Unused to the quiet after days spent in a hectic, loud Willowveil, Andrew turned on the radio.

"As death tolls continue to rise in..."

He changed the station.

"Scientists are finding that having survived COVID-19 may not impart immun..."

He tried again.

"Now God saw the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah and He destroyed them!  So how can we be surprised that He'd unleash this illness..."

"Nope!" Andrew shouted before shutting the radio off.  He considered pulling over and searching for a CD but he just wanted to get home.

And then he saw him.

A man walking along the side of the road, thumb out.

"Who would be hitchhiking these days?" Andrew thought aloud.

And then he noticed something peculiar...  The man had shoulder-length, dish-blonde hair.  He was wearing jeans, a leather jacket, and a wide-brimmed hat.

Strange...  He'd once hitchhiked looking very much the same.

Deciding the man must be in dire straits to be begging rides from strangers during a pandemic, Andrew pulled over.  When the man turned and smiled at him, the angel's stomach flip-flopped.

What was he doing here?!  What if someone saw him?  What if someone who knew JenniAnn saw him?  What if they sent her a photo?  How would she react?  This was definitely not the same as long-dead saints coming back!  Why hadn't God forewarned him?

"Hey there!" the stranger greeted.  "Thanks for pulling over.  My name's Andrew."

"A-andrew..." Andrew repeated.  So it wasn't him.  But the resemblance...

Chuckling, the man nodded.

"You've never met an Andrew?"

"I... I'm Andrew," the angel of death stammered.

"That's quite a coincidence... not that I believe in those.  And we even look a lot alike!"

Andrew gaped.  They did... although the Andrew in front of him was better looking.  Even JenniAnn would agree.

"So... can I get in?"

Andrew reached over and unlocked the door.

"Yeah.  Sure.  Sorry.  You just... I thought you were someone else for a moment but..."

"A sworn enemy?" the hitchhiker kidded as he buckled in.  "Thanks, by the way."

"No problem.  And... no.  Not at all.  Just... he passed away."

"Aww, wow.  I'm sorry.  I can get out if..."

"No, no.  You're fine.  Sorry."  Andrew smiled to reassure the man.  "It's fine.  Really.  Sorry.  My mind's just been... scattered lately."

"Yours and everyone else's.  These are tough times."

"Yeah..."  Andrew began to drive.  "So, uh, where are you headed?"

"You know where St. Pete's is?"

"I do.  I was headed that way myself."

"Good!  Then I won't put you out.  You live around there?"

"No.  Umm...  My... my partner's parents live nearby.  I have to..."  Andrew gestured to the seat behind him, filled with groceries.  He figured there was no harm in letting the other Andrew assume he was simply delivering groceries... not bringing them through a portal.

"Ah.  Very kind of you."

The two were silent for a few moments before Andrew glanced to his passenger.  There was simply no way this was an ordinary man sitting beside him.

"Are you... and maybe this is going to sound crazy but I have to ask... are you... an angel?"

Grinning, the man nodded.

"I am!  How did you know?"

"I... I'm an angel, too.  An... an angel of death."

Laughing, the other Andrew shook his head.

"So the Father created two angels of death named..."  His face clouded in confusion.  "Wait...  But you said you had a partner... with parents?"

"Well, yeah... I... I have a human anam cara.  Her name is JenniAnn."

The passenger dragged a hand through his hair.

"A what now?"

"Anam cara.  I guess not everyone's heard of them.  I hadn't even before..."

"But... angels don't fall in love!"

"But... you know Monica, don't you?  The Angel of Truth?"

"Of course!  I used to work assignments with her all the time."

"Okay.  Good!  Well, remember when she met Arthur?"

"Arthur...  That's not ringing a bell.  Was it during an assignment?"

"Yes.  There was a mass shooting and Monica met him at a thrift shop when Gloria needed new glasses and..."

"No...  That... that's not right.  Gloria did need new glasses.  But Monica met a man named Mike at the thrift shop.  And there was a bombing right afterwards.  Not a shooting."

Andrew's head began to spin as he realized what was going on...  He was in the van with a TV character.

"O-okay...  Let's try this.  When did you meet Monica?" he quizzed.

"On a wedding train!  There were these college classmates and..."  The other Andrew cocked his head.  "Actually, I think I met her in the 1800s.  Wait... that can't be right..."

Andrew smirked. 

"Never mind.  It's okay."

"All right.  But... I still don't understand how you have a partner."

"An anam cara.  'Soul friend,' literally.  It's like a soulmate except it's not always romantic."

"Okay, got it.  So it's not romantic."

Andrew's face flushed.

"It is romantic?" his passenger queried, one eye brow quirked upwards.

Andrew pulled over to the side of the road so he could more easily converse with the enigma beside him.

"It... I mean... yeah, in a sense."

"And the Father is okay with this?"

"Yeah.  He is.  Joshua even performed a blessing for us... for JenniAnn and me."

"Joshua?"

Andrew did a double take.  What sort of angel didn't know about Joshua?!  And then he remembered who he was talking to.  Joshua... by that name... didn't appear or get referenced on Touched. 

"Jesus Christ," he clarified.

"Oh!  Wow!  That's... wow."  The other Andrew chuckled.  "Well, then it must be okay.  But... I mean... you want that?"

Andrew was, momentarily, offended.  But, then again, he had to remind himself who this fellow was and the limitations of his experience.

"I... I do."  He peered down at his ring.  "I can't imagine my life any other way now."

"What's it like?"

Surprised by the huskiness in the other Andrew's voice, Andrew glanced over at him.  He was earnestly peering at him, genuinely wanting an answer.  Andrew found himself opening up.

"It's... nice.  It's nice to know there's a human out there who isn't scared of me.  Not even a little bit.  She's always glad to see me.  She... she doesn't shirk away.  She wants me close."

"That sounds... heavenly."

"It... it is."

"Are you... scared for her?"

Tears pricking his eyes, Andrew nodded.

"She, umm, she had some scarring on her lungs from a bad case of pneumonia and... and then she got shot.  Lung again.  So... so I worry that if she gets this..."

The other angel set a reassuring hand on Andrew's arm.

"I'm sorry.  That's a lot to be dealing with.  Especially when you've been through something like this before."

Andrew nodded.

"The Black Death..."

"Cholera..."

"The Spanish flu..."

The passenger again ran a hand through his hair before speaking.

"And each time brought great, great suffering and... and so much grief.  But they kept on, Andrew.  Humans... they're resilient.  Everything they've gone through... wars, disease, natural disasters... they've never let go of that spark of hope.  And, what's more, He's never let go of them.  And He never will.  Never.  He loves them... and He loves us."

Andrew nodded, tears trickling down his cheeks as he listened.  He'd needed that reminder.

"I think your JenniAnn is going to be just fine.  After all, she's got a pretty special angel watching out for her.  Not that I'm biased."

Andrew chuckled at the familiar, crooked smile that lit up his passenger's face.

"Thank you.  That helps more than I can say."

"Good!"

"I... I do have a question, though."

"Go for it!"

"What happened to you... I mean, after you said good bye to Monica, after you disappeared?"

The other Andrew began to glow.

"I live on in a million hearts, in memories, in dreams."

Andrew spoke through a lump in his throat.

"You... you do.  I'm sure of it.  And I... thank you.  Without you, I... I think my JenniAnn might have lost hope of... of finding me again.  You made her believe that... that I was still out there."

The glowing angel smiled.

"I'm glad."

"Although you may have made her a touch disappointed when she saw me again and realized you were definitely better looking," Andrew joked.

The other Andrew laughed heartily.

"Well, now don't go selling yourself short.  You're a very handsome angel, Andrew."

"Not that you're biased."  Andrew grinned.

His handsome twin chuckled.

Andrew sighed with relief and stared ahead of him at the nearly empty road.

"Well, I guess we can get back on the..."

When he glanced to his right, there was only an empty seat.

Andrew smiled. 

"Message received," he murmured.  "Another assignment completed.  Thank you, Andrew."

Continuing to smile, Andrew drove off.


"'When you walk, down the road...'"

Andrew felt fingers softly brush through his hair.

"'Heavy burden, heavy load...'"

Violeta giggled.

"I didn't know he snored!"

"Oh, now...  He's not very loud."

Hearing JenniAnn's voice, Andrew realized that his head was resting in her lap.  He began to remember... they'd had dinner and then Violeta had asked to watch some Touched by an Angel.  Midway through "Groundrush," he'd fallen asleep.

And dreamed...

Andrew sat up.

"Hey, love.  You feeling okay?" JenniAnn asked, resting her hand against his forehead.

Still dazed, the angel stared at her.

"Laja..."

"I think maybe we should get you to bed," JenniAnn pronounced.  "You've run yourself ragged between errands and deliveries and working on the ballroom."

"Yeah..."  Andrew nodded.  "Bed would be good."  He smiled at Violeta and Shelby who were camped out in front of the TV in bean bags.  "G'night, girls.  Now you can watch without me snoring."

"G'night!  Love you!"

"Love you, Andrew.  Sleep well.  And quietly."  Violeta giggled again.

JenniAnn shot her a playful glare.

"G'night.  Don't stay up too late.  Love you both.  And now..."  She looped an arm through one of Andrew's.  "Bed."

As they began to walk away, Andrew squeezed JenniAnn's hand. 

"Laja...  I had the strangest but... most comforting... dream."

"Really?  Wanna tell me about it?"

Andrew nodded and, just before they left the room, he looked back.

And there he was...

Andrew smiled at the man on the screen.

"I... I guess you could say I met up with an old friend."


Anyway...  I hope you enjoyed that.  As much as I love writing the Dyeland stories, I do sometimes miss the Andrew that we knew and loved on TBAA.  So it was nice to catch up with him, even if it was only a dream.  :-)


This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for playing easily one of the best looking hitchhikers ever!