LLOYD, PAUL R. by Hags

salad onto
his plate. “You have a point, Micah. He should have enemies besides you. If
he’s an angel, why aren’t there demons to fight?”
    Micah smiled and leaned back in his
chair so that the two front legs rose off the maroon carpet. “And if he’s a
demon, where are the angels?”
    “I don’t like to think about demons
and angels,” Barbara said.
    “I do.” Bob continued to stack his
plate with food.
    “Barbara, if you’re not a believer,
how come you believe Ahlman is an angel?” Micah asked.
    Barbara sat back in her chair and stared
at the ceiling for a brief moment. She lowered her head and brushed some crumbs
from her lap. “I don’t know.” She raised her head to meet Micah’s eyes. “He
just is. It’s not about belief. With him I know he’s an angel.”
    “An honest to goodness spirit sent
from God in heaven?” Micah placed his hand on the back of Barbara’s chair.
    Barbara leaned forward but
continued to hold eye contact with Micah. “I guess. If that’s where angels come
from.”
    “So you sort of believe in God and
flat out believe in Ahlman one hundred percent?” Micah slid his hand closer to
Barbara along the back of the chair.
    “Yeah. Why is that, do you suppose?”
Barbara did not move.
    “Does he have some kind of hold on
you?” Micah rubbed a strand Barbara’s red hair between his thumb and
forefinger.
    Bob jumped out of his chair.
“Cheese, Louise. We have to pray about this.”
    Micah turned to Bob. “I’m not a
believer, either, Bob.”
    “Micah, doesn’t matter if you don’t
believe or Barbara kinda sorta sometimes believes. God believes in us. I say we
pray about this and listen to what God has to say about Ahlman.”
    Bob made his way around the table
to stand between Micah and Barbara. He moved Micah’s hand off the back of
Barbara’s chair. He held onto Micah’s wrist and touched Barbara on the arm.
“Lord, we’re gathered here together, two or more in your name…”
    “Wait. I have to use the
facilities.” Barbara headed off towards the stairs.
    “It’s over by the hall.” Micah
pointed Barbara to the powder room.
    “Be back in a sec. You guys can
pray without me,” Barbara dashed for the stairs.
    Bob picked up the prayer again.
“Lord, not everyone here believes in Jesus. Our friend Micah is concerned your
angel Ahlman might be from the other side. He’s concerned that Ahlman may be
some sort of evil faerie or whatever, but not an angel. Barbara and I know he is
angel. We can’t convince Micah. Please help us make heads or tails of this
situation. We’re going into a quiet time, now Lord, to await your word for us.”
    During the silence that followed,
Micah sipped beer while admiring the serene appearance of Bob’s face. After a
few minutes, Barbara returned and took a seat next to Micah. Bob’s body shook
gently for a few seconds. Then Barbara shook. Bob opened his eyes.
    “You guys okay?” Micah asked.
    “Yeah, why?” Bob stretched in his
seat.
    “You were shaking.” Micah sipped
his beer.
    “I wasn’t,” said Barbara.
    “I didn’t feel any shaking.” Bob
placed his stubby fingers around his diminutive chin. “But something isn’t
right. It’s like things aren’t the same as they were.”
    Micah took Barbara’s hand. “So you
guys hear anything specific while you were shaking. By the way, I noticed both
of you shake right before Bob opened his eyes.”
    “I didn’t hear anything, but I feel
weird.” Bob returned to his seat on the other side of the table. “You guys are mighty
friendly.”
    Micah lifted his hand revealing
that he was holding Barbara’s hand. “We got caught.”
    Barbara made eye contact with
Micah. “So much for prayer.”
    Bob reached for another beer. “The
Lord will answer our prayer in time. You two have to have faith.”
    “Don’t have much in the way of
faith.” Micah smiled at Barbara and then turned to Bob. “Why don’t you ask your
friend Ahlman about faith?”
    “Ahlman Brown?