Getting to Know Each Other

“The band will be back tomorrow,” Nikki said over supper.  She had made a tub of lasagna big enough to feed the 5th  Fleet and at least half of the 3rd Battalion Field Artillery Marching Band & Wind Ensemble.  “I learned how to cook in a commune,” she explained when Cas noted the size of [...]

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The River

Ignorant of the stew brewing above, Nikki led Cas through the woods to almost exactly the same spot Robert had vacated so hurriedly a short time before. For a city kid, he moved well in the forest. He seemed to have an instinct for the least destructive path. He didn’t bull his [...]

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Cas and Nikki Check on the Pepperells

There was, of course, nothing wrong at Amos and Molly’s when Cas and Nikki arrived there.  Molly was on the porch working on a water color of the pasture next to the barn.  The only element of it recognizable to Cas was the stone wall.  The rest was a riot of color and abstract shapes [...]

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Nikki Works a Miracle

By one of those curious quirks of Fate or whatever, as Robert was barrel-assing up the mountain in his brand-new pickup pursuing DJ, Nikki was driving down the mountain with Cas in her compact Honda at a more leisurely rate of speed.  She intended to show him the place where the road would be so [...]

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Of Human Perfection and Aztec Gods

Cas noted for the record that there seemed to be hidden messages emanating from both sides, and that under the bantering tone lay something far more serious.  But even though he was doing it, too, he had no idea what it was.  Curious.  “I’ve always been partial to Quetzalcoatl.”
“An excellent choice.  A powerful god with [...]

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Cas Meets the Monk

“I know that guy. I saw him fishing when I was hiking into town before Mr Henderson picked me up. That’s Brother Something – Armigent?”
“Armitage. I didn’t see him come in.”
“He’s probably been here all along.”
“Maybe,” Nikki said doubtfully. “Maybe.” Brother Armitage popped a chunk of semi-sweet chocolate into his mouth [...]

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Juliette Rose Lays It Out

Sure enough, three seconds later Juliette Rose banged the table with the palm of her hand to get everyone’s attention. She got it. The place got so quiet so quick you could have heard a mouse in the middle of picking its nose and embarrassed the hell out of it.
“I guess you all [...]

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Nikki Unravels a Secret

Nikki had explained about the road to Cas while they were waiting on their breakfast and before Liz and Juliette emerged from the back room. Juliette went to talk to one of the groups in a booth while Liz joined Sylvia behind the counter, apparently under the impression that with all those people, Syl [...]

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Sylvia Makes Room

Well, there they were, and in abundance. The General Store was loaded to the gunnels with Wilbur’s finest. They were everywhere – packed into booths, cruising the aisles, crowded in front of the counters. Now that Nikki looked, there wasn’t a seat to be had.
“Sit where?” Cas asked.
She pushed her way through [...]

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The Night Before the Morning After

Like I say, this could have been a tragedy of lethal proportions. That it wasn’t was probably sheer luck. Cas didn’t implode, break like a tea cup dropped on cement, or vanish altogether. Instead, he – how do I put this? – transmuted. He became one with the universe, or at least [...]

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