Those Christmas Angels (Angels Everywhere #5)(120)

“You know we will.” Tears filled her eyes.

Harry took her hand and squeezed it. “I don’t want there to be tears when I pass, understand?”

“Oh, Dad, of course there’ll be tears. You have no idea how much you’re loved. You’re the very heart of our family.”

Harry sighed, knowing their sadness couldn’t be avoided. Death for him, though, would be freeing. “Donna will be here to help your mother with the move.”

“Kenny and I plan to come, as well.”

“Thank you.” Harry wasn’t sure he’d still be around by then. But everything had been set in motion, and that brought him a sense of peace. “I think I’d better rest for a while.”

“Good idea.” When he lay down on the quilt, she kissed him on the cheek, then rearranged his pillows.

He’d just closed his eyes when Rosalie came into the room. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” she asked.

“I’m tired, that’s all.”

She picked up the afghan at the foot of the bed and covered him gently. “Rest now, and I’ll wake you in time for dinner.”

Harry nodded, and then, as his wife of sixty-six years was about to leave the room, he reached for her hand.

Rosalie turned back expectantly.

“I’ve always loved you, my Rose.”

She smiled softly. “I know, Harry. And you’re the love of my life.”

“This life and the next.”

Rosalie bent down to kiss his cheek, and Harry closed his eyes.

“Harry,” Mercy whispered.

Harry Alderwood’s eyes flickered open and he stared at her in astonishment. “Am I dead? In Heaven?”

Mercy nodded. “Look,” she said, with a gesture that swept from his head to his feet. “You’re not old anymore. You’re young again.”

“Rosalie?”

“You’ll see her soon,” Mercy promised him. “And when she gets here, she’ll be the young woman you met all those years ago.”

“I saw you before,” Harry said, pointing at Mercy. “That night I forgot my walker.”

Mercy smiled. “That was me.”

“You helped me, and I’m most appreciative.”

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy surrounded Harry. “Come with us,” Mercy said. “Your parents and your brother are waiting for you.”

“Mom and Dad?” he asked excitedly. “And Ted, too?”

Mercy smiled again. “Everyone. All of Heaven has been waiting for your arrival. We’re celebrating Christmas and you’ll see—it’s nothing like it is on Earth.”

Gabriel appeared before them. “Harry Alderwood?”

Harry, young and handsome, nodded.

“Welcome to Paradise,” Gabriel said. “I’ll take over from here.” The Archangel looked at the three Prayer Ambassadors, dismissing them. “I’ll be joining you shortly.”

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy stood in the choir loft at Leavenworth First Christian Church for the seven o’clock Christmas Eve service. Once they were finished here, they’d join Beth and her family at Midnight Mass in Seattle.

As the organ music swelled with the opening strains of “O Holy Night,” Goodness leaned over to her friends. “Just wait until these humans hear the music in Heaven. Boy, are they in for a surprise.”

“Like Harry,” Mercy said. She’d served God as a Prayer Ambassador but she’d never assisted in the crossing before now. Watching as the frail body of Harry Alderwood was transformed into that of a young man had been a moving experience. His spirit had been set free from his weak and failing heart, free from his pain and free from the restraints of the world.

“Like Harry,” Gabriel agreed, suddenly standing beside them. He focused his attention on Mercy. “You did well.”

“Thank you,” she said humbly. “I’m glad I was there to escort him to Heaven.”

“How’s his family doing?” Mercy asked, concerned for Rosalie and Harry’s daughters. She couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been like for Rosalie to come into the bedroom and find that her husband had died in his sleep.

“It’s never easy for those on Earth to lose a loved one,” Gabriel told them.

“They don’t understand, do they?”

“Not yet,” Gabriel said. “For now, they’re looking through a dim glass. Soon, each one will know, each one will have his or her own experience and understand that death is not just an end but a beginning. A true beginning.”

“How’s Rosalie?”

“At the moment, she’s overwhelmed by grief. Her daughters are with her, though, and their love will sustain her. One or both of them will stay here until she’s settled in Liberty Orchard.”

That reassured Mercy.

The music came to a halt and the minister, Pastor Williams, stepped over to the podium in the front of the church.

“I have two announcements to make before we proceed with the Christmas program,” he said. “I’ve received word that Harry Alderwood passed away this afternoon. I ask that we keep Rosalie and her family in our prayers.”

Hushed murmurs rippled through the congregation.

“Also, as many of you know, the Jacksons lost their home in a fire last night. Fortunately, they have insurance. However, all their belongings have been destroyed. They’re staying with relatives in Wenatchee right now, but if the people of our community could open their hearts to this young family, I know you will be blessed.”