Chapter 24
Angel
It actually takes us four days to get to California. Brother Owen said that he wanted to go the long way. There were all kinds of things that he had never gotten to see, like Chattanooga. Oklahoma. The Mississippi and Colorado Rivers. Snow in the mountains.
I just can't get over how big this country is. It seems like my life has always been very small, bordered by falling down fences on three sides and the love and support of all the people that I knew. But really, it's huge. Those songs that we sang, like with purple mountains majesty? We really have purple mountains! Amber waves of grain? That's a real thing!
Mile after mile, I just open my heart to all the wonder that there is. Sometimes cold, sometimes hotter than I could have possibly imagined, still, riding on the back of a motorcycle across the country has been an unbelievable dream come true.
Only, it wasn’t my dream. It was Owen’s. I didn't know enough about the world to even dream it.
I see him smiling proudly at me from time to time when he is showing me something new. Little by little, I am getting to know him more. He’s a dreamer, maybe even more than Father Daddy. He is always looking ahead, looking for more.
In Georgia, they have red clay roads. They're terrible for the motorcycle when it's raining, but it wasn't raining for us. The dust was fine and got all up in my nose. But still, something totally strange and wonderful to see. He seemed so proud to show it to me.
We keep to the back roads, away from the highways. That's another reason it's taking so long. But from what I gather, I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not supposed to be anywhere.
I didn't know what the man at the motel was talking about when we first left, that I needed an ID. I have nothing. I don't even have a last name. If we got pulled over by the police, I would have no way to prove who I am.
That's how they explain it to me, but it doesn't make any sense. Of course I'm someone. Just because the police don't know I am, doesn't mean I don't exist. It's ridiculous. But apparently there are laws that say I have to have certain kinds of pieces of paper. I need to be in the system, whatever that is. I need to be documented.
Father Daddy says that he'll work this out when we get to LA. Los Angeles means City of Angels, and that just makes me giggle. A whole city, just for me? I know that's not it, but it's still fun to say.
Southern California is yet another desert. This is also a surprise. I thought deserts were distributed perhaps one per country. I didn't know that the country could have more than one. Just another silly assumption because I didn't know anything about anything.
It's hot, but there are no mosquitoes. The light is golden everywhere. The sky is enormous. We sail through roads that shimmer at the far end and look like they're covered in water but when we get there, there's no water at all. Just more brown sand and dirt everywhere. Cactuses.
Everywhere we go, whether it's to eat or use the bathroom or camp, Father Daddy and Brother Owen stand on either side of me, like they’re my bodyguards. I'm not supposed to wander off. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. I'm still enclosed in their protection.
If we need to get something, Brother Owen will go and get it. Father Daddy will stand next to me and wait. I don't need to do anything.
I don't do anything but daydream. I imagine that our new house is a bright white castle on a hill. Father Daddy said once it was in the hills of LA, so I'm pretty sure I have the hill part right. Trying to stretch my mind forward, I yearn to see a vision of our new life that I can access.
Will I be a housewife? A queen? The auntie of our new Kingdom Come? I don't know. I can't wait to find out. The possibilities are endless.
Eventually, we come to the ocean. It doesn't look anything like I thought it would. It's so big that the horizon doesn't even contain it. It just sort of fades into mist at the far end, though I know it eventually circles around to Asia somehow.
It smells like… the ocean, I suppose. I’ve heard people say that before, but it's really intense. Salty. Kind of feral, almost like a barnyard or something. Just a little bit filthy.
But so beautiful. The waves make a frightening amount of noise. Brother Owen asked me if I wanted to touch the water, but not yet. Today the waves are over my head. I'm afraid I will be swept out to sea.
There are thousands of cars and bikes on the highway. We turn off and begin the slow climb up the side of what looks like a small mountain. There are palm trees. The road zags back and forth, climbing ever higher. Houses seem to go all the way to the top. They’re enormous. Windows gape toward the ocean like eyes, all staring at the water at the same time.
Finally we slow. Motorcycle engines growl like big, African cats as we climb a brick covered driveway to the end. My heart begins to race.
Someone comes out the front door, gliding down the front steps as her shoes make sharp noises against the stones. She waves one arm over her head. Her hair is pulled back into a tight bun, so extreme that seems to elevate her eyebrows a full half inch.
“Mr. Redken? Yoo-hoo!”
Father Daddy doesn't say anything as she comes near. He dismounts the bike and edges to stand in front of me, protective as always.
“It's such a pleasure to meet you!” She sings, her voice strangely smooth like someone who speaks for a living. Maybe she's an actress. Maybe everyone here is an actress.
“Thank you for meeting with us,” he says formally. He stands straight and extends a hand to shake hers. It's a strange gesture, one I have seen in movies but never in real life. But I remember, Father Daddy had a life before Kingdom Come. He probably knows all of the customs here.
“And, um… Mrs. Redken?” she says brightly.
She means me.
Father Daddy steps aside slightly. He cups me under my elbow, supporting me.
“Yes. This is Angel.”
She holds out her hand. I extend my arm, sliding my fingers against hers. She pinches me slightly, bounces, then lets go. That didn't go so badly. She doesn't seem alarmed in any way. I suppose that was a success as first-time handshaking goes.
Then she turns and repeats the same sort of greeting with Owen. After, she pivots on her heel and sails back toward the front door, erupting into a musical description of the house, claiming that the estate preserved everything intact, hoping we all find it satisfying, and if he would consider selling it to please, please, please contact her first.
It's only the breeze of her flying past me that lets me know that she's gone. The front door closes, and finally it is quiet.
It's just like I imagined it. We are standing in an enormous room with enormous windows, with the full blazing glory of the sun as it sinks below the horizon, setting everything on fire. I walk slowly over to the windows, holding my breath, expecting to wake up from this at any moment.
“You like it?” comes a voice of my ear. All I do is nod. But do I like it? That's an understatement. It's magical. It's unbelievable.
“Oh look, a swimming pool!” Owen observes. He points downward and I wonder if there's more to this house than just this part. Inconceivable. This building would have to be bigger than all the barns put together.
I turned toward Father Daddy, staring up at him, overwhelmed. The sunlight blazes on one side of his face and he smiles at me gently, maybe the happiest I've ever seen him.
“So… you do like it, don't you?”
Owen slides up behind me, stroking my shoulders. “Angel? It's important to us that you like it.”
“I don't even know what to say,” I admit. “It's beautiful. Beyond beautiful. It's like nothing I could've ever imagined. Thank you so much for bringing me here.”
“That's wonderful,” Father Daddy sighs with relief. He reaches down, tipping my chin with the gentle tips of his fingers. His kiss is sweet and slow, unhurried in a way that it's never been before.
“This is our home now,” Owen says gently in my ear. His fingers trace the side of my neck, stroking my collarbones as he presses closer to me. I can feel his heat rising as I kiss Father Daddy, then turn to kiss him as well. It's just the first night, the first of many, in our new life. In our new Kingdom, where I am the Queen.