Epilogue
“Rockin’ Down the Highway”
The Doobie Brothers
~~~

 The Sorrow of Parting Is Not Sweet,
No Matter What Shakespeare Said.
It Hurts Like Hell, and That’s the Truth.

“YES, JAKE. I have the magic credit card in my wallet, and the wallet in my zippered pocket. I know how to get to all the places we’ve stayed and the right way to register. I promise I will eat more than apple pie and ice cream for dinner every night. I won’t steal, vandalize property, get into street fights, or chase after wild women, though I reserve my options on non-wild women. I will always use my super powers for good and never for evil, and I’ll remember to brush my teeth every day.”

Well, what was there to say after that? Nothing, of course. The boy—the young man, really—had been through the worst that can happen to a mortal being and survived. In a manner of speaking. He was street smart and had learned the hard way to be street cautious, as well. And he knew Atlanta like the back of his hand, so Jake didn’t have to watch over his every move. Yet leaving Dodger behind was far harder than Jake had imagined, and he’d known it would be pretty damn tough.

“Okay, then. I guess this is it for a while.”

“How long, Jake? When will you be back?”

“Allowing for travel time down and up, and a couple of weeks for actual work, I’d say less than a month. Three weeks, maybe.”

Dodger looked bereft.

“Hey, now. It’s not that bad, really.” It was. It was awful, but they’d agreed to give Azrael’s idea a chance, and that’s what they needed to do. “You’ll be so busy, you won’t have time to miss me.”

The boy wasn’t fooled. “Yeah, whatever.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, each unhappy but grimly determined to do what they’d said they would. Then Jake threw his arms around Dodger and hugged him for all he was worth. Dodger hugged back even harder.

“All right, then. I’m out of here.” Jake turned toward the door, then back again. “You have your cell phone, right?”

Dodger’s exasperated sigh spoke volumes. “Yes, Jake, with Angels and Emissaries on speed dial.”

“Okay, then. Call if you need me. See you in three weeks or so.” Blinking hard, Jake left the room, closed the door behind him, and headed for the big red-and-white semi, which had appeared overnight in place of the BMW.

Hell, leaving Dodger behind hurt. But having just experienced true anguish, he wasn’t going to complain. Much.

Settling into the driver’s seat, Jake felt comfortable in a way that he’d never quite managed in the sleek, black car he’d driven for the last few months. He’d spent most of his mortal life driving a rig just like this, and the sound of the big engine turning over was music to his ears. He was ready to rock and roll and looking forward to returning to Florida, so he had to move past this heaviness in his heart. Time to get the show on the road. After all, there were souls in peril out there, and it was his job to help them.

Shifting the truck into gear, he eased forward and wound his way around the motel to the busy street ahead, where the rush hour traffic didn’t want to slow down enough to let a rig this size pull out. The engine rumbled so loud, Jake almost didn’t hear all the yelling—but almost doesn’t count.

He glanced in the sideview mirror and saw Dodger waving frantically and running across the lot with his duffel bag over his shoulder. He considered ignoring the boy and pulling out anyway, but not very seriously. He did, however, manage to hide his grin by the time Dodger had yanked the passenger door open and climbed in.

The boy tossed his duffel behind the seat. “I’m going with you.”

“What happened to listening more closely to me?”

“I will. Starting tomorrow.”

“We told Azrael we’d do it his way.”

“Thought it over. Doesn’t work for me. Azrael will understand.”

“You think so?”

“He’ll have to. We’re a package deal, Jake. Where you go, I’m going too. “

 “And what will we do about Atlanta?”

“We’ll be snowbirds. We’ll spend this winter in Florida, then head back to Atlanta in the spring.”

“I see you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“Yep.”

“And you’re sure this is what you want?”

“Yep.” Dodger glared at him in defiance, daring him to say no.

He thought about it. This was either the worst thing the kid could possibly have come up with, or the best. Jake opted for the last one.

“Okay, then. That’s our plan.”

Jake eased the semi into a gap between cars barely big enough for him to take advantage of and turned south, his heart overflowing with happiness and profound gratitude.

Home free, Dodger grinned. “I’ve never been to Florida. Hell, I’ve never even seen a real beach before.”

“Well, kid, you are in for a treat. You want beaches, Florida’s surrounded by them.”

“Palm trees?”

“Yep.”

“Girls in bikinis?”

“Definitely.”

“Ahh. Life is good, Jake. I’m glad I got another chance at it.”

“Yeah. Me too, kid. Me, too.” He turned on the radio just in time to join in with the Doobie Brothers classic, “Rockin’ Down the Highway.”

Dodger’s grin grew even wider. “Hey! I know that one!”

Jake and Dodger sang all the way out of Atlanta, down through Georgia, and into the Sunshine State.

Life really was good—especially the second time around—and it was looking better every mile of the way.

The End

~~~

Thank you so much for reading!
Hope you enjoyed riding along with
Jake & Dodger. You can download
all three novellas in the series here:
The Emissary 1
The Emissary 2: To Love Somebody
The Emissary 3: Love Hurts