Bookshop Nativity (working title)

Gabriel was getting along quite nicely down here. He'd nested in a cramped flat above the local book shop, filled it with as many colourful cushions and throws as he could fit until every white space was softened and warmed: checked, spotted, dotted, embroidered, flocked or floral, it was the exact opposite of heaven, and yet embodied it completely. His personal style could only be described as 'heavenly human'. It is for this reason that he so adored books. Literature, as he frequently pondered to one bemused customer or another, was the finest proof that the most beautiful of creations are those made not by the hand of the creator, but by the hands of the creations themselves. There was never a good book in heaven. It was usually at this point that said bemused customer would give up their search for anything specific, purchasing the nearest book out of politeness before hurriedly exiting the shop. Gabe didn't work at The Book Nook, exactly. He just spent so much time there that Eve- the youthfully ancient owner- took to treating him like another employee. She never quite knew what was going on in that boy's head- he was definitely on some kind of spectrum- but his face seemed to shine even brighter than usual when given a stack of books to shelf, and he was happy to be payed with docked rent and cups of tea. He was an angel to work with, so she put up with him occasionally scaring off the customers.

One cold day in April, Gabe was arranging the religious section by level of historical accuracy whilst Joseph took an amused tea break beside him.

'I honestly don't know what you're on Gabe but I think I want some' he chuckled as the boy sniffed suspiciously at the pages of an antique King James'.

'This is all wrong...' he muttered, throwing the highly valuable book onto a 'bin' pile that Joseph was gradually re-shelving while Gabe wasn't looking. The angel picked up a My First Bible (Revised and Abridged) and flipped to page 225 with an offended look,

'Well that's just made up! I never-'

He froze, his golden-blue eyes fixed straight ahead. There was power in his gaze like a galaxy in motion, every piece of dust falling into place beneath it. The world shifted behind those eyes and the door opened with a bright /ding/.

'/She's here/' Gabriel shone.

Joseph sent a bewildered frown at the open door, which quickly turned to a bewildered smile as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen entered the shop. Soft brown hair fell over her brow, long eyelashes shadowing big amber eyes. She was followed by a broad shouldered man with a remarkably Neanderthal-like face, who Joseph found himself immediately disliking. Luckily, the Neanderthal didn't notice the two pairs of wide eyes gazing lovingly at his girlfriend from behind a bookshelf. These two pairs of eyes now turned to each other slightly territorially.

'Who is she?' Joseph asked, attempting to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

Gabriel looked almost manic

'She's the /one/' he hissed with a religious zeal 'the mother of the messiah'

'...Ooookay' Joseph subtly edged away, shooting Eve their trademark look of 'we should probably get him help', before grinning way too brightly at the new customers.

'Anything I can help you with?!' he asked the mystery woman, a little hysterically. Neanderthal Boyfriend glared and skulked off to the manly man section of DIY books and Top Gear annuals. The woman smiled sweetly, her warm toffee eyes crinkling,

'Sorry about Harold,' she whispered conspiratorially, 'he's a grumpy old man. Where do you keep the Austen's?'

Joseph's words raced to be closer to Her, stumbling over each other in their eagerness and tumbling out of his mouth in an enthusiastic mess of,

'Just over there!'

The woman frown-laughed and strode off into the classics aisle.

She rounded the darkened corner and gasped as she came face to face with a boy who looked somehow brighter than his surroundings. His eyes sparkled with wonder: he seemed to be somehow reading her, working her out. Their eyes stayed locked, a slight frown crinkling the woman's smooth brow as she and the strange boy circled each other, parallel. He darted suddenly behind a shelf, remerging after some frantic shuffling with a book named 'the North Star Guide to Pregnancy and Parenting', which he silently pressed into her hands.

The woman's eyes widened, and she frowned down at her slender stomach,

'How did you know?'

Gabriel didn't really have an answer to that.

'Who are you?'

'Gabriel' the boy smiled, and it occurred to Mary that she should probably be worried about this mysterious boy with the strange gaze who somehow knew things he couldn't possibly know, but there was something reassuring about him, like some very old part of her recognised him as a friend.

'I'm Mary,'

'I know.' Gabriel said, and, yeah, that really should have been creepy.

A few months later Gabriel came downstairs to find Joseph peering out from behind the curtains.

'It's her,' he grinned back at him. Gabriel snuck into the gap between Joseph and the window, so that if the pair outside were to turn around they would almost definitely see two very curious faces, one below the other, staring very blatantly back at them. Mary had returned to the shop frequently since her first visit, sometimes with her boyfriend and sometimes without. She always seemed happier without, a fact that gave Joseph a gilt-tinged sense of satisfaction. This seemed to be the topic of conversation between the couple outside. Joseph and Gabriel couldn't hear much through the glass but a few snippets snuck through:

'Of course you're the father who else would it be?'

'I don't know maybe that little shop boy you spend so much time with'

Joseph flushed with an odd mixture of rage and flattery. There was more muffled squabbling, until one remark smashed loud and clear through the glass,

'You keep the bloody baby then I want nothing to do with it!'

There was a shocked silence both in and outside the bookshop. Harold walked away, blank to Mary's desperate sobs behind him. Eventually it was just her, alone on the cold morning street with only her tears to warm her. She crumpled down onto the doorstep, cradling her swollen belly and burying her head in her knees. Joseph emerged from the curtain and, without a word, unlocked the door and sat down on the doorstep with the weeping girl. He laid a big warm hand on her back,

'You look like you need a cup of tea,' he said gently. She turned to him, sniffed and nodded, laying her head on his shoulder. Joseph fought down a smile.

Mary visited the shop more frequently from then on. She couldn't afford a house and was living on her parents' sofa, despite her mother's daily offers to 'take my bed Mary you really shouldn't be sleeping rough in your condition' (Mary told her every time that sleeping rough really didn't mean sleeping on a £900 leather sofa Mother could you get any more middle class?). Understandably, she didn't want to spend too much time at home, so The Book Nook became her refuge; she would read in the corner whilst Joseph made her tea and told awful puns just to see her smile, and Eve would tell him he was distracted and stop making the poor boy do all the work but smile to herself when they reminded her of her youth. On one occasion Harold appeared at the widow, chin jutted and face purpling as he saw for the first time how Mary looked when she was truly happy. Her face paled when she saw him, her smile fell and she dropped her book to place both hands protectively over her belly. Joseph tensed, blood searing with the need to do something, but unsure as to what. Gabe, surprisingly to all involved, was the one to stand up, to stride fiercely out of the shop and up to the intruder. He squared up to Harold, somehow seeming to outsize him despite the height difference, and /looked/ at him. Without breaking eye contact, he muttered something no one heard and returned to the shop as Harold walked away looking significantly paler than before.

'What did you say?' Joseph demanded as he swept passed. Gabriel stopped beside him, speaking in a quiet monotone.

'I told him not to come here again,'

He said with a cold fire in his eyes that invited no further questioning. Gabriel stalked up to his room and was left undisturbed for the rest of the day.

'Hormones?' Joseph chuckled in a half-frightened whisper. Mary tried not to giggle too loudly.

They continued like this for weeks, talking, laughing, smiling- always together- sending shy glances each others' way when they thought no one was looking. Gabriel watched them tiptoe around each other, always so careful. They adored each other, but were utterly oblivious, and it frustrated Gabriel more every day. The baby was due in a matter of weeks and it was his duty, his /nature/, to ensure it the best upbringing possible, and he knew that, as immature as Joseph was, there could be no better father for this baby. So he decided to give the pair a little assistance. He was tidying some fallen books in the bibliographies section when a familiar voice behind him said,

'Hi, I'm looking for Gabriel?'

He spoke with an Irish accent, though that was more a lifestyle choice, being as- of course- he wasn't from any earthly realm. Gabriel skidded into the shop front with a grin.

'You came!'

The golden haired boy beamed back, etching dimples into his round cheeks.

''Course I did, a friend in need and all that'

Joseph turned to Mary behind the counter and mouthed,

'Gabriel has /friends/?'

'This is Eros!' Gabe explained excitedly, 'An old, /old/ friend. He's helping me with a... project'

Eros was greeted with a chorus of 'hi's and 'nice to meet you's.

Impatient, Gabriel grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him up to his flat to discuss matchmaking plans, leaving Joseph and Mary to exchange theories.

'Project?' Joseph asked incredulously.

'Like a student thing?... Is he a student? How old /is/ he?'

'Ninteen?... Nine thousand? I don't think he goes to college. In fact... I don't think he ever actually leaves this shop. Sorry- how does /Gabriel/ have a /friend/'

Meanwhile, the two angels were plotting.

'I don't think you need much help from me Gabe, those two are so in love it's giving /me/ a toothache and- y'know- I'm Cupid.'

'But they won't do anything about it!' Gabriel whined, 'this baby is /not/ going to be born on his grandmother's sofa, he needs a home, a family!'

'Aww you always get so protective over your wards,' Eros teased.

Gabriel put his hands on Eros' shoulders and seethed manically,

'I am literally babysitting the son of God. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT'

'Okay okay I'll see what I can do.'

And so Joseph found himself sitting on the stairs having a 'guy talk' with Gabriel's new old friend.

'You've just gotta go for it, man,' Eros told him as he sat wondering why he was taking love advice from a strange Irish fourteen-year-old. He concluded it was because he seemed to know what he was talking about, and Joseph definitely didn't.

'But... I don't know how,' Joseph whined.

'Just go up to her, say 'Mary, I think you're a great gal, and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, how 'bout it.''

'That's a bit forward!'

'It's the truth isn't it?'

Joseph rested his chin on his knees and shrugged. Eros gave an exasperated sigh,

'Okay I guess you do need a little help,' he laid his hand over Joseph's forehead, a warm glowing light seeping out from under his palm. Joseph's eyes opened wide with shock, as images flooded his mind: Mary with a baby, her baby, in her arms, his own around her waist; Mary laughing as they fought over his tv remote; Mary's head on his pillow, soft morning light stroking her exhausted features; Mary smiling, always smiling. Eros took his hand away and Joseph slumped.

'What was that?' he croaked, ever so slightly terrified.

'Your future, now go to her.'

Joseph stumbled to his feet and ran into the book shop like his life depended on it.

The baby was born in December, driven home to Joseph's through the snow-sludge, and spent it's first few weeks bundled in a florid patchwork blanket- a present from Gabriel- never leaving it's mother's arms. His name was Jesse, and he had all he could ever need: a home, a family, and a guardian angel.