The Archangel

“Who are you?” Taken aback by the stranger in my shared office, I was a bit brusque.

“I’m Lily Smith; you must be John Smith. I started last week while you were still in Bali. I guess we’re office mates. I’m looking forward to working with you; I’m sure you’ll like my ways. I heard about you before I even came here.”

“Cool! Funny, no relation, I’m sure. I didn’t mean to sound rude; I was just surprised. I’ve been in this office by myself for a few months and didn’t expect anyone. And thanks.

“So, how are you? How’s the job so far? And how did you know I was in Bali? And how did you hear about me before you came here?”

“One week in, everything’s going as expected. Everyone’s been very nice and helpful to me. We got my computer set up, started my onboarding paperwork, and I learned where all the supplies are hidden. You know, the usual first week stuff.

“As far as knowing about your Bali trip, office gossip grapevines tell all, don’t you know,” she smiled. “And social media reveals all, don’t you know,” she continued with that same smile.

“That’s all true. I forget how effective the grapevine can be and how telling social media can be.

“But I’m glad it’s working out here for you,” I said as I moved to my desk facing her. After I sat down and put my lunch bag in its usual drawer, I asked, “Where did you come from? What did you do?”

“I was in acquisitions at Hellers, Inc. I was hired by you guys last month and started last Monday.”

“Oh, so they hired you while I was gone. Now, it makes sense how this was all a surprise. Not a bad thing; just a surprise.

“Hellers, huh? I don’t know that company. I’m still kind of new to Phoenix; I got transferred down here from Pittsburg. That’s how I could take a month off; I’ve been with the company for ten years. Is Hellers local?”

“It’s international with branches everywhere. But it strives to be a silent partner in society,” she explained. “I was based in El Paso at Corporate headquarters.”

“Nice. Are you from Texas originally? What brings you here to work?”

“No, my folks are from the Middle East and Daddy raised me in DC. I moved to Texas for my job about five years ago.

“As far as why I’m here, I wanted a change of venue. You might say it’s a chance to meet new souls. I moved here from El Paso two weeks ago, so I’m not real familiar with Phoenix either.”

“That all makes sense. Welcome to Phoenix and to our corporate family.

“Is this office arrangement okay with you? Billy and I set the desks up facing each other like this because it made it easier for us to work on projects together. We did this angled thing with the monitors so we could see each other when we were talking. It made sense to us, but we can change it if you’d like.”

“No, I think it makes sense. If we want to change it later, we can,” she replied.

“The grapevine also reported that you went to Bali on some kind of spiritual retreat. Is that true?”

“Yeah, some folks there think I’m a mangku, that’s what they call a holy man over there. They say I’m just awakening into my powers. So I go, spend some time praying at the temples and generally hanging out with folks who want to visit with me.”

She asked, “So what do they want to visit with you about?”

“This is between you and me. If I want others to know about it, I’ll tell them. Deal?”

“Deal,” she agreed.

“They come from all over the country to converse with me about the Creator and life in general. Some come for advice about the path they’re following in life. Others like to compare their processes for healing and such with my ways. Those folks believe my powers exceed theirs and they want to improve.”

“Do you believe they’re right? Do you believe you have these powers?”

“Yeah, enough has happened in the last few years to make me believe in them and in myself. Interestingly, the holiest of mangkus came to visit me this time. He rarely leaves his temple, so it was quite an honor.

“He seemed agitated which is absolutely out of character for one in his position.”

“Did he explain why?” She was attentive to my story.

“He explained a recent vision he had. He told me that I would be visited by a powerful being who would tempt me to leave my path. If I did not fall for the temptation, this creature would destroy me.”

She commented, “That sounds scary!”

“It could be, I guess. I must admit I was relieved to land at Sky Harbor in one piece. Well, enough of that.

“You’re newer to Phoenix than I am. Would you like to go out to supper tonight? There’s a little Irish pub a couple of blocks from here that sells room temperature Guinness on tap. They also have perfect fish and chips and a great corned beef sandwich they serve with the best cole slaw I’ve ever had.”

“That sounds nice. I’ve got to meet with HR again this morning and most of the afternoon to finish up all my new-hire processing. What time were you thinking? I’d like to eat kind of early so I can finish unpacking. The last of my stuff arrived Friday afternoon.”

“I’m thinking after work, say five-ish?”

“So, right after work is good. Shall we just walk over there from here?” she asked.

“Yeah, that makes sense. We can come back for our cars after supper. The parking garage doesn’t lock down until eight o’clock.”

“Okay, sounds good. I gotta go; I’m supposed to meet with the head HR person at eight-thirty, five minutes from now.”

“Okay. When you get done, come back here and we can go over any questions you may have about what Caroline tells you or anything else.”

The day went quickly for John. He had to get with the IT guys to help him reset his password after he got locked out of the system. “Too long away from my dear little computer,” he explained to the IT tech.

He met up with several of the other worker bees in the office and exchanged the usual pleasantries one shares after a month on holiday. He asked peoples’ opinion of his new office mate, and they all agreed she seemed nice. Maybe a tad standoff-ish but that’s expected during the first week or two.

He told his two most trusted office friends that he was taking her out to a “welcome to the job” supper at Pete’s later. They both agreed that that was a nice gesture and they wanted a full report later about how it went and what she was really like away from the office.

Laughing, he promised a full report the next day.

Lily got back to their office about an hour after lunch.

“How’d it go? Was Caroline good to you?”

“She helped me a lot and even had sandwiches brought in so we could get more stuff done. We got my insurance set up and all the sundry paperwork completed including my access to the company car. Luckily, I already have my Arizona driver’s license; that expedited the process.

“She did ask if you had hit on me yet. I told her we were scheduled for supper this evening and she laughed and told me you are a very good guy and that I could trust you.”

“Well, so much for HR confidentiality,” I teased.

I asked, “Did Caroline explain there are some online classes you need to complete to be fully vetted into our department?”

“Yep, Caroline explained about that and said you’d help me get squared away with it all. Do we have time to get started on any class?”

“We can get you registered into the system today and maybe get you into one of the classes today. If nothing else, we’ll get you lined up to dive into them in the morning. Here, let me show you.”

I wheeled my chair around to her side of the desks and we started plowing through the initial setup process so she could dive into her training ASAP.

At five, we shut down and headed for the elevator to the lobby. The walk to the pub was pleasant and we had a few laughs on the way.

We got to the pub, ordered twin draft Guinnesses and told the waitress we’d like a few extra minutes to talk before ordering our meals.

The waitress moved to a newcomer who sat himself at the booth under the front window.

“Hi, welcome to Pete’s Irish Pub. I’m Crystal and I’ll be taking care of you today. How are you doing?”

“Good afternoon, Crystal. I’m doing great! Thanks for asking. I’m Mike and I’d like a room temp Guinness and a shepherd’s pie with Tabasco on the side.”

“Certainly, Mike. Would you like a warm buttered slice of soda bread with the Guinness while we prepare your meal?”

“Please. That’d be great. Thanks!” I replied.

Seated by the front window, I had a fun view of the busy city street and could see the length of the narrow pub. At a two-top at the far end of the room, sat what appeared to be an early evening first date. He had the earnest focus of every first dater I’ve ever observed. She had her back to me, but she seemed to reciprocate that first-date earnestness. She had that slight forward lean that tempted the poor guy’s eyeballs. I must say he did a fairly good job of looking into her eyes instead of elsewhere. I found it mildly amusing.

Wait a minute! Her straight long blondish hair and the curve of her back were familiar. Eavesdropping has always been my hobby, and they piqued my interest, especially her.

John started, “So, Lily, you just got to Phoenix two weeks ago. How did you get into your apartment so quickly? When I came here, it took a month of hotel rooms before I could get into a decent apartment.”

“My daddy is into real estate, and he knew someone who knew someone who helped me get moved in quicker than usual. Sometimes it’s handy to have influential parents,” she explained.

“Wow, that’s nice. Does your dad plan to come out here soon? Does he still live in DC?”

“He’s here. He had business to tend to down in Tucson and farther south. Something to do with border construction, I think he said. Devilish business, Daddy told me.”

That explained it! Her voice with that husky demonic temptress quality and her reference to her Daddy’s devilish border business did it. Only one creature I know has those two qualifications. My nemesis, Lilith, consort of demons, tempter of holy ones. Lily my angelic backside!

My job is to save souls and drive off demons. I couldn’t ignore this. Dang it, I really wanted that shepherd’s pie!

“Lilith, step away from the mortal! You know he’s destined for great things. He does not deserve your mischief. Let him live in peace. Begone!”

His booming voice shattered the window behind him as he stood and commanded her to move on.

She moved on and John understood the mangku’s vision.