Archangel Rafe (A Novel of The Seven Book 1) Read Free Page A

little weird but in her family, the tradition was that the reigning matriarch named the girl children. Grammy had named her daughter as well, which had not gone over well with her, soon to be, ex-husband.
    All those years of playing God and thinking his word was ultimate and suddenly little ole Grammy Angel butted her nose into the hospital room, took one look at their precious daughter and christened her Angelina Marie. He’d thrown a hissy fit of monumental proportions. Perhaps that should have been Angelina’s first clue that they weren’t going to spend the rest of their lives together.
    “Dad would let me.”
    Only if Lina loaned the dress to his girlfriend first.
    Oops. Bitchy, bitchy, bitchy. True. Sadly. But that didn’t matter to Lina, she just wanted to dig on her mother.
    When had their relationship changed from pals to adversaries? And where had her sweet, beautiful daughter disappeared to? Gone were the days where Angelina could distract her daughter with a shiny toy to stave off a tantrum.
    “Let’s compromise,” Angelina wheedled, not up to another fight about another thing today. Wasn’t she entitled to one break?
    She and Gary had compromised on Lina’s middle name, Paulina, after his own mother. Who named their kid, Angelina Paulina? The rhythm was all wrong. Another indicator perhaps of a man too self-absorbed and self-involved? Too bad she didn’t figure it out fourteen years ago when Lina was born and save herself a lot of heartache.
    Well it was all water under the bridge now. Or at least it would be soon.
    “How are we going to compromise?” Lina asked suspiciously.
    “Leggings,” Angelina said, desperate to stop her daughter from crossing the line into slutsville. “Thin leggings.”
    Angelina hoped she’d agree. Lina was right. Gary would let her wear the dress. But Gary was too caught up with his new girlfriend to pay attention to what their teenagers were doing these days.
    A few years ago, the thought that her fourteen-year-old daughter might be having more sex than her was inconceivable. Now, sadly, it was entirely possible. Truthfully, she couldn’t face being a divorced grandma so she stuffed some condoms in Lina’s purse and hoped for the best.
    “Fine.” Lina pulled out a pair from her drawer that matched perfectly, so it was possible she’d planned to wear leggings all along.
    Angelina sighed. One crisis down, a hundred more to go.
    All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and lose herself in sleep, in dreams. Lose herself in the one place where no one wanted to change her, no one wanted to desert her, no one wanted to argue with her just for the sake of arguing, where she had no responsibility, where she was worshiped by her very own angel.
    Was it bedtime yet?
     
    ***
     
    Just walking through the automatic doors to the nursing home brought Angelina down. The walls were supposed to be a soothing blue but the pall that coated the place turned everything gray. That hospital-y, medicinal smell permeated every single molecule of air in the extended living facility, and sucked the vitality from anyone who dared enter.
    Grammy had been a vibrant, vital force in her life, always present, always engaged. She had raised Angelina and Janine after their mother took off. And every freaking time she stepped into this place, Angelina cursed the inefficiency of Grammy’s mind and the strength of her body. It made Angelina’s heart hurt that Grammy was reduced to this mere subsistence. An institution. A holding cell, waiting for death. Angelina shrugged off the sadness. Her thoughts were unfair. The staff at the senior home was excellent. They truly cared about the people who lived here and they were on top of the medical needs of their patients.
    From the moment Grammy Angel named her, she had guided Angelina. Until now. Angelina came to visit once a week, and wished every time that Grammy could live with her. Angelina slowed her steps. She really, really hated coming here. Grammy