Christmas Angel

The safe is hidden behind the false wall of my office.

Nobody but Zeta or Mary knows about the safe or the combination.

You are taking her place.... If I were to accidently lock myself in somebody needs to know how to get me out."

"Yes, yes, tell me, tell me the combination" I was thinking.

He leaned closer still and I could feel his breath on my face and I could smell his maleness.

I could feel my toes curling in my shoes.

"It shall be our secret, Amy.

I will give you the codes for the combination...do you promise?"

"Yes" I whispered closing my eyes....waiting for him to kiss me....

"Look to your Bible."

He whispered.

"Proverbs 31:25 31:26.

This was so wonderful; the Bible and my favorite proverb, the good wife.

Would I ever be married?

Would I ever find my true love?

Gabriel is so mysterious, a secret hidden vault and he came out of nowhere and chased that dirty vagrant away.

He is so tall, so handsome and so fit; Blond hair, green eyes and a dimple in his chin.

And he smells like, smells like....I wonder what testosterone smells like because he seems so masculine so intense...mm what naughty thoughts, bless me.

I would love for him to hold me; to feel those muscles and for him to kiss me....make love to me.

For all of that he is a gentleman.

He just made me feel so special, our secret.

And Mrs. Mueller; I saw how Gabriel treated her and his love and affection was genuine.

I peeked and watched him button her coat and fix her scarf.

Emma always said you could tell how a man will treat his wife by how he treats his mother and this lady wasn't even his mother.

For goodness sakes I need to compose myself and not let my imagination run wild....he let go of my hands and we walked together to the apartment's heavy steel security door.

This building was like a fortress, burglar alarms, fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors plus fire sprinklers and a working fire escape.

I would definitely be safe here.

Gabriel punched a sequence of numbers on the keyboard to deactivate the burglar alarm and then he opened the deadbolt lock with a key before handing it to me.......was the apartment mine?

Gabriel:

"I was showing Amy the bathroom and explaining.

"As you can see it the bathtub shower enclosure is handicapped accessible

These sliding shower doors are polycarbonate and will never break....

"It is just like being in a four star hotel bathroom!"

Amy interrupted, beaming.

"Heat lamps in the ceiling and my goodness, two shower heads.

Plus lighted mirrors and here is the fan switch and look block glass privacy windows and what beautiful sea green tile on the floor.....We went from room to room and as Amy explored the apartment the more excited that she became.

I was thinking; "I haven't heard that expression in years ("my goodness") how delightfully refreshing to hear a young woman speak this way."

I was delighted by her enthusiasm and overwhelmed with her joyful wholesome smile and manner of speaking.

Perhaps I should have kissed her in the stairwell...................................................

Amy:

I'll take it!"

"But you haven't seen the rest of the apartment."

He said, smiling.

"There are three bedrooms and a large kitchen....

"I'm sure that they will be fine." I interrupted again and then I remembered that I had no money for a security deposit or rent.

When I told him he proposed a compromise.

"I would like to use one of the bedrooms as an exercise room during the day and to take a nap on occasion.

I have a regular exercise routine that I follow; an hour of calisthenics and weights before breakfast.

If I could use one room during the day an extra ½ hour or hour of exercise would do me some good, make me feel revitalized.

In consideration I would waive the security deposit."

Of course I agreed and I vowed to myself that I would save to pay the security deposit no matter what.

And besides that could lead to other things, maybe?

Before we shook on it he asked.

"Amy may I ask one other small favor?

Do you suppose that I could shower afterwards.............

Gabriel:

I waited five months to make my next move and I would be making it this morning to surprise her.

I made it a point to exercise on Amy's days off and no doubt she was aware of it and she made excuses to walk by the open door to watch me.

I observed that Amy was slowly losing weight on her own.

I also observed that she was fixing her long hair in different styles for me hoping that I would notice.

Of course I noticed, although often times the changes were quite subtle.

I was always careful with her during work hours, careful to be professional and not show favoritism.

The more time that I spend with her the more delightful I find her to be.

As well as intelligent, insightful and thoughtful, plus she blushes so nicely.

Amy's idea on how to streamline inventory actually cut the time in half.

It was so obvious that it could have bit me on the.....let's just say nose.

Plus the new line of organic vitamins and herbal supplements has taken off like gangbusters.

As have the reusable shopping bags made from recyclable materials.

I have decided that Amy's weight loss should be for her and not for me.

Even though I want to hold my beautiful brown eyes in my arms and taste those cherub lips.

More than anything I wanted to make love to her.

But how do you make love to a woman, a lady, who uses such wholesome expressions such as "oh my goodness or

thank goodness; "bless my soul or for goodness sake" for example?

And then there is my favorite.... when she as angry with a rude or difficult customer and needs to vent afterwards.

Amy will look up to the ceiling and say "Lord, bless their souls and mine twice, because...............................

Amy:

When I woke up that morning I marked the calendar on the fridge.

I was thinking that I have been here five months and already I have lost thirty pounds.

I really want him to be proud of me.

Gabriel notices everything, what I am wearing or how I fix my hair for him.

We talk about everything and he really listens and remembers what I tell him.

He has already implemented several of my ideas.

I don't just work for Gabriel; I work beside him because that's how he makes me feel.

Sure he is all business when we are on the clock and he addresses me as Miss Jones.

But during break time if we are alone he will tease me and call me brown eyes and I love it when he calls me that.

I know that he schedules his breaks to be with me, just like he always manages to exercise in my apartment on my days off.

I had just finished braiding hair when there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Jones it's me and I want to talk to you..........

Gabriel:

Brown eyes answered the door in her robe and I finally saw her tiny little bare feet and she said somewhat flustered.

"I can be ready and dressed in 10 minutes.

Is everything alright?

Did somebody call in sick?"

"Yes and no beautiful; everyone is well and I took the day off.

Your shift is covered so that you can have the day off and we have so much to do."

"I don't understand.

If we are not working what are we going to do?"

Amy asked smiling and catching on.

"We are going to fly kites!

It's the perfect day for and then we are going to have snacks; orange juice, apple juice and ants—on- a-log."

"What are ants on a log?"

She asked.

I made the motions with my hands while narrating;

"First you take a whole celery stalk and cut it like this; chop, chop, chop to about four inches long.

And then you spread it; spread, spread; spread the middle with peanut butter or cream cheese.

"Ours will have Brie with almonds; the children's will have peanut butter or cream cheese.

Then finally you add the raisins or nuts to the filling; poke, poke, poke; and there you have it, ants on a log.

After that we are going to rent a rowboat on Godfrey's pond, the four of us.

That will be followed by lunch; do you like sushi?"

Amy:

Gabriel took my hands like he did on the stairwell and then he whispered.

"There is one other thing that we are going to do today my beautiful, beautiful brown eyes, the most important thing of all."

He put his arms around my now smaller waist and pulled me close and held me firmly but gently.

Not that I could have stopped him because at six foot/ 160 lbs, Gabriel is all muscle.

I did not want him to let go of me, I waited so long for this moment.

Then he kissed my mouth and sighed and said

"I have just kissed my angel."

An angel! He called me his angel and he kissed me again; I wanted that kiss to last forever.

I put my arms around his neck and kissed him back and my heart was pounding in my chest.

I had butterflies in my stomach and......

"And now I have been kissed by my angel and she is sweet and wholesome and smart.

Today we are going out on our first date; chaperoned of course and you have an hour to get dressed, Amy."

As I was dressing I thought;

"From the moment that he smiled at me in my checkout line I was infatuated with him.

Gabriel can be so intense, so focused when he wants to be.

He chased that dirty vagrant away and was in complete control."

"Was I in love with the concept of being in love with Gabriel Bond?

He is so strong.... and oh so handsome; he is polite and kind, although at times so intense and unyielding in many of his opinions. I wanted his body so there was definitely a physical attraction.

"Goodness what a marvelously naught thought."

That was before his niece and nephew; those two precious little blond haired children came to visit their Uncle Gabe at the store.

They came running in shouting.

"Uncle Gabe, Uncle Gabe do the elephant, do the elephant Uncle Gabe."

I'll never forget the look that came over Gabriel's face or his smile at seeing them.

It was like the warm sunshine coming through the stained glass windows standing next to Emma on my first Christmas in church.

He scooped them both up in his strong arms and hugged them and kissed them.

They returned his affection in the way that only small innocent children can.

His love for them was as pure and bright as to be almost tangible; as sunlight turned to warm liquid gold

I could feel the warmth of his love enveloping me from across the room.

How could a woman not love such a man; of course I loved this man for more than his looks.

He put them down and then pulled the collar of his lab coat over his head.

He pulled his hand into his sleeve extended it like and elephant's trunk while putting his other arm behind his back.

Gabriel stamped his feet and waved his arm like and elephant's trunk tickling them and bellowing and trumpeting like a real elephant and making them laugh and squeal with delight.

He is generally so serious and professional.

I had never seen this wonderfully silly and spontaneous part of him.

If I was ever to be his woman I owed it to him to finally do something about my weight and to discipline myself just like him..........

Gabriel:

Amy met me downstairs behind the store and I helped her into my Jeep Wrangler 4 X 4.

She was wearing blue jeans with a red blouse under a yellow hooded sweatshirt and I brought nylon parka shell for her just in case because I took the canvas top off of the jeep.

Amy was absolutely beaming when we pulled into my sister's driveway where Mary was waiting with the children.

I helped my beautiful brown eyes out and made the introductions.

Ben was a little shy and just nodded however Cindy came right to the point. "Are you Uncle Gabe's girlfriend.........................

Amy:

I can't remember when I had such a wonderful time or when I was with such well behaved children.

They were five year old children with large vocabularies who could eat sushi with chopsticks and knew how to order in Japanese.

Cindy wouldn't let me sit next to Gabriel in the boat or the restaurant.

When Gabriel took Ben to bathroom she told me matter of factually that she was going to marry Uncle Gabriel when she grew up.

Although when I took her to the bathroom Cindy asked me to French braid her hair like mine.

When I finished I said

"Goodness my dear.

You look so pretty and so much older and sophisticated with your hair like that.

Why you could pass for seven.

Perhaps we could go shopping together sometime."

I was rewarded with the most wonderful smile

I then picked Cindy up and let her sit on the vanity so that she could see herself.

As she looked she lifted her chin and smiled.

Cindy then looked at me and earnestly said

"You can be his girlfriend for now, Amy but I'm still going to marry him...................."

After we brought the children home we visited with Mary and Charlie for awhile.

Then Gabriel took me to one of his fields to watch the deer and then watch the sunset and finally the stars.

We parked on seasonal dirt road and parked near a stand of mature and stately Sugar Maple trees.

I was getting the blankets and binoculars out of the back seat.

When I turned to hand them to him, Gabriel was nowhere to be seen; it was like he disappeared into thin air.

I started walking slowly and calling for him

"Gabriel are you playing hide and go seek?

Where are you?"

"Quiet brown eyes you are scaring the deer."

I turned to the sound his voice and he was not there.

I turned back looking to see if he was hiding behind the tree in front of me.

"You're looking for love in all the wrong places, Amy Jones...but I'm not."

I turned again to find Gabriel handing upside down with the back of his knees wrapped around the branch of the tree.

He reached out and took my face in his hands and kissed my mouth and said "I'm looking at love."

Then he reached up bending at the waist and grabbing the branch with his hands to swing himself upwards and then gracefully

dropped to the ground like a cat...........

Gabriel:

We spread the blanket on grass, neither of us caring to watch for deer and lay down to touch and kiss quite intimately.

I wanted so much to make love to her.

However I wanted the first time with her to be special and memorable; I owed her that.

I could tell she was aroused.

I could smell her and feel Amy's wetness through her jeans.

It was driving me crazy and I had to keep reminding myself; discipline Gabriel discipline...........

Amy:

I was so horny I could hardly stand it.

I wanted him to make love to me and I was so wet....he must have known.

And his kisses and his touches and his manhood pressed up against were so wonderful, why was he waiting?

We lay there for a long time afterwards, wrapped in the blankets and not talking.

We just snuggled and watched the stars, my God how I loved him.

I could deny him nothing, even if he wanted to make love to me her and now, but I had to tell him.

"Gabriel, there is something I have to tell you."

"I know what you are going to say."

He replied kissing me.

"You do." I replied hopefully.

"Yes, but first let me say that I am very proud of you and the weight that you have lost."

"I did for you." I replied reaching up and touching his face.

"I know you have, my love, my beautiful brown eyes."

I felt myself melting into him as our eyes met; his green and mine brown.

I saw a look of pure love on his face.

I experienced the intense heat of our souls as they merge as one.

I could feel our twin hearts beating as one.

I could feel our shared blood coursing through our veins...

Gabriel then whispered.

"Can you feel it, Amy?"

God in heaven with all his stars and his angels are looking down on us.

They are blessing us and welding our psyches together in a bond stronger then the nucleus of an atom.

Can you just feel it brown eyes, my Amy...my love?"

He made me promise that I would lose the weight not for him but for myself; for my health.

I found a well of strength that night; a discipline that would change my life forever; for me but mostly for him....................

Gabriel:

"I noticed a marked change in Amy after that night, a new confidence to go with her wholesome goodness and sweetness.

She completely changed her eating habits and we started taking most of our meals together.

We were inseparable and did and went everywhere together.

I couldn't imagine living without her now; I knew that she felt the same about me.

I noticed that she was eating several very small meals a day and always measured portions.

Fast foods or high calories convenience foods were all but eliminated; she ate what I ate.

We started exercising together, calisthenics and aerobics.

Eventually I started her on some light weights when I worked out with the kettle bells.

I bought us a new heavy bag and taught her some basic kick boxing techniques, specifically maintaining her balance when kicking.

I was taught her the way I was taught; with my hands held behind my back.

I also taught her some simple judo throws.

By September Amy was down to a healthy and fit 130 lbs and was turning heads on a regular basis.

While in public Amy was a true Lady.

However in private I received many intimate hugs and kisses.

My family adored her especially Zeta.

We were spending a great deal of time at my place and by the end of October Amy had moved in with me.

She was sharing my home but not my bed.

We slept in separate bedrooms at night after cuddling on the couch at night, watching, movies or listening to music.... whatever.

I had to ratchet up my exercise routine to vent my frustrations and I was taking cold showers.

Showers, now that's a thought...showering with Amy..... Damn.....200 hundred additional sit ups for me, discipline, Gabriel.

It's funny how things work out for the best.

Zeta moved back from Florida and was living in her old apartment again.

When she found out I was seeing Amy she did everything but cartwheels.

It didn't bother her a bit that we were living together although she hinted marriage and babies, lots of babies.

As I said, I wanted everything to be special and it was time to meet Emma.

Amy warned me that Emma could be confrontational and difficult at best and she didn't like the fact that Amy was living with me, innocent though it was.

The day that I met her was interesting to say the least.........................

Amy:

Emma could be difficult at times but she did promise to give Gabriel a chance and to keep an open mind.

She also agreed to cook Sunday dinner if I would spend the Saturday night before and then attend church with her Sunday morning.

Emma was very proud of my weight loss having kept her figure and she was now well into her sixties.

She wanted to show me off.

Gabriel let me use his Jeep and Emma and I went grocery shopping for Sunday dinner and then we took in a movie.

The plans were that I was going to take Emma home first.

Return the Jeep to my sweetheart who would bring me back for me to spend the night.

He would meet us at Emma's after church Sunday afternoon.

The weather report predicted severe thunderstorms after midnight but they hit early around 9:00 PM.

We were getting out of the movies when the storm started.

I telephone Gabriel to tell him that we were leaving for Emma's and that I would see him in 45 minutes or so.

I took my time driving slowly.

We had to detour because a downed tree hit a main transformer and knocked the power out to Emma's road.

Once we arrived Emma unlocked the door and we entered with our arms full of groceries.