
“It was a masterpiece,” Gabriel sighed while sitting beside me one evening as I worked away on a manuscript.
“Sorry?” I blinked up at him as his words caught me off guard. He had a faraway gaze in his eyes with—dare I even say—a hint of remorse. His expression then slowly shifted to a glower as he leveled his gaze on Michael and Sandalphon who were across the room showing each other some funky dance moves. Yeah, it was disco night at the office.
“You ruined it,” Gabriel glared at his brother Michael. Clueless, I just sat there, wondering what in Heaven the
Archangel of the Annunciation was talking about.
“Nope, I just tweaked it a bit,” Michael didn’t even bother to look up. Not wanting to get in between what could possibly be a heated discussion amongst the archangels, I returned my attention to my work.
And then it happened, Walter Murphy's “A Fifth of Beethoven” began playing. You know, the disco symphony from the movie
Saturday Night Fever? Gabriel let out a pained groan as his head fell low between his shoulders.
It was beyond shocking to see an archangel so perturbed. An archangel! I wasn't aware that the Conductors of the Cosmos could be so...well, passionate. (Note, this was long before I connected with Archangel Uriel, Heaven's resident cynic.)
Gabriel drew his hands over his face. “Master Beethoven’s symphony number five was a masterpiece,” he repeated. He then pointed accusingly at Sandalphon, “How could you let Michael inspire such a travesty? A plague of locusts is nothing compared to what you beset upon humanity with that…that…calamity you call music!” Gabriel shuddered as his voice dripped with derision. With a huff, he disappeared, leaving Sandalphon and Michael giggling amongst themselves.
“I take it he hates disco,” I felt a tickle in my tummy as I began to contract the angel giggles myself.
“Yeah, but he’s been really sore over that one song ever since me and Michael hurled it through the channels,” Sandalphon took Gabriel’s spot by my side. The Chief Muse of Heaven and patron of love and friendship was donning his usual boyish smile, rosy cheeks and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Gabriel's tirade no doubt amused the young archangel.
“It was just an upgrade. Consider it version 5.1.0.” Michael was still dancing. “When you listen to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, what do you do….? That’s right, you fall asleep! The decade of 1970 was all about physical energy and movement, not afternoon teas and audiences with a queen. Nineteen-seventy, Gabe, not seventeen-seventy. You had your play time throughout the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods, but did I ever complain about the stuffy pretense of it all? No.”
“Those eras spawned some of the greatest, human artistic achievements in all of Creation! They were flawless…sublime…” Gabriel’s voice came out of nowhere.
“I appreciate the compliment, Gabby, but I think I also did pretty good with jazz and big band during the Roaring Twenties,” Sandalphon quietly injected.
“Yeah, bro, you totally rocked that decade, too,” Michael moonwalked over to Sandalphon to give his little brother a high-five.
“I’m not letting this go. Michael, you single-handedly destroyed one of the greatest symphonies to ever grace human ears.”
“Firstly, I didn’t destroy anything. Secondly, Sandy helped.”
“So did Ludwig,” Sandalphon added as he popped a piece of sour apple taffy in his mouth.
“He did so under angelic coercion! All you had to do was flash that smile of yours, Michael, and Master Beethoven would have even agreed to reincarnate as Elvis.” Gabriel was still nowhere in sight, but the stirring air around me was crackling with agitated energy.
“That would’ve been so cool,” Sandalphon murmured to himself, smacking on his candy.
Michael moaned as he finally stopped dancing. He cast a weary gaze to me, “You’d think he’d be over this by now.” His eyes then flitted upward, “Gabe, you’re such a killjoy sometimes.”
*Note to self: Whenever Archangel Gabriel is breathing down your neck on a project, play disco. It’s like holy water to a vampire.
Text (c) Chantel Lysette 2001 & 2009
Copying/reproduction prohibited without permission.