All According to the Divine Plan: Chapter 2 – Coming Around

Chapter 2 – Coming Around

“Good morning! I made waffles for breakfast.”

After stretching, I get up and sit at the table. “Thank you. It tastes good.” We finish eating breakfast and Connor cleans and puts the dishes in the dishwasher before taking his coat.

“I’ll be going to work now and will be back by five thirty. I’ve left my phone number on the table so you can call me if anything comes up, okay?”

“Sure.” For some reason, I have a feeling within me that doesn’t want him to leave, but I wave goodbye as he says goodbye and leaves me alone in his house.

“Don’t worry. I’ll always be by your side. I have been since you were born after all.”

I’d rather you’d not, but I guess I can’t do anything about it. With the time I have, I call the contractors and everyone associated with my house to let them know what happened. By the end of it, I agree to pay them to clean up the ruins of my house and they agree to cancel my bills. I guess it’s what I get for not getting any insurance for it when I paid for it to be built.

That’s all I really had to do today and it’s still morning. Connor isn’t expecting me to do something so I could poke around to see what he has that I can keep myself busy with. Let’s see here. Video games, cartoons, anime, and movies. This is all stuff that a boy his age would be interested in. Why am I getting the feeling that I could take Connor’s valuables and sell them to help me settle down somewhere? The temptation from last night is also giving me the idea to kill him when he gets home so that I could have better control of my life and ruin God’s plan for me.

“Those are the whispers of demons that I am trying to hold off. Keep yourself occupied so that they don’t occupy your mind.”

I must admit that you’re right for once. I don’t need anyone else trying to take control of my life. Hmm. You know what? Connor might think that I’ll take advantage of his kindness and be lazy all day. I’ll prove him wrong by cleaning the house. It’s not much since it’s a rancher so I get it done with all the dusting and vacuuming in roughly two hours. There cannot be one speck of dust left so that it looks like I didn’t do a lazy job.

Hmm. I feel better after getting that done. Strangely enough, I feel free and at peace for some reason. Maybe it’s because I’m free of the responsibilities over my house and the job I once had. How about I make Connor dinner too? That’ll really make him think that I’m not lazy and also worth keeping around. What do you think I should make him?

“His guardian angel tells me that he wants to make pasta for dinner today, so make that.”

You can talk to his guardian angel from this far away?

“Amazing, isn’t it? I and other angels are pure spirit, which means that I am not limited to one space.”

Interesting. Okay, I’ve made pasta for myself before so it should be easy. Connor should be home in an hour or so. This day has really flown by because of how busy I’ve been on the phone and cleaning up around here. Anyways, I manage to finish making dinner and setting the table before he comes in.

“Hello, Gabriella. Oh! You’ve made dinner for me. Wow, pasta. I was actually going to make that today. Thank you!”

“I’ve also cleaned the house too. You don’t really get around to doing it, do you?”

“Heh. I try to clean it every two weeks, but it usually ends up being every three weeks because I forget or am too tired to bother with it. Thanks for that too.” Connor sits down and we enjoy dinner together. During this, I explain the situation with my house to which he says that he still doesn’t mind having me stay here, especially after everything I’ve done today.

“Are, um, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Why?”

“You seem different and happy. I like seeing that smile on your face rather than the scowl that you usually have.”

“…smile? I don’t know what you’re talking about, and what do you mean that I usually have a scowl on my face?”

“Agh. Why did he have to mention it? I enjoyed seeing you happy for once. It’s true that you’ve been smiling all day and that you usually do have a scowl on your face.”

“It’s…nothing. Forget I said anything. Anyways, I’ll be off work for the next couple of days and the weekend. Is there anything you wanted to do together?”

“Why do you have off Thursday and Friday?”

“I just wanted to use the paid time off I’ve been accumulating. I have a lot of it and I thought I’d use it so I told my boss last week that I’d be taking a couple of days off and he said it was a good thing because I rarely use it other than during the holidays and summer.”

“Okay, I guess. Um. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I don’t know what I want to do yet.” Connor agrees to make a decision tomorrow and for the rest of the night, we sit together on the couch and watch TV. For a while, it doesn’t hit me that we are sitting next to each other.

“Hm? Is something the matter?”

“Huh? No. Is something the matter with you?”

Connor casually preemptively covers his face with one hand as if I’m going to slap him for smiling. “No. You seem tired. Worked a little too hard today, didn’t you?”

“N…no, I haven’t…”

“Okay-Gabriella-!”

A drowsiness overtakes me and I fall asleep in an instant. This is strange. I feel more comfortable and at peace than I have in years. There’s a warmth in my arms that’s the source of it. It beats like a heart and its beats feel like it beats with my heart as if the two were singing together. An invisible force feels like it’s trying to push me away from it, but I hold on as tightly as I can to it until I wake up and see that I’m holding onto Connor with both of my arms and my head resting on his shoulder.

I slap him. “Hey, what were you doing letting me sleep on you?!”

“You passed out on me, it’s not my fault! I tried to wake you up and get you off me but you kept clinging to me, so I just left you to sleep on me for the hour.”

Connor then gets up, says it’s about time that he goes to bed, and leaves. Part of me wants him to stay with me so I can sleep on his arm again…

No, no, no! It’s too embarrassing to think about. For tomorrow, I think about making breakfast for Connor, so I set the alarm on my phone and wake up early in the morning around eight o’clock. He’s also up as well and is getting stuff out from the fridge and cabinets.

“Good morning, Gabriella. For breakfast, I was thinking about making-”

“No, no, I’ll be making breakfast. It’s why I put the alarm on my phone,” I say while leaping off the couch and butting into the kitchen. “I’ll be making…” What does he want?

“A bagel, egg, and cheese sandwich.”

“Bagel, egg, and cheese sandwiches.”

 “I’ll get everything for that out and help you make it. You don’t need to-”

“No, no, no. You don’t need to do anything. Go sit down. You shouldn’t be doing anything on your day off.”

“Cooking isn’t much trouble. Plus, I like doing it.”

Picking up a knife, I point it at Connor. “I said go sit down. Now.”

“Alright, alright. I get your point now.”

“You better…I might just stab you because you said a knife joke.”

“I’m sorry. Why do you make breakfast so badly?”

“Because if I’m staying here while you go out and work, I have to do something rather than just being lazy.”

“I appreciate what you’re doing, but you don’t have to do anything for me. I’m not going to kick you out-”

“Ah! No more arguing. You can set the table if you want and put something on TV.” Connor reluctantly agrees with me and does what I said. After eating breakfast and deciding what to do, we go out to a nearby nature trail that we take a nice walk down. He’s been wanting to go out for a walk on the trail and since I have no better idea, I agree with him.

“Haven’t you walked through any of these nature trails? Our state is famous for them.”

“No, it’s never really interested me.”

“But you have to admit that it’s all beautiful and calming; the fresh air, the tall trees, and beautiful flowers and scenery.”

“And all the annoying bugs and creatures in the forest. Uck.”

“Where do you work?”

“I work with the local Catholic diocese and paper with their marketing and coordinating events and parishes so that everyone is on the same page and working together.” I grunt in response not really surprised at what his job is. Connor does seem like the kind of person who can convince people to work together. “Can I ask about something you mentioned earlier?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“When we first met, you mentioned my God and a monster that’s been ruining your life? You also said that you would didn’t care what you had to do to get rid of God’s influence in your life when you had your gun pointed at me.”

He’s silent as if waiting for me to say something so I say, “Right…what about it?”

“Mind telling me what this monster is and what my part in it is? I’ve been praying and thinking about it over the past couple of nights. There are a few possible answers in my head, but I want to hear what you say.” Hmmm. How do I explain this without him thinking that I’m crazy?

“Just say what you know. I’ll help you.”

Alright, I guess. “The monster claims to be my guardian angel. He appeared to me and told me about the incoming storm. After my house was destroyed, he told me that this is the start of my better life with you playing the part of my husband.”

Wait, hold on, why did I say that last part?!

“You’re welcome.”

“Uh, future husband?”

“Y-yeah. I’m sorry. It was helping me explain things. I wish you could hear and see it, but God has allowed me to be the only one who can.”

“No-no, it’s fine. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“Just forget I said anything.”

“No, this makes more sense to me now. I’d be honored to be your husband if that’s what God wants me to do.”

“You-you what? Slow down here. How can you accept this so easily?”

“Well, the suddenness and weirdness of it, the answer that’s come to me through prayer, and the, uh, feeling that I have in my heart for you that I haven’t felt with anyone else.”

“Oooh, it’s happening! I’m so happy for you! I knew God picked the right man.”

“Hold on! I’m not rejecting you or anything. For some reason, I feel the same way about you, but can we slow down for a second and just be boyfriend and girlfriend before you marry me?”

“Yes, yes, of course! Sorry for making it seem like I’m already proposing to you.”

“So, um, are we going to kiss?”

“You just said you wanted to slow down, but you want a kiss already?”

“Yeah, it’s what a girl and boy do when they get into a relationship. What? Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me?”

“No, no. It’s just…umm…” Before I know it, Connor grabs me and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. I slap him in the face in response.

“Ow! What? What did I do wrong?”

“You have to actually hold me and kiss me for a little longer. Come on! Do it right this time!”

“Alright, alright!” Connor does as I say and make the kiss last longer. At this moment, I feel the happiest I’ve ever felt in a while and complete in a way I can’t explain. We smile awkwardly at each other before holding hands and continuing to walk down the nature trail.

You know what? I think I like this new life that I’ve been given.