five: honor your parents
This is a continuation. You might want to begin here: one
“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
***
The woman rummaged helplessly through her purse while the baby in the front portion of the grocery cart wailed. “I’m sorry,” she said to Olivia, who was behind her in line, then looked at the cashier. “Let me look one more time. I’m sure I have enough.”
Oliva felt Jason shift impatiently behind her, and glanced at the items waiting to be bagged. Baby formula, diapers, cereal. Not a single personal item and no food meant for an adult. She took in the woman’s pitifully thin frame and compared it to the obvious health blooming in the crying infant’s cheeks. She sent Jason a beseeching look.
Jason scowled. The cashier strummed her cheap press-on nails. “Look, lady, why don’t you just put something back? People are waiting.”
Her shoulders drooped and she gave up. She pointed toward the bag of diapers with a trembling finger.
“Wait.” Jason pushed Olivia aside and bent to pick something up from the floor. “You dropped this.” He pressed a hundred dollar bill into the woman’s hand. Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to protest. “I watched it fall,” he added smoothly, before she could say anything.
The woman looked toward Olivia, who smiled encouragingly and nodded. “Me too,” she said softly. “I saw it fall, too.” She watched the woman fight a split second battle between pride and need. The baby let out another hungry cry. Grateful, she handed the money to the cashier, who finished ringing up and gave her the change. While her items were being bagged, the woman turned and tried to give Jason the remainder of the money.
He shook his head. “You dropped it,” he repeated. “You owe me nothing for picking it up for you.”
After the woman left, Olivia smiled up at Jason. “Thank you,” she murmured.
He gave her a disgusted look. “The baby wouldn’t shut up. It was getting on my nerves.”
***
“Olivia! Wake up.” The hiss, accompanied by the vigorous shaking of her shoulder, finally penetrated Olivia’s dream. “Hurry. Jason needs you.”
Suddenly alert, Olivia sat up and stared at Sera. “Why? What’s happening?”
“Micah’s trying, but Jason won’t help him. They’re up to the fifth Commandment in his trial and he has yet to be found not guilty. If he loses this one, there can be no majority.”
Olivia stood and straighted her gown. “Is that how it works? Six out of ten guilty verdicts and you go to Hell?” She followed Sera from the room and down the now familiar white corridor.
“It isn’t quite that simple, but … well, it helps to have a majority in your favor. Jason refuses to say anything in his defense, even when Micah presents corroborating evidence that refutes his guilt on a particular commandment. He just stares insolently at the Heavenly Host.”
They emerged at the top of the steps which led down to the courtroom floor. The room was, again, packed, though there was nobody seated at the table on the right. Instead, Lucifer sat in the gallery, an amused look on his handsome face. Things were going quite as he had expected when he gave up his claim on Jason’s soul. He turned to look up at the top of the stair when the murmuring of the crowd near the door increased in volume.
Neither Olivia nor Sera saw him. The were looking, instead, at Micah and Jason. Micah looked frustrated. Six evidence panels hung in midair, their scenes halted for the time being. Jason rolled a pen between his thumb and middle finger and looked bored. While they watched, Micah closed one panel, then opened another.
“Do you have any evidence to present, counselor?” The angel who spoke looked impatient.
“I do,” said Micah. “If you’ll just give me a moment, please.”
Olivia pressed her lips together, trying to remember the fifth commandment. “Honor thy father and thy mother,” whispered Sera, reading her thoughts.
“We haven’t all day,” prodded the angel.
Olivia caught Lucifer’s eye. He raised a brow. Behind him, she saw Micah brace both hands on the table, watched his shoulders slump a little in defeat. A smile spread across the demon’s face. “Wait!” Olivia’s voice rang out into the courtroom. She tossed Lucifer a withering glare and ran down the steps, Sera following closely. “i have evidence.”
She reached the floor and laid a hand on Micah’s sleeve. “Can you find a scene from around Easter? At the grocery.” Her eyes strayed to Jason and found him regarding her steadily.
“I can look,” said Micah. He raised a hand and one of the screens began shuffling rapidly forward.
“No, Olivia.” The crowd shuffled and whispered. It was the first time Jason had spoken during any of his trials.
Olivia met his eyes bravely, submission screaming at her. “Don’t stop me in this, Jason.” Her eyes begged his.
He looked away from her, found Lucifer in the gallery. He sat up straighter. “I’m not yours to save, anymore. You’ll only bring yourself down with me. And i don’t want him to have you.”
“Got it,” said Micah, behind her.
Olivia smiled softly at Jason and looked away. She took a step forward to face the angels. “I believe,” she said in a soft but strong voice, “that the commandment in question today is the fifth. Jason grew up with only a mother. They were poor … very poor.” She heard Jason shift in his seat and curse under his breath, but continued on. “Despite his background, Jason managed to put himself through school and became a tremendous success.”
“I fail to see what bearing that has on this trial, young lady,” said another of the angels. ”And you’re out of line. You’re not a Life Defense Counselor. You are, in fact, on trial for this very commandment, yourself.”
Olivia nodded. “And i thank you for indulging me. Micah?”
Micah waved a hand and the evidence panel began moving. The courtroom watched the scene with the mother and her baby unfold before them. When it ended, silence descended on the room, and everyone looked to the Host in expectation. “We’ll withhold our judgment until after the trial of the other human,” one of them finally said. ”You may proceed, Sera.”
Sera looked stricken. “But i’m not prepared.”
“You entered the courtroom with your client. You know the rules. We can present you with a scene and allow you to do your best to defend it, if you’d like. Or you can enter a guilty plea with regard to this commandment for your client.”
Olivia looked at Sera in horror. She’d never seen the junior Life Defense Counselor flustered. Sera rubbed her palms, which were suddenly clammy, on her garment, and looked uncertainly at Micah, who nodded at her. “I’ll attempt to defend a scene,” she said. The angel on the far left waved a hand, and all but one of the evidence panels disappeared. The remaining panel began moving, and the courtroom gasped at the sight of Olivia, kneeling naked in a cage in Jason’s kitchen.
“No!”
Sera looked at Olivia in surprise.
“Guilty.” Olivia whirled and faced the angels again. “I”m entering a guilty plea.” Her eyes strayed to Jason, then skittered away at the fury she saw on his face. “Please,” she said to Sera. “Tell them i’m guilty.” She heard a low chuckle from somewhere in the gallery, and knew it was Lucifer.
Sera shook her head. “I don’t want to do that, Olivia. I know we can defend this one.”
“It’s my choice, isn’t it? How i wish to plead?”
Nodding in resignation, Sera looked up at the angels. “We plead guilty.”
The angels nodded. “Fine. We find the human Jason not guilty on commandment five. The human Olivia has entered a guilty plea.” They disappeared as abruptly as ever.
Trembling, Olivia turned to face Jason, who stood. “Dead or not, you know better than to disobey me.”
The crowd watched, transfixed, as Olivia knelt and lowered her head. “Yes, Sir. i do know better. i hope you can forgive me.”
Jason walked around the table and came to stand in front of her. He reached down, slipped a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. “I know why you did it, pet.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and smiled a little. “Thank you.” He straighted and nodded to Micah, then strode from the courtroom without a backward glance. Micah followed, shaking his head.
The crowd slowly filtered from the room until nobody remained except Sera, Olivia and Lucifer, who stood and applauded slowly. Olivia stared at him, her eyes cold. “You can’t have him.”
“Mm. I already do, little girl. Five commandments left. I only need one.”
“What if i offered myself in his place?” Sera gasped.
Lucifer laughed softly. “No. I’ll have Jason, or I’ll have you both. You’re of no use to me without him.” He waved a hand and disappeared.
Totally not fair. I wasn’t prepared to find something posted this afternoon and I accidently read it all at once. And how were you going to work parents into Olivia’s cage scene??
This is really getting to me, elise. And how will you get either of them out of the lying commandment? I know, I have to wait. (kicks shoe against the floor) (sniff)
sassy,
i feel terrible about the fact that you had no housework stacked up in preparation for my posting. Perhaps, in the future, you can pre-stage some ironing or spill something sticky in the fridge?
As to the parents angle with regard to the cage … i’ll address that in the opening of six. i promise. Don’t mop the kitchen between now and then.
elise
Oh, the kitchen floor, that is a sore subject. There are these white spots on my kitchen floor. They go away when I mop, but when the floor dries, they come back. Mostly I just stare at them - try to use them as a source of inspiration.
I had plenty of housework I could have done. I was lacking the script. Like when I go to the dentist. I tell myself I will sit in the chair, grab the arms tight, and then he does whatever he’s going to do. (usually some horrible procedure with taking out fillings, putting in new ones, root canals, etc) The script works great in one sense - I know what I’m going to do. And the pain fills me up and washes over my head like I’m drowning in it. The script doesn’t work so well though when he’s asking me does this hurt, does that hurt. Those questions don’t make sense to me when I’m gripping the chair. I wind up guessing.
Not that reading this story was like going to the dentist. It just caught me out of the blue. And I read it like the brain candy it is!
~ laughing ~ You’re a scream, sassy. Thank you.
elise
Here’s a list of the things I like about this series. (I love lists)
1. the bureaucracy - how wonderful to be thinking now I’m dead, I won’t ever have to wait in line at the DMV again, only to be confronted with another bureaucracy.
2. the evidence screens
3. the rules structure and Sera being able to get a not guilty ruling on technicalities
4. the characters - you capture them so well. I felt like I was waited on by that cashier just yesterday.
5. handsome sadists
What don’t I like?
1. too short
2. too long between postings
So many of the stories you’ve written could become novels. A heaven and hell series? True, I wouldn’t get to read them online for free (except for the chapter ones) but once or twice a year I’d get to scream and race to the bookstore. I would pay for my new book and imagine you living in some mansion surrounded by helpful assistants with your pool being cleaned by Enricke.
sassy,
Thank you so much for the time you take with your comments. i can’t tell you how much it helps me to get this sort of feedback. It strokes my ego, (and let’s be honest … we all like that) makes me laugh, and gives me food for thought.
In a chat room recently, someone asked me if this series was inspired by a film called “Defending Your Life.” My answer is … sort of. i’ve never actually seen the movie, but one morning, i heard the hosts of a morning radio show discussing it, and they briefly touched on the concept. i thought it might be something i could adapt to my own slightly sordid and creative purposes.
So thank you for the “things you like,” sassy. As to the things you don’t like … heh. i’m a creature of habit, of rules, of structure. Those things help me deal with the sort of men to whom i am attracted. Because of that bit of my nature, i adhere to a rather strict set of rules in my own writing. So … i try to keep my postings on serialized pieces between 1000 and 2000 words, and i post on a schedule. This piece happens to be scheduled for Sundays. That doesn’t mean it gets posted every Sunday. It means i work on it every Sunday. If life gets in the way, my work gets saved as a draft until the next Sunday.
~laughing~ i know it seems rigid, but with my current “real job” schedule, juggling the lives of my two teenage children, my professional writing, and this blog, i have to maintain some sort of self-discipline.
Thank you again, sassy. ~smile~ Someday, i’ll invite you to my rather small home (i could never justify a mansion in my frugal little head.) We certainly will, however, watch Enricke clean the pool.
elise
Wow. That sounds like a very hectic schedule. I’ve never considered applying discipline to my creativity. I just keep putting it off until one day it just pours out of me.
I like watching men work. Gathered around a car, tweaking this and that. Doing yard work, painting. It’s very relaxing.
Oh yeah, and barbequing.
i like watching men work, as well, but i tend to like the quiet sort of work. Sleeves rolled up on a crisp white oxford button down, tie loosened and slightly askew, hair mussed from occasionally running his fingers through.
Whether he’s crunching numbers, there at his desk in the study, or contemplating the correct word to use in an email … i like this image. And i like the thought of me quietly moving around him as he works, bringing him sustenence in the form of food or drink, then curling up in a corner of the same room to gather all the scattered images from my heart and from my head, and to mold them with words.
elise
yeah, I don’t usually get to see that. Some mornings I’m around to watch the tshirt go on and then the oxford button down. mmmm buttons. and belts…
It’s just as well I’m not around for the number crunching. I am a terrible calculator slut. I have 6 of the damn things and am always trying to fondle other people’s. I think it’s funny to take the square root of pi. as if.
As mentioned before, I can’t wait to see where you’re going with this entire series, especially since each segment is an interesting commentary all by itself.
More than the others so far, this one sent my ant farm mind questing in all directions. Sassy’s comment on the bureaucracy made me laugh, especially since the idea of it sounds more hellish than heavenly to me. I put the bureaucracy idea in the same category with all tem rules, however, and those rules with one glaring exception (thou shalt not kill) have always struck me as more the pedestrian and prarochial morality of the limited minds of men rather than of any form of God.
For all her submission, Olivia is blossoming as quite feisty with a touch of topping from the bottom in this episode. Of particular interest is that even within the ’structure’ of the heavenly court, all the neat and tidy pigeon holes aren’t really working. And that daring and darling Lucifer is simply allowing enough rope for everyone to hang…a devilish form of Kool Aid?
Yummy.
Kaz ~
~laughing~ In high school, we called the kool-aid “jungle juice.” And Lucifer most certainly had a hand in concocting it.
i’m so glad you’re enjoying. i’m enjoying it, as well, as i have no idea where i’m going with it. i tend to only think one section ahead, so i know how six will start … but not at all how it will go.
my crush on Lucifer, of course, only deepens with each piece.
elise
“…curling up in a corner of the same room to gather all the scattered images from my heart and from my head, and to mold them with words.”
Not the venue perhaps for this observation, but I always wonder what it is about words that fascinates and enslaves so many of us. We know the joy of them - arranging and rearranging them like puzzle pieces. But, we also know their damage, the pain they can cause, the lies they can tell in unworthy hands. How many of us noticed the growing lump in our throats when we were first bit by the word bug? And how can we explain the level of frustration when the right words elude all our efforts or when ears refuse to open to their call?
Kaz ~
Oh, i think this is the perfect venue for that. After all, blogging is all about words when you break it all down.
Anyone who writes has a love/hate relationship with words. i think of them as living things. Because of this, i feel guilty when i curse them for their fickle nature, or frightened that perhaps they’ll punish me for my anger by dancing just out of reach, taunting me by running around in my head and refusing to come together to create the image i ache to convey.
Worse, far worse, is the fact that, because of our facility with words, we think we can make ourselves understood by using them … lots of them … to lay bare our souls.
Oh, how many times have i done that, right here? Only to leave record of a pain the depth of which may or may not be understood. He reads of it, i know. But that is all i know.
elise
This: “Dead or not, you know better than to disobey me.” this made me laugh.
I needed to laugh.
And Lucifer is mine.
**mutters**
Beth,
i’ll fight you for Lucifer, girlie.
elise
Endurance is a thing I am quite good at. Just so you know.
~Beth
Mm. And patience is my strong suit.
elise
Wow I started reading a profile to a Unique name and ended up reading some very outstanding material . I couldnt stop reading . Very Well Done . I will be back to read more as you you add it. Thank You for sharing your gift with us.
Billy,
Thank you. i’m so happy you enjoyed, and that you intend to return. i hope your evening is going well.
elise