"Ahh, the one we saw the other night?"
"Yes."
"You got really lucky to make it back."
"Had some help."
"So what do you want to know about your mom?"
"Everything," Leah begs. "Anything. All I know is her name and that she left me after I was born."
"Your mom wasn"t like most of the girls here. Usually they can distance themselves from the Johns but not your mom. I don"t think she was cut out for the business to be honest. She ended up falling in love with one of her clients but he didn"t want anything to do with her. He even asked to have another girl become his regular. Your mom went ape s.h.i.t crazy after that. Now that I think about it, that happened just before the Tear opened and she disappeared."
"Where was she from?"
"I don"t know exactly. All I do know is that she was here illegally from China. A lot of girls end up here if they"re trying to live in the states without papers."
"Do you know anything else?"
"Sorry hon, that"s about all I knew about your mom. I"m not even sure her real name was Grace to be honest with you."
Leah"s shoulders sag in disappointment. She walks up to the desk and grabs the crown. The Madame"s eyes look like they"re about to pop out of her head.
"How the h.e.l.l did you do that? We"ve had almost everyone in Nevada try to move that thing after the box it was in disintegrated."
"It belongs to me," Leah tells her.
Leah walks back to us.
"Ready?" Remy asks.
Leah nods and Remy phases us back to my house.
When we get back home, Mason is already gone. I grab my phone from its charger in case he needs to get in touch with me while we"re separated.
I decide I should I head over to Mama Lynn"s house alone before bringing Leah and Remy to meet her. I tell her what the situation is with Leah. She reacts just like I thought she would.
"You bring her to me," she tells me. "Poor thing has been stuck over there for far too long. I bet she hasn"t had a home cooked meal in ages."
This sets Mama Lynn off in the kitchen to whip up a lunch for Leah while I go back to my house to get her.
On my way home, my phone vibrates. I quickly grab it to see if it"s a text from Mason.
Are you back yet?
Yes, we got back thirty minutes ago. Taking Leah to meet Mama Lynn now.
Let me know how that goes. BTW, red or white?
Red or white what?
Roses A mixture?
Silk or cotton?
Silk or cotton what?
Sheets Never slept on silk so don"t know how comfortable they would be. Let"s go with cotton.
In or out?
Definitely in. I think. Unless I"m missing the point of the question.
Indoors or outdoors...
Oh, then definitely in. Isn"t it too cold to be doing something like that outdoors?
Not where we are going...We can always do both...
If that is an option then I vote for both.
I like the way you think, Agent Riley...
I like the way you plan, Mr. Collier...
See you at five. Got lots to do before then. Love you, with all that I am.
Love you, with all I will ever be.
Remy holds Leah"s hand as we walk over to Mama Lynn"s house. My dad and I walk slightly ahead of them.
"She"s gonna love you," Remy says to Leah, forcing himself to sound optimistic even in the face of his emanate departure.
"Guess we"ll see," Leah replies, uncertainty in her voice.
"You know my mom picked Mama Lynn to be my mother before she left me," I tell Leah over my shoulder. "Sort of like your mom picked Remy to leave you with. She knew I would be in good hands and I know you will be too."
"Why does she want me?"
"Why wouldn"t she?"
"Because I"m a complete stranger! She doesn"t know anything about me."
I come to a stop so I can face Leah.
"Sure she does. She knows you"re my friend. She knows you were stranded on a world you didn"t belong on your whole life. The rest she can learn as you guys get to know each other. That"s one advantage to being the new kid. She doesn"t know all your secrets just yet."
Before we even get to the door, Mama Lynn and Faison have it open watching us walk over. Mama Lynn is smiling from ear to ear and Faison is even trying to grin.
Mama Lynn walks out the door and meets us half-way up her sidewalk.
"Mama Lynn, this is Leah...I"m sorry, do you have a last name?"
Leah shakes her head.
"Well," Mama Lynn says, "how would you like to be a Mills like me and Faison? Jess kept her family name when I adopted her but since you don"t have one already you"re more than welcome to become a Mills."
Leah smiles shyly and nods. "All right. That"s really nice of you. Thanks."
Mama Lynn looks at me. "I a.s.sume Mason can handle everything for us?"
"I"m sure he can," I tell her. "He knows the President. He should be able to pull a few strings I would think."
Mama Lynn faces Remy. "I want you to know that I will take very good care of her for you. And you"re more than welcome to come and see us anytime you want."
"Thank you," Remy says, truly thankful for Mama Lynn"s openness.
"Now, I hope you two like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, biscuits and gravy because that"s what we"re having for lunch."
"You eat all that just for lunch?" Leah asks, completely amazed.
"Honey, you"re in the South. That"s just considered a snack here." Mama Lynn puts an arm around Leah"s shoulders and starts asking her how she wants to decorate her room upstairs, even offering some suggestions.
"You"re right," Remy says to me, relief in his voice. "She"s perfect. Just what Leah needs right now."
"You know, G.o.d lets my dad come visit me," I tell Remy. "I can even call him to come to me anytime I want. I"m sure you"ll get the same privileges considering how long you"ve been with Leah."
"You think so?" Remy asks hopefully, looking between me and my dad. "I just figured since Zeruel is your real father that was the reason he got to come see you."
"To Leah, you are her real father," I remind Remy. "And if G.o.d doesn"t let you, have him talk to me because I"ll certainly have some choice words for him about it."
"Wow, Zeruel you were right..."
"Right about what?" I ask, looking at my dad.
"I said you were feisty and fought for what you believed to be right."
I loop an arm through one of my dad"s. "Come on you two. Mama Lynn"s food waits for no man."
While we"re eating lunch, I ask Remy, "Do you know which archangel Leah carries?"
"Uriel," Remy says, his eyes shift uncomfortably.
"Why do you say that like it"s a bad thing?" I ask.
Remy looks at my dad. "Should I tell her or do you want to?"
My dad sighs. "Uriel tried to kill Lilly when she was younger."
I put my fork down and give my dad my full attention.
"And why would he do that?" I ask.
"He thought if he could kill her it would be a fair price to pay to save the universe. He tried to make sure Lucifer couldn"t use her to follow through with his plan."
"And this s...o...b..is inside Leah?" I ask, not trying to hide the hostility I feel towards Uriel.
"Yes. He was only doing what he felt was right," my dad tells me. "Just because he"s an angel doesn"t make him infallible, Jess. We all make mistakes. His intentions were good. He just went about implementing them the wrong way."
I try to let my father"s words sink in, but I can"t help the way I feel. Anyone who would harm Lilly is no friend of mine. Yet, he"s inside the most innocent of us all. I look at Leah and see her concern over learning about her archangel"s nefarious past deeds. My feelings feel torn and I wonder if that"s why Uriel and Leah chose one another. Perhaps he thought being bound to such an innocent soul would temper his own volatile one. I can only hope that is the case, but I decide to keep an eye on Leah after she connects with Uriel. To my way of thinking, such an archangel can"t be completely trusted.
After lunch, I can tell Remy is procrastinating about going back to Heaven. He stays to help Mama Lynn clean the dishes. Who does that unless they"re procrastinating?
Eventually, my dad gently reminds him that they need to be leaving.
Leah walks over to Remy as he stands by my dad.
"Do you need to go back to Heaven now, Remy?" Leah asks, her voice quavering slightly.
"Afraid so, baby girl," Remy puts his arms around Leah"s shoulders while hers go around his waist and she lays her head against his chest.
"Will I ever see you again?" She asks sniffling.
"Well, I can"t say for sure but Jess said she"ll talk to G.o.d about it and I"ll talk to him too next time I see him. She seems to think I can do the same thing her dad can do and see you whenever you need me."
Leah leans away from Remy and looks back at me. "Do you really think you can do that for us?"
"Yes, I do," I say with confidence.
Leah looks back at Remy. "Then I won"t say goodbye. If Jess thinks it can be done, I trust her judgment. We"ll see each other again. I know it."
Remy kisses Leah on the forehead. "Even if he doesn"t, I"ll find a way to come back to you. I can"t live without you in my life."
Leah hugs Remy tightly one more time before letting him go.
"Let me know how things go with your surprise," my dad says to me.
"Ok," I smile. "I"ll call you when I know how it turns out."
My dad smiles back and puts his hand on Remy.
After they phase, Leah lets the full flood of tears she was holding in fall. I wrap her in my arms and Mama Lynn stands behind her and rubs her back with a comforting hand.
"I know what we need to do," Mama Lynn says. "It always helps me when I"m upset. Let"s go shopping!"
Leah lifts her head from my shoulder and looks at Mama Lynn.
"I don"t have any money," Leah says.