The Archangel got to his feet. He planned to put an end to Mr. Exit’s conversation, but thought differently of it. Mr. Exit had a way of thinking that he was growing to appreciate and now he was curious.
“State your need, Mr. Exit,” Archangel said.
“I was a member of the team who went in for Bin Laden,” he said. “We had good intel and every member of the team knew their role and what had to happen. I think we will function better if, outside of Beauty and Kurtzwilde and the occasional conversation with you, information flowed better. It would make us better.”
“Again, I say, state your need.”
“I don’t know the need, man! None of us do, which is the problem. We didn’t realize that these wives aren’t getting regular womanly medical care until your wife pointed it out. We didn’t realize that we didn’t have a retirement plan until I pitched this idea. The more we are together, the more we realize,” Exit said. “We are independent contractors for “The Company” which I’m starting to think is an undercover arm of one of the Spook Divisions your family works for, Archangel.”
Gabriel Neary liked Mr. Exit a great deal.
He was a smart man.
A learned man.
He wasn’t a thug with a rifle who liked to shoot shit or a paid sociopath who liked to kill more than just bunny rabbits. Gabriel Neary appreciated a man of intelligence.
“There are five archangels in the Bible,” Gabriel Neary said. “The most well-known ones are Gabriel and Micheal. There are also Uriel, Joel, and of course Raphael. Sometimes we get to choose. Other times we are chosen. The question for you, Mr. Exit, did you choose, or were you chosen?”
He didn’t give Exit a chance to answer. He ended the meeting and encouraged all the parents to spend the remaining time playing with their children. Meals for the families had been arranged ahead of time and were served in the same meeting room for the group. They didn’t have to pay for any food, at least as far as he knew.
The families dispersed with the children being anxious for their chance to play in the water. Willow hung back, making a plate of snacks to take poolside as she got some sun and watch her girls learn to swim. Moreover, she wanted one on one with Gabriel.
He saw her giving him the side eye and asked Cabrina to wait as he spoke with the latest member of his congregation.
“Mrs. Exit, you wish to speak with me?” he asked.
“Willow. Please call me Willow. I’m not sure how I feel about being referred to as a traffic sign,” she said, offering him the warmest smile, which caught him off guard.
“Willow it is. Please have a seat,” he said, watching her eyes.
“Listen Mr. Archangel, I know the eyes are the window to the soul, but looking at me like that raises some questions,” she said, looking over at Cabrina.
“My apologies, but just as you were able to look at me and see the resemblance between me and my brother, I am able to look at your eyes and see the resemblance between you and Karli,” he said.
“Excuse me?” she said, blinking several times, trying to catch her breath. She thought she heard him correctly but her mind was slower in putting the pieces together.
“She’s your sister’s daughter,” he said. “I had to do a bit of digging to get the information, but I got it. Hymn does maintain a log and unbeknownst to the members of his group, the man does file the birth records of each child born. Your sister is listed on Karli’s birth certificate as her mother.”
Willow’s bottom lip began to tremble. In her heart, she’d always known. It was why Proderick Hymn wouldn’t let her leave.
“And Dusty Rose?”
“Her mother is listed on the records as you,” he said to a shocked-face Willow. “He filed the paperwork for the girl’s birth shortly after you arrived, even though Dusty was eight when you showed up at the commune. Hymn must have had plans to marry you and you adopt the girls.”
“I don’t even know what to say,” Willow said.
Archangel passed her a sealed envelope. He held it tightly in his hands, not wanting to relinquish the information she was owed, yet he was hesitant since he didn’t know if she was ready. A great deal of data had been dumped in her brain, and it would take weeks to sort through, if not longer.
“You giving me the envelope or not?” she inquired.
“My suggestion is to not open this any time soon. I would wait several months until you have the Etsy shop up or never open it at all.”
“Then why in the hell are you giving it to me? I’m a woman. There is a 98% chance I’m going to open this the moment I get back to the room,” she said flatly.
“I’m giving it to you because you deserve answers. This will give you those answers,” Archangel said. “I’m hesitant to give this to you because you deserve happiness. There is a 98% chance that if you open this before the ink has dried on your marriage certificate that all the hard work you’ve put in the last couple of weeks to ensure those children have a normal childhood and you can heal will be lost.”
He was looking her in the eyes again. She didn’t like it, but Willow did not look away. Her chin was lifted slightly and her back straightened.
“Willow, I will say the same thing to you that I said to your husband. Sometimes we get to choose. Other times we are chosen. The question for you, Willow, did you choose, or were you chosen to come looking for your sister so you could find her daughter and give the child a good life? Did you choose or were you chosen for Dusty Rose so she wouldn’t be a child bride to a man with three teeth who would abuse her young body each night? Please understand, that some things in this life ain’t about you.”
Willow blinked furiously, trying to push back the tears.
“What in the heck kind of minister are you?” she asked. “All of these broken women you’ve married off to these killers. These men, broken men, dark men with dark souls. You’ve paired us up as what, a balm to ease their consciouses when they come home from a tough day at the office of slaughter?”
“Walk with me, Willow,” he said, rising, his hands behind his back, leading her out to the water park.
In the water was Mr. Stop. Big, muscled and riddled with scars. The joy on his face was etched in his expression as a small girl came down the slide and shot through the air to land in his arms. Her hand went to her chest as her own Karli went next, landing in Raphael’s arms. Little Michelle didn’t want to try, but her father convinced her to come down the slide. Her giggles filled the air.
Mann and Yield roughhoused in the pool with the three boys as they swam and frolicked. The women who were married to the men she called killers sat poolside, relaxed, not watching, but well aware of their children.
“Point out to me which man has the dark soul.” Archangel said. “Show me which of those women are broken.”
Willow opened her mouth.
Archangel silenced her.
“None of them are broken, just as you aren’t. No matter what Hymn tried to do to you, he didn’t break you. Tameka was held against her will and sexually assaulted by a man who drugged her and she gave birth to her assailant’s child, a child who is out there having fun with my brother who loves her and will take down any man who comes near that child. She never broke. Judy never broke. Millicent never broke. Sharon never broke,” Archangel said.