This sequel to Dancing with the Angels finds Michael Angel continuing to live a life of loneliness since the death of his wife four years ago. He continues to operate several family businesses in a small town where he does not venture out in public with others. He seeks solitude at his home among the memories of his deceased wife. His children have been patient but have decided to take matters into their own hands. They take him on a whimsical trip to a relative's home south of New Orleans where they hope to introduce him to a suitable partner to spend the rest of his life with. He turns the tables on them and slowly weaves them into his personal journey where love, excitement and happy occasions heal this family. Be ready to laugh and shout "yes" at the surprise ending. Be ready!
Angel Above Water
By Michael A. HeckAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Michael A. Heck
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4634-5270-4Contents
The Battle. The Secret..............................1Bombs Away!.........................................18The Walls the Rich Own..............................33Nice to Meet You Up Close...........................51The Clothing Comes First............................77The Fireworks of the Ship...........................89Lady Lagoon!........................................105Kitty and Her Four Kids.............................119Neighborhood of Class?..............................135The Wet Way.........................................162The Tortoise and the Clouds.........................173Run, Mickey, Run....................................188The Big Party Surprise..............................195The Treasure Hunters................................211Three Dance Partners. One Devil.....................224A Fisherman's Lady..................................245Why Use a Key.......................................256Doctors Can't Mix...................................266Strike Number Two...................................275Color My World......................................286Blue Waters-Gold Mine...............................316A Mother's Coins....................................330You're Next, Please.................................354
Chapter One
The Battle. The Secret
"Well, Anna, my baby. What I need you to tell me right now is the real reason why all these white clouds way up here are so—"
Ring! Ring! Ring!
"Shut up, will you? If you don't mind. My wife and I are having a good morning conversation up here," I mumbled, while turning over toward the other direction in the bed.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
(I guess you out there know from past experiences, when you're having one of those dreams where you are smiling, you for darn sure don't want to have it destroyed by someone else on the other side of the phone line.) Anyway, To make a long story short, the phone just kept on doing its thing with that ring, ring, ring mess. (I put that lightly.)
I lightly lifted the darn thing up, just about a half an inch, and pretended to be the answering machine. "Good morning out there. This is Michael Angel on this end. Right now, I am almost one trillion miles away from you. So please call back another time. Like, maybe next year! Thank you very much." After that, I just let my fingers do the walking, from the hanging up of the phone to the covering of my ears with the pillow.
I returned to my imaginary resort and said, "Okay, baby. Where were we before that useless piece of junk right here interrupted us? Oh yeah. I remember. We were just about to jump to the next cloud. Here take my—"
Ring! Ring! Ring!
"I don't believe this mess! They don't give up out there," I said as reached for the phone and got ready to jerk it plum off the connections.
"Daddy, don't you dare try to hang up on me again. You hear! Now listen good! This is your favorite daughter, Linda, on this end. You had better answer me right back, because if you don't, I won't tell you why it'll be best to get your tail up at this very minute."
"Well, Anna, my baby. I guess I had better see what our family wants. Maybe it'll be just a tiny daughter–daddy question. I'll be right back. Don't leave me just yet. You hear? I won't be long, baby. I promise. Please don't fly away. Just stay right where you are."
"Daddy, you had better pick up on the phone or else!" the daughter shouted back once more.
"Good morning, my little Anna #2. Now, what can I help you with? You need to talk up pretty quick, because with this cold I've got, I'll probably fall back asleep if it isn't interesting."
"Oh, don't worry at all about what you can do to help me. You had better worry about being ready to face the four tiny monsters in a few minutes. They're all on the way over there with my sweet, but mean, Sister Christie. Go get ready now. No time to ask any questions."
"What are they coming over here to wake me up for?" I asked as I started to yawn. "I don't have anywhere else to go for three more hours."
"Don't worry about that. We'll tell you all about it when we have time. Now, Daddy, get off your butt before it's too late. I'm warning you. You know what'll happen if they have to get you out of the bed on their own?"
"Wait just a minute, my baby. I want to know what's up?"
"You haven't got time to listen to all that small stuff, Daddy. Just hurry up and get out of that bed. Now, needless to say again. Go put some good clean clothes over that big tail," she ordered. I heard her laugh a little bit before the calm sound of the dial tone started coming through.
Well, Anna baby, it looks like it might be tonight before we can get back together again. I got to be a good father and grandpa you know. Stay sweet, and keep those wings shining. Love you, baby, I thought. Then, I somehow managed to roll my fifty-four-year-old set of legs over the side of the bed. The cold water in the shower did its part to wake me up very quickly. Another ten minutes, I was dressed and sitting upon the couch, going through the mail of yesterday. You know, what sections of it I didn't already owe money to, I was asked very politely to do so.
"Daddy, open this door right now! You had better open it. Or so help us, you'll be crying for mercy when the girls and I get in. Okay, you won't open it, right? Then tell us where that darn key is at. We know you always hid it behind the mailbox 'til now. Darn it. Where is it hiding at?" That tone of voice was one I had heard a few times before. Even if the doors were unlocked, there still would be another battle of the century. Right here in this living room.
"Don't ya'll come in here. I don't love any of you; I want to sleep all day. So just go on to your own houses and bang on those doors," I shouted back with a grin as I started pouring another sip into the coffee cup.
"Daddy. Just one more time! Where is the key to this darn door? We know you have hidden it from us out here somewhere. But that won't help you in the least. These four little wild animals and myself are really getting into the war-battling attitude. Right girls? Say it!"
"YAHOO!"
I took another bite from the doughnut. Took another sip from the coffee cup. Then I gave another loud yawn. "Hey, I'm going back to sleep right here on the sofa. As far as the house keys, you bunch of mean animals, they're hidden somewhere out there. Probably in one of your mother's flowerbeds. I think I hid it out there last week, so I wouldn't be worried while I'm resting. So, either go home, or just keep on looking. I don't love any of you today. Good-bye and be careful."
You can just imagine how much I enjoyed a welcoming sound of expectant noise that roared back from the little devils. You know what I mean. They started banging on the door and repeating the names that my Christie would shout out first. Then, finally, I heard the sounds of a winning group of Powerball contesters. A few "Hoorays!" And a few more of the "Yahoos!" That's it now, I thought. It's time to finish my doughnut and coffee and then get ready for the battle of the century. An attack of the young monsters was just moments away. I think maybe I had better be a little bit more than just ready for this one. I lay back upon the sofa, with the pillow over my head. I pretended to be snoring. Then I heard the door lock snap back. I could also hear each one of them giving that, finger to the lips, "Shush," to each other as they walked slowly across the carpet. They were ready for the war.
Then the alarm was sounded. "Charge!" It came out very loudly before the five warriors started coming at me from all over. The head, the chest, the knees, the feet, and over the back of the couch. I managed to get to the floor and started slowly walking backward. The battle continued, until I bumped into something very small. I was tripped backward to the rug. Tina, the youngest, was the squatted down boulder. They really pounced on top after that. They really enjoyed the winning part. I was able to take about two more minutes of it before I shouted out, "I surrender!"
It took about another twenty seconds before Christie and I could stop the attackers. Then, naturally, they asked for the rewards. That was the doughnuts, the Fruit Loops, the milk, and the chocolate syrup to mix with all the other stuff. Together! (Well, I guess you know who's the real winner of the complete battle. Yours truly.) Rewards? Twenty kisses by grandkids.
Christie was in the kitchen, trying to keep the grandkids in a clean condition. Then, trying to clean behind them. Both impossible tasks! The grandkids were known as very clean ones. But as you know, if given a chance, especially by a grandparent, they will pay very little attention to the normal life routine. Right on, my babies. Stay as perfect as your grandmother and I want you to, I thought with a big smile.
"Daddy, why did you put on your blue jeans this morning? You're not going to work today. You just as soon forget all that. So, just go put on those slacks I laid out for you yesterday. Hurry up. We haven't got very much time left. We have to pick up Linda. Now, be quick about it, while I clean up these four little monsters here." Then she turned toward the four sugar-coated young ones. She just shook her head and slapped her own face about four times. One for each one of them, I suspect.
"By the way, young lady. I'm finally starting to wake up now. I would like to know what's going on with you two masterminds out there? Today is Friday. You five plus your sister are trying to get us set up for something I know nothing about. Well, let me throw a pretty little surprise in ya'll direction, honeybun. One like saying, I don't want to go! I have a large set of business deals to take care of out there."
"Hush up, Daddy, and change those clothes right quick. We all have something else scheduled for you this morning. Then something for all of us after that. Just forget about your surprise. We aren't going to listen to no excuse at all coming from your jaws. Hurry up now. We are running a little bit late on the long-planned ordeal."
"Is that so? Well, young ladies, whatever you two have planned already without my consent just cannot have me included. Don't you understand that yet? You two girls know I have three businesses to operate here in Plaquemine, White Castle, and Pierre Part. Plus, I have a meeting in Baton Rouge at 1 p.m. This is pretty important, since it involves my purchasing another lumberyard and material stock. So, I say again, I hope all of you have a beautiful day without me. That is final, ladies!"
"Daddy, all that crap you have planned for today is being taken care of by Mr. Johnny-boy and his Miss Emma. You know that if anyone can follow in your footsteps on the hardware plus, it'll be him. Also, if he impossibly messes up on something, Miss Emma will catch it, and his butt will be mud whenever they get home," she smiled back. "So, put on your traveling shoes, and let's get going. Forget about what you have planned on any of the business places. He's got it. Come on now. We have to go."
"I suppose the other two places are taken care of also. Right?"
"Right!" she said as she rolled her fist.
"Okay. Now let me put it this way. Your mother, the idol of my life, has been up there in Heaven very close to four years. I don't care at all about any other type of life, except staying busy in the daytime and dreaming of her at night. So, as I have said before, all of you have fun, and if you need anything, just call me at one of the places. I'll be happy to send ya'll money or transportation. Now, like I say, my love, that's it.
"Well now, girls, did all of you hear that? Your poppa says that he doesn't feel like coming to ride with us for a little while to get some snowballs. Now isn't that just so pitiful?"
Four loud, continuous, mixed sounds of boos and begging were more than I was ready for this morning. "Okay. Okay. That's enough. We'll go get the ice cream or whatever. Lord have mercy. Ya'll are getting like your leader here today. But that's all we can do out there. Your poppa has lots of other stuff to take care of after that. Now, all of you go on out there and crawl into Poppa's big van. Hurry your tails up before I pull this big belt off. You understand? Go! Remember to put on the seat harnesses, too, or we aren't going to go anywhere at all. Now, are there any more questions?"
All four of them raised their hands. Sort of looked something like what their grandmother used to see during the summer schooling games over here. She loved it.
"Daddy, I think they all have something to tell you."
"Like what, baby?"
"Ask one of them; don't ask me," Christie came back with as she handed me my handkerchief. "I'm sure they're all four just busting at the pretty little gut with very good new news, as you'd call it," she finished up with. Of course, a smiling wink was added.
"All right, young ones. What is it that I don't know yet?" I asked as I looked their way, my arms folded. By the way they were jumping, I knew this was going to be a biggie. "Just get ready for this one Mike-e-boy," I told myself out loud. "They're very prepared to pass on some not too good, surprising instructions they were given not very long ago. By their leaders."
"Poppa," said Laura, the oldest of the four little ones. She is almost eleven. Three months away. In September. Right around her mother Linda's date. "We were told to tell you that the van is packed already, and the car is outside running right now, but we can't tell you why until later."
"Okay. Now, my sweet little Anita. I'm sure you have some of your own sort of instructions or words of wisdom to be passed on to me. Right, darling?"
"Yes sir, Poppa, I do. I was told to only tell you that the clouds are so very beautiful, it would be a perfect day to go have a sort of family day out there somewhere. Maybe over here on the Mississippi River's levee. I'm not exactly sure where at, though. They say that I am your little informer of their secrets. It could be they know that you and I are better educated than they are. Bragged Little Anita, daughter of Christie and Gene. She just made ten last month. Anyway, one Saturday, at the L.S.U. Senior Lab School the professors let her sit in as an observer. They were impressed with her knowledge. They are saying that within a short few years, at most, she will probably be over there running the show. Anyway, she looks like her granny did when she sits on the couch in front of the television. She reads all of the encyclopedia mess. She doesn't take after her poppa, that's for damn sure.
"Well, my little shadow, just what seems to be your brilliant opinion on this situation? Wouldn't you rather be with me, working in the shop's paint lab? We could come up with a few new coloring tests, you know," I winked. "Possibly some that were never before used."
"Wow, Poppa! I would much rather do all that. Can I go over there with him and do that, Momma? Can I? We can all go another time to have our picnic. Please, Momma. He needs me this time."
"Anita! Ah, sorry, honey. You know that your grandpa here is trying to trick you into saying what we all have planned for a long time now. I told you to watch out for his sneakiness. Remember, he had promised to take you walking through some of the marshland around Leesville to look for shells, and he didn't. He just took you by Mr. Vin's camp. They just talked all day and drank beer while you fished off the platform."
"But Mother, I kept catching fish and oysters. We checked out every one of each species. We also found a small sort of a pearl that we both buried beside Grandmother's grave. You don't remember me telling you about all that?"
"Okay, baby, that's enough. Now, let's all go to the other house and pick up our Linda. You too, Julie. That's enough of the chocolate milk." She was Linda's at the age of seven. Then there was tiny Tina! She is five years old now and starting to show everyone that she'll be just like her mother, Christie, in the future. (Lord help us!)
"Aunt Christie, Tina says she has to go do a number two in the bathroom right now. She says it feels like all the bottom is about to fall out. She can't wait no longer. She also says that you can punish her later, but she's got to go this minute, honey!"
I tapped Christie on the side, as she sort of ran on by me in the kids' direction. "Kind of reminds me of you when you were little like that. No matter where we were or where we were headed, you waited until rush time before you had to go," I laughed out.
The other three put back on the television for another plus ten minutes. Then, out of the bathroom, came our little Tina on the fly. "Poppa, I feel a lots better now. My momma says I must've lost about fifty pounds. Isn't that just great? Daddy can't call me fatty in his chair tonight."
"Young lady, tell your grandpa what you told me in the bathroom," Christie grinned out my way, with a wink. "Go ahead. Tell him what you did. You ought to be ashamed."
"Do I have to, Momma? Poppa might get mad if I tell him why."
"Yes you do, young lady."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Angel Above Waterby Michael A. Heck Copyright © 2011 by Michael A. Heck. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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