JABB 197- On a dark and stormy anniversary night...

Lady JenniAnn stared out one of the ballroom windows in Willowveil Castle. She could scarcely believe eight years had passed since JABB had begun. It was certainly something to celebrate. If only she hadn't picked this night for the celebratory dance and dinner! The thunderstorms seemed to have kept a good number of the guests away. Nevertheless, those who had come seemed to be enjoying themselves. JenniAnn turned away from the window and giggled as Adam tried to teach the electric slide to Bunny, Jennifer, Jarrod, and Lady Beth. Miss Miriam and Jess O'Neill were animatedly discussing the latest Dyeland football game a few yards off. Andrew

stood behind the bar, experimenting with different sodas and juice to see which ones tasted best with ginger ale. Judging by his grimace his last concoction had been less than tasty. JenniAnn smiled to herself and then sidled over to the angel of death. She eyed the glass in front of him.

Andrew laughed to himself and pulled a bunch of bottles from beneath the counter. “All of these. What can I say? I decided to be adventurous. This one,” he indicated the glass, “was an adventure not worth taking.”

JenniAnn picked up the bottles one by one. “Ginger ale. Grapefruit juice. Vanilla extract. Grenadine. Peppermint flavored syrup?! Gross!” She turned up her nose and laughed. Then there was a sudden boom of thunder and she grew pale. “Good attempt, Andrew. But I don't think we'll need any more adventure than this nasty weather is going to give us. Of all the nights I could have planned this party! Only eight guests... I do understand why people didn't come, though. I hate being away from home when the weather's like this.”

Andrew looked sympathetically at her. “It's unfortunate so many are missing out. I know they would have liked to have come. But it is kind of appropriate. Eight guests, JABB's 8^th anniversary.”

Lady JenniAnn brightened at that idea. “That is kind of fun. Of course, it's actual nine people counting myself as host.”

“So it is! Hard to believe. Thank goodness it wasn't storming like this eight years ago! I'd have turned off my computer and not been around to help found it! Who knows what I'd be doing. Certainly not talking to you... That'd be a shame...” She smiled dreamily at him but then looked away with a blush.

“Let's toast then. To eight wonderful years and more to come,” Andrew suggested.

JenniAnn nodded but then looked warily at him. “We don't have to toast with...” She wrinkled her nose up again and pointed to the hideous fruity-vanilla-minty concoction.

Andrew chuckled. “Definitely not.” He looked out at the group on the dance floor then. “Everyone, we're going to toast. What's everyone want to drink?”

Various drinks were called out and Andrew began to prepare them. Adam stepped behind the bar to help him out. Once they were ready, everyone picked up their glass and looked expectantly at JenniAnn.

“Oh, um, I guess as host I start? Okay... Well, I'd just like to say that it's been wonderful writing and sending JABB these past eight years. I can't imagine my life with out you all. With out Dyeland. And if this ninth year is any...” JenniAnn's speech was cut off by another great boom of thunder followed by a flash of lightning that lit up the entire room. Then all went entirely black and the sound of sirens started up.

“Oh no... Oh gosh. Crikey-blast-it-all!” Lady JenniAnn cried, her voice betraying her terror as if her words didn't make her emotions obvious enough.

“Whoa, let's just calm down. We'll go downstairs and wait this out,” Andrew directed.

“Umm, how do we get downstairs? I can't see anything. Is there a flashlight around?” Jess asked.

“Who needs a flashlight? Can't you boys just light up or something?” Jennifer questioned.

Adam laughed. “Sorry, I don't smoke. And I don't believe Andrew does either. But as it happens...” There was a clicking sound and then a flame appeared. “I do have a lighter on me. I brought it to light the cake candles. ”

“Well, I'm not sure if we'll get to the cake tonight but the candles at least will be useful,” Lady JenniAnn said and then felt for the candles that she had placed on the bar earlier. She and Adam fumbled to light them and then passed one out to everyone until only Adam was left with out a candle, his lighter serving as his light. The group then made their way to the basement in the faint light. Once they were downstairs they located the emergency lanterns and extinguished the candles. Then everyone stood around and looked at each other silently for a few moments.

“And that nothing very bad happens to the homes and trees and...” Lady Beth drifted off when she heard someone gasp. “May be we should focus on something positive,” she suggested.

Andrew grinned at her. “I have a story I'd like to tell about a certain lady and an assignment I had in North Carolina...”

“But you said I could tell the story if I gave you those photos you wanted for JABB 195,” Andrew teased.

“Ah but you only gave me two of three. So how about we compromise? The story gets told... but I tell it!”

“Someone better tell it! We've been teased enough about this mysterious incident,” Jarrod lamented.

“Okay, Lady JenniAnn, go ahead,” Andrew conceded. He winked at Lady Beth, grateful for her prompting. This was the perfect way to keep everyone calm as the storm raged outside.

JenniAnn took a deep breath then looked around at her audience. “Right, well, I was visiting my cousin who was attending college in North Carolina. This was about two years ago. We'd been painting her apartment and needed a break so she suggested we go for a walk in the park. Boy was I ever in for a surprise! As we walked I swore I heard Andrew! At first I dismissed it thinking may be it was just wishful thinking, ya know?” She smiled at Andrew. “Then my cousin and I rounded this tree and I saw him! And then... then I saw him fall to the ground!”

“Took to something a little stronger than orange juice and ginger ale, Andrew?” Adam teased and mimed drinking from a bottle.

“Yes, he did! Some guy shot him! Of course, I went hysterical. Kinda blacked out, to be honest. Next thing I know I'm crouching on the ground next to him. And staring at his closed eyes and dangerously close to starting CPR...”

“Oh no!” Bunny shouted, knowing that couldn't be a good thing given JenniAnn's sentiments concerning Andrew.

JenniAnn shook her head and laughed. “But then one eye opened. And then the other. And then his eyebrows raised at seeing me! He wasn't hurt at all, I realized then! And that's when I noticed his clothes... To be honest, I don't know how I missed them. I mean, after all, it *was* a uniform! And then I heard someone whisper 'I don't think there were hippies during the Civil War.' I looked up and saw several men in uniform... with very old guns... And that's when it hit me...”

“Afraid so! Well, thankfully it was a dress rehearsal.” JenniAnn was blushing but was clearly amused by the recollection. “So the very undead Andrew stood up, helped me up, escorted me off the 'battlefield,' and, uh, after a few consoling words went back onto the field and proceeded to play dead for the next ten minutes. As I tried to crawl under a near by rock.”

“My assignment was really passionate about the Civil War so my way to reach him was to participate in those reenactments,” Andrew explained. “He was actually the guy JenniAnn saw 'shoot' me.” He faced JenniAnn again with a friendly smile. “I can't say your concern was necessary, JenniAnn, but it was appreciated. And the red of your face really set off the blue in my uniform.”

The woman laughed heartily at hearing that and nodded. “We really were a sight. Me in bell bottoms and tie-dye. You in your waaaay more vintage uniform!” Lady JenniAnn exclaimed and shook her head.

Andrew grinned. “It made it all the more interesting. Even if it wasn't historically accurate.”

Lady Beth seemed to be considering speaking up and finally she did. “So he *was* actually wearing the uniform for the rehearsal?”

“As long as they've not been swept away I do,” JenniAnn smiled at Lady Beth and then Andrew before looking up at the ceiling and frowning. The storm was again very much on her mind.

Adam picked up on her concern and decided to offer more distraction. “I say we all tell our funniest memories about Andrew. Who's next?”

“May be it should just be funniest memories. After all, today is the group's day. Not mine. We wouldn't all be here together right now if JABB hadn't been founded. And I certainly wasn't involved in that,” Andrew protested.

Jarrod shook his head. “May be not but you have to admit there would be no JABB with out you. I say we go with Adam's idea. Besides, I have my own story about you. And it happens to involve abnormal dress also.”

Andrew tilted his head, trying to think what Jarrod could be speaking about. Then his face turned red and he began to laugh. “I think I can guess what you're remembering.”

Bunny looked from Jarrod to Andrew expectantly. “Well, isn't someone going to tell this one? I hope whatever he was wearing it was just as attractive as I know that uniform must have been.”

Jarrod leaned forward in his chair. “This was a few years ago. Kiwi had recently threatened to kidnap Andrew.”

“Exactly. So I had to keep really on top of things,” Jarrod continued. “If she'd seen either Andrew or myself we'd be in trouble. So I decided disguises were the way to go. I remember one time I even dressed in a chicken suit when I was working with Andrew as his bodyguard.”

“Please tell me my fellow angel here had his own chicken suit! And that you have pictures. I need to get back at him for leaking those KISS photos of Henry and me to a certain intrepid reporter.” Adam winked at JenniAnn who gave her most innocent smile back.

“I'm afraid I didn't have time to take photos. Too bad, too. In one month alone I had Andrew disguised as a knight, a monk, Batman, and Raggedy Andy. I thought the latter was especially appropriate. Especially since he was working at a children's party that time.”

Andrew shook his head and groaned. “It felt like perpetual Halloween. But it kept me 'unkidnapped' so it worked. My only regret was Batman. That was *not* comfortable!”

“I'm sure not,” Miss Miriam agreed amiably. “Has anyone heard from Kiwi lately?”

JenniAnn shrugged. “I did send her an invitation. Andrew agreed it would be a good, peacekeeping sorta thing to do.”

Andrew nodded. “May be the storm kept her away as it did some of the others.”

There was a cackling noise then and Kiwi stepped out of the shadows. “Look at all you wusses hiding in this basement! Especially you two angels. Afraid the winds going to mess with your hair?”

“You said yourself I was invited, darling. As did your precious Andrew. Honestly, you think you might find something better to do than moon over the angel of death. You're not getting any younger, you know. And he's looking scruffy lately.” Kiwi sneered.

“Aww, Andrew too much of a wuss to defend himself. Gotta get the oldbee angel to protect him?”

Andrew sighed, clearly a bit irritated. “Do you have something to say, Kiwi?”

“As it happens I have a favorite memory, my dear. How about the time I tried to blow your little world up? BOOM goes Dyeland!” Kiwi snickered gleefully.

It was Kiwi's turn to look irritated. “I'll be going. Let you get back to your dopey, sappy stories. Just one last question.”

“Do you ever clean this place? It smells!” Kiwi wrinkled her noise then, with a resounding cackle, was gone.

“What is she... ew. Ew... It smells like rotten eggs suddenly.” JenniAnn groaned and then reached into her purse and began spraying perfume every where.

Adam wrinkled his nose. “I'm suddenly having not so pleasant memories of the time I was a high school teacher and the house I was staying at got egged.”

“No offense, JenniAnn, but I'm not really sure lavender and rotten eggs together is any more pleasant than rotten eggs on their own,” Bunny pointed out.

“Can't we get any where else?” Jennifer asked, her voice muffled by her hand over her nose and mouth.

Andrew grabbed a lantern and looked around. “Didn't Vincent and some of his people put some tunnels in to connect buildings? May be we could get to my basement?”

“I hope we can. Looks like Kiwi stole all our food, too.” Jess indicated the now empty corner where they'd stashed some chips and cookies they'd grabbed before heading downstairs.

“Found it!” Andrew called. His voice was followed by a creaking noise as the door opened. The Dyelanders grabbed the rest of the lanterns and followed Andrew into the lower level of City Hall which housed Dyeland's historical museum. As they walked past the various statues, photographs, framed documents, and clothed mannequins, Miss Miriam stopped to look at a collage. It depicted Adam, Andrew, Jess O'Neill, herself, and others playing football in Dyeland. She began to laugh quietly to herself. Nonetheless, the rest of the group heard and stopped to look.

“Why don't you go ahead and tell it here? We're just as secure here as in my basement,” Andrew suggested.

Miss Miriam nodded. “I will, thank you. We were playing football and it was my turn to kick. I must have put more power into the kick than I intended to. The football arched clear past the goalpost and into a nearby tree. All four of us walked over there and we saw it lodged up in a branch.”

“Oh! This is starting to ring a bell now!” Jess added, shaking her head with a smile as she recalled that game.

“I thought it might. Andrew agreed to climb the tree and get the ball. He did and tossed it down to Adam. He was just about to come back down when I saw his eyes grow very wide and his lips twist into this expression I'd never seen.” Miss Miriam paused then and did her best to mimic Andrew's expression. This drew laughter from her listeners.

“You most definitely did, Andrew. Because right after the three of us on the ground heard the buzzing noise... Andrew was right next to a hive of bees! He jumped down from that branch, yelled at us to run, and then set off himself. I'd never seen him run so fast! It's really too bad he wasn't carrying the football.” She turned to Andrew with a teasing smile then. “If you had been may be you and Adam would have actually scored once that game. As I recall, you were sorely beaten by Jess and me.”

Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and feigned indignation. “When you get to be as old as we are, let's see how well you fair in a sports game with a couple twentysomethings,” he teased, eyes glinting.

“Come on now! You're only as old as you feel, Andrew,” Bunny said as she swatted playfully at him. “And I happen to know you can still move very well.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Jarrod responded and picked his lantern back up and followed after Andrew.

Bunny began to tell her story as they walked through the dim tunnel with their lanterns. “I was at Hara Leah practicing the Bunny Hop by my little pond. I heard someone laughing. I turned around and there was Andrew. Highly amused by my efforts, apparently.”

“I'd just never seen it done solo is all. She was actually bunny hopping very well,” Andrew added politely.

Bunny smiled at him, pleased. “Thank you. I remember then you said 'Have you ever heard of the waltz?' I laughed and then you offered me your hand and we waltzed! It was wonderful. Easily one of my very favorite memories of you.”

“Well, thanks. It was a pleasure, Bunny.” Andrew blushed but then focused back on the task at hand. They'd come to the door to his basement which he pushed open easily. Then he stood to the side and ushered the other eight into his rec room. Everyone took a moment to examine their new surroundings and scatter their lanterns while Andrew went to the refrigerator to see what was there. With in moments he was pulling out bottles of ginger ale, a vegetable tray, a cheese and meat tray, sandwiches, and some sort of dessert parfait. The rest of the group looked on in bewilderment as he set them on the pool table and grabbed cookies and chips and pretzels and candy out of the cupboards.

“Wait... how is your refrigerator working? We lost power.” JenniAnn looked quizzically at the light at the top of the refrigerator.

Andrew grinned. “Ask and you shall receive,” he answered mysteriously with a quick look up.

“As it so happens my most amusing memory of Andrew involves food. One particular food, actually.” Jennifer smiled across the pool table at the angel.

“I do like food,” Andrew mused and took a sizable helping of chips and cookies.

“Well, you didn't seem to on this day,” Jennifer continued as everyone looked at her expectantly. “Legolas had come back to Dyeland. I was helping him to settle back in when Andrew showed up. He'd heard of the elf's arrival and wanted to help. After we were finished, Legolas offered us some food. Lembas bread among the offerings. Except before Legolas could explain about lembas' ability to quell hunger with just a small amount, Andrew had to leave on assignment. I had passed on the bread because I knew later that night there was a party at Willowveil Castle and I didn't want to be full. And I hadn't realized Andrew had taken any so didn't think to explain about it to him myself. So hours later Andrew returns after his assignment and goes to the party. Of course, he wouldn't touch any food.”

“I felt pretty stuffed. Like I'd just eaten an entire Thanksgiving turkey,” Andrew added. Then he noticed Adam shuffle uncomfortably and grimace. “Thanksgiving turkey-like substance, I meant. Of course,” Andrew covered.

Jennifer started her story back up again. “Gloria was there that night and heard Andrew talking about how he had no appetite. So she launched into a list of all the various medical conditions with symptoms of loss of appetite. Then asked Tess if Andrew could get any of them. Unfortunately, someone overheard this and got upset. I can't remember who, to be honest.”

“Right! It was you. So JenniAnn heard this and started making all sorts of food to try and tempt Andrew and prove he was perfectly healthy,” Jennifer continued. “Well, Andrew didn't want to worry her or Gloria or anyone else and sampled brownies and mini-pizzas and assorted other things. Unfortunately, it wasn't until midway through his compelled snackfest that I even gave the lembas bread any thought! So I asked him if he'd had any bread at Legolas' and he said yes. Everyone was appeased and agreed he was okay. Gloria stopped making diagnoses and JenniAnn stopped baking. And I've never in my life seen anyone push a tray of food away as fast as Andrew did!” She finished with a laugh then when she noticed Andrew eying his plate of food suspiciously. “I'm sure no one snuck lembas into your cupboards,” Jennifer assured him.

Adam was halfway through a ham sandwich when he pointed to something across from him on the counter. He swallowed his food and then exclaimed “I remember that! I can't believe you kept this!” He got up and stepped towards the object.

“What is it?” Lady Beth asked, unable to make out what the object was in the dim light.

Adam picked it up and brought it back to the pool table and sat it in the center.

“A crown? I've never known Andrew to wear a crown!” JenniAnn exclaimed. “It's pretty tarnished. And smallish. Like a prince's crown. Oh my gosh! Were you, like, royalty way back when somehow?!”

Adam picked up the crown and seemed to be checking for something. “Oh he was royalty, all right. A prince. The prince of Denmark.”

Adam nodded. “Exactly. One of the very first, I might add. I'll have you know I made this crown. My assignment was head prop master with an acting troupe in 1605. So I'd help him assemble and gather the various props. Imagine my surprise when I learned that our Hamlet would be played by a fellow angel. I'd heard of Andrew, of course. Tess and Sam had mentioned him before. But that was the first time I met him. And we were fast friends if I do say so myself.”

“We were. Although you certainly pressed your luck there!” Andrew added with a chuckle. “May be you could tell them what you were looking at around the brim there?”

Adam grinned devilishly. “Well, I began to think the serious subject matter of the play along with the trying assignment was draining our friend. So I decided he needed some amusement. A few days into rehearsals I put ink along the brim of the crown. So Andrew had a very stylish black line around his head!”

Andrew laughed. “Like he said, just one line all the way around. When I took off my crown... everyone laughed. Including me once a mirror was produced. For the first second I was annoyed but then I saw all the smiling faces. That had been a pretty tense production. But suddenly everyone relaxed. All thanks to Adam. And my hair.”

“So that's how you two met! In a true Shakespearean theatre! That's really cool.” Jess smiled at them both then reached for some fruit.

“I really like learning how people met. I can still remember my first meeting with Andrew and some of you,” Lady Beth began.

“I remember that day! But I'd still love to hear your account of it.” JenniAnn gave a nostalgic sigh, poured herself more ginger ale, then looked at Lady Beth expectantly.

“I don't know if you'll all believe all of it. Parts of it are pretty unbelievable.”

“Try us,” Bunny encouraged. “There's a number of things about all of us that are pretty unbelievable. Dyeland itself is if you think about it.”

Lady Beth took this into account and began to tell her story. “A few months before coming to Dyeland, I started dreaming of an island. I figured the dream just meant it was time for a vacation. But, the thing is, the island seemed to invade my thoughts when I was awake also. During this time, a pair of green eye kept appearing, as if beckoning me to keep dreaming or to reach further into some kind of unknown.”

“Then I started having a premonition that involved seeing other people who were on an island but everything seemed calm, as if they were welcoming me and wanted me to be there. Out of nowhere, I saw a male figure and...” The storyteller smiled shyly then. “He sort of made me unbalanced when I saw he was the one with the green eyes! He reached out a hand as if he wanted me to take it. I felt this overpowering desire to protect and help him.”

Lady Beth nodded. “I just couldn't let the premonition alone and eventually it led me to Dyeland. And everything seemed to fit my dreams and it made me realize the entire point of the dreams was to get me here. That I belonged here with all of you. And I began to realize, too, that Andrew needed me as his bodyguard. So that was my purpose.”

Andrew looked surprised. He'd never heard this before. But suddenly something from that first day Lady Beth had been in Dyeland clicked for him. “So that's why one of the very first things you said to me, with a wink I remember, was 'Stop invading my head with your wonderful green eyes!'”

Lady Beth nodded. “Yes. Although none of this explains why you reacted by taking your shirt off...”

“Andrew!” Lady JenniAnn bellowed and looked at the angel with absolute shock.

Lady Beth had began laughing. Though blushing and shaking his head, Andrew joined her. “I made that last part up just to get a reaction. Andrew stayed fully clothed. I remember that much clearly.”

Everyone laughed, realizing they'd been taken in. Then Jess spoke up. “You all laugh but I happen to know of a time Andrew nearly did lose his shirt.”

Andrew looked at her with a raised eye brow. Then he began laughing. “I think I know where this one's going.”

“No doubt you do. Andrew and I were on Lazy Lake fishing. We hadn't caught anything all day which was fine by both of us. I was holding my fishing rod with one hand and sipping my Fresca (with a twist of cherry, of course) when I felt a pull. A really, really strong pull! Andrew and I both tried to reel the fish in. And as we did Andrew let go of the rod and began patting his back. I didn't know what he was doing. I kept pulling. And then I heard a tear.”

“Yes, like fabric tearing. And that's when we both realized...” Jess was laughing so hard she had to stop a moment to catch her breath. “When I'd cast my line it had wrapped around a tree and came back at us and latched onto the back of Andrew's shirt! So there were Andrew and I trying to pull *him* in with out realizing it!”

“That she did. And I'd like to think I was the catch of the day.” Andrew stuck his chin out proudly and then chuckled.

Suddenly there was a buzzing noise and the lights came back on. Everyone just stared at each other.

“It's really quiet. I haven't heard thunder in a while. Or the sirens,” Jarrod pointed out.

“Adam and I will go upstairs first. Check it out.” Andrew stood up and Adam followed him.

The remaining seven all sat in nervous silence until they heard Andrew call for them. “Come outside and look.” He gestured to the front door once they were in his living room. They saw Adam standing on the porch and went to join him. Except for a few small fallen branches they couldn't see any damage the storm has wrought. What they did see was a dazzling rainbow arching across the sky. And, seemingly from out of nowhere, a dove appeared and flew in front of it. Some of them exclaimed in wonder. Other sighed. All nine looked up, transfixed and moved by the sight.

“Happy anniversary everyone. I'm glad I got to spend it with you all,” Lady JenniAnn finally said softly, still captivated. Everyone exchanged anniversary greetings then and decided to part for the night to go make sure their own homes and their friends were all right.

“Wait, we never heard Andrew's favorite memory of life here,” Lady Beth pointed out just before leaving. Everyone looked expectantly at the blonde angel of death.

Andrew contemplated this. He looked back up at the rainbow. It was fading slowly but still beautiful. Then he looked at his friends. “Y'know, I think this might be it. Despite the storm, it's been a wonderful evening. Thank you all for sharing it with me. And for being part of this wonderful group.”

JenniAnn twirled her ring around her finger and looked tenderly at him. “It's easy to be a wonderful group when the group is built around something... or someone... wonderful.”

“Amen to that,” Bunny agreed as the others nodded and Adam looked on proudly at his fellow angel.

Andrew smiled and tilted his face down modestly. “Thanks. For that. Happy anniversary to you all and to every member of JABB who will hear about this later. I'm glad to have been a part of your lives. And to have had you as part of mine.”

“And amen to that,” JenniAnn agreed and then with final good byes they all retired to their own homes for the night.

Happy Anniversary, Everyone!
Thanks for being a part of JABB!

JABB 198
JABB TOC

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)