Chapter Thirty

Jack

Maple Street

JACK WAS DESPERATE.

Everything he had tried had failed miserably. Instead of getting Gabby and Mike to admit that they loved each other, he had set in motion an argument far worse than any he had viewed from Heaven. He had loitered in the hallway and had heard every word through Gabby’s door.

All night long, he had huddled beneath the stairs in the shadows, praying that, by some miracle, everything would work out as it was supposed to. When he saw Mr. Shepard’s door open at the same time another door closed on the upper floor, he discovered he was not the only one worried about the quarrel that had torn the two apart last night.

Jack eased to the very edge of the shadows beneath the stairs when Gabby came down. She was carrying the baby and the supplies she needed for the day. He was amazed her heavy footsteps did not crash through the steps. He did not need to see her to know that she was burdened by her grief in the wake of the argument.

“Good morning, Gabrielle,” Mr. Shepard said with an enthusiasm Jack guessed must be feigned. No doubt, the old man had heard the angry words last night. The slamming door had resonated and shook the whole house.

“Morning.” Gabby’s voice was as dreary as her steps.

“Did you and Mike patch up your differences?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so. When he left for work this morning, he was really upset. He looked as if he hadn’t slept a wink.”

“What did he say?” she asked, a hint of hope returning to her voice.

“Nothing. You both are very closemouthed when you think I’m prying.” Mr. Shepard smiled sadly. “I don’t mean to stick my nose into your business. I just want the two of you to be happy. I thought you two would be a match made in Heaven.”

Jack’s eyes widened. Why had he failed to recall that he had an important ally right here in the house?

“Not even close,” Gabby replied.

“Oops! I guess you weren’t happy that Mike’s been considering taking a new job.”

“You knew about that?” Now her voice was tinged with the bitterness of betrayal.

“Not before he mentioned it this morning. I’m sorry things aren’t working out, Gabrielle.”

“What’s meant to be is meant to be.” She gave the old man no chance to say more before she rushed out.

Jack sighed at the same time Mr. Shepard did. Gabby was giving up faith that her relationship with Mike could be repaired. A loss of faith was what had set him off on this path in the first place.

Sitting back under the stairs, he watched as Mr. Shepard stood in the doorway to the porch while Gabby’s car rumbled unevenly to life. Mr. Shepard remained there until long after her car had backed out and left. When the old man closed the door and returned to his apartment, his steps were as weighted as Gabby’s had been.

Letting an hour pass was the hardest thing Jack could ever recall doing. He needed that hour to convince himself that what he was about to do was essential. He had failed to fix his mistake on his own. Maybe Mr. Shepard, who cared so deeply about Mike and Gabby that he considered them more family than tenants, and who had been there consistently for Gabby in the confusing days after the baby’s arrival, would provide the solution that Jack had been unable to find.

Standing, he bumped his head on the underside of the stairs. Not a good omen for the day ahead. Or was it a warning that he had lingered too long without doing anything?

He rubbed his head as he walked to Mr. Shepard’s door and knocked.

The door opened quickly, and the old man’s eyes widened. “Yes?”

Jack chastised himself for forgetting how closely Mr. Shepard watched the front steps. Now the old man was wondering how he had missed seeing Jack come into the house. Deciding there was no explanation he could give, he said, “I’d like to speak with you, Mr. Shepard.”

“Do I know you?”

“I’m a friend of Gabby’s and Doctor—of Mike’s.” It was stretching the truth, but not an outright lie.

The old man’s attitude changed from wary to sad. “How can I help you?”

“You’re their friend, too. I’m sure you’re as upset as I am at what’s happened lately.”

“Very much. Come in.”

The apartment was neat and sparsely furnished, but on every flat surface were photos in frames and stacks of books. Jack peeked at a couple of titles as he followed Mr. Shepard to where a well-worn couch and a pair of chairs were set by the large window. The books were an eclectic mix of both best-selling fiction and obscure nonfiction titles.

“I was about to have a cup of tea,” Mr. Shepard said. “Would you like one?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Sitting on the sofa, he took a steadying breath as Mr. Shepard went into the kitchen.

“Have you known Gabrielle and Mike long?” called Mr. Shepard from the kitchen.

“I met them only recently through a mutual friend.” Again that was the truth. Mr. Shepard’s prayer had introduced them to Jack.

Carrying in two green mugs, Mr. Shepard held out one. “I don’t believe I caught your name, young man.”

Jack could not keep from grinning. He had been ancient centuries before Mr. Shepard was born, but there was something so warmly sincere about the old man that, for just a moment, Jack had felt as young as he now looked.

“I’m Jack.” He took the hot cup and hastily put it on a coaster on the table beside the sofa.

“It’s nice to meet any friend of Gabrielle’s and Mike’s. They’re both at work now.” Mr. Shepard’s voice suggested that any good friend should have known that.

“I was visiting last night, and I left before things got too heated. I’d hoped to catch them this morning to see if everything was all right, but I guess I missed them.”

“You did, and everything isn’t all right. Do you want milk or sugar for your tea?”

He did, but he did not want to interrupt their conversation now that it was underway. “It’s fine as it is.” He sipped the tea and realized it was. Another treat he had not enjoyed in more centuries than he cared to count. “So do you think Gabby and Mike can work it this out?”

“I don’t know. I hope so, but I never saw two people who looked unhappier than they did this morning.”

“That they’re miserable is a good sign, isn’t it? It means they were happier with each other.”

Mr. Shepard’s mouth twisted before he asked, “But how does anyone persuade them to admit that? They’re both very stubborn people who have been hurt before.” He sipped, then added, “And they both seem scared. I’m not sure of what.”

“People have phobias about the strangest things.” Jack was not going to divulge that he knew exactly what frightened both of them.

He realized it did not matter what he had said, because Mr. Shepard went on as if he had not spoken. “At first, I thought they simply had nothing in common. She’s focused on people, and he’s obsessed with his scientific experiments.”

“But then you realized they’re more alike than different.”

“Yes, they were both lonely. Oh, they hid it well, but whenever I began a conversation with one or the other, it’d go on and on. They were avid for some human contact before they went upstairs and shut themselves away from the world.” His lips tipped into a grin. “I even found myself praying that they’d take notice of each other. I prayed that they’d actually go out on a date. I gave them chances, having them come here for dinner with me, but somehow when one found out the other was coming, there was always an excuse and a request for a raincheck.”

“Then the baby arrived.”

“Oddest thing. At first, I thought it was a mistake, but then I realized it wasn’t.”

“Why?” Jack tried not to sound over-eager, but Mr. Shepard, whose prayer had put the whole succession of errors into motion, might have the very answer he needed.

“Gabrielle and Mike became a family, spending time together and coming to depend on each other. They were falling in love. No, I’d bet my bottom dollar that they were in love. As they opened their hearts to that baby, they opened their hearts to each other.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring down into his cup. “Now Mike’s told me that he may be interested in subletting his apartment, and Gabby’s pretending she doesn’t care if he leaves. Why are they letting their own fears keep them from doing what everyone else on Earth can see is right?”

“On Heaven and Earth,” Jack said under his breath. More loudly, he said, “I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out as you prayed, Mr. Shepard.”

“It hasn’t... yet.” The old man’s smile returned, lighting his face. “You’ve got to have faith that things will work out as they’re supposed to, young man.”

“But you’ve prayed, and you didn’t get what you wanted.”

“Who knows what the future will bring? I prayed for them to be happy and have the family they want and deserve. It may still happen.”

Jack was awed by the old man’s faith. It was a reminder of how his own had wavered last night. He could not allow that to occur again. He had been sent here to make everything right. Now was the time to stop feeling sorry for himself and start recalling the belief that all things were possible.

“I have an idea,” he said, “that might be the last hope for getting them back together. I need your help.”

“Tell me what I can do, young man,” Mr. Shepard said eagerly.

As Jack began to outline his hastily devised scheme, which was his last hope to correct the mistakes he had made, Mr. Shepard began to smile and nod. The old man offered a couple of suggestions to refine the plan, and, for the first time since he had misread the prayer in the Pray Care Center, Jack began to believe it was possible that he could set the situation to rights. There still were a lot of variables—the most important being if Gabby and Mike truly loved each other—but it was possible.

Just barely.

But Jack was willing to accept the odds. The only other choice was admitting defeat. He prayed that it would not come to that.