"Hey, Doc," said the old man,"so whatja think?"
"I thought Velvet pipe tobacco was a nice touch, it got him thinking. Say, you didn't happen to bring any back, by any chance?"
"Naw, you know The Rule: You can't take it with you."
"Yeah, but I thought someone in your position might wrangle an exception. I assumed angels had influence."
"I would've if I could've, how's that?" the old man replied, stretching, shedding his appearance like a pair of one-piece coveralls. "Mmph, these transformations are wicked, pardon the pun. I don't know how humans do it, especially as long-lived as your family is, spending all your time in a body like this."
"It has its ups and downs," Doc said, musing. "You get sick now and then, get arthritis, maybe break something. But there's compensations and we wouldn't trade them for anything. Holding your first born -- my wife could cook up a storm, by the way -- and there's, um, well, there's always...romance," he said, his mouth upturning impishly at the memory.
"I know, I know, romance, then pregnancy, then bills to pay, gray hair, putting the kids through school, and voila! you're here."
"True, there's all that, but you met my grandson and his dog. I don't think we did half-bad," Doc argued in defense.
"No, you didn't. He made the right choice and got home in one piece exactly like you said he would, and like you did, by the way, that morning on the mountain, chasing cows through the fog. For a minute, you had me concerned."
"Was that you? I've wondered about that. Yeah, it was hard; I'd made a lot of bad decisions over the years. And then, I don't know what made me think of it, but it occurred to me I might have a grandson at some point, and I'd want him to make the right choice, too. That's what made the difference. I did it for him."
"It often does and most people do," responded the angel, cryptically.
"I guess so. Say, you sure you didn't bring any Velvet back with you?"
"I'm sure."
(Creative Commons image by laurenz via Flickr)
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