Obloquy

  *

  I sniffed. Something tickled the tip of my nose. I sniffed again and rubbed the bottom of my nose with my forefinger. I started to drift back to sleep, but then ever so slightly something tickled my nose again. My eyes popped open and I saw the back of Cal’s dark blue hoodie as he dashed out my bedroom door. A white feather drifting to the floor also caught my eye. I sat up. “Cal! You little stinker!” I scrambled to my feet and went after him. Wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “You little twit!”

  Distinct cackling.

  “Darn you, Cal!”

  I heard muffled laughter again, but something told me he wasn’t going to let himself get caught. I rolled my eyes and headed for my coffee pot. It was time to get up anyway. “Little turd,” I mumbled to myself. At least, Cal made my life more interesting. I never knew when he was going to pull one of his little pranks. It was just all in fun for him. He would never do anything to harm me. He would defend me without any qualms. He’d already proven that when he saved me that night in the park.

  I drank my coffee, dressed for work and looked outside the living room window. Rain was pouring down. Today, I would take my car to work. It probably needed to be run anyway, as I walked most of the places I went, which was work primarily, and then the park. “Gee,” I said to myself. “My life is so eventful these days. But it beats the hell out of being Dad’s and Greg’s slave.” I breathed, “And then there’s Cal… and Paleo. Now they do make a difference.”

  I opened my door to walk out, and just I went to close it, I heard Cal say, “Glad to be of help!” A slight snigger followed. I laughed to myself and locked the door. I knew Cal could get out. He was able to slip through dimensions somehow. I never questioned him about it, but I knew that was true. A lot of the time he would be only partly in my dimension, as I would see just kind of an outline of him. Other times, he would fully appear. And then he would completely disappear on me, especially when he was playing one of his mischievous tricks. I thought it really cool.

  Mom dropped by the library just before it was time for me to get off and let me know she wouldn’t be having dinner with me. I got the distinct feeling that she was hesitant to say why, but when I asked her, she was honest.

  “I’m having dinner with your father,” she admitted.

  There was something in her eyes. It only took me a moment to realize what it was: loneliness.

  Her stance was on the sheepish side. “I know I must seem like a hypocrite to you. But I just realized recently that I do still kind of care for him. No. I take that back. Not kind of. I do care for him.”

  Not really sure how to respond to this little surprise, I said, “It’s your life, Mom. We all have to make our own choices. But I really never thought I’d hear you say that.”

  My hand was resting on the checkout desk, and she laid her hand on mine. “Neither did I, dear. But watching him preach and seeing how so many people look up to him and depend on him, I guess I kind of began to see his side of things.”

  Oh my God! I thought to myself. And I’m sure I looked just as shocked.

  She spoke up immediately. “I’m not saying that I was wrong all those years, Brenda. I’m not saying I was wrong in leaving him.”

  “Then, what are you saying?”

  “That there are two sides to every story, I guess.” She shook her head positively. “Yes! That’s it. I am beginning to see his reasons now. That’s all.”

  “I’ll be honest, Mom. I think you’re an idiot. But it’s your life.”

  I know my words cut kind of deep. She looked really hurt, but just bobbed her head. “I guess I can’t blame you for that.” She sighed and looked around before turning back to me. “Maybe we can have dinner tomorrow night?”

  “Maybe.”

  With a nod, she walked out.

  At that moment, anger wasn’t exactly what I felt. Betrayal was a much more accurate description. I know my eyes teared, but I refused to give in to the hurt. I loved my mother, but she wasn’t as strong, and wasn’t as committed as I had believed. One of the things that had been helpful in keeping me going the past few months was in knowing how strong I believed her to be with her convictions. She had kind of been my idol. The one I looked up to. Now that image of her had been smashed to smithereens.

  Once I was in my car the tears began to leak. I went straight home, rushed inside and locked my door. I tossed my purse on the sofa and ran to my room and flung myself across my bed and let the damn of hurt and tears burst forth.

  I’m not sure how long I laid there in my somewhat numb state. I know I drifted in and out of sleep several times. At one point I almost got out of bed to go shower and change clothes, but then I remembered that I had the following day off and just closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. I am not sure what time it was, but I believe it was some time after midnight.

  I turned over on my right side and laid my left hand beside my head. A few moments later something feathery gently touched my forearm. At first I thought it might be Cal possibly desiring to cheer me up. I expected to be tickled in some way, but it didn’t happen. Then the warmness slowly made its way down to my hand and rested there. That was when the incredible warmness enveloped me from behind. I turned my head just enough to see a bluish glow.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t make it back to you sooner,” Paleo said in his husky but sweet timbre.

  I turned the rest of the way over and gazed into his resplendent blue eyes. “I have missed you so!”

  “And I, you! This last battle that I and my unit engaged in has lasted several days. In fact, it is still ongoing. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see you again for some time. But I felt your distress and hoped that Father would release me so that I might come to you… And He did.”

  “Thank you, Father!” I said and looked ceiling-ward.

  Paleo’s eyes twinkled. “He heard you.”

  “He is so awesome!”

  “Agreed, my sweet.” He peered into my eyes and I swear that I could see the stars there. Then he kissed me oh so wonderfully.

  Until then, he had only made love to me from behind, and I had assumed that maybe that was how incubi always made love, but I had thought wrong. For I sensed something so incredible fill me that it took me a second to realize that he was making love to me as he faced me. I gasped in ecstasy, and we had not come anywhere near climax.

  I had the awesome privilege of gazing into his perfect, glittering face that shone like myriads of brilliant gems, while he carried me to unimaginable, windswept heights, thousands and thousands of light-years away from all the pain and burdens of the world. Every now and then, he kissed my face in varied places: my nose, my cheek, my forehead and then my lips. With each kiss as gentle as a baby’s caress. My love, my desire, for him knew no bounds. I wondered if all of his kind was as magnificent as he.

  As always, he knew my thoughts; heard them as though spoken verbally. “We pride ourselves on being lovers of the ultimate kind, no matter who we mate with. But, I will tell you a secret, when we truly care about the one we mate with; we can surpass even our own expectations.”

  Is he saying he loves me?

  “Yes!” he replied. “That is what I am saying. I love you, Brenda!” His statement was immediately followed by the most passionate surge that I could never have imagined. I think I glowed with him.

  I was vibrating. I had become accustomed to a certain amount of vibration being around demons for a while now, but this vibration was rising rapidly. He was coming to climax, and my body and soul shared the spiraling rapture. All of a sudden I was shaking so hard that I thought surely I would explode. He tightened his grasp on me then, just as we climaxed together in what could have been a nuclear blast from all I sensed. I trembled helplessly in his powerful arms as I gazed into those resplendent eyes. I could see his love for me now, and knew that I loved him as well.

  “Brenda,” he whispered quietly.

  This time I knew what he wanted to convey, for I felt it too. W
e were one together, complete, and would love one another for all eternity.

  Afterwards, he held me lovingly in his arms for the longest time. Just being next to him was the most wonderful feeling. I knew that I would never be happier than when I was with him. Exhausted but in such a wonderful way, I fell to sleep in his embrace.

  The next thing I knew it was morning and Paleo was gone. I understood that he had to get back to his duties, but I was thankful to Father for allowing Paleo and me to have the night together, and I said it aloud. “Thank you so much, Father!”

  Then I heard as clear as a bell in my head, “You are more than welcome, Brenda.”

  There was so much on the news of war in the Middle East and elsewhere; conflict after conflict arising here and there. With the physical world in so much turmoil, I knew the spiritual was equally so. I also understood the importance of my lover’s duties and didn’t begrudge it at all when he couldn’t come see me. But when we were together, all the time awaiting to be together fled away, and we spent each precious moment sharing our love and appreciation of the time we did have.

  I considered us lucky if we had three nights a week together. However, it had gotten to the point that sometimes it was a week before he could return. I spent the rest of my time at my job or when home, meditating and studying. I tried to not waste one single moment when Paleo was not with me. By keeping occupied it helped the time to pass quicker, and I did my best not to linger on when he would be able to return. I knew he would return to me as soon as he could; knowing that made all the difference in the world.