunately, there was none.�
�We lost a potted plant on the balcony,� Victoria said. �But that was all.�
�And you lost your nightdress,� Kate piped up, forgetting the rule.
Rand�s eyebrows went up. �Nightdress?�
Before anyone could smooth over the moment, Kate warmed to her subject. �Yes, my guardian angel had to go away on �portant business and told me to go and stay with Mother and Papa �til he got back, and Mother didn�t have her nightdress. . .�
Rand guffawed.
�Randall!� his mother said sharply, her face crimsoning.
Victoria rose hastily. �Come, Kate, it�s bedtime.�
�But�but��
�Come, Kate!� Victoria took the child�s hand and almost pulled her to her feet.
By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Kate was in tears. �But Mother, I always get to stay up!�
Victoria�s face was hot, but her temper had cooled. �Yes, I know, Kate, so go into your room and get a doll or a book, and we�ll go back down.�
�I didn�t mean to interrupt, but you said you lost a pot plant and forgot to say. . .�
�Get something to occupy yourself, Kate!� Victoria opened the door and put the child inside. �I�ll be back.�
In the WC, she bathed her face with cool water and almost�but not quite�began to see the humor in the situation. Opening the door, she saw Royce waiting in the hall. �Victoria. . .�
�Don�t you say a word!�
He smiled. �After all, my love, you�re the one who likes to sleep. . .au naturel. . .after. . .�
�Not a word, Royce!�
�We�re all adults, my love. Rand simply forgot himself for the moment.�
Victoria fought the urge to smile and lost. �All right.�
�Let�s not banish Kate for an innocent mistake.�
�I didn�t. I told her to get something to occupy herself.�
�I knew you�d do the right thing.�
Kate appeared with Araminta, her newest doll, and a picture book. �I�ll be very quiet, Mother,� she said penitently.
�Of course, you will, darling. Come along.� Victoria took her hand.
Kate looked up at her father. �I�m sorry I was naughty, Papa.�
�You weren�t naughty, Kate. Just remember that it�s best not to join in grown-up conversation unless you�re invited.�
�I�ll remember, Papa.�
Royce took her other hand, and they went down the stairs and back to their guests.
************************
From the journal of Dr. Katherine Barkley Wardell:
Mother told me this story one afternoon as I sat with her during her last illness. We laughed until tears ran down our cheeks and my sides ached. �There�s a lesson in that for you, Kate,� she said when she could speak again.
�I should think there are several!�
�Perhaps.� She closed her eyes, exhausted by the mirth. �Oh, Kate darling, I want you to be as happy with Teddy as I�ve been with your father.�
�I will be, Mother.�
�I never expected to have a second chance at being a wife. . .or a mother. I found both so very satisfying.�
�I hope I�ll be as good a wife and mother as you.�
She smiled. �Well, you�re my daughter.�
�For which I�ll be eternally grateful.� I leaned over and kissed her thin cheek.
�Royce and I always considered ourselves especially blessed with each other and with you. It�s been a good life, Kate, but now. . .�
She didn�t finish her sentence, but I knew what she was going to say. Now it was over�all the love and the joy�except for the memories. I swallowed the lump that rose in my throat. �Sleep awhile now, Mother. Your guardian angel will be watching.�
She nodded. �Unless he has �portant business elsewhere.�
�Nothing could be more important than being here with you�for either of us.� I kissed her again. �Nothing.�
THE END