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In the seven years Ronnie had worked as a bartender, she had never seen anyone drink as much as the guy in black. It was both impressive and terrifying.
She was afraid he was going to drink himself to death.
But every time she tried to cut him off, she suddenly remembered something urgent she had to do in another part of the bar.
Was he messing with her mind somehow?
Maybe she could get him to talk about his troubles. She knew from experience that a friendly ear could make all the difference in the world.
The next time she brought him a bottle of Scotch, Ronnie said, "If you want to talk, I'm happy to listen."
The guy took a drink and said nothing.
Ronnie let out a heavy sigh as she walked away. She had four and a half hours left in her shift. She prayed he wouldn’t die before she clocked out. She had never seen a dead body before and she hoped she never—
"He left me," the guy said out of the blue.
Ronnie quickly turned around. "Oh! I'm so sorry. You’re talking about your husband? Or partner?"
"My best friend. My only friend. I loved him for six thousand years—and I know he loved me too."
“Did you say six thous—”
The guy continued as if she hadn’t said anything. "We could have been us. But he picked Heaven over me. Even though they tried to kill him a few years ago. They’ll likely try to kill him again. Or erase his memory. Bastards!”
“He picked Heaven over you? Does that mean he...killed himself?”
“What? No no no. He’s not human. He’s an angel.” Tears ran down his face. “He was my angel...”
In seven years, Ronnie had heard a lot of crazy things from customers. This was definitely the craziest. “A real angel? With wings and a halo?”
“Yes.”
“Are you an angel too?”
He laughed. “Do I look like an angel?”
“Not really.”
He lowered his sunglasses. “I’m a demon.”
“Wow! Your contact lenses are amazing!”
“They’re not—never mind. This is pointless. You couldn’t possibly understand my situation.”
“You’re a demon who’s loved an angel for six thousand years. Sounds like a forbidden love to me, so I’m guessing you had to keep your relationship secret. You thought you two had something special. Maybe you planned to spend eternity together. But then he left you to go to Heaven, and you’re stuck on Earth trying to numb your pain with alcohol.”
“Okay, you do understand.”
If this guy was a demon, that would explain his impressive alcohol tolerance and his Jedi mind trick. “What’s your angel’s name?”
“Aziraphale.”
“Interesting name. How did you and Aziraphale meet?”
The demon smiled. “We met before the universe began...”
One of the worst things about being Supreme Archangel was that Aziraphale could hear human prayers, but was forbidden from interfering in human affairs unless it was part of the divine plan.
Officially, he made notes about the prayers for Heaven’s records, but never answered them.
Unofficially...he helped whenever he could. He was pretty sure Heaven wouldn’t notice minor healing miracles or modest lottery wins. Yet he worried that if he did too much, the Metatron would punish his disobedience by hurting Crowley.
Crowley...
Aziraphale longed to see his best friend again. He was so very tired of being surrounded by petty archangels who couldn’t even pretend to care about him.
He imagined he was back in his bookshop with Crowley. He touched his lips, remembering how Crowley’s mouth had felt against his own. Perhaps someday they could kiss again under better circumstances. A proper romantic kiss instead of one filled with desperation. A kiss accompanied by words of love and promises of eternity.
But Crowley had been so hurt when Aziraphale chose Heaven over him.
What if Crowley didn’t love him anymore?
What if he never forgave Aziraphale for abandoning him?
Aziraphale had ruined his only chance at happiness. He had been foolish and naive and—
An incoming prayer interrupted Aziraphale’s thoughts.
“I might be crazy for doing this, but I have to try,” a woman’s voice was saying. “Aziraphale, if you can hear me, I met your friend Crowley. He’s been coming to the bar I work at and drinking a ton. It’s obvious that he loves you and misses you terribly. Please come back to Earth. If everything he told me about you two is true, you both deserve a happily ever after. And thank you for stopping Armageddon!”
Aziraphale wept.
He had come to Heaven to make everything better. They wouldn’t let him. Instead he’d made his own life—and Crowley’s—so much worse.
He had made a mistake.
The biggest mistake of his entire existence.
But maybe it wasn’t too late to fix it.
Ronnie stared at the man with the white-blond curls and the old-fashioned suit who had just walked into the bar. He stood still, looking uncertain.
“Do you need help, sir?” Ronnie asked. The man had to be lost. He belonged in a fancy restaurant, not this dump.
“No, thank you.” The man smiled at her, but didn’t move.
“You can sit anywhere you like.” It was a slow night, so most of the tables were empty.
But the man still didn’t move. He was staring at...who was he staring at?
Crowley.
Oh!
This had to be Aziraphale!
“What are you doing here, angel?” Crowley said, sounding suspicious.
“Answering a prayer.”
“Whose prayer?” Crowley asked.
Aziraphale looked at Ronnie.
Crowley turned to her. “You prayed for Aziraphale to come back to Earth?”
Ronnie blushed. “Yeah. I didn’t think it would actually work, but...wow.”
Aziraphale turned his gaze to Crowley. “Heaven told me that I should ignore human prayers unless responding to them was part of the divine plan. But this was a prayer I couldn’t ignore.” He started crying. “Oh, Crowley. I’ve missed you so much! I know you must be angry with me and I don’t expect you to forgive—”
“Shut up and come here.” Crowley’s eyes were covered by his sunglasses, but his voice made it clear that he was fighting back his own tears.
Aziraphale ran to Crowley and they embraced. “Crowley...my darling...my dearest...”
“My angel...”
“Please kiss me again.”
Seconds later they were kissing so passionately that Ronnie wondered if she should avert her eyes.
She didn’t.
“Disgusting,” muttered a customer at the bar.
Ronnie glared at him. “They love each other, Victor. And no one’s forcing you to watch.”
“Shall we continue this conversation at my shop?” Aziraphale asked breathlessly, resting his forehead against Crowley’s.
“Muriel will be there.”
“I’m still, technically, Supreme Archangel. I can order them to give us some privacy.”
Crowley grinned. “I’ll close my tab. How much do I owe you, Ronnie?”
While still reeling from all she’d just seen, Ronnie managed to operate the cash register and print out Crowley’s bill. He paid it—and left her a 500 pound tip. “Oh my God! Thank you so much!”
The demon gave her an angelic smile. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.”
Three months later, Ronnie was in St. James’s Park, attending a wedding that was six thousand years in the making.
It was a simple ceremony with a small number of guests. Ronnie sat next to a nice couple who introduced themselves as Maggie and Nina.
Aziraphale and Crowley’s love shone so brightly that all their guests, and a bunch of total strangers walking through the park, were deeply moved.
“Do you need a tissue?” Maggie asked Ronnie. Maggie and Nina were already wiping their eyes.
“Yes, please! I’ll probably need more than one.”
“No worries,” Nina said. “We have a whole pack.”
After the ceremony ended, Ronnie sought out the happy couple to give them her gifts.
“You really didn’t need to get us anything,” Aziraphale said. “But this is an excellent wine. Thank you!”
“I have one more thing for you. I’m...um...not a professional artist, but I enjoy drawing… and I thought you two, given the whole forbidden love thing, probably don’t have many pictures of yourselves as a couple.” She handed Crowley a drawing that showed the angel and demon exchanging loving looks, modeled after their reunion in the bar.
Crowley smiled at the picture. “It’s perfect.”
Aziraphale beamed. “Agreed. We should hang this up in the cottage! Thank you so much, Ronnie.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”
Watching Aziraphale and Crowley together, Ronnie’s heart filled with joy. If an angel and a demon could save the world and get their happily ever after, then anything was possible.