Chapter 8: A Pregnant Pause to Consider

Lekesia found everything about Alex fascinating and he certainly didn't disappoint. She'd told her mother before she'd gone to the club that she was looking forward to spending time with him. Her mother, Noel Shapiro, was jealous and told her she hoped to be taking her place in a few more days. It was strange to think their luck boiled down to the day of their cycle, and whether it was regular this month or not.

Everyone in the new community that Lekesia and her mother now found themselves in practically worshiped the ground Alex walked on. That much was abundantly clear during the concert. People were hardly willing to breathe unless they thought he might want them to. Lekesia had felt it herself while she was led in to see him. She had to fight to keep from ripping that silly blindfold off her head and rushing out into the hall, but she'd known the results would have been disastrous. For as nice as Ms. Patty was, Lekesia recognized she was also a no-nonsense business woman who knew how to get what she wanted. She may not be ostracized from the community over it, but she had no doubt she'd feel the effects. Knowing she'd let her other new sisters down was a strong enough penalty to have prevented her from doing it.

While Lekesia and the other two girls were standing there waiting for their blindfolds to drop, she could literally feel Alex there in front of her. She didn't need to see to know just where he was, she could have marched right up to him and sat down in his lap. What's more, she could feel not only his immense power but also his love, honesty and his humility. It was then she knew all those things which Darice and the others kept telling her were true.

She'd long been a good judge of people and Darice had told her that was a sign of a potential Seer, as they'd described what she was. However it also meant she hadn't been willing to date anyone throughout high school. Every time some boy would ask her out or try to flirt with her, she could feel how cheap they thought she was, what they intended to do to her or how quickly they planned to disappear once they were finished with her. As a result she had no desire to bother with any of them.

However it also put her into a difficult position. She was the only one at her school she knew who wasn't busy doing something. Most of her friends were either already pregnant—many already a couple of times over—or else they were busy sleeping around. As the only holdout everyone considered Lekesia an odd duck. And Lekesia was well aware what happened to people that didn't fit in at her neighborhood; usually bad things.

Most people usually joined a gang for protection, but joining a gang meant doing what you were told, and it definitely meant she'd have to sleep around in order to do that. Girls in the gang were expected to service the members of the associated gang. She'd known several so called 'honor students' who'd stuck out from the rest. Only two were still alive, and one wouldn't be walking to graduation. She couldn't even use a claim of lesbianism to avoid the guys' come-ons because the lesbians at school and in the gangs were worse than the guys were. For all their talk of being better than the guys, they sure seemed to emulate their behavior.

Thus she was thankful when she and her mother stumbled into this odd community. Rather, her niece Kendasha had found them. She'd traveled to New Orleans to hang out with a boy she'd met, though Lekesia thought she'd actually gone to buy drugs from a better source than those near her home, when she said she'd felt this 'amazing spirit walking by'. She'd described him as some 'lily white boy who looked like a tourist but everyone treated like royalty'. She stayed in the French Quarter the next four days, trailing the boy around. When she finally returned, she went back again and again. When she finally mentioned it to Lekesia and her mother she'd said she'd been told they each possessed some freaky genetics which made them different, but also allowed them to join this new community which was forming in the city. Kendasha practically dragged them both with her to the Quarter.

There, Lekesia and her mother discovered what she described was true. The other half really did live better, but what's more, everyone accepted her as an equal. Because they valued this one particular oddity, they accepted her other odd traits as well. When she'd finally confessed why she was such an odd duckling, they'd hugged her and told her it just proved how special she was. White folks are weird sometimes, but she was glad they were now that she had found a place amongst them.

What Lekesia had observed since leaving the club was beyond fascinating, though. He had barely walked a couple of blocks from the club when this blind lady leaves her dog behind and runs across the street, dodging the people around her like it was something she did every day. Alex had literally healed her damaged eyes. He restored her vision. At first Lekesia had believed maybe she was one of those women who trained the guide dogs, Lekesia had known enough women in the neighborhood who had lost some or all of their vision to know about that. But the woman's sister confirmed she'd been completely blind before.

Then, instead of reveling in the miraculous moment, that reporter guy had shown up. Right off the bat Alex started talking, telling him all about this other Angel he talks to and how there was really a whole community of Angels all over the world. When the reporter didn't believe him, he had them all call him, completely unbidden. She'd heard them each speaking to him in a different language, most of which she'd never heard before. The reporter had left confused, Alex left with a note of finality and Lekesia was sure the reporter would never bother Alex or any of them again. She felt protected by him. He'd take care of them, and if not, he'd go down fighting to the end.

Now they were all heading somewhere in a cab. Alex had told the blind woman, Mattie Adams, to head home to get used to her new vision, that it wasn't quite as miraculous as she thought and that they'd meet in the morning. When she offered him her number he'd merely laughed, telling her it wasn't necessary. The other girls, the five pretty white girls, had headed off to their hotel. That left her and the two other intended mothers alone with Alex, his female bodyguard, his sister and that Middle Eastern woman.

"Whew, that was close," Alex's sister Cate told him.

"I know. I don't know how I thought all of that up. It just came to me. I just hope it works."

"Well it should. It takes the pressure off you. If they think your movement is being led by a fictional woman no one has ever heard of, then they're likely to not take everything out on you," Cate said.

"Yeah, now we just have to see if anyone believes it," Alex replied.

"We believe it," Lekesia replied, after having glanced at both the other girls in the back of the cab. She wanted to win a few points with Alex if she could, and if reassuring him could do that, she'd gladly do so. "I heard those phone calls, and how the phone would ring whenever you told him it would. If he doesn't believe it then he's a fool," she insisted.

"Well, hopefully he takes it to heart," Alex replied with a smile. Despite Alex's happy demeanor and pleasant tone, they never quite meshed with the moods Lekesia observed in his aura. She hadn't worked out the specifics of reading people's auras yet, but he seemed pensive and nervous. But then, he was always protective, concerned and interested in everyone else. He was far and away better than any of the guys in her neighborhood she might have ended up with if she hadn't found this escape. Man, was she glad she had!

Man, that was so fuckin' cool, Carolyn reflected about what they'd just seen. What they'd just been a part of. It was one thing to hear about someone from afar, to hear about what they could do and what they'd done in some far off place. She and the other girls had spent many hours talking about what Alex might be able to do once he set his mind to it, but seeing it happen was something else again.~

He was performing miracles just like Jesus had done in the bible. He'd raised someone from the dead, he'd forgiven and accepted a 'fallen women' into his fold, and now he'd cured a blind woman right in front of their eyes. Man was that ever cool. She could hardly wait to tell all of her new friends.

She'd been something of a party girl in college, jumping from boy to boy, from party to party, always keeping a small step ahead of trouble. But once they'd graduated, Jack had told her he was ready to get serious. She thought she was ready for it too, so they'd married soon after he'd joined the Army. She'd known he'd been planning to join for some time, and she knew how difficult it was supposed to be, but she was shocked at just how hard it was.

She was on her own, far from home at a strange base, talking to other worried wives about their problems and frustrations with having no husband around. At least she got his checks on time each month, as that was about the only thing that had allowed her to manage, but the pay was so small compared to what she'd expected. But he'd told her it would only be temporary. That once he got out he'd get himself a real job and they could have a baby and buy themselves a nice house. Unfortunately that day never came. Instead, one day she saw a service vehicle pull up and an officer and the chaplain get out. Everyone in the military community knew what it meant when two officers get out of a service vehicle in front of an Army wife's house, and she'd dreaded what they were going to tell her.

It had been rough. Rough listening to them tell her Jack was dead, tough trying to manage everything during her grief, continuing to pay the bills, contacting Jack's family and friends, consoling his sister. The other Army wives had been very supportive, but at the end of the day Carolyn had simply reminded them of what they faced, so they gradually faded away. So Carolyn had come home. She came home to New Orleans where she could at least be near family.

And it was family which led her to this solution.

She had felt lost and alone. Even the consolations of her parents and siblings seemed hollow. She had no Jack, no future, no baby, no job and she had no desire to start over. To pretend that all she'd gone through was an illusion, that she wasn't hurting and aching from a broken heart, was too much to consider. She couldn't just pretend she was a college girl again. She couldn't date some smiling stranger or work at some nothing job which only held the potential of meeting a lesser boyfriend.

But her cousin Sandy had excitedly called her one evening, telling her this unbelievable story about an Angel who had arrived in New Orleans, of all places. Sure, it was a largely Catholic city, so she had heard stories around there before about the newest miracle du jour. Like toast in the shape of Jesus or a crying statue, but this was much more than that. This was an actual Angel visiting actual people.

She'd insisted he wanted to meet Carolyn. That Carolyn had something he needed and that he'd change her life. She hadn't believed it, and had thought that Sandy had been drinking a few too many margaritas down in the French Quarter.

But Sandy had been correct. As soon as she met the other women here she had felt she was amongst kindred spirits. The same thing which had first drawn her to Jack, the sense that he was real and could cut through all the falsities of her previous life, had told her she was among friends who truly cared for her. Friends who wouldn't avoid you in your darkest hour just because it was uncomfortable. In fact, when she first met Peter and David she'd thought they might be a suitable replacement for Jack. Despite their low paying jobs they did well, had plenty of friends, were educated and could make intelligent conversation. What's more, they really believed in what they were doing. That much was abundantly clear when she'd first met them. They were doing the Lord's work. It was just that they weren't sure which Lord they were doing it for.

When she heard about the lottery, that they were going to pick random women to get pregnant based on who was the most fertile on any given day, she was skeptical, but it seemed like a good option. The women of this community assured her that her baby would be loved and cherished by everyone, and would be raised to understand its role in life and what it needed to succeed. What's more, she could have the child she and Jack had wanted without having to compromise herself and get involved with someone who didn't measure up to her deceased husband.

But as nice as that solution was, she wasn't prepared when she felt Alex's presence while she was backstage. She could literally feel him walking in the door, she could feel each step he took, each step bringing him closer and closer to her. She could also feel just what a wonderful person he was, and she dared hope he may be just as wonderful as Jack had been.

When they'd finally revealed him to her, she couldn't believe her eyes. It was like getting zapped in the face with a bolt of electricity. Every nerve in her body felt alive, her brain was whirling, but her vision faded and she felt like nothing was making sense. Then the visions started. The visions: they came at her in a wide variety of unbelievable colors. Colors no one had ever envisioned before. Colors she could never hope to describe to anyone. And the colors seemed to be everywhere. What's more, where she'd previously felt Alex, suddenly there stood a glowing Angel radiating power, honesty and truthfulness like she'd never imagined possible. She knew then she'd never doubt her decision to take part in this whole scheme.

When he'd come up and taken her hands she'd felt blessed. When he started talking to them she felt like telling him everything she could think of about her life. She just knew he'd understand and make everything better, even if what she was going through was necessary and something he wanted her to undergo.

But what happened later was even more unbelievable. She'd felt his power personally, but she watched as each and every women in that hall stood and watched his every movement and she just knew each of them would do anything for him. That was a power even he didn't posses. Well, he did, in that he inspired it in others, she guessed. But it was a power separate from his genetic traits, and one he was hardly even aware of.

Afterwards they left the building and the women followed, like hundreds of lost puppy dogs hoping for just another pet, another stroke, another glance. And then they'd encountered that blind woman. Carolyn had listened to all the bible stories as a child but had never imagined she'd be involved in one personally. What she'd encountered with Alex had certainly felt miraculous but she'd been warned he didn't see himself in that role and used purely secular arguments to explain what he did, so she wasn't quite prepared for what had occurred with Mattie.

He hadn't even laid hands on her. She just looked at him from across the street and suddenly she could see. Not only that, but her dog could tell what Alex had done for her as well.

Then when that dreadful Albert Rodriguez had accosted Alex, trying to insinuate there was something sinister about him, Alex had quickly put him in his place. Carolyn hadn't been aware of what was going on at first, but she saw he was purposely drawing him in, playing with him, bringing him to where he needed to be to see the bigger picture.

Carolyn was still unsure about which was real and which wasn't. Was Alex the actual Angel of New Orleans? Well, duh! Of course he was. She'd seen his eminence herself. But she was still confused when he started talking about Alexandra. Was she a real person, a real Angel even mightier than Alex, or was she merely a clever story he'd told the reporter to keep him off balance? She couldn't be sure, but what she was sure of was the series of minor miracles he'd called up in just a few moments. He'd caused the reporter's field agent to have some kind of accident. He'd had people from all over the world call the reporter up and speak to him in a variety of tongues, and Alex had understood and conversed in each and every one.

It was an amazing sight to see and she couldn't believe she'd been there to observe it. It was a story she'd tell her child and all his half brothers and sisters over and over in the years to come. And what's more, speaking of that, they were even now headed to where Alex was staying so he could conceive a child in her and the other women. The idea seemed unbelievable, but she knew it was about to come true. She just hoped her child would be the one, the one who continued on where Alex led. But that was more than she could possibly hope for.

When they reached Allison's apartment everyone followed Alex into the room. He once again felt it helpful to counter his own feelings and entered first, simply as a show of confidence and authority to the women, though Cate knew he'd have held the door for each of them in any other circumstance.

The new girls gawked at the luxurious apartment, especially Lekesia who was sure she was going to find living in this new community better than ever. She recognized she was unlikely to appreciate such opportunities for long, but she planned to enjoy them while she could.

"Can I take a picture to send my Mom?" she asked.

"Since she may end up here herself, maybe it would be better if you let her experience it for herself," Alex suggested. "But feel free to take any you want for your own use."

"Man, I can't believe you've got a marble bathtub big enough for all of us," Kristi said, having just popped in from checking out the bathroom.

"Oh, let me look," Lekesia replied, running off.

Alex let them get it out of their system, knowing their minds wouldn't be on sex for while. Cate headed into the kitchen to grab some food to keep him going for what was looking like an extended session. He thanked her when she handed him an apple and a cookie while she started working on a sandwich. Gail was making herself comfortable in a wooden chair by the door. When Alex looked questioningly at her she responded, "Just preparing myself for any unhappy boyfriends/husbands." She said it with a laugh, but Alex had no doubt she was partially serious.

"All right, there's still a lot to cover since we didn't have a chance to go over everything at the club," Alex told the three girls when they returned giggling from their exploration of the apartment. "But most importantly is tonight. As you may have guessed, Patricia was being very optimistic selecting three of you tonight, although I guess we can make it work if I make love with two of you tonight and leave the other for the morning. That should give me enough time to recover and generate some fresh swimmers."

"I'll settle that," Kristi suggested. "Lekesia should be first, since it looks like she's about to pee herself she's so excited. Carolyn isn't much better. I can wait for the morning, especially since that means I can get you to myself if I can work things out right."

"That sounds like a plan," Alex replied. 'Thanks for not making me pick one of you over the others, ' Alex told Kristi telepathically. Just this simple acknowledgment made her beam in pride.

"Now, I'm not exactly the type to just bed a bunch of women just because I can," Alex told them, trying not to make himself too conspicuous by eating while they were listening to him. "I'm pretty much being forced into this, but I plan on doing it according to my own standards. I'd really like to get to know each of you a little more before we do anything. To make it easier, Cate and Shanna can discuss any details we've overlooked with one of you while I entertain the others.

"Sorry for being rude, but if I don't eat now I'm just going to get myself into trouble. You'll also find Cate is quite insistent that I take care of myself immediately after we finish, so don't take her presence too seriously. She'll probably also appear in our bed tonight, so don't be shocked. I'm sure she can explain it when you each sit with her.

"Now, Lekesia, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself? What is it you plan on doing with your life? You said you hope to attend college, do you have any plans after that?"

"Well, I don't have any yet," she replied, leaning over to take a bite of Alex's cookie. "My main goal is to simply get out of my neighborhood before I get raped, shot or addicted. If I can manage some college I figure I'll learn more about my options there. However I'm pretty good with numbers, so I'm thinking about becoming a lab technician. Possibly in a crime lab if I can. But if I can't, I figure I can get close to that by starting a crime scene cleaning service. Either way will keep me near the police community, which I think is a good thing at this point in my life."

"Is life really that hard?" Alex asked. "Pardon me for being rude, but you appear well dressed and speak well. You don't appear to have been held back much."

"That's mostly due to perseverance on both me and my mom's part," Lekesia told him. "She always said not to let anyone hold me back and to do whatever I needed to in order to get ahead. She suggested learning how to speak two separate dialects. One for my neighborhood and my black friends and another for dealing with whites. Speaking like I'm from the 'hood is the surest way of staying there forever. She also tries to reward me for my little successes by springing for the hairdresser or a new dress whenever I do well. But again, I keep a separate wardrobe for my neighborhood and for when I come to the city. Neither is very large, but at least I can make a decent appearance."

"Wow, that's impressive. I've got a Jamaican friend who's similar. She grew up in the Jamaican community but she speaks without any trace of an accent."

"You really need to if you have any hopes of succeeding. It's like tattoos. Getting one would raise me in the esteem of my friends and those in my community. Yet getting the same ones would hurt me in getting into college or landing a job. If you want to be a successful black woman, you really need to live two separate lives. It sometimes gets to be a trip trying to keep them separate. The hope is you can eventually find friends who will accept you for you, otherwise you've got to hide half your life from each of them."

"So is it really that bad?" Alex asked. "Don't you have any friends there?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm not saying I don't get along with anyone. But it's a fairly dangerous neighborhood, and everyone sees me as a clean cut do-gooder who doesn't fit in, so I attract negative attention from all the wrong types of people. There are a lot of decent people there, people who are just trying to get by. But I really can't rely on them and they can't protect me. What's more, if I reveal myself to them, it's likely to get out to those who bear me ill will. So, as strange as it is to say, I've found wider acceptance amongst your community here than I have anywhere else. And my mother thinks so too."

"I guess we've got it easier, although there are a lot of parallels," Kristi said. "For me, I just picked up the American accent from school. My parents and their friends criticize me for not being 'true to my roots', but they want me to get ahead so they don't complain too much."

"So what about you, Kristi? You said you were planning on waitressing, do you have any further plans if you can manage some college?"

"Well, I would like to attend business school. I figure I could land a number of jobs as a secretary or in an office. After all, I'm Hispanic and I can speak a decent amount of Spanish, which helps. I'm personable and pretty so I'd do well as a public face for a company, and hopefully I'd be able to work my way up in the company. Like my parents, I'm willing to work hard and I'm willing to start near the bottom to get a decent start, if I can."

"I'll tell you what, I've got the name of a certain foundation. I can't promise whether they have any openings, but they may be willing to help you with business school as they're busy staffing up their operations and could use a decent public face."

"Wow, that sounds great. I'd love the chance," she responded.

'I thought you were going to leave the running of the foundation to your employees?' Gail asked.

'I am. But that's not to say she couldn't apply. I'm not guaranteeing her a spot, but there's no harm in suggesting a possibility, ' he responded.

"So what does your family think of your plans to get pregnant?" Alex asked her. "Do they even know?"

"Yeah, they know. I'm not sure they understand why I'm willing to have a baby with someone I've never met, but they're very supportive. I assured them I'd keep working and keep up my education as best I can. But honestly, they both want grandkids, so they were fairly easy to convince."

"Are you planning on having several?" Alex asked.

"Why, are you offering?" she giggled. Alex blushed, realizing he'd walked right into that one.

"You realize one night with me isn't likely to guarantee anything?" he asked, changing the subject slightly.

"You'd be surprised what Patty put us through," Carolyn said, walking up and rejoining the group, motioning for Lekesia to take her turn with Cate. "She took our temperature, measured us, and told us what to eat in preparation. We're all pretty fertile and ready to go. But it's basically all a roll of the dice. We decided to go for it, even though we knew the odds."

Alex thought about suggesting the sperm deposits he was going to be leaving at the local clinic, but thought better of it. He had no idea how much demand there was, nor what limitations Patty had put on them. He had to trust his own people, but he reminded himself to ask her about it.

"So, I know that Carolyn and Lekesia don't have any boyfriends, but what about you Kristi?"

She just looked at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"I think it's safe to say that if they're here for you to make love with them, that they aren't involved with anyone," Cate explained to her frequently clueless brother.

"Duh! Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I'm just worried about the future," Alex said, explaining his concerns. "I mean, generally it's better for a child if it has two parents who share responsibilities, but there's also the matter of the three of you as well. Aren't you going to need someone to cuddle at night, to help relieve the stresses of raising a kid, someone who can provide support and encouragement?"

"Ha, you think I can find that in my neighborhood?" Lekesia asked. "The men I've run across so far are like the neighborhood rats, they run as soon as you first click on the responsibility light."

"Now that can't be true. There have to be some good guys willing to stand up for themselves where you live," Alex protested.

"Yeah, I'll admit there are. However, they each have their own dreams. They mostly want to get away from there as well, and the last thing they want is to get involved with someone who reminds them of what they're trying to escape. Besides, many of them are into white women. So I guess I'm following their lead, I'm now leaving the neighborhood, taking up with a white man, and making new friends in the white community in the city."

"OK, that makes sense, but how about the rest of you? Surely there's something to be said about companionship? I mean, I'm going to be leaving in a few days, and there's no telling when I'll be getting back. Plus, due to health issues, there's a question about whether I'll ever get a chance to watch your children grow up. Certainly it would make sense for you to find..."

Cate cut her brother off at this point. "You really don't get it, do you?" she asked. "You just don't realize how much of an impact you have in these women's lives. You represent a life changing event. After meeting you and feeling the energy and vitality coursing through you, as well as not only recognizing what a good guy you are, but feeling and seeing it as well. It's hard to go back to mortal men after you've been with an angel."

"Amen, sister," Lekesia answered her, giving her a high-five.

"But still..." Alex tried to argue.

"No, you still aren't getting it," Cate continued. "I've seen what you do to these women in bed. You rearrange their brains, both literally and figuratively. But even before that, you completely redefine their lives. Do you think I'll ever be able to find another guy after being exposed to you for so long? Do you think any average Joe would hold a candle to what you represent? Besides, even if they found someone they liked, they'd never be able to relate to what they've gone through. What guy is going to want to listen to how their previous boyfriend was an angelic figure who could do no wrong?"

"Actually, you're right up to a point," Gail said, getting into the discussion for the first time. "I was thinking I was going to end up on my own once Alex came into my life. I was willing to give up on my friends because I didn't think any of them could relate to what I'd gone through, and I didn't think I'd ever find another lesbian lover who would ever accept what I had with Alex. But Alex tossed that idea on its head. He not only got my friends to understand what I've gone through, to the point that now we can talk about what I'm doing and what it means to me, but he also introduced me to a new girlfriend.