Chapter 8
Ann
The day of Ann’s party arrived. She had planned every detail of the party. At least she thought she had. Truthfully, she had just thrown out her ideas, her dad had thrown out the money, and her mom had done most of the work.
It had been planned that the boys would all leave at one AM. Weather permitting swimming would be allowed, but a "modest" swim suit was required. This was carefully stated to each parent. Certainly no liquor would be served to underage children. This was to give all the parents a sense of security for this party and to give them the idea that any future parties would be carefully supervised. The girls would spend the night, eat brunch at 11AM, and then be returning home. Parents were encouraged to call with questions.
"Look Ann," Frederick had said, "You want to be especially careful for this initial party. It is sort of like one of those old 'coming out parties' they used to throw for young ladies. Get off on the right foot because you won't get a second chance. "
Ann carefully followed her dad's advice. She really did want to get off on the right foot, and something just seemed to be telling her that her future would depend partly on being socially accepted with the upper crust.
The party was good. It couldn't have gone better actually. But the real party began after the boys left. Ann's got out the old board game just to please her father. The girls started asking the Ouija board questions, and Ann's life was changed forever.
The questions were just for entertainment at first. "Who will I marry?" "Who is going to which college?" "Who is going to get rich?" Ann was pretty interested in how it worked. She tried it. At first she thought the Ouija was moving because the girl she was playing with was moving it, but when her friend took her hands off to prove she wasn't moving it, Ann knew it was working by itself.
Ann gave someone else a turn for questions while she thought it over. The other girls were just laughing and having a good time. One girl asked whether Alice Wilson's baby was a boy or girl. The Ouija answered that it was a boy. Since Ann and Alice alone knew there was no baby, Ann suddenly felt connected to the board in some strange way.
"Who are you Ouija?" Ann wondered.
When it next came Ann's turn to ask a question she asked aloud, "Who are you?"
The Ouija moved to spell out the answer, "I'm the devil; come to hell."
For the rest of girls at the party, that ended the fun of the board game. They quickly put up the board and went on to play truth or dare.
For Ann, the Ouija’s answer seemed to be a simple answer to a simple question. She thought she had just made contact with a very powerful force. The force seemed friendly to Ann, because it had not told anyone Alice was never pregnant. It had validated Ann's rumor. To Ann, that meant the spirit or Ouija or whatever it was, was on her side. In Ann's heart there was a growing excitement. The rest of the night and through brunch the next morning, Ann only wanted the girls to leave so she could talk to the Ouija board by herself. Ann was thinking that in the board, there was power. She wanted to know more about that power. It could prove very useful.
Malachi
Belle had decided that the next Sunday would be the perfect time for Malachi to attend church with her and Amelia. Amelia had met Mal on several occasions. She knew Belle was serious about him the first time she saw them together. She liked Mal, and was confident they would get along well in case he became her brother in law. So Belle was not worried about that. Actually, Belle wasn't really worried about anything. Mal had appeared to be truly interested in Bible study, he was willing to attend her church, and over time, he would become a strong Christian man. But there was the initial hurdle of introducing him at church. It was the church she had attended from her early childhood. She had known many of the members for years and was on very good terms with most of them. When her parents had been killed in the accident, it was the church members who had been the earthly arm of the Lord, and helped Belle and Amelia through the really bad days. They had continued to watch out for the girls since then as well. There were at least 15 ladies who thought of themselves as the foster mother of the sisters. And that wasn't counting the men who thought the girls needed a 'father figure'. Belle loved all of them, but right now it seemed like she would be introducing her potential fiancé to 15 sets of parents instead of one.
"Oh well," she thought. It will just be for a couple of Sunday's. Then they will all love Mal the way I do. I just have to smile and nod politely, and remember to introduce him to every single one of them so I don't hurt anyone's feelings." Laughing to herself she thought, "There are more than few forgetful members I will have to introduce him to a couple of times and just hope they remember that I introduced him once to them."
Mal was just a young man in love. He had experienced very little rejection in his life, and wasn't expecting any at church. Everyone there was supposed to love each other - right? Belle had said to just casually nice. A sports jacket was plenty. A tie was optional.
Mal drove by and picked up Belle and Amelia. He was happy, but he did notice they were a bit tense. Belle breathed a sigh of relief that Mal was just too thick skinned or thick headed to have any apprehension. In her heart she knew it would be fine, but she just wished it was over. And Amelia was somewhat amused by the situation. That didn't make Belle feel any better.
They slipped in a few minutes late, and sat at the back. But the choir saw them, noticed the man with Belle, and began to nudge and point. It was soon all over. The pastor asked Belle to stand and introduce her friend. And that was about all there was to it. The service went smoothly; the pastor spoke truthfully, eloquently, but simply. Mal was beaming. He wondered why he was never taken to church as a child. "This is really nice," he thought. "I guess my worldly troubles are over."
After the service Belle introduced Mal to what seemed like 500 people. Mal wondered why they didn't wear name tags. That would certainly make it easier. He made a point to remember the pastor's name. The others would just have to be learned over time.
Mal, Belle, and Amelia climbed into Mal's pickup truck and left to have Sunday lunch at a favorite restaurant. Belle had explained that Sunday lunch, whether at home or at a restaurant, was a big deal, and a family tradition. Mal was agreeable. He liked to eat, and that would be a good excuse to dine at a place that was a little pricier than Belle usually allowed.
Lunch conversation was something new for Mal. It was about the sermon they had just heard, how accurate was it according to what they had already learned, and a few points they would need to look up and have the pastor clarify.
"What are you doing?" Mal had asked them. "Don't we just listen to the pastor, and take his word? After all, he really is supposed to know what he is doing."
"Listen Mal," Belle had replied, "I have the utmost respect for Pastor CC. He knows about everything. He studies all the time. He prays more than anyone I know. So I trust him. Plus, I have known him for years. He basically never messes up. But occasionally he might not be totally clear about something. That might raise a question. Or something he says may not come out just right. So Amelia and I always talk about the sermon. Not in a critical way or anything, but just to make sure we are all understanding it the same. If I have a question, I just call him up and ask him. That is what we did when mother and daddy were here. Dad was always getting Pastor CC to explain a little more, or give him a few more details. They used to talk for hours. Just always remember that a pastor is not some sort of ancient oracle or something."
"Well, if you're sure it isn't some sort of sacrilege or something. By the way, what does "CC" stand for? Mal asked.
Belle began, "No one knows, Mal. Brother CC just always goes by CC and he says that is actually his name."
"Actually, I know something here I am not supposed to know, "Amelia interrupted. "CC does stand for two names."
"Well Mal, you might as well know that Amelia always knows
something she isn't supposed to know. She has supersonic hearing, so she hears things she shouldn't hear. And then people just confess things to her. They just start talking, and then they tell their life story in about 5 minutes. Furthermore, she is overly curious and far too comfortable snooping around on the internet."
"Oh be quiet Belle, you know very well my inquisitive nature has come in quite handy in the past. Anyway, do you want to know what CC stands for or not?"
"Ok, well, yes. I always wondered."
"It stands for Cornelius Cornwallis," Amelia said with a straight face.
"You have got to be kidding. You mean the pastor's name is Cornelius Cornwallis Hignite?" Belle asked.
"That's right. I am positive. You can find out anything on the internet about anyone. I double checked that. Actually, I had to pay a couple of dollars for that information, but it was for a really good cause, so I did it. And it worked. Do you remember that he didn't want to assist the youth department in that last fundraiser? Then he suddenly agreed to help, and even raised the most money? Well, all I did was place an anonymous phone call and say "Cornelius Cornwallis Hignite, I am certain you should help with the youth department fundraiser."
"What did he say?" Belle asked.
"He said 'Amelia, If your father were here he would give you a good spanking for this'. Then he hung up the phone. Then he announced Sunday he would be glad to help us out."
"That sounds like extortion or blackmail or something," Mal said.
"Maybe, but I only use my gift of information gathering for good. And as time goes by I bet you ask me to find out a few things for you. Just wait and see."
Their food arrived and Mal decided it was time to eat. He knew he loved one of the women at the table. He thought he could grow to love the other one like a sister. But he really didn't want any more family information that day. "Cornelius Cornwallis Hignite," he thought to himself. And I thought being named Malachi was bad. I guess I will have to ask mom why she named me Malachi since she isn't religious.
Angels of Darkness
"It has been ages since I had so apt a pupil," Cabiri thought with evil glee. I wonder how far I can go with Ann before she self destructs? Years I hope. I must pace myself this time. The human mind is so frail."
Angels of Light
"I love being with God's children," Raphael thought. "Watching Mal, Belle, and Amelia sit together in church, then eat together, talk about the sermon, and then the humorous touch when Amelia revealed CC's full name was delightful. Of course, we guardian angels like to eat. I am really looking forward to the day when we can all eat together, and I don't have to wait for an angle cook to arrive. Perhaps I am a little overly interested in food. Maybe it is just the company when I get to eat that I like."
Sadly, Raphael's thoughts turned to Mal's sister Ann. He had no fore-knowledge, but his guess was that Ann was going to choose what the world had to offer now instead of setting her sites on things to come.
Malachi and Belle had openly and clearly chosen the narrow way that leads to life everlasting. They had chosen Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He loved to hear people talk about the love of God, about Bible study, and about building a Christ centered life together. He was going to be as much help as he could.