Calamity! Read online

  Love COMMITTEE

  ~ Calamity! ~

  Love COMMITTEE Series ~

  ~ Angelic Novella #4 ~

  Celeste King

  To watch for upcoming titles,

  or to drop me a note—

  please visit my website & blog!

  http://bit.ly/celesteking

  Twitter:

  @1CelesteKing

  ~ Copyright © 2012~

  ~ by Celeste King ~

  Cover and internal design ©Celeste King. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information, storage, and retrieval systems – except in the case of brief quotations in articles or reviews – without the permission in writing from its author, Celeste King.

  This book is a fictional work. Characters, names, commercial organizations, specific businesses, or incidents described are used as imagination dictates. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, or events which have actually transpired is purely coincidental.

  ~ Table Of Contents ~

  Contents

  Love COMMITTEE 2

  ~ Calamity! ~ 2

  Love COMMITTEE Series ~ 2

  ~ Angelic Novella #4 ~ 2

  ~ Copyright © 2012~ 3

  ~ by Celeste King ~ 3

  ~ Table Of Contents ~ 4

  ~ Chapter 1 ~ 5

  ~ Chapter 2 ~ 8

  ~ Chapter 3 ~ 12

  ~ Chapter 4 ~ 15

  ~ Chapter 5 ~ 18

  ~ Chapter 6 ~ 20

  ~ Chapter 7 ~ 23

  ~ Chapter 8 ~ 27

  ~ Chapter 9 ~ 33

  ~ Chapter 10 ~ 35

  ~ Chapter 11 ~ 40

  ~ Chapter 12 ~ 41

  ~ Chapter 13 ~ 42

  ~ Chapter 14 ~ 44

  ~ Chapter 15 ~ 46

  ~ Chapter 16 ~ 50

  ~ Chapter 17 ~ 52

  ~ Chapter 18 ~ 54

  ~ Chapter 19 ~ 58

  ~ About the Author ~ 62

  ~ Chapter 1 ~

  Joseph walked, somewhat absent mindedly, through the City of Light where he and his fellow angels resided. Typically, his favorite season to explore was Spring, but he had decided to branch out and walk through Summer with its radiant heat, green grass, and carefree feeling. While he appreciated the beauty, he just couldn’t focus as well as he could in Spring. He turned and walked through the crystalline buildings longing for his favorite season.

  These walks through the City of Light were essential to Joseph’s work. It helped him remain focused much like walks in his mortal life had done so. He remembered walking along the pavement or a trail in a park, almost looking for answers in God’s beautiful creations. More often than not he was inspired with an answer. Now, on his heavenly walks, he would think of ways to better inspire those who prayed for an angel’s assistance. He couldn’t imagine a work more rewarding than that of helping others.

  A fellow angel, Carson, and his team from the Quorum of Ministering Angels, which Joseph headed, were at the forefront of Joseph’s mind. He thought of the Omer twins and their troubles. Carson would be beginning his mission now to help the twins. As his walk transitioned him into Spring, he hardly noticed the cityscape around him changing. The picturesque landscape of Montana unfolded around Joseph and, since the City of Light reflected that of the city in which someone needed help from the guardian angels, he knew Cassandra would not be far away.

  Cassandra, a light-hearted angel, had been ministering to Joan and her daughter, Beth, in Montana. Their husband and father, David, had recently passed away after a brief fight with cancer. Joan, knowing she would need divine assistance to make it through this trial, had prayed for help and strength. Doctors had told her to only expect a few more weeks as David’s conditioned dramatically worsened. Joan knew it was not a time to pray for his recovery, but to pray for help through what was surely the inevitable. The thought of facing the death of her husband and the upcoming funeral arrangements overwhelmed her and, always having been a woman of faith, she turned to God and his angels.

  Cassandra had been with Joan and Beth intermittently throughout the last several months as they learned of David’s diagnosis and proceeded with his treatments. Joan had prayed for his speedy recovery at the beginning, but when someone’s journey must come to a close on earth so they can help in the afterlife, the angels can only comfort. The last few weeks Cassandra and her team had been continually working to transition them as peacefully as possible into life without David.

  The Omer twins left Joseph’s thoughts for the Moment as he reviewed the details of Cassandra’s case in his mind. It was no surprise when he heard her light footsteps quickly coming in his direction.

  “Hello, Cassandra,” Joseph said without turning around.

  “How did you know it was me?” asked Cassandra a little bewildered. Joseph outstretched his arm and swept it across the Montana landscape. “Oh, of course,” giggled Cassandra, “As I’m sure you already probably know, Joan and Beth are in further need of our help.”

  “I thought the issue was resolved? Of course they will feel grief for a long time to come, but you reported they had been guided through the funeral services,” Joseph pointed out.

  “Yes, but a new issue has risen.”

  “Of what nature?”

  “I thought there may have been an issue at the funeral between Joan and Beth, but I was there to assist with the emotional toll from David’s passing, so I did not interfere. It seems Beth’s involvement with her boyfriend, Eric, has become of great concern to Joan. Enough so that she has again asked for help. She’s worried for Beth’s safety.” Cassandra was frequently a ray of giggling sunshine, but when someone was in need her big heart took over. She always became very focused on the wellbeing of those she needed to help. Joseph greatly valued this quality in Cassandra and it was of great importance when she was being considered to join the Quorum of Ministering Angels.

  “Alright, would you like to take the same team with you for this case?” asked Joseph. He had found five angels were necessary to successfully help those in need.

  “Some have been chosen by Carson to help with the Omer twins, so I will need a different team,” said Cassandra thoughtfully, “I’ll take Patience, Jayna, Milton, and Andy, if that’s alright?”

  “Of course. Good luck and I look forward to your review of the case,” Joseph said, feeling confident that Cassandra could bring peace to the lives Joan and Beth.

  ~ Chapter 2 ~

  Joan ached for her husband. The last six months had been nothing but agony, knowing she would lose David and never be able to feel his touch in this life again. She had parents who taught her to turn to God when times were tough and she had done so this time. She felt that praying for help had not necessarily lessened her grief, but had given her the ability to maintain mental clarity when faced with the difficult decisions of her husband’s death. She had heard of women losing their husbands and always wondered how they weren’t completely defeated. She realized now, when faced with such a situation, you were stronger than you might have expected.

  David made most of the decisions surrounding his own death. Joan listened to him speak about a time in the near future when he would not be with her. He was so calm. He spoke with such love for his wife and daughter it seemed he wasn’t even thinking about death. When the doctor told them after his last chemo treatment that things had not worked how they had hoped, it all moved so fast. It was only a few weeks until he was gone and David insisted on making sure everything was discussed so Joan and Beth could move on quickly and be taken care of financially.

  “I don’t want you burdened by financial decisions and coordinating funeral services,” David had told Joan. Joan just didn’t want the burden of his death. Ever
ything else she could handle. She wondered how David was able to stay so calm and collected. It was so gut wrenching knowing her husband was going to die, but she didn’t know what it felt like from his perspective. He was going to die and he even knew approximately when. Instead of falling apart or becoming bitter, his sole focus was on his wife and daughter. Joan knew David was truly a man of God and that comforted him in many ways. Knowing he had a purpose after his earthly life helped him accept the circumstances.

  Joan didn’t get as much time alone with David at the end as she had wanted. Once they started notifying family and friends and the doctors insisted he remain at the hospital, they were constantly interrupted. It was usually in the middle of the night, when they both needed to be sleeping and no nurses would come back to take his blood pressure for at least a couple of hours, would they talk. Sometimes their conversation was as simple as wondering if the garage door was closed or the plants were watered. Other times they spoke about what heaven must be like and even joked about the pranks he would be able to play on her when she couldn’t see him anymore. It was typical in their relationship to make jokes about serious situations. It was never out of disrespect, but a deeply held belief they both had about always putting things in perspective and having faith things would work out in the end.

  Joan held David’s hand as he took his last breaths and she felt briefly as though she couldn’t go on. She wondered how much worse her pain would have been if she hadn’t known he had returned to live with God. When he stopped breathing Joan felt herself taking deep breaths, as if making sure she had not ceased as well. She thought maybe if her breaths were deep enough she could breathe for them both.

  His other hand was held by Beth, their seventeen-year-old, beautiful daughter, who adored her father. The pain in her eyes was so palpable Joan couldn’t bear to look into them. Joan worried about what affect watching her own father die would have on Beth. Would she come out stronger on the other side? Or would she be bitter and terrified of death? Joan wished she better knew Beth’s thoughts. They had hardly spoken in the weeks leading up to this Moment.

  When David was diagnosed, Beth almost didn’t seem to understand the severity. Her father had always been courageous and able to deal with any situation. This was just another bump in the road that her father could fix. The first chemo treatment began and she watched her father weaken. He was becoming a man she had never seen before. Her fierce instinct to protect him was met with the inability to help in any way. She began to be angry with God; something she had never felt in her life.

  A couple of months after treatment began Joan overheard Beth praying in her room. She had heard this practice many times, but this time the tone in her voice was harsh.

  “How could you do this to us?” Beth demanded, “How could you take a good man like my father and give him this awful disease. If you are a powerful God then heal him. Heal him or I will never pray again.” Joan was unsure of how to respond. She didn’t want Beth to feel her privacy had been violated, but she wanted so much to reassure her daughter. Joan was feeling so emotionally drained on that day in particular. She didn’t know if she could be the best shoulder to cry on for Beth right then. It had been a really rough day for David and his treatments were really starting to show physically. Joan had seen him cry for the first time in the entire process. She decided to let Beth deal with her grief on her own in that Moment.

  As David’s condition worsened she watched Beth’s anger grow. She tried to speak with her and explain that sometimes, bad things happen in life, but Beth didn’t want to hear it. Instead her anger turned to Joan. She accused her mother of not praying hard enough and not finding better doctors to help her father. Joan was heartbroken. If only Beth knew how badly she wanted to wave a magic wand and fix David’s body. She too had fleeting Moments of anger with God, brief times where she questioned her faith, but she always brought herself out of that negativity, often with prayer. Joan knew her thoughts didn’t make her a bad person. She was human and she was being tested. Joan worried that Beth’s questioning thoughts were turning into doubts, starting to overtake her and leading her down a dangerous path.

  As the months went on, Beth began spending more time with her boyfriend, Eric, and less time at the hospital and home. Eric had come into Beth’s life a few months before they found out about David’s cancer. They had gone on a few dates, but when Joan asked about him, Beth would always insist Eric was nothing special. After the diagnosis came Beth turned to Eric for comfort, especially when she began to feel angry. Under the circumstances, Joan didn’t know much about Eric and hadn’t been able to speak with him a great deal. She tried not to be too protective of her daughter, but something about Eric worried her. In fact, in a way, she felt he was dangerous. Beth’s attitude slowly changed as the amount of time spent with Eric increased. She was more disagreeable, stubborn, and disrespectful. The hobbies she had enjoyed were no longer of interest to her.

  Beth took a lot of pride in her writing. Her poems and short stories had won awards at her school and in the state, but Joan never saw her write anymore. Typically she would see Beth’s light on a little later than normal. When Joan would knock on her door she would open it to find Beth working furiously on a new story at her desk. That had been replaced by late night texts between Beth and Eric. She usually wanted to share her latest poem with her Mom, but Joan hadn’t read anything of Beth’s in months.

  Joan felt there was a side of Eric neither she nor Beth had seen; however, she could not bring herself to limit the time Beth spent with the one person she was willing to talk to. She also didn’t think she could handle the argument that would surely come. Joan also couldn’t insist that Beth sit in the hospital for hours on end. It was far too depressing. She tried to be the one to console Beth, but instead they grew further and further apart.

  Now, with each of them standing at the side of David’s bed, holding his hands, knowing he would never open his eyes again, they had never felt so far apart. The doctors and nurses left them alone and they cried in silence, not looking at each other, not speaking. Joan reached across the bed and took Beth’s hand, but Beth did not clasp her hand back. She let it hang limp while her mother squeezed it.

  Joan had to handle a few things at the hospital right after David’s death and she watched as Beth walked out of the room and onto the elevator. A few minutes later she saw Beth from the hospital room window that overlooked the parking lot. Beth sat down on a bench out in front. Joan continued with paperwork and answering questions. A little while later she looked out the window and saw Beth getting into Eric’s Jeep.

  ~ Chapter 3 ~

  Joan and Beth didn’t directly speak to each other all the way through the funeral. Since it had all been planned in advance they held the services within a few days after David’s death. This also made it possible for numerous friends and family to travel in for the funeral. The outpouring of support touched Joan and she knew it was an answer to her prayers.

  They stood next to his beautiful casket as grieving family members and friends passed by to pay their last respects. This was a part of the services that Joan tried not to dread as she wanted everyone to be able to have closure, but anticipating it made her exhausted. She had been doing a lot of her own crying and now she had to face many loved ones in tears. There were so many heartbroken people. Joan knew so many were trying to be strong for her and she appreciated that. Truly she just wanted to lie down and cry. Somehow she made it through, as if someone was standing beside her, holding her up through it all.

  Joan was amazed at Beth’s poise and grace when speaking with people she had never even met about what a wonderful person her father was. Beth’s ability to maintain composure during difficult times was something she definitely inherited from her father, Joan thought. Although a few tears ran down Beth’s face while everyone filed through, she spoke clearly and confidently about her father. She knew he was a good man.

  The funeral was beautiful and so fitting of the inc
redible husband and father David had been. The sheer number of attendees spoke volumes about how David treated those in his life. So many flowers were sent that the room felt more like a garden. Joan was pleasantly surprised at how many arrangements contained pink roses, which had been the bouquet David had given her the night he proposed. It was always their flower, and she couldn’t even remember telling that many people about it. How could they have known, she thought. Joan smiled softly to herself as she pictured all of those flowers that would eventually be surrounding her at home. She felt comforted.

  Joan knew she wouldn’t be able to handle participating in the funeral services and Beth declined to as well. They sat next to each other as close friends of David’s and the family spoke of his life’s accomplishments and his loving character. Joan felt she couldn’t have painted a more beautiful picture of David than those who spoke. Her heart filled with gratitude and love. She wanted to reach over and take Beth’s hand, but she was worried Beth might pull away. Joan didn’t want that to be an event she remembered on that day.

  After the graveside service, close family and friends gathered for a luncheon at Joan’s home. Joan tried to help set up for the luncheon, but the coordinators refused. Her closest neighbors had provided the food and had obviously gone to a lot of trouble. Their ovens had clearly been busy with casseroles, side dishes, turkey, ham, and all kinds of comfort foods. Joan’s heart swelled with the thought of how many people had cared for her the last six months providing meals, running errands, and just lending an ear. She had never felt such gratitude.

  One of her neighbors, Sandy, had also grown to be one of Joan’s closest friends. While Sandy also grieved the loss of David, she was the first to make sure Joan and Beth had everything they needed. She had organized the efforts of the neighborhood to make sure they were fed and cared for. It wasn’t just for the funeral either. It had been since the diagnosis. Sandy had been vigilant every day for the last several months. She had been a rock in Joan’s life recently. Joan watched Sandy monitor the luncheon, making sure trays were full and drinks were available. Joan smiled and realized Sandy had been an angel on Earth for her.