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Hours had passed, and the entire bottle disappeared. So did some of the alcohol in the minibar. I held the empty champagne bottle up to my eye, watching the light filter through it as we laid in her bed.
“I wish my mom could meet them. She would have liked them,” I lamented. I thought about her everyday and all the things she had missed in my life so far.
“Especially Desmond,” Ang said. “Marilyn always went for the daddies.” She peeped the look of disgust on my face and chuckled to herself, snorting like a nerd.
“I can confirm that. Bash showed me a picture of Lucifer yesterday, and he gives off David Gandy vibes for sure.”
“I feel guilty sometimes. I got to spend so much time with your mom when we were growing up. She was my favorite sister and did everything with me. You barely got nine years with her.” Tears cascaded down my face, and Angie rolled over to hug me. “Oh, fuck, I’m sorry, Diana. I didn’t mean to say it like that.”
“It’s true, though. Sometimes I have to strain to remember what she looked and sounded like. The older I get, the more my memories of her erode, and one day they’ll be gone,” I wailed. The snot running out of my nose was not attractive in any way, and the way I wiped it on my hoodie sleeve was even uglier.
“I wish I could hear Marilyn’s voice again, too.” Angie petted my hair and held me for a few minutes while I tried my hardest to stop sobbing.
“Wait a minute!” I cried, snapping up into a sitting position. “We totally could! Angie, I can time-hop us back so we can see her.”
She grinned, bouncing up and down in excitement before reigning it in. Her gaze lost focus, making her look as if she was staring off into the distance.
“Is that safe? In the movies, it’s really dangerous to go back in time. What if we mess with something important?” she asked.
“Valid point, but as long as we aren’t talking to our past selves or her, and are super careful, we should be fine.” Azazel told me so much during our dinner the first night I got back.He also told me not to time-hop unless you absolutely needed to, but this was an emergency, for fucks sake.“Come on Ang, let’s do it. Don’t you want to see your favorite sister? Ineedto see my mom again.”
Angie took a few moments to think about it, but shook her head. “We better not regret this. You’re already in such deep shit with this Red guy and Damon after you. Your vagina is probably partially broken from all your crazy orgies and sexcapades. I don’t wanna add more drama to your plate.” Her concerned voice was appreciated, but she needed to lighten up.
“The guys and I will find a way to defeat both of them, don’t worry. My vagina is absolutely fine. She lives at the Cock & Balls Buffet–eats three squares and two or three snacks a day, too. Bitch is satisfied. But we won’t beemotionallysatisfied until we see my mom!” I encouraged her. Maybe it was the champagne, but I felt buoyant as fuck. Nothing could get me down, and everything was going to be fine. This did not seem like a bad decision at all.
“Great Goddess!” she exclaimed, giggling like a schoolgirl and reaching for my hands. “I can’t believe you can time-hop, this is complete insanity. Bananas as fuck, Diana. Let’s do it.”
Closing my eyes, I thought of a memory of my mom, Angie, Nonna, and I at the park I went to growing up. Nonna pushed Angie on the swings at the playground, and my mom pushed me in the bucket seat next to her. I was four years old at the time, which would make Angie eleven or twelve. This would be the perfect place to watch her. It had thick, overgrown bushes we could hide in, and I don’t remember it being a crowded place, as we went early in the morning most days. And kids weren’t very observant, so I doubted they’d see us. Perfect conditions for watching them and going unnoticed.
I held the memory in my mind, focusing on my mom’s face and how happy she seemed. Magical currents vibrated through us, shaking the ground beneath us as inertia took over. Although I couldn’t see us moving, I felt us fall backwards through time. It felt…weird…like a million little hairs tickling you as you fell deep down a rabbit hole. Very different from traveling forward in time. Instead of a white rabbit waiting for me when I opened my eyes, I saw the trees and benches of my favorite childhood spot. Angie gasped when she came to, her face looking a little green from the ride. I shushed her, dragging her behind some bushes. We had a clear view of the empty swing set from here.
“If I timed it right, we’ll get to see Nonna, my mom, you, and me walk up to the swings in a few minutes,” I whispered, keeping my voice low. “Oh, Mylanta, I can’t fucking wait.”
A few minutes passed, and a familiar tall man with long curly hair sat on the bench on the other side of the playground. He also had a good view of the swingset. He was reading a book, keeping to himself.
“Isn’t that your fallen angel hunk?” Ang asked. “What is he doing here?”
“It’s complicated. Azazel has been watching over me my entire life. A lot of the time he was hands off, just having visions about me. Sometimes he watched me more closely, according to him. Especially if Michael asked for a report.”
Ang shook her head, sighing. “Your other dad sounds like a fuckwit. They both do, actually.” She belched loudly, and the foul stench of alcohol wafted into my face. I waved it away, groaning at her grossness before remembering that we had to be quiet.
“Shhhhhhhh, you filthy slob, here they come!”
She quieted when our family walked onto the playground. Angie held my hand, dragging my four-year-old self toward the swings with a huge smile on her face. She picked me up, helping me into the bucket seat. Nonna told her to get on the swing, and she and my mom pushed us while talking to each other. My mom was beautiful. Her long, curly black hair and perfect skin shone in the morning sunlight. She wore a massive black hoodie and flared jeans that hugged her thighs and hips, very typical early 2000s fall fashion. Nonna must have said something funny, because her laughter rang out through the entire space. It was infectious, so we all laughed with her. Hearing her voice after all this time made my heart clench.
I felt tears burn the backs of my eyes, but tried my hardest to stay strong. A heavy weight sank into my stomach, like an anchor. Maybe drinking so much before such an emotional experience wasn’t the brightest idea. I should be happy to see my mom, not on the verge of sad tears.
“You look and sound so much like Marilyn,” Angie said in awe. “When we go back to our time, I can just look at you when I want to remember her.” A few tears rolled down her cheeks, but she held herself together, wiping them away on her shirt sleeve. She was always more emotionally stable than me. I found it much harder to hold myself together.
My mom was strong. She pushed me higher than Nonna pushed Angie, making airplane sounds that made me giggle.
“Vroooooooooooom, Diana! You’re flying!” she shouted in a fun, high-pitched voice. “It’s a bird, it’s a plane. It’s Diana Rossi!”
Zaz would glance up at them every now and then before returning to his book. I had to give him credit, he was hiding in plain sight, getting the job done. It made me wonder how many times he had watched me, and I never even knew it.
A fuzzy static filled my ears, and I winced at the harsh crackling sound. A male voice was muffled in it somehow, but I heard it say my name. I tuned my mind, trying to focus on what it was saying. After several seconds, I was able to get a mostly clear link.
Diana, where are you?!Bash’s angry voice filtered through my mindlink.You’re not in our suite or Angie’s, and we don’t feel you in the casino at all. Come back immediately.
