A Gift to Last Page 0,41

whole file, did you?" she asked wearily.

"Ah...no."

"That's what I thought." It would do no good to lecture them now. "Greg's mother was dying while he was in the middle of his second divorce."

"I remember reading about Bobbi," Mercy said triumphantly. "His second trophy wife."

"His second attempt to find another Catherine, you mean," Goodness muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. What does Bobbi and their divorce have to do with Greg's mother?" Mercy asked. Both angels were lying on their stomachs now, chins propped on their hands.

"You didn't finish reading the file, either?" Shirley was dismayed.

Anything that was going to get accomplished on this mission would obviously be up to her.

"It was too depressing."

"I don't have the patience to cope with men like him," Goodness said.

"Go on about his mother," Mercy urged, motioning with her hand for Shirley to continue.

"Greg hid as much of his wealth as he could from Bobbi, mostly in stocks and bonds. Otherwise she'd want her share in a divorce settlement."

"Were they married long enough for her to get much?"

Like most angelic beings, neither Goodness nor Mercy fully understood the way such matters were handled on earth. "Didn't matter," Shirley said. "She had a good attorney."

"Oh." Apparently Goodness and Mercy were knowledgeable enough to know what that meant.

"Lydia Bennett was dying and asked to see Greg," Shirley continued. "Unfortunately her request came the morning of his settlement hearing. Greg chose to go to court. I'm sure that if he'd known his mother would die before he got to the hospital, he would've canceled the court date."

"Oh, my," Goodness whispered.

"Phil never forgave him?"

"Never. They haven't spoken in ten years."

Goodness sat up and looked around. "I don't know if I can take much more of this. You two do what you want, but I need a break."

"Where are you going?" Shirley demanded. If her fellow angel got into any mischief, she'd be the one held accountable. As usual.

"Outside," Goodness called over her shoulder.

Without a word, Mercy followed Goodness.

"Mercy!" Shirley shouted.

Flustered now, she raced after the pair and came to an abrupt halt when she saw the hot-air balloons. Their huge parachutes with the bright rainbow-colored panels brightened the sky. There must have been a dozen balloons in the lower Kent Valley. She knew that conditions in the early-morning hours were often ideal for ballooning.

"Goodness! Mercy! Don't even think - " She was too late. Shirley caught sight of them as they hopped into a wicker carriage already filled to capacity. The ground crew was about to release the giant balloon from its tether line.

"Goodness!" Shirley called, exasperated beyond measure. "Mercy! Get out of there!"

Both pretended not to hear her. Shirley had to be careful. It wasn't uncommon for humans, especially young ones between the ages of one and five, to hear angels speak. Some older people possessed the ability, too. Inside the basket was an eighty-year-old grandmother who was taking the flight as a birthday gift from her grandchildren.

"For the love of heaven, will you two kindly - " Shirley froze, certain she was seeing things. The hot-air balloon had risen only about six feet off the ground, where it remained, hovering, even though the ropes that had bound the craft to earth had been set free.

"What's happening?" the old woman called to the ground crew, who'd stepped aside, obviously waiting for the balloon to glide upward. "Shouldn't we be going up?"

Shirley groaned when she saw the problem. Just as she'd ordered, Goodness and Mercy had indeed left the wicker basket, but had taken positions outside it, securing the dangling tether lines to the ground.

"Let go," Shirley yelled.

"Are you sure that's what you really want us to do?" Goodness asked.

Without waiting for a response, both Goodness and Mercy released their tether lines at the same time. The balloon shot into the sky like a rocket. A few seconds later, its speed became more sedate.

"Wow!" Shirley heard the grandmother shout, holding on to her protective helmet with one hand and gripping the basket with the other. "Can we do that again?"

Goodness stood next to Shirley, looking extremely pleased with herself.

"That felt wonderful."

"You've risked the entire mission," Shirley said coldly. "Gabriel is sure to hear about this."

"Look at this," Mercy called as she joined them. She held a bottle of sparkling wine in one hand and dangled a trio of champagne flutes in the other.

"Where'd you get that?" Shirley asked.

"They fell from the sky." She grinned broadly as she said it.

"Come on, Shirl," Goodness cajoled, "humans aren't the only ones who enjoy a glass of