Sophie's Wish
Angelic Hosts Series, Book 3, Episode 2
A dash of divinity…
“Nanette, she’s not a stray cat. What are we supposed to do with a homeless child?”
Charles Fairchild paced the length of the living room that evening, clearly at a loss for reason in the face of this new development.
“What was I supposed to do, Charles? She’s all alone in the world. Her parents are dead. She has no one!” Nanette stood her ground.
Her husband opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, and resumed his pacing. In the corner, Camael watched the two adults go rounds with each other, and then turned his head spying a curious pair of large, brown eyes peeking into the room from the hallway. Behind her was a now sparklingly clean Cecilia. Upon arriving home that morning, Nanette had marched the child into the bathroom where she drew her a hot bath and helped scrub the dirt from her scalp until her long curls shone like newly minted copper pennies. She helped dress her in a new pair of flannel pajamas purchased for Sophie. Thankfully, they were a little larger than her daughter, and Cecilia, being undernourished, was a bit smaller than an eight-year-old should be, so they fit. She gave the girl a pair of her own thick, wooly socks, and brushed and braided her hair. After that, it was straight to the kitchen where she was fed a hot meal of beef soup and warm, crusty bread slathered in butter. Two glasses of milk topped it all off, and then both children played together before going down for a long nap.
But now they were both awake and listening in on adult conversation.
“I guess you did the right thing, but Nanette, we can’t just keep her. We have to find her family.” Charles tried to be the voice of reason. “We need to find out who her relatives are and where they live. Surely there must be an aunt or uncle or grandparent. We’ll have to call the authorities, you know.” He stood facing his wife, rubbing her arms with assurance.
“But they’ll take her, Charles, and place her with strangers. How is that helpful? She’s already made fast friends with Sophie, and there’s just no reason to pass her around.” The plea in her voice found its mark. Charles could see, hear, and feel her mothering instincts roaring to the surface. Taking Cecilia away from her before they could find the child’s family was simply not going to happen without a fight. Everyone on Earth knows that there is no greater foe, no fiercer fighter than a mother for her children, even those not born of her own body. Once claimed by the heart, that child becomes every bit that mother’s very own.
Charles sighed. He knew when to give in.
“All right, my love. I’ll call Jean-Luc. His neighbor, George, is an attorney. I’m sure he can offer some insight without bringing the entire Child Protective Services agency into it. Let that be a last resort, yes?”
Nanette’s shoulders slumped in relief. She leaned her forehead into her husband’s chest.
“Thank you. I’m sure we’ll be able to solve this without upsetting the poor dear too much. She’s already been through far more than any child should have to bear.”
Charles hugged his wife. “Yes, quite extraordinary.” His brow furrowed as questions flew through his head. “I’ll go make that call.” He pulled away.
“Do you think you could watch the girls for an hour?”
He paused. “Of course. Why?”
“She doesn’t have any clothes, darling. I’m going to run over to the boutique and pick out a few necessaries.”
Charles shook his head. For probably the millionth time since first meeting her, he thanked God for having such a thoughtful wife. As an academic, he didn’t often dwell on the day-to-day things that keep the wheels spinning. Nanette did, and for that, he felt blessed. He pulled out his wallet and handed over the credit card.
“Get her whatever she needs.” He kissed her cheek and moved off to his study to call his friend Jean-Luc.
***
Camael walked to the hall.
“Sophie, you’re eavesdropping.” He shook his finger at her. “That’s not very nice.”
Sophie started to respond, but Cam put his finger over his lips to shush her. “Careful, your friend can’t see me.”
Cecilia turned and looked right at him. “Yes, I can.”
Cam’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He knew he hadn’t revealed himself to the child, something that was necessary with most humans. Very few had the ability to actually see angels. To be able to do so was usually a sign that they were touched by God in a very special way, much like Sophie herself.
He looked more closely at this slim imp of a girl. She had a certain glow about her, a shine to her aura that appeared silver with threads of pure white waving like strands of platinum in a summer breeze. This girl was a descendant of a Nephilim, most likely a granddaughter.
He cocked his head sideways. “Do you know what I am, Cecilia?”
She shook her head in the negative.
Cam realized she might have the ability, but no one had explained his kind to her.
“I’m Sophie’s uncle, Cam.” He extended his hand.
Cecilia reached out and gave him a very brief handshake as if she were afraid he might grab her.
“Why did you say I couldn’t see you?”
The million-dollar question. Cam was mulling over a good answer to offer that wasn’t a lie when Sophie piped up with, “He’s my own very special guardian. Mama and Papa can’t see him. You’re the first person besides me who can.” Sophie always seemed to understand that her mother and father couldn’t see Uncle Cam and Uncle Gabe, so she usually didn’t mention them out loud, but every now and again she let it slip when they were in the room. Her mother thought she had ‘imaginary’ friends.
“Why are we the only ones who can see him?” Cecilia asked.
Sophie, with palms up, replied, “Because, they’re angels. That’s why.”
“They?” Cecilia looked at Cam, who rolled his eyes skyward as if to say “Oh, boy. Here we go.”
“Sure. You haven’t met Uncle Gabe yet. He’ll be around soon.”
Cecilia turned skeptical eyes on Cam. She reached out and poked him with her finger. “You don’t feel like an angel.”
Camael was just as surprised that she found his form solid and not ethereal. He really needed to find out where this child came from, and exactly what happened to her parents. If she was, indeed, a Nephilim offspring, even a grandchild, it was entirely possible she might be in danger.
“How is an angel supposed to feel?” He asked the question knowing she would demand proof. He would if he were in her shoes.
She shrugged her thin shoulders. “I don’t know. But angels have wings. Show me your wings.”
Sophie grinned. “Yes, Uncle Cam. Show her!” She clapped her little hands together.
This was all Gabriel’s fault. He didn’t indulge Sophie with dramatic wing spans like Gabe did. It was far more important that she concentrate on her education and enjoy being a little girl…for now, at least. In the future, her life would change radically, becoming difficult and challenging, and even dangerous.
He sighed. “I don’t think—", he began.
“Show us!” They begged in unison.
Camael decided that small girls have decidedly shrill voices, and there was only one way the noise was going to stop. He backed up into the living room. He needed open space to expand his wings. The girls followed him, anticipation lighting up their faces.
“Okay, but just this once.” Cam took a deep breath for effect, and then his wings popped into view and spread wide from one side of the room to the other. Their blinding white light emanated, illuminating the space.
Two rapt faces looked at him in complete awe.
“Wow!” Cecilia’s big blue eyes were as round as saucers. Sophie rarely got to see Uncle Cam’s wings, and she looked like a kid on Christmas morning.
Cam stood still, almost enjoying their regard. He flexed his wings causing a flap that sent the air in the room whooshing around like a blustery spring day. Their hair fluttered, and the newspaper flew off the coffee table and landed on the floor.
“Seen enough? Do you believe now, Cecilia?”
She walked closer and reached out to touch his feathers. Cam bent his wing toward her and tickled her nose with the tip. Cecilia sneezed. Great, he thought. Snot on my wing. He gave it a shake and then retracted them both back, making them disappear once again.
“You really are an angel.” She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her pajamas.
“I am. And now I need to go.” He squatted down to their level.
“Aw, why?” Sophie ran up and threw her arms around his neck. Cam hugged her back.
“I have some duties to attend to.” He didn’t want to get into too much detail. How do you explain to the child who happens to be your daughter that her new friend is part angel? How do you tell her that the loss of the girl’s parents may not have been an accident? It was too much for one so young. Sophie would have to deal with difficult situations soon enough, but now was not the time.
He looked at the little red-haired girl. “What is your last name, Cecilia?”
“Robillard.” She inched closer to Cam.
“And what were your mother’s and father’s names?”
“Catherine is my mom’s name. I don’t know my dad’s name. He left when I was very small, and mama never talked about him.” Cam cringed hearing that the child didn’t even know her own father. It hit too close to home.
“But her boyfriend’s name was Girard.” She stood holding her hands in front of her.
“Was? And what happened to Girard,” Cam asked.
“He left when Monsieur Morel told us we had to leave.”
Cam’s eyebrow rose. “And who is Monsieur Morel, and leave where?”
“He was our landlord. He said we had to leave our home.”
While some questions in his mind were being answered, others were piling up.
“Where did you live before, Cecilia?”
“In Belleville.”
This surprised Cam. “How did you end up over here?” Belleville was quite a distance from the tenth district.
“Mama said my grandmother lived over here.”
“Did you find her?”
Cecilia cast her eyes down. “No.”
“Why not? Did she move?”
“I don’t know. Mama didn’t tell me her address.”
A sinking feeling filled Cam’s gut. “She didn’t come with you?” he whispered.
“No.”
Cam realized the girl’s mother died before she could get her to her grandmother’s house. “What’s your grandmother’s name?”
“Genevieve Robillard.”
The long-lost father’s mother, and Camael was willing to place a bet that she was the key to the mystery of Cecilia. Why else would Catherine Robillard seek out her missing husband’s mother instead of her own family?
“I’m sorry, Cecilia.” He wrapped a warm hand around her thin arm and gave it a squeeze. She closed the short distance between them and went right into his arms. Cam held her knowing it was exactly what she needed right then. “Well, you’re in the very best of hands right now, so I will bid you ladies adieu.” He stood up. “I’ll be back later to tuck you both in, okay?”
Sophie hugged his leg and then grabbed Cecilia’s hand. She whispered loudly in the girl’s ear. “Watch this!”
Cam chuckled, and then began to fade away. When he was gone, Cecilia looked at Sophie and shook her head in amazement. “That was neat!”
Charles walked into the living room at that moment. “Who are you girls talking to? Has your Uncle Jean-Luc arrived already?”
Sophie straightened her face, becoming serious. “No, papa. We were just playing.” She tugged Cecilia’s hand as she pulled the girl out of the room and down the hall.
Charles watched them leave, shaking his head. He was once again bemused by his daughter who always seemed able to amuse herself, and now that she had a friend to play with at home, was even more entertaining to behold. He bent down to pick the newspaper off the floor. A headline on the front page caught his attention.
POLICE INVESTIGATING FIRE AT ROBILLARD HOUSE.
It wasn’t so much the story as it was the inset picture of the deceased that caught his eye. A woman with long, red, curly hair, and large blue eyes stared out from an old picture frame. Obviously taken when she was younger as the article went on to explain that the woman, Genevieve Robillard, age sixty-seven, was found dead inside the home once firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze. The face seemed very familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.
The buzzer rang indicating that Jean-Luc had arrived. He tossed the paper onto the coffee table and went to answer the door.
Dear Readers, welcome to Book 3 in the Angelic Hosts series, Sophie’s Wish.
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