God's Angel

"You're Northeast Products Group?" Gabriel asked.

"Guilty. My father started it when my grandfather died. He lumped all of the companies under one umbrella and it's worked out well. Now I'm doing as much as I can, here and there, but I always seem to come up short. If you could just take over the payroll I'd be able to do a lot more. I'll pay you of course." Ethan threw out a number that had Gabriel's eyes widen. It was double what he had been getting paid at Roberts and Seymour.

"No offense, but why didn't you just have my old firm do the payroll?"

"None taken and honestly because I don't like your old firm. I've talked to them about trying to invest some of the money elsewhere and they keep telling me it's a bad idea. My father just wants to leave well enough alone and since he sits on the board I can't change accountants."

"I'll do the payroll then. I'll also look into some low to medium risk investments that should be safe enough for your father. Maybe together we can present them to him and he'll think differently." Gabriel offered.

"That'd be awesome!" Ethan said with obvious excitement. "I keep telling the old coot that he needs to make a change but he's a stick in the mud. I love him but he's a stick in the mud. You know how parents are."

Gabriel smiled but couldn't respond. His parents had died when he was fourteen when a drunk driver ran a red light and he had lived with an aunt till college. The aunt had died not long after of a heart attack.

"Ethan, we're going home for the night." An older woman said as she and the other volunteers headed out.

"Thanks guys! We'll lock up and see you soon." Ethan answered. When it was just the two of them, Ethan rose and poured himself another cup of coffee and offered Gabriel one.

"I'd better not. I'll be up all night." Gabriel declined.

"Really? Never had that problem. I can have cup after cup and it won't affect me at all." Ethan said and sat back down. "So how did you get involved with us?"

"Someone asked for help. He said he had some projects around town that he needed help with and figured since I wasn't doing anything I might have be able to pitch a hand."

"Really? Who was that?" Ethan asked and Gabriel blushed.

"He said he was God."

"He said what?" Gabriel laughed.

"Yeah, that's what I said. This guy sat down on the park bench I usually sit at and started a conversation with me. He told me that he was God."

"And you believed him?" Ethan asked.

"No. Of course not. But I did have time on my hands and for some reason helping out here sounded like a good idea to me."

"Well, maybe he was."

"Was what?"

"God."

"What are you talking about?" Gabriel asked.

"Who knows how God works. He could have come down and told you personally to get off your ass and come help us or maybe he used a crazy person to suggest it to you. Who knows?"

"Yeah, I guess. They say God works in mysterious ways." Gabriel said but still didn't believe it.

"I think God works in coincidences. Too much weird stuff happens by fate for me to believe there isn't a bigger plan. Such as you coming here, needing a job, and me needing a C.P.A. I mean, when does stuff like that happen?" Ethan smiled.

"It is pretty odd. Another odd thing is the guy who said he was God seemed to know I'd get fired."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, he said he'd see me here at noon. I was fired almost first thing in the morning and was home by eleven. It took me an hour to get here. I was here at noon."

"See? Another coincidence." Ethan said.

"Yeah. Well another coincidence is, it's almost eight and I usually eat then so I'd better go." Gabriel and Ethan stood, turned off the lights and locked the doors.

"Why don't you let me give you a lift?" Ethan offered.

"Are you sure? I live across town."

"No bother. Jump in." Ethan started his truck and the two headed uptown to Gabriel's apartment.

"So why don't you come by my office in the morning, unless you'd like to take a couple days off?"

"Actually, no. I'd like to start getting back to work. I feel bad though, I just started at the kitchen and now I've got another job." Gabriel said.

"Don't worry about it. If you could help out around lunch time and maybe after work that'd be great. Whenever you can. I pay for lunch so don't worry about it. You can grab something at the kitchen to eat."

"I'd feel weird about that."

"I know. I did too for a while but we're working there and you gotta eat right? You could always pick up something on the way." Ethan glanced over at Gabriel. "Listen, we really appreciate your help, I appreciate it, but don't burn yourself out either. If you'd rather have lunch alone then do it. I don't go in every day. I've got a whole bunch of companies to run. But I do what I can. You'll find out what you can do and that'll be just fine." Ethan pulled the truck over in front of Gabriel's apartment building.

"I'll see you tomorrow than Ethan."

"See you tomorrow, Gabriel."

The next day, Gabriel awoke at seven and got dressed for work in his usual button up shirt, tie and slacks. He ate a quick breakfast before heading down to the office of Northeast Products Group. The receptionist smiled when he opened the door.

"Can I help you?" Asked a pretty blond woman sitting behind the desk. Probably Ethan's wife or girlfriend.

"Ethan Rockafeller told me to come in today. He hired me last night."

"Oh, you're the accountant, right?"

"Yes."

"Great. I'll let him know you're here." She picked up the phone and spoke for a minute then told Gabriel to go back into the office.

He opened the door and made his way down a long hallway with little offices off the left and right. The office at the end of the hallway had a plaque that read, Mr. Rockafeller but someone had crossed it out and written `The Boss' on it. Gabriel peeked inside. Ethan was sitting behind his desk scribbling on a notepad as he talked on the phone but he waved Gabriel inside and motioned for him to sit. Gabriel waited for Ethan to finish his call.

"Thank God you're here, man. I was just looking over my schedule and really have to idea when I'd be able to get to the payroll." Ethan said after hanging up the phone.

"You've got a lot of people working for you. You could have just had one of them do it." Gabriel said.

"I do have a lot of people but they're all doing other stuff. Some of them I know what they do here and others I have no clue." They both laughed. "Actually, I had a woman here who used to do it, Donna but she retired not too long ago and I never found someone qualified to take it on. Besides, you seem like a nice guy and if you're a C.P.A. then you're more than qualified for a little payroll."

"I'm sure I can handle it." Gabriel said.

"Great. I'm going to have Liz from H.R. get you started on all your forms and what not but we're getting to crunch time so if you could start as soon as possible that'd be great." Ethan pulled out a neat stack of files and folders and handed it to Gabriel.

"These are Donna's files." He said and then picked up a stack of paper chaos with loose papers sticking out here and there in no obvious pattern. "These are mine."

Gabriel looked at the stack with a little trepidation.

"I know. It's bad, right?"

"I'm sure I can handle it." Gabriel repeated cause it was all he could think of to say. Many companies submitted their files with disregard as to the accountant who would process them but by the time they had come to Gabriel's desk someone had made some sort of sense of them.

"Do your best, Gabriel and thank you! You're really saving my ass here." Gabriel nodded and thought of the nice ass mentioned but pushed it aside and went to find Liz from H.R.

She was a nice older woman who seemed a bit gruff but also a bit of a pushover and the office grandmother. Since his old office didn't have one, or tolerate one, Gabriel was looking forward to something new. Liz took his information and got started on the forms quickly and efficiently. She led him to an office and told him it used to be Donna's.

"That's her old computer. It should have all the usual programs you need but if it doesn't, you can download it or just tell me and I'll get it for you."

"Thanks, Liz." He said and sat behind the desk.

"No problem. I'll leave you to figuring that stuff out." She said and turned on her heel.

Gabriel worked through the day and had made a great dent when Ethan popped his head in around four.

"You're still here?" He asked.

"I'm still trying to figure some of this out. Some of these hourly sheets are from May."

"Uh huh?" Ethan gave a guilty smile.

"Did they get paid?"

"Yes. Probably. More than likely."

"How can you run a company being this disorganized?" Gabriel asked.

"I do the best I can and expect everyone who works for me to do the same." Ethan said simply.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-."

"No, it's all right. I'm actually not very good at this but when my dad left the company to me I had to try. You know?"

"I do."

"I take it day by day and just hope that things get better. And they did. I have you now." Ethan smiled and Gabriel's heart skipped a beat. He liked how that sounded but pushed the feeling away. It would be a prime example of his horrible luck to fall in love with Ethan who was more than likely straight. Gabriel would stop that before it even began.

"It's not that bad actually. Most of it was pretty logical but sometimes there are a few pieces here and there that don't make sense."

"Well, save it for tomorrow. Why don't you knock off for the day. It's already four."

"I really should get this done though."

"Gabriel, take it easy. It'll be here tomorrow and we still have time before payday." Ethan argued. "Go out. Have some dinner. Talk to a pretty girl. Have some fun."

Gabriel winced but didn't correct Ethan and packed his things for the night. He walked out with Ethan who again offered him a ride.

"That's ok. I think I'm going to go to the park." Gabriel said and made the walk a couple of blocks over to sit in his favorite bench. It wasn't long before God showed up.

"Hello. How are you?" God asked.

"I'm good. I got fired the other day."

"Did you now?" God asked though his demeanor almost suggested that he already knew.

"Yes. Did you know I was going to be fired?"

"I did mention that I was God the other day, didn't I?"

"You did."

"Well then, what do you think?"

"I think you're a crazy man."

"Why do I have to be crazy?" He asked with a smile.

"You can't be God."

"Why not?"

"Because God doesn't come down to talk to people like me." Gabriel said.

"Ah, the people discussion. Ok. What `people' are those?"

"Simple people. Not particularly holy people. I don't know, just people like me."

"Gay people?" God asked. Gabriel looked away and then nodded.

"Yes, I'm gay. I don't know if God talks to gay people."

"I do. I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"Yes, but you're not God."

"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not but God talks to gay people. He talks to all people. All the animals and plants too."

"God talks to animals and plants?"

"Why not? You ever talk to an animal?"

"Well, yeah."

"You ever talk to a plant?"

"I guess."

"Plants do better when you talk to them. I talk to them all the time."

"So why do so many churches say God doesn't talk to gay people?" Gabriel asked.

"Have you ever been wrong about something but were so sure you were right?"

"Yes."

"It's sort of like that. Some churches and some of those `holy people' that you think I should be talking to, think that God doesn't talk to gay people. That I don't love them. Or if I love them I don't condone what they're doing."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Condone what gay people are doing?"

"What do you think?" God asked.

"I don't know. I used to think that you made us just like you made straight people and wanted us to find love just like anyone else. But now I don't know." Gabriel admitted without realizing that he had spoken to the man as if he were God.

"I do love you. Gay, straight, transgender, bisexual, black, white, brown, or purple. I love all my children."

"And finding love? Does God condone love between two men or two woman?"

"I have only ever asked two things from you. To love me and to love one another. I've never asked for tithes or sacrifices or special clothes or fire and brimstone sermons from the pulpit. I've never asked you to make another person feel less about themselves or the punish them for something they said or did. I've only asked you for those two things and I've loved you even when you've not done them."

"What about murders?"

"What about murders?" God asked.

"Do you love them?"

"With my whole heart." God answered simply.

"But they killed someone."

"Death is not the end. The person who was killed understands after their death the reasons why they died. The person who took their life was broken. Most likely by another person."

"Where's the justice in that?"

"You're asking for justice? What in life makes you think justice exists in my mind? That I intended life to be fair and just? Why do I have to make the world just? No, justice is a human invention. `An eye for an eye' and all that nonsense."

Gabriel sat for a moment thinking of what God had said.

"There is a justice though, an order to the universe that you can't see."

"So murders get punished?"

"Anyone who ever does wrong gets punished."

"So how can you say that justice doesn't exist in your mind?"

"Because it's not my mind in which it exists. It's in yours. You punish yourselves. You punish each other. You hinder your growth and your love and bring pain upon the world better than anything that I could have devised. You are truly a wonder to behold. I stand in awe of humanity and have since the beginning." The man stood up and strolled away leaving Gabriel to stand and follow him.

"Do you believe now?" He asked.

"That you're God? No. I think you're a very intelligent man, but not God."

"Always with the preconceptions. I tell you I'm God, creator of the universe and master of any reality, and you tell me I don't live up to your standards. You were expecting a burning bush?"

"Sort of." Gabriel answered honestly and the man chuckled.

"I'll remember that next time. It was good to see you at the soup kitchen." He said.

"You weren't there."

"I'm always everywhere."

"I didn't see you." Gabriel answered.

"I didn't say you'd see me. I said I'd see you there around noon."

"Semantics." Gabriel said and the man chuckled again.

"Yes, I love semantics. Language is one of mankind's better inventions."

"You didn't intend for that either?" Gabriel asked.

"No, actually. I thought you'd use your thoughts to speak to each other. Like telepathy but with more feeling."

"Then why didn't we do it?"

"Free will. You chose not to. So you met Ethan, then?"

"I did."

"Nice man, Ethan. Hard worker and loves to help people."

"You don't need to be God to know that." Gabriel said.

"No, you don't. I'm glad you found a job though. I know you worried."

"That's pretty obvious too."

"You seem to think I'm trying to impress you. I'm God. I don't need to impress anybody."

"I'm Gabriel and I don't need to impress anyone either." The man smiled.

"Good. I'm glad you know that." They strolled along for a minute, neither one saying anything.

"So what are the other projects you wanted me to help you with?" Gabriel asked.

"You seem to be doing fine on your own. Why don't you stick with what I've given you so far and we'll talk about something else later." God looked up at the sky and smiled. "I have to run now. I'll talk to you later, Gabriel." He turned and walked away.

"How do you know my name?" Gabriel asked.

"I knew your name before it was given to you." He called without turning or looking back.

Gabriel shrugged and walked back to his apartment.