She pauses slightly. “But don’t worry about me. I will.”
A thought occurs to me and I turn back to Sal. “Can human souls ever become angels?” The question makes him uncomfortable and I watch him squirm slightly in his chair. “Can they?” I press.
“You know, you’re pushy,” he finally blurts out after I poke him in the arm to get a reaction.
“Well, you didn’t answer me.”
He looks up at Madeline, his lips puckering from clenching them together so tightly.
“You know,” Madeline begins, “I’ll just leave the two of you to talk about whatever.” She turns and walks back to her seat. As she does, Sal relaxes.
“What gives?” I ask, eyeing him with suspicion.
He looks around to make sure no one is listening. “Okay, yes, humans on very rare occasions can be elevated to the rank of angel, but it’s almost impossible.”
“Why?” I ask.
Sal really looks like he would rather explain how babies are made than how a human becomes an angel, but he dutifully launches into a brief explanation. I suspect he’s just trying to distract me from thinking about the verdict.
“There are several traits that a human must possess in order to become an angel. First, they need to be true of heart. Maliciousness is something that does not come naturally to angels.”
“That seems a bit unfair,” I mutter, my eyes drifting skyward. After all, from what I can see, Azbaugh embodies malice with some wickedness to spare.
Sal glares at me. “You cannot pretend to understand the existence we have endured since before the beginning of time.”
“You’re right,” I admit sheepishly.
I’m not sure if it’s my honesty or humility that surprises him more, but Sal recovers and continues his explanation. “They also have to be pure.”
“Pure? You mean like never having—”
“Yes,” he says quickly.
Turns out, there is nothing more awkward than discussing sex with an angel.
“Okay, so pure of heart and body. What else?”
Sal ticks off the rest on his fingers. “Empathetic, loyal, trustworthy, eager to serve others, and the survivor of a life unlived.”
The last one throws me for a loop. “Okay, I get the first four. Sounds like you’re looking for a Boy Scout, which I get. But I don’t know what you mean by a survivor of a life unlived.”
“It means,” Sal says, leaning closer, “that their life was cut short before the trappings of the human life could make them pessimistic toward the human condition.”
“Huh?”
Sal rolls his eyes. “They aren’t full of the societal desire to conform and be someone they aren’t.”
I nod my head. “You mean like me.”
“Yes,” he says, not bothering to sugarcoat his answer.
I look back at Madeline, her eyes bright and shining as she listens to something my grandfather is saying. “What about Madeline? She would be perfect.”
“I cannot discuss this with you.”
My eyes widen. “Is she a candidate or whatever you call them?” I grab his hand in excitement. “Oh, you have to make her an angel. Seriously, she would be perfect.”
He looks down at my hand before carefully lifting it off his robe. “Even if she was, I couldn’t talk to you about details.”
“Oh, come on. It makes perfect sense. First, she meets every single criteria … not sure about the pure of body one, but I would put money on it that she is. And then there’s the way Azbaugh reacts to her. I mean, I’m pretty sure the guy hates everybody and yet when she was giving her witness, he practically bent over backward to be nice to her.”
He looks away, unwilling to meet my demanding gaze.
“She is!” I squeal, clapping my hands together under the desk.
“Stop talking,” he orders.
I make a motion of zipping my lip and throwing away the key. “That is perfect. When?”
“You’re not going to drop this, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Fine. Yes, she is now being considered for elevation. But she has a choice to make.”
“What kind of choice?” I ask.
Now that the truth is out, Sal doesn’t seem to care about keeping the information to himself. “If she were to be elevated to the rank of angel, Madeline would have to agree to give up everything from her mortal life. When family members and friends arrive, she will not be able to greet them, at least not as human souls. Her memories will be sealed until such time as she wishes for them back.”
“They can do that?” I ask in surprise.
Sal nods. “It doesn’t happen often, though.”
I want to ask him more and find out how soon Madeline will know if she’s going to