Free A Simple Case of Angels by Caroline Adderson Page A

keeps saying.”
    â€œI have to take June Bug home. We can do it there.”
    Going to Lindsay’s would have been smarter. Lindsay didn’t have an older brother. Nicola didn’t think of this until they got there.
    The girls stood like sentinels behind Jared. Nicola cleared her throat several times. It was pointless. She signaled to Lindsay to stay in the den while she got her mother’s cellphone from her purse and called their home number.
    In half a ring Jared answered, sounding desperate.
    â€œHi,” Nicola said in a giggly voice.
    â€œWho’s this?”
    â€œDon’t you know me?”
    He bolted out of the den with the phone and tore upstairs to his room, passing Nicola in the hall.
    Nicola returned to the den. Lindsay had already taken Jared’s place at the computer and was closing Inferno 2.
    â€œI might know you,” Jared said, breathing hard from running up the stairs in a way Nicola thought would probably disgust Julie Walters-Chen. “Is it Julie?”
    Lindsay typed in Do not forget to entertain strangers .
    Seeing the number of Google results, Nicola hung up. “Three million four hundred and eighty thousand?”
    â€œThere’s a second part,” Lindsay said.
    And both girls read it.
    For by doing so, many have entertained angels unawares.
    * * *
    Mina looked up from the giant crossword puzzle when the girls came in the kitchen.
    â€œHow did it go with the old folks today?”
    â€œThe same,” Nicola said. “But Mr. Milton was calmer so we could visit him.”
    â€œThere’s a Mr. Milton?” Mina asked.
    â€œYes.”
    She laughed. “Look what I just filled in.”
    Nicola and Lindsay went over. Nicola’s eyes swam at the sight of the tiny black and white squares filling two whole newspaper pages.
    Her mother pointed to a word.
    â€œMilton,” Lindsay read.
    â€œReally?” Nicola said. “What’s the clue?”
    â€œOne thousand and fifteen across.” Mina turned over the sheet to find the clue. “‘He wrote Paradise Lost .’”
    Lindsay said, “Mr. Milton is in the crossword ­puzzle?”
    â€œA different Mr. Milton,” Mina said. “A famous writer.”
    â€œWhat’s Paradise Lost ?” Nicola asked.
    â€œA very long poem.”
    â€œMaybe we should read it to him,” Lindsay said.
    â€œDo we have a copy?” Nicola asked.
    â€œI used to. I studied it a long time ago, in university.” Mina stood up and stretched. She took off her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I’ve been at this puzzle all morning. I’m as addicted as Jared is to that computer game. Let’s look in the basement.”
    Mina found her old university books in a trunk in the storage room. “You’ll have to dig through it. Put everything else back. Do you girls want lunch?”
    â€œCan Nicola come to my place?” Lindsay said. “My mom’s home.”
    â€œOf course!” Mina told Nicola. “Have fun and take my phone and be home by three.”
    â€œWasn’t that weird that Mr. Milton was in the crossword puzzle?” Lindsay said as they lifted the books out of the trunk and set them aside in mildewy stacks. “I shivered when your mom said that. Sometimes when I go to a wedding, I try to imagine what the bride’s dress will look like and what kind of flowers will be in her bouquet. Sometimes I’m exactly right. I get that shiver then, too.”
    Nicola changed the subject. “Poems are good. They’re nice to read out loud. Mr. Milton will cheer up and want to see June Bug’s tricks. Here it is.”
    A thick paperback with a red and black cover, all dog-eared and written inside.
    â€œJune Bug is page-eared,” Nicola said. “Her ears fold down like pages.”
    When they opened the book, it released a musty long-ago scent. Lindsay drew back, but June Bug stood on her hind legs to