Angels at the Table (Angels Everywhere #7)(16)

“You mean there’s more?” Will cried.

“You mean it gets worse?”

With profound sadness Mercy nodded. “Much worse.”

Goodness cupped her mouth. “What more could happen?”

Mercy didn’t hold back. “Gabriel is going to find out what we did.”

Her two friends and Will gasped in horror.

“We’ve really done it this time. Moving a few aircraft carriers around is nothing compared to tampering with Lucie’s sauce.”

“This is the end for sure,” Shirley wailed.

“Did I hear one of you mention my name?” All at once Gabriel stood before them. He’d never looked more daunting, or unapproachable. His massive arms were crossed over his chest as he frowned down upon them.

Will scooted closer to Mercy. Shirley and Goodness crowded her sides as the four made themselves as small as possible.

“What happened here?” he demanded.

No one spoke.

“I asked you a question.” His voice seemed to boom and ricochet around the restaurant. It was a wonder no human heard him, although the walls felt as if they’d buckled with the power of his words.

“We tried to help Lucie impress Aren.” Mercy’s voice sounded as if she’d been tossed into a deep well. It echoed in her ears high-pitched and tinny.

“By adding salt, lemon, and cayenne to the sauce and a bit of extra butter to the potatoes?”

So he already knew.

“I’m afraid so.”

“What can we do to make this right?” Will asked. The dear boy really was concerned.

“It’s too late for that. Aren is going to write a review that isn’t the least bit favorable.” Gabriel didn’t pull any punches.

“Will it affect their business?”

“It will have the potential to destroy this restaurant. The New York Gazette can do that, you know.”

“Oh, no,” Goodness groaned. She had such a tender heart. Mercy knew that her friend would never forgive herself if Lucie and her mother lost the restaurant because of what they’d done.

“We were only trying to help,” Shirley said. “Please tell me that we can go back and undo what just happened.”

Sadness rimmed Gabriel’s eyes. “You know you can’t.”

“But in heaven …”

“This is Earth and we are bound by the frailties of a fallen world. There’s no undo button, no delete key. It is what it is.”

“What’s going to happen?” Mercy pleaded. Gabriel had the gift of being able to look into the future. Unfortunately, that was a skill they didn’t possess.

Gabriel sadly shook his head. “I think it might be best to wait and let you discover this for yourself. The four of you broke one of the cardinal rules of being Prayer Ambassadors.”

“We stepped in to help,” Goodness confessed.

“Our role is to guide.”

“We have a hands-off directive.”

“Now you will see for yourself what happens when you overstep in giving aid to humans.”

“But our intentions were good.”

“Intentions,” Gabriel repeated. “Intentions, my young man, are pavement along the road to destruction.”

“But—”

“This will be a painful lesson for you all.”

Mercy dreaded what was sure to happen next. “We’re banished from Earth, aren’t we?” Never again would they be allowed to visit humans. They might even lose their status as Prayer Ambassadors and be stripped of their wings. The thought was almost more than she could bear to consider.

Gabriel’s gaze focused on the four. “Have you learned your lesson?”

All four nodded simultaneously.

“Can you promise not to interfere in human affairs again?”

“I promise,” Will lamented. “I’ll never add salt to another dish as long as I serve the Lord.”

“Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy.” Gabriel turned his attention to the three of them. “You know better.”

They hung their heads, their wings drooping so that the tips brushed against the floor.

“What about Aren and Lucie?” Mercy felt she had to know how best to help these two … guide them, that is. She and her colleagues were responsible for messing up God’s plan. The least they could do was make things right, if possible.

“Ah, yes,” Gabriel mused aloud. “Aren and Lucie. Well, my friends, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.”

Chapter Six

Horrified by the review of Heavenly Delights in the New York Gazette, Lucie crunched up the newspaper and then immediately stomped on it. She’d read it multiple times, searching for a glimmer of something positive. Anything that could be considered constructive, but there was nothing. An encouraging word simply wasn’t to be found. The restaurant had been panned by Eaton Well. The review had been scathing, sarcastic, and that was only the first paragraph. It got worse from that point on. This review was disastrous and had the potential to ruin them.

“Sweetheart, are you reading it again?” her mother asked.

Lucie slammed her foot down on the crumpled-up newspaper and ground it back and forth as if putting out a cigarette butt. This was what she’d like to do to the reviewer, squish him like the roach he was. The man or woman was a parasite. A bug that needed to be exterminated. Eaton Well had been completely unfair, mocking her food, belittling her talent, and even going so far as to suggest she give up cooking entirely.