Chapter 1

Who is Jael?

The car pulled up along the pier, and its passengers hopped out eagerly. Ophelia had taken charge of the picnic basket, and the men carried the fishing gear; quickly the checkered blanket was spread out and the portions set in its center, and the women stretched out around the food, pecking at apple slices and celery sticks, while their menfolk set about catching fish. Ophelia picked up a finger sandwich and trotted over to Walt, who accepted the sandwich gratefully and a bit absentmindedly.
"How sweet of you, O," Fran teased between nibbles of apple. "Haven't you learned not to interrupt men at work, dear?"
Ophelia pouted. "Someone should eat these sandwiches. I made them, after all."
"Which is exactly why no one is eating them." Looking up, Jane gave her friend a smirk, which was met with an eyeroll. Ophelia muttered something about only being sandwiches and set about giving her boyfriend a back rub.
"Oh, Jane," Bill called over his shoulder. "Why don't you follow O's excellent example?"
"And why don't you catch some fish?" Jane retorted.
"Now, now," Fran chided, waving an apple slice at each of the involved parties. "Don't let's argue over it. We're here to have fun, remember?"
"Says the one who had to be bribed into coming along," Jane muttered. The three women had been planning this outing for some time, and had even coordinated their bikinis to match each other. The women, each brunettes, wore polka dots, with Jane having chosen a blue suit, Fran wearing a red suit, and O sporting the ubiquitous yellow suit.
Fran gave a shrug. "If I'm to spend my free time fishing and eating, I would rather do so in peace, thanks very kindly!"
The others laughed. "You're not doing any fishing," Todd pointed out. "You're here to entertain."
Fran pouted, then finished her slice of apple and stood up. "Surrender your fishing rod," she ordered. "I can fish just as well as any man."
With a chuckle, Todd handed his fishing rod to Fran. The young woman wiggled her hips, tossed her brown hair over her shoulder, and tossed the line into the water. As she waited, she hummed a little tune to herself, and the humming soon became whistling.
"Only men whistle," Jane informed her after swallowing a bite of celery.
"I'm no man, yet I whistle," Fran replied cheerfully, and continued her song. The others watched in wonder as she reeled in the first catch of the day.
"Luck," Walt said.
"Skill," Fran answered proudly. "Here, Jane, come take care of this one." She handed the fish to her friend, who placed it in a cooler.
"I wanna try!" Ophelia wrenched the fishing pole from Walter's hands, and nearly fell into the lake while trying to throw in the line.
"Great start," Jane mocked her.
Ophelia pouted, then turned her back to Jane, almost slipping again as she did. At the other end of their picnic spot, Fran reeled in another fish, this one larger than her first.
"Wow! Not bad, Fran!" Todd collected this one, and saw it safely to the cooler.
"I've got something!" Ophelia felt a tug on her line, and tugged back, then reached into the water to pull it out with her free hand. As she leaned over, she lost her footing and tumbled into the lake.
"O! O fell in!" Walt rushed to get up and jump in after her, but by the time he did, Fran and Jane were both already in the water and swimming toward their friend.
Fran reached Ophelia first. Wrapping her arms under Ophelia's, Fran pulled her up to the surface, and laid her on the sand.
"What are you doing?"
She felt the familiar drag of time running faster and did not have to look up to know what was approaching. "Saving this woman. Go find some other to lay."
"Are you? This Ophelia is due for a Judgment."
She growled. "Do you think so? Let's ask someone in charge."
Rising to her full height, she allowed her skin to regain its natural tan, and her eyes their usual emerald hue. The wings that unfolded behind her dwarfed the male angel's easily, a mark of seniority. Where the would-be soul collector's were a modestly dark grey, Fran's were pitch black.
"You were saying?"
The male fallen angel shrank back. "I apologize. I didn't recognize you in your - in human form."
She snorted. "Your name is...?"
"Harviel, if it please my lady."
"It doesn't. Stop talking like we're in the 1860s. That decade ended a century ago, thank Ford. Now go find something better to do with your time. Go into the city. There are plenty of mortal women to fool around with there - and for a reasonable price, I'm sure."
Offended, the male fallen was already walking away. Fran took on her "Fran" form and time snapped back into its mortal pace.
"O! Is she okay, Fran? Did you save her?" Jane was fretting, worrying at Fran's elbow.
"She's fine. Look, she's coming around already!" Fran pointed as Ophelia coughed and sat up. "O! You aren't meant to reach in for the fish, silly!"
Laughing, the group trudged back over to their picnic spot, where they gave up fishing for a while and had lunch. Evening found them with a bounty of fish, caught mostly by Fran, whose whistling was, unbeknownst to her "friends," less a form of relaxation and more a way of calling fish to her. She had learned long, long before that fish, and most other animals, are drawn toward angel music.
#
"Good grief, Fran! Where did you learn to fish like that?" Todd's arms were wrapped around her in what she expected would soon become a lover's embrace. She smiled sweetly at him and did not answer. Undeterred by the lack of response, Todd ran a hand through her hair and gazed at her.
"I hope you had a good time," he said, and added, "You did good, saving O and all."
She smirked. "Thanks."
"You saved a life and caught dinner for a week. We should celebrate." His lips trailed along her neck. Her smirk deepened.
She would stop him eventually. She always did. He thought she was simply one of those shy girls, unsure about her body; this was far from the truth, but she let him believe it due to its convenience. As his kisses traveled lower, she noticed something behind his ear. Time began to warp again, and cautiously she tugged at the object until it dislodged itself from beside Todd's now-stationary head.
As she'd thought, it was a piece of paper, folded small and neat. The long, severe pen strokes were telltale.
"My dear,
"One of my angels has informed me that you came between him and a charge today. I have taken on a new project. Kindly do not interfere. I will leave you to your own work.
"S."
After reading the note twice, she folded it into her palm and let time slow down, allowing Todd to move again. "Todd," she said in a forced moan as the kisses resumed, "I'm afraid something has come up."
"You're telling me."
"No, you sod." She hit him playfully. "I have to go. I've just thought of a chore I must complete." This chore involved eating copious amounts of ice cream while lounging around at her own lodging.
Todd finally broke away from her. "If you insist."
"I do insist. Good night, darling."