The Kindness of Strangers

“The
Kindness of Strangers”

Epilogue
1

“Sympathy
For The Devil”

*****

It
was the last night of the cruise; tomorrow they would dock in Rome
and fly back to New York, and then on to Pittsburgh.  The
suitcases had been packed and the request for the early morning
wakeup call had been placed.

While
her husband and daughters were getting ready for bed, Maureen went to
the Lido Deck for a cup of tea.

She
stood in Emil’s, holding the warm mug and staring out the
windows into the darkness, vaguely aware of the music playing outside
on the Lido Deck.

He’s
out there somewhere, right now, she thought.  She closed her
eyes and prayed: God grant you safe flight, Saint Gabriel.

“All
packed?” a familiar voice inquired solicitously, and she jumped
in surprise. 

Lucifer
was standing right next to her, holding a mug of coffee and staring
out into the night.

“Get
away from me!” she said, backing away and holding her mug of
tea as though she might throw it at him.

“Uh
uh – bad monkey!” he chided, and held up a little stick
with a flag on it.  “White flag, remember?  I just
want to talk.”

“About
what?” she asked suspiciously.

“Come
on,” he crooned, beckoning her to come stand at his side. 
“I don’t bite.”

“No,
I’m sure you do worse than bite!”

“Not
tonight.  I’m not here to hurt you – or anyone
else.”

Still
looking suspicious, she moved to stand next to him.  They were
silent for a moment.

“What
will you do now?” he finally asked.

“Why
do you want to know?”

He
looked exasperated.  “Listen, let’s pretend for a
minute that I’m not the Devil.  Let’s pretend that
I’m just another passenger on this cruise ship.  OK?”

“I
can’t do that.”

He
frowned.  “Why not?  I can.”

She
quirked an eyebrow at him.  “You can pretend you’re
not the Devil?  That you’re a human?”

“Ah,
Maureen.  To be human… to have a soul…” He
looked sad for a moment, but quickly recovered.  “So. 
Pretend I’m human and talk to me.  What will you do now?”

She
sighed.  “You know, I hadn’t really thought,”
she admitted.  “These last few years have been so
terrible… it’ll be nice to have some peace.”

Lucifer
shook his head.  “I wouldn’t know.”

She
watched him out of the corner of her eye.  “You chose your
path,” she finally said, sounding more like she was reminding
herself of that fact than him.  “I shouldn’t be
feelin’ a bit sorry for ya.”

“But
you do,” he said softly.

“Can’t
help it,” she agreed.  They were silent for a moment,
listening to the music drifting in from the Lido Deck.

“Saint
Gabriel said – ” she began.

“Gabriel
says a lot of things,” Lucifer said dismissively.

“He’s
not a liar,” Maureen said firmly.  “And you’ll
never convince me that he is!”

“No,”
Lucifer agreed softly.  “He’s not a liar.”

“There’s
hope for you, you know.  Yes, even for you.  God’s
never stopped loving you, never stopped hurting since you left His
side.”

“Do
you really believe that?” he asked curiously.

“I’ve
never lost a child, but I almost did.  And I can’t imagine
how I ever would’ve coped if Saint Gabriel hadn’t –
” Her voice broke and she took a deep breath, collecting
herself.  “So yes, Lucifer.  I do believe it. 
When you left Him, you broke His heart.  But He’s your
Father, and you’re his child… nothing will ever change
that.”  She looked up at him, finding the courage to meet
his eye.  “You could go home, and be welcome.”

“No,”
he said in a low voice. “Not me.”

She
sighed and went back to staring out the window, listening to the
music from outside. 

Much
to her surprise, she found herself thinking that Lucifer seemed more
sad than evil.  She thought about how she would feel if one of
her children renounced her family, turned away from the Light…

She
closed her eyes and felt the tears slip down her cheeks.  It was
all so sad, so unbearably sad…

She
felt a gentle touch on her face and turned to see Lucifer licking her
tears from his finger.

He
smiled sadly.  “Sugar and salt.”

He
set his empty mug down on a nearby table and turned to go.

She
reached out and grasped his arm, stopping him.

“I’ll
pray for you,” she promised.

“You’d
do that?” he asked, his voice full of wonder.

“Of
course.  We’re supposed to pray for the souls of our
fellow sinners, and I’d say you’re at the top of the
list!”

His
lips quirked in an ironic smile.  “I don’t have a
soul to be saved, Maureen.”

“Doesn’t
matter.”  She was astounded by the sudden rush of maternal
feeling she had; it was all she could do not to reach out and
straighten his collar and admonish him to keep warm.  Keep warm,
indeed – oh, the irony!  “I’ll pray for you
all the same, Lucifer,” she finally said.

“It
won’t do any good.”

“Well,
it certainly can’t hurt,” she pointed out.

“No,
I guess it can’t.”  He kissed two fingers and
extended them in her direction: an angel’s blessing, a blessing
that he was no longer entitled to give.  “Goodbye,
Maureen.”

She
didn’t watch him leave, but instead turned back to the window
to contemplate the darkness beyond the ship’s lights.

After
a moment, she leaned her forehead against the glass and sobbed.

*****

And
though she kept her promise and prayed for him every day for the rest
of her life, Maureen O’Connor Finkelstein never saw Lucifer
again – neither in this life, nor in the next.

*****

TO
BE CONTINUED…