Con got the job!
“I start in January,” he told Grace, for he called her immediately after he got the news. “Though I’ll probably do some paperwork and go in to see the office and meet the others the week after Christmas. But my official start date is January 3.”
“That’s wonderful, Con! I’m so happy for you.”
“Dammit, I’m happy for me too,” Con said with a laugh. “Oh, Gracie, I finally feel like I’m getting everything put back together. I don’t need to tell you, but some of the time this past year I have felt like everything I touched just fell apart.”
“Well, I am currently looking down at a very solid little someone who gives the lie to that,” Grace said, making a face at Shep, who blinked up at her. “Look, Con, you’re right, you don’t need to tell me that you’ve fucked it up several times—”
“Do you really use that kind of language around the baby?”
“Oh, hush, he doesn’t understand.”
“Babies are geniuses, and ours especially is. You owe the jar a dollar.”
Grace sighed, looking ruefully at the “swear jar” that was already collecting quite a sum on her kitchen counter. “Fine. But as I was saying, you not only helped me create this little person, but you stuck around through thick and thin to bring him into the world and take care of him. That’s not nothing. I always knew that you would get back onto your feet again.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.” Con sank down in the driver’s seat of his car, as if he could submerge himself in the warmth in his chest.
“Now, I gotta go, Mom and Dad are coming over for dinner. I’ll talk to you again later and get all the details, yeah?”
“Yeah. I have to call my folks anyway. Hey, kiss Shep for me, would you?”
Instead of saying goodbye, Grace leaned over and gave Shep a smacking kiss. She heard Con laugh before she ended the call and laughed herself as she set the phone aside. “You hear that, Shep?” she asked, scooping him up and laying him across her chest. “Daddy’s got a good job. He’s going to help lots of people and it’s going to make him happy. Aren’t we happy for Daddy?”
She was happy. More than that—she was peaceful, utterly content with her lot and with her life.
To see her this way helped me to make a decision that has been coming for a few weeks now, I think. I gave her and the baby a kiss of my own, then returned to heaven to seek out Danit. She was not difficult to find—she came to meet me, in fact, smiling warmly to see me.
“Danit,” I said after I gave her the news I had of my charges, “I wonder if I might defer my work with Grace for a while?”
She raised her brows. “You believe that she no longer has need of you?”
I shifted one wing as I considered my answer to that. “I think that she will need me again someday, but not anytime soon. Not only does she have a young son to care for now, but she still has a connection to Con, which will likely deter her from seeking out a relationship for some time. I think it is better for now if she saves her love for Shep and for herself.”
Danit nodded thoughtfully. “You have a very good point. I will discuss it with the others, but I see no reason why your suggestion would not be taken into account.” She smiled at me. “If this is the case, then you will have time for another charge.”
“If that is so, Danit, I wonder if you would consider a few suggestions I have.”
“Of course, Asa’el. But we can talk about that another time.” She excused herself.
Perhaps I was imagining it, but she did not seem as open to the second suggestion I made. Surely I am being overly sensitive. If she does not want me to choose my own charges, then I am certain she has her reasons!