Angels and Guardians Pt. 06

A warm, respectful round of applause rumbled through the church. Cindy's speech combined with the crowd's show of support for Joe to make Ashley's eyes blur with tears. As she crossed over to her seat, Cindy squeezed Ashley's hand.

The priest said a few more prayers and ended the service. There was a near stampede of people approaching Joe to offer their sympathy and support. He graciously accepted each hand, thanking them every time. After an hour of accepting well wishes, they exited and were greeted by the media mob. He answered a few of their questions, saying generally the same thing. That he was going to prepare for the trip back home, bury his folks, and return to school. One reporter pressed him about running Carter Electronics, and he answered that for now, he would maintain normal business operations, and that there wouldn't be any major changes right away.

None felt like doing anything special for the rest of the afternoon, so they decided to just chill out in Joe's suite. A few minutes of channel surfing convinced Joe that he didn't want to watch TV, as even the sports channel was running stories on the wealthy blue chip quarterback's attendance at his parents' memorial service. The three ended up in the sitting area of the suite, chatting with each other while dressed comfortably in shorts or sweatpants and t-shirts. A member of hotel staff brought up a deck of cards at Cindy's request, and they played various games to pass the afternoon. Ashley's phone would chime occasionally with texts from Kim checking in on her, and she'd lay her cards face down to reply.

After dinner, Cindy retired to her room to pack up and get ready for the trip home. Ashley and Joe did the same with their purchased clothes and luggage. Before heading to bed, Ashley knocked on Cindy's door. Cindy smiled and let her in.

Ashley asked if she was all set, and Cindy nodded as she put away her laptop. "Cindy, I wanted to thank you for coming with us on this trip. I don't know what we would have done without you."

Cindy put her arm around Ashley and said, "Thanks, but Joe knows what needed to be done. He would have found a way."

"Maybe, but it would have been much tougher for him. You are a savior, and in a way, I wish this wasn't ending."

Cindy got concerned. "Ending? What do you mean?"

Ashley said, "This. We're heading back to Florida tomorrow, and I probably won't see you again. I didn't even know you existed before Friday. I wish we had more time to get to know each other better."

Cindy chuckled. "Oh sweetheart. I'll see lots more of you when we get back."

"You will?"

"Sure! With Joe heading the company now, along with going to school, I'll be spending more time at the house keeping him up to date. He won't be able to spend as much time in the office like his parents did."

Ashley hugged her and her face suddenly turned sad. "They're really gone, aren't they?" she asked.

Cindy closed her eyes at the hurt. "Yes, sweetie. I'm afraid they are."

The three left Denver in the business jet around 7 the next morning. Joe had told the pilots to take whatever traffic control assigned them for speed, as there was no need to hurry, now. They agreed and filed a flight plan that included a stop in Nashville for refueling, as they only filled the tanks halfway to save weight, and therefore fuel in the long run.

Ashley was at the same time nervous and happy to be returning to Northwest Florida. Nervous because of the hardship the next two days would bring, yet happy to see her friends and to be out of the cold. She fell asleep when Cindy and Joe started talking about work. The increase in pressure as the plane descended toward Nashville woke her to find Joe and Cindy grinning. "What?" she asked. Cindy made a gesture of wiping her mouth, which Ashley quickly followed, mortified that her hand came away wet. "Oh man! How long was I drooling?"

"Since you nodded off," Joe answered.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Cindy said, "because you needed the sleep. You haven't done much of that the last few nights."

Ashley knew Cindy was right. Two of the nights had a good majority of time filled with her being filled. Last night, she just couldn't get to sleep, thinking of Joe's parents, and what they did for her.

Once on the ground, Cindy told them refueling would take at least an hour, depending on how long the truck took to fill it's other orders before theirs. She suggested they take an airport shuttle to a nearby restaurant for lunch. They agreed it was a good idea, so she told the pilots to text her when the plane was ready. While she was on the phone to get the shuttle, Ashley asked Joe how she knew so many numbers. He replied that her contact list in her Blackberry dwarfed many small town's phone books.

Ashley was practically inhaling her salad when Cindy told her to slow down. "Take your time, dear. It's not like the plane's going to leave without us."

"I'm sorry," Ashley said. "I'm just used to making sure I'm ready to make the connecting flight when I fly with my parents."

"It's okay. You'll get used to having planes waiting on you, eventually."

Ashley wondered why Cindy said that. How often would she need to fly, anyway? Before she could ponder it longer, her phone chimed that it had received a text. She slipped her phone from her waistband and saw it was from Kim.

"Boo."

"Hey, Kim. What u up to?"

"Lunch. Thought I'd see how u were."

"Good, mostly. u?"

"Pretty good. Workin on a surprise."

"O I C. For ur new BF?"

"Very funny. I wish. No, it's for u. Should be ready this afternoon."

"So I'll see it in the mail, what? Friday?"

"LOL. Sooner, I hope."

"What is it?"

"What's the point of a surprise, then?"

"Just give me a hint, please?"

"Fine. I'm getting ready to take a picture of it."

"A naughty one? ;)"

"U'd like that, wouldn't u?"

"Yes. ;P"

"LOL We'll see. Gotta run. Luv ya."

"U2"

"Who are you talking to?" Cindy asked.

"Kim. She said she's working on a surprise."

"Huh."

"Huh. What? You know what it is?"

Cindy cracked a smile. "Maybe. Guess you'll have to find out when it comes."

Ashley finished her salad well before Joe and Cindy, as she had a quicker start. The idle time allowed her to ponder what the surprise could be. Kim had hinted it was naughty, and Cindy knew about it. That was strange, because Cindy told her she wasn't interested in girls...although...Cindy did say she didn't mind Ashley flirting with her. And, the surprise would be sent to her, probably before Friday. What could it be? She shook her head as the other two finished, not able to figure it out. While they sat and chatted, Jill texted Joe, asking when they'd be returning. He waited for Cindy to get an answer from the pilots, then sent a text back to Jill, saying the pilots expected to make up some time over Alabama, as a jet stream was dipping down toward the Gulf Coast. She sent back to him that her and some others were going to skip the last two classes to meet them by two. He said that sounded good, and to expect them between 2:15 and 3pm. Cindy meanwhile said that the pilots just sent word that the plane was about halfway done with fueling, and should be ready in about 15 minutes. She called for the shuttle while Joe paid, and they headed back to the airport shortly later.

Riding the jet stream south did prove to save time and fuel, but made for a far bumpier ride in the small aircraft. Ashley's nerves were rather ragged by the time they descended out of it toward their destination. Her uneasiness got somewhat quieted as the ground got closer and she didn't see one white patch blemish the tapestry of farmland and subdivisions below her.

The pilots landed the plane smoothly, and as they taxied to the general aviation plane stands, Ashley could make out Jill, Jasmine, the other three Angels, and her parents waiting for them near the chain linked gate. Cindy went forward to talk to the pilots briefly and thank them for flying the trip, while Joe and Ashley collected their bags from the closet where they were stowed. They disembarked and headed to the gate.

Jill and Jasmine sprinted through and met them halfway, Jill almost tackling Joe, while Jasmine did the same with Ashley. The two girls traded places to give tight hugs to their friends. Jasmine picked up Ashley's bag, while Jill gave Cindy a hug, then picked up one of hers. Ashley was met with fierce hugs from her parents at the gate and at the same time, Sally, Allison, and Marybeth took turns hugging and pecking Joe and Cindy. While Ashley exchanged pleasantries with her parents, the three girls hugged her from behind one after another. As the welcoming exchanges wound down, Joe checked his watch and saw that they were still a few minutes ahead of the commercial flight that was bringing his parents home in its cargo hold. He said he wanted to see them arrive, and so the group split into three cars, Jill's, Ashley's parents', and Cindy's, for the short drive around to the terminal parking lot. They stepped into the terminal after parking in the short term garage and Cindy led them to the security checkpoint. She showed the TSA agent her badge and said that Joe wanted to see his parents' arrival. The guard said that they received the message their pilots had radioed ahead and it was cleared with the local FAA office for them to go through.

They were standing at the windows watching the crew unload baggage from the assigned flight when Ashley received a text from Kim.

"U rdy 4 ur surprise?"

Ashley texted back, "Um, sure." She made sure the screen was facing away from view of her parents, in case Kim sent a picture they would not approve of. The phone did a double chime, indicating it needed permission to receive a photo file. Ashley hit the ok button and held her breath, bracing for what she was about to see. When the image displayed, she fretted and said, "What the hell?!" The image showed ten silhouettes looking out a row of windows. Something was familiar about the background and the silhouette on the end. The figure was holding a phone in a way she just was. "Oh my GOD!" she exclaimed, startling everyone except Cindy, who was watching her. Ashley spun around and practically screamed, "Kim!"

Kim stood about five feet away, one hand on her cocked hip, the other still holding up her phone as if she were taking a picture. On Ashley's recognition, she lowered the phone, revealing a cute cat-who-ate-the-canary grin. She relaxed her pose and covered the distance between them, embracing her friend and holding her while she felt her sob. "Oh, baby, I'm happy to see you, too," she whispered in Ashley's ear.

Ashley stepped back, revealing her tears to Kim. "H—How is this possible?" Ashley stammered.

Kim kissed her nose and wiped away the tears, which generated a curious look from Ashley's parents. She ignored them and said, "I called Cindy on Monday night, telling her I wanted to be here. She bought me a ticket, and now here I am."

Cindy had come over to greet Kim, but Ashley got to her first, wrapping her arms tightly around her. "Oh, thank you Cindy!"

Cindy smiled, "you bet, sweetheart."

Kim came over and joined the hug. "Yeah, thank you Cindy."

"My pleasure, as always, Kim."

They broke up, Ashley composed herself and turned to her parents. "Mom, Dad, this is Kim."

They extended their hands toward her, and she accepted each one. Ashley's dad said, "yes, we remember you from early in the school year."

Ashley had forgotten they would know Kim, as it seemed so long ago when she had left town. She gestured toward her other new friend. "And this is Cindy. She is...was...Joe's parents' secretary."

Cindy was used to introductions and beat Ashley's parents in extending her hand. "Pleased to meet you both, Commander and Mrs. Roberts." Ashley's dad was dressed in fatigues, and Cindy knew how to read his rank on his shoulder patch from dealing with so many military figures at work.

"You, as well," her mom said.

Her dad smiled at Cindy, impressed she knew his rank and said, "your gift in bringing Kim here was very kind. Obviously, it made Ashley's day. Can I offer to pay you back for the ticket?"

Cindy chuckled slightly. "No, Commander Roberts. First class tickets on short notice are not cheap. I couldn't accept burdening you with it. It was my pleasure to honor Kim's request."

Ashley gawked at Kim. "You got to fly first class? Oh wow, how was it?"

Kim answered, "oh please, don't look at me like that, Miss I Flew On A Private Jet." The smaller group laughed. Kim went over and hugged Joe from behind as he watched the caskets be loaded into two hearses. "I had a feeling that was them when I saw them being put on the plane in Atlanta. I'm glad to know I was able to keep them company on this leg of the flight, so to speak. I am so sorry, Joe."

He put his arms over hers and said, "thank you. Yes, I'm glad they weren't alone for the last flight home." Joe took one of her hands and kissed it as he still stared out the window. "Thank you for being here."

She nodded against his back, then went to hug her five other friends.

Ashley's dad was still trying to persuade Cindy to let him pay for the ticket. "You shouldn't have to spend so much money by yourself to get one of my daughter's friends down here for a funeral. At least let me split it with you?"

"Commander,"

He interrupted, "Please, call me Mr. Roberts or Ashley's Dad."

Cindy smiled sweetly, knowing Mr. Roberts was a very informal title to him. "Very well, Mr. Roberts. I may not be a billionaire in-waiting as Joe is, but his parents paid me handsomely through the company. I have no expenses, other than rent, food and utilities, nor do I have a boyfriend to pamper. This is nothing to me. Please believe me, if it were any hardship, I'd have already asked Joe for help with it. Anyway, I adore indulging in favors for these girls from time to time."

Mr. Roberts smiled and shook her hand again. "Then thank you for watching over Ashley during the weekend."

"Oh, no. Thank YOU for having such a wonderfully entertaining daughter." She noticed the curious look the parents gave her. "You'll hear about what she did at the Denver/Dallas game later at Joe's tonight, I'm sure. Y'all are coming, yes?"

"We didn't know there was something planned," Ashley's mom said.

"Oh. Well, I thought it would be nice if we all went there, so Joe wouldn't have to deal with an empty house straight off. I had Jill get some things for dinner. Please come?"

"Sure, that sounds good," Mr. Roberts answered.

Jill and Jasmine worked together in the kitchen while the others sat in the den chatting, having quickly gotten over the brief awkwardness of Joe being home without his parents. Sally, Allison, and Marybeth caught the group up with their new boyfriend-filled lives, and Kim told funny stories about her new high school's football team's mishaps on the field. Joe laughed heartily when she told them about how her team chased a fumbled ball through the snow last Friday as if it were a greased pig.

During dinner, the group listened intently as Ashley and Cindy each told their side of how events unfolded that unpleasant weekend. Joe and Cindy provided a bit of comic relief in relating Ashley's reaction to the suite and antics at the Denver game. When Cindy finished by talking about the union president's call, Jill related how things appeared to the school. She told them that a memorial service was held in the gym yesterday morning, to coincide with the one in Denver. She then broke the heavy air by relating what happened in the second half of the game. Jill said that the team seemed to react much better to what the other side was doing after Joe's phone call in the locker room. But late in the fourth quarter, it seemed all for naught when the Crusaders punted with a 20-13 lead. The ball got returned for a score to tie the game with only less than a minute to play. Catholic's fakes worked, and they drove the ball quickly to the 32 yard line. With only four seconds left, they opted for a field goal. Barry kicked his longest attempt yet and it dead-centered between the uprights for the win. Ashley's dad asked Joe if he was playing in the region finals on Friday. Joe answered that he didn't know yet, and Cindy shot him a frown.

When everyone had finished eating, Joe got up and went to the game room. Ashley, Cindy and Kim started clearing the plates from the table when the other girls stopped them, saying they would take care of it, since the three just traveled today. The girls gratefully accepted Ashley's parents' offer of helping clean up, though, so the other three went to join Joe. They found him racking up balls on the pool table, and he had the TVs on and tuned to various stations, but on mute. Kim asked if Ashley would mind if she played him for a game. Ashley told her to go ahead and perched herself next to Cindy on one of the barstools lining the one side of the room to watch. She quickly found out that both were decent players as they moved decisively around the table to line up their next shots. Kim would occasionally tease Joe by calling shots with a voice just dripping of sex, or when she was sure Joe was looking, sliding the cue stick up and down slowly between her breasts. Some people would have expected Ashley to get mad at her friend for flirting with her boyfriend, but Ashley giggled and laughed at the attempts, because she knew she'd try the same thing with her male opponents if they were in a bar shooting pool.

Each had won a game by the time the others came in and took seats in either club chairs or barstools around the edge of the room. Kim lost this one and Cindy took her place. After her break, which had sent the balls evenly about the table, and two quick, precise shots, Ashley's dad let an "oh shit!" slip.

Cindy grinned at him as she popped yet another ball into a corner pocket. "I worked in a pool hall before his dad hired me," she said after watching her last ball on the table just miss the side pocket.

Joe breathed a sigh of relief. "Thought for sure she was gonna run the table," he said smiling. He made quick work of three balls, but wasn't left with a shot after that. Joe attempted a long bank shot, which only resulted in positioning the cue ball perfectly for Cindy.

"Thanks, Joe!" she beamed as she nailed her ball straight in. "Two rail bounce, far corner pocket," she said as she struck the cue ball on its way to collide with the black 8. The final ball did exactly what she called and fell in the assigned pocket. Joe tossed his hands up in exaggerated defeat, and handed his cue to Jill, who had called dibs on winner. After watching a few games, Sally, Allison, and Marybeth said they had to go, as Allison's sister texted her that she was waiting at the gate to take them home.

Ashley saw Joe sneak out to the living room and followed him shortly later. She found Joe sitting at the piano, his hands resting on the keys as if he were about to start playing. When he didn't, she straddled the bench next to him, facing Joe in a way that she had one leg in front and one in back of his hip. She leaned forward and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" she asked quietly. He just turned and looked at her. She shook her head. "Right, stupid question...I mean, aside from the obvious, are you okay?"

Joe looked back at his hands on the keyboard and took in a long sigh. "Yeah, I suppose. Just thinking about things, you know?"

She nodded against him and wrapped her arms around his chest, content to just hold him. After a bit, she picked her head up from his shoulder and looked at his hands still on the keys. "You know, I think pianos work better if you put pressure on the white and black sticks pointing out toward you..."

Joe rewarded her with a slight chuckle. "Is that how it works? Everyone's a comedian." Ashley stuck her tongue out at him. Joe bent down, quick as lightning and caught it between his lips, then tenderly kissed her after she withdrew her tongue. "I know, baby. I've sat here for a few minutes staring at my hands, but I don't know why I have them here. It's not like I feel like playing."