Angel Momma

Angel Momma

~~ Memphis, Tennessee, 2077 ~~

Kathleen slid her headset into place, then counted down, when her On-Air sign came on, she spoke, "Good Evening to all my wonderful listeners and welcome to another night of tunes, flicks, and flames. I'm your host, Kat. Let's turn the clock back, way back to a previous time, and here comes some rock!" She flicked her fingers, and rock began to belt out over the radio waves. The next four hours found her alternating between rock music, talking to people, requests, advice, and the occasional shout-out. Finally, she was given the kill sign and she wrapped up. She had videos to make at home so she promptly packed up and scooted out the door.

The rest of the week was on repeat, then Friday found her as it did every week, the local grave. She stood in front of her parents' grave and laid a pair of blue irises, "Things are spanking, Mom and Dad. It's been a wild ride but... I'm OK." She trailed off as she caught a glimpse of a small figure curled up by a nearby grave, almost hidden by a bush, and the soft sound of tears.

She wasn't able to help herself and found herself walking over there, a soft, tiny little voice said, "Please send me the nicest Angel you have..."

"You alright?"

The small being turned, and her face lit up, "Angel Kitten Momma!" She bounded toward Kathleen as she sank to a knee, getting tackled. "I prayed and I prayed, and you're here, and Momma was listening, my Angel Kitten Momma."

She glanced at the name on the grave, "What about your Dad?"

"He's always busy with work. He tried to give me a step-mommy but his girlfriend doesn't like me, she always pulls my hair and left me here cause she had an appointment with a nail person. My nanny is ok, but she's old and grumpy and smells funny and she doesn't like dealing with me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Kathleen offered, slowly standing up, "My name is Kathleen, what's yours?"

"I'm Iridessa," she offered, "Iridessa Morris." She tightened her grip on Kathleen, "Now we're gonna find my Daddy and tell him about you being my new Angel Kitten Momma."

"Uh... huh," Kathleen murmured. She started walking towards the gate of the graveyard. "Do you know your Daddy's name and do you have his phone number?"

"Jerome Morris, and..." she paused for a moment, then rattled off the number. Kathleen pulled out her cell phone, slid the headset into her ear, then had Iridessa dial the number.

She waited for it to ring patiently, holding Iridessa as they stood by her motorcycle. When it picked up, a deep voice answered, "This is Jerome. May I ask who's calling?"

She offered the phone to the little girl, "HI DADDY! I'm with my new Angel Kitten Mommy!"

"Baby? Where are you? Where's Tasha?" the voice replied, loud enough that Kathleen could hear it and sounding very worried.

"Tasha went to get her nails done and see her other boyfriend, but it's OK, I've got an Angel Kitten Momma now. Do you wanna talk to her? She's so pretty and she smells like roses."

"Yes, please, baby. You be good now, OK? Hand your... her... the phone," he replied, already standing up and walking through the building toward the parking lot to get his car.

"He wants to talk to you, Angel Kitten Momma!"

He heard a faint beep, then a soft voice came on, "Hello, Mister Morris? My name is Kathleen. Your daughter is fine. We're at the Seventh and Trinity graveyard. Evidently, she was... left here because someone had a nail appointment..."

"Yes, Kathleen... God, I'm so sorry. I'm walking out of my building right now and am on my way there. I know just the spot. My... er... ex-girlfriend was supposed to be with her. I can be there in fifteen minutes. Can you wait? I'll pay you for your time if it helps...," he offered. In the background, she heard the familiar dings of a car that had just been unlocked.

"Of course, I'll wait with her, I don't have work until later and it's only fifteen minutes from here. And no payment is necessary, I'm just glad I found her before something bad happened. We'll be seated just inside the gates. Alright?"

She heard the car start. "That will be just fine. I'm on my way. Thank you. God, thank you so much...," he trailed off and hung up.

She slid her phone away, then carried her back inside the gates. She sat down on the bench and held Iridessa. Realizing the little girl was shivering in the cool fall air, she shrugged off the heavy black leather jacket and wrapped it around her. Her arm rested around the girl's shoulders. Iridessa snuggled into Kathleen's side and as Kathleen sang to her, she relaxed into the warmth and safety provided. Her Angel Kitten Momma was awesome and perfect.

Almost exactly fifteen minutes later, a sleek, black sedan pulled into the parking lot near the graves and a dark-skinned man got out. He quickly saw them and raced over, his shirt and slacks flapping as he ran. Falling to his knees in front of her he took Iridessa in his arms and held her tight. "Oh... baby girl... I'm so sorry...," he said in a thick voice. Looking up at Kathleen he mouthed, 'Thank you so much.'

She smiled back at him, then winked and he noticed her eyes had slitted pupils. "I'm glad I was in a position to help." She touched Iridessa, "I've gotta get to work, little Queen. Your Dad can save my number on his cell and if you need to talk, you can always text." She rose to her feet, tugging her jacket back on.

"But... Angel Kitten Momma..."

"No buts," she held up a finger, "People are counting on me. And I think your Dad needs some cuddle time. I'm not leaving forever, it's only a goodbye for now."

"Fine... but I'm gonna text you later."

"Of course, little Queen." She turned and bounded towards her bike. She pulled away, trying to calm her racing heart as she realized that Jerome Morris was the same Jerome Morris that signed her paychecks.

He stood, lifting Iridessa and watching her go. She was pretty, and he was grateful for her help. But he doubted he'd ever see her again. Plus there was the fact that he now had to break up with his girlfriend for abandoning his child in a graveyard. That was not going to be a pleasant conversation. He sighed. "Come on, baby girl. Let's get you home. You can pick out a movie for us to watch tonight, OK? I'll even make popcorn."

"What about your work, Daddy?"

He sighed, "It will still be there tomorrow." He did not add the word 'unfortunately' out loud.

"Good evening my fine listeners, we're coming at you hot and spicy. A fresh evening, a fresh cup of coffee, and best of all, it's FRIDAY! That's right, party central. Call in with your favorite tunes and what's happening my loves. Let's get it started!"

"KITTEN! I found your TikTok, OMG I'm in love! Do you do all your own makeup?"

"Yes, and I make my costumes. So glad you found me! I'm still working on my singing career!" The two laughed and she was so grateful that she was just a voice so nobody could see her eyes rolling. It's not like her TikTok handle wasn't splashed all over her page on the station.

The next several days passed quickly, she had Sunday off, then her pre-show called in, so she came into work early. She parked her bike and pretended not to see Jerome's car before she bounded up the stairs and into her station. "GOOD AFTERNOON my loves! It's your bright and beautiful Kathleen. You get to hear my dulcet tones earlier today because our normal afternoon man is out sick. Here's hoping he gets to feeling better and returns to work hale, hearty and whole. Now, normally I do music, but since the afternoon is supposed to be 'talk radio' to give you comfort on that long commute home. I guess that's my job today."

In another part of the building, bored out of her mind, Iridessa colored while flipping through radio stations. She froze when she heard her Angel Kitten Momma. She took the radio and went out to her Daddy's receptionist cause her Daddy was in an important meeting. "My Angel Kitten Momma?"

"That's Kathleen, sweetheart. Would you like to go see her?"

"Uh-huh, she's my Angel Kitten Momma. She rescued me from the graveyard."

"Oh really?" The receptionist took her hand and led her downstairs, then to the second floor and the booth. She knocked on the window and got Kathleen's attention. "Kat? You've got a special guest."

"Hold the phones, is that my little Queen? Hello beautiful! This afternoon we're being joined by the bright, beautiful Nefertiti herself."

"Angel Kitten Momma!" She bounded over and hugged Kathleen. The receptionist gave her a thumbs up, then left. "I'm Iridessa, not Nefertiti."

"Oh ho, someone's behind on their history homework," Kathleen said. "Nefertiti was the beautiful Queen of Egypt and was said to steal a man's heart with only a glance. And you, my little Queen, certainly have your Father wrapped around your little finger. But that's what daughters do."

Iridessa giggled as Kathleen snagged a stool and pulled it over so Iridessa could sit with her. "Hi, listeners!"

"There we go, should I be worried about my job or are you just gonna share with me?" Kathleen winked and Iridessa giggled. As they talked, the viewership skyrocketed. "Now, little Queen, let's take a look at that weather."

"It says it's gonna be bright and sunny, with a low of... six eight."

"Good job, that's right it's going to be a low of sixty-eight." The two laughed, and she let Iridessa push different buttons.

When Jerome got out of his meeting, his receptionist was waiting at her desk. "Mister Morris, before you get upset, your daughter wanted to go see her Angel Kitten Momma, so I took her down to see her."

He blinked, shaking his head. "No, her Angel Kitten Momma was at the graveyard... Where did you take her?" he started walking away, not having any idea what he was going to do when he heard a voice through the radio on her desk. He froze and slowly turned his head to look back.

"Angel Kitten Momma, also known as Kathleen?" His receptionist murmured, "Kathleen O'Reilly who works for you. She's on the second floor in the blue box."

"The blue...?" he breathed, turning and racing away. One of the maxims he tried to live by was: The radio talent was what sold his business. Keep them happy at all costs. He had a hard time believing that a five-year-old, precocious little girl interrupting them equated to keeping them happy. Dodging people in the hallway, he leaped over the occasional obstacle and ignored the stares of people wondering why their CEO was racing through the building. For the second time in a week.

When he arrived, it was to the sound of laughter, "Well done little Queen, now what do we say?"

"Thank you for calling! Have a beautiful day!"

"Now, let's see who we've got up next, it's Brent! Hello Brent! Thank you for calling!"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm so glad you're here and your little girl is wonderful!"

"I'm glad I'm here and I agree, little Queen is a wonderful guest!" She held out her hand and the two fist-bumped and made little explosion noises. "We da bomb!"

"And we about to blow up!" She laughed and clapped her hands as she got to push the button that made the sound effects.

"Thanks for calling and your words of encouragement Brent! We're both glad you called." Kathleen said. "Now, who is our next caller?"

"Rose from... I can't read this one Angel Kitten Momma..."

"Oh that's a big word, let's sound it out together. Chattanooga. We'll look it up on a map after we're done. Hello Rose!"

"Hi, Rose! My Angel Kitten Momma smells like Roses!"

"Hello you two, oh gosh she's just so cute. I'm so glad you're on the air with your daughter, thank you for showing her that work can be fun."

"Thank you, Rose. I'm very happy she was able to join me this afternoon. Do you have a special request?"

"Can you play 'Welcome to Wonderland'?"

"I'd be delighted," she reached over and pointed out the button and Iridessa clapped her hands and pushed the button. As the music started they high-fived.

Jerome stood outside the booth, his mouth hanging open as he watched. "What in the...," he trailed off, completely and utterly flabbergasted.

Kathleen, unaware of the audience stood up and with Iridessa standing on her boots, danced her around the booth. Iridessa's entire face was lit up with happiness. Finally, they sank into their chairs again, laughing. Then Kathleen saw Jerome, she winked at him, then leaned over and pointed him out to Iridessa. "DADDY! I found my Angel Kitten Momma!"

He reached for the door and raised an eyebrow, looking at Kathleen. She gestured that he could come in. "Hello again. Are you coming to steal my helper back?"

"I... I was planning on making sure she wasn't... being too... helpful," he said with an inflection on the last word. "Since you're live and all...,"

"That doesn't make any sense, Daddy. How can you be too helpful?"

"She's just fine, I promise," Kathleen murmured. Then she looked at Iridessa who had started to pout, "He was just worried you were pushing buttons faster than I needed you to. But you're just fine, little Queen."

"OK," she brightened up, "No Daddy, I'm being a good girl and only pushing the button when Angel Kitten Momma tells me it's OK." She looked at Kathleen worried, then smiled when Kathleen just winked and pressed a different button to keep music playing so they could talk.

His phone on his hip started buzzing. "Oh for God's sake...," he muttered, pulling it out, glancing at it, then sending it to voice mail. "Yes, Robby. I know we're meeting in half an hour," he muttered again.

"Don't worry Mister Morris, we're all good here. Jeff is going to bring us some water in ten. You can just swing by and collect her when you're done for the day. We're having fun." She held out a hand, and the two girls fist-bumped, and Kathleen winked at him.

He sighed softly. "All right. I'll... uh...," he trailed off, then pulled out his phone and shook it slightly. "For... um... just you."

"OK," Kathleen smirked then waved a hand, "Now scoot, the girls are busy," she chuckled and winked. The minute he stepped out and the door closed, "And we're back, bright beautiful people."

"Hi, friends!" His daughter lit up, "Daddy came by to say hi! I love my Daddy!"

"And he loves you too, little Queen. Now, let's take our next caller." Kathleen, seeing he was still staring, winked and then focused on Irisdessa again.

"We've got a Robert from... Memphis! Hi Robert!"

"Hello, little Queen. I'm glad you're here with your Momma. Do you think you could play a song for me?"

"Of course," they queued up the next song.

When Jerome got upstairs, Robbie was standing there, and two of his stockholders were standing in front of his office, "Dude what the hell?" Robbie asked, before covering his mouth, and looking around, not seeing Iridessa, he repeated the question, "What the hell? Our listener level is spiking hard."

"Wait, what?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

Robbie pulled out his tablet, "Our normal afternoon show... is this, fairly standard, flows up and down fairly normally. This is tonight's current listener weight. Almost one and a half times, occasionally spiking to two. Our net's blowing up with people chattering about a kid and her mom. It's the current hotness."

Jerome's eyes slowly widened. "Oh... shit...," he breathed, staring back down at the tablet. "No way..."

"Make with explaining..." Robbie said, "Cause this is big man... we need to replicate it. Duplicate it... something."

"We can't!" he hissed, putting his arm around Robby's shoulders and explaining the events of the past week. "So Irry is downstairs right now with Kathleen who's taking over for Paul for the day. She's five, Robby. We can't put her on the air... Not like... employed. I can maybe talk to Kathleen about moving around, but...," he trailed off, looking at his Georgia Sales Manager in desperation.

Robbie began to pace, "But... what if... what if we see if Kathleen will take an earlier shift? Then your kid just 'has days with Mommy'? We've got that reading hour that needs a new voice."

"That's my daughter, Robby," Jerome growled.

Robbie stared at him, then flicked the radio on, "And Angel Kitten Momma and I are so glad you called! Thank you Jeffery from..."

Kathleen's voice continued, "Rodrick's Georgia."

"Angel... Kitten... Momma..." Robbie said with a smirk.

"God damnit, stop that!" Jerome growled. "I... that's not even her mom. You know that Robby...," he trailed off.

From the radio came the voice of his daughter, "I was at my Mommy's grave, and I cried and prayed and prayed, and then my Angel Kitten Momma appeared and rescued me. She called my Daddy and gave me her leather jacket so I wouldn't be cold. Now she lets me be with her and calls me her little Queen. That's how we met."

"And I am very happy to have met such a precious little girl," Kathleen continued. "So, let's go to our next caller, Frederick from Bartlet, what can we do you for?"

"A song from the loveliest ladies ever!" He made his request, and music started playing as Robbie turned it down.

"Worst that can happen is she says no," Jefferson offered with that slow southern drawl. "She sounds like a sweet girl."

Jerome walked over to one of the chairs in his waiting area and sank into it, staring off into space. "All right. Here's the deal. I'll bring her in. You pitch it. If anyone is going to sound like an asshole for using a five-year-old, it's gonna be you, Robby."

"OK," Robby said with a shrug, "I'm sure she'll just think it's great fun. And I'll offer her snacks. What about Kathleen?"

"We offer her a pay increase, someone else can take over the evening gauntlet." Liam offered thoughtfully. "Besides, she sounds perfectly happy with Iridessa, so we give her a bonus for being willing to child-sit. It'll free up Jerome for our meetings if he doesn't have to worry about her as much."

He shook his head incredulously. He couldn't even believe he was considering this. He felt like a gigantic piece of shit. But now that she knew that her 'Angel Kitten Momma' worked for her dad, he wouldn't be able to bring her here without her asking to see Kathleen. And he didn't have anywhere else for her to go. All of the preschools in town were full for the next several years because his now ex-girlfriend had sworn she would watch after her. That it would be OK. He sank his head into his hands for a long moment, then sighed. "Fine. Set up the meeting. But I swear to God, Robby, if you pull any of that pressure shit...," Jerome trailed off, looking up at him.

"No pressure," Robby held up his hands, "I won't pressure her or Kathleen. But it's worth a shot."

"Perhaps when she takes a break between her sets tonight," Jefferson murmured. "Bring them up, we'll talk to them."

"OK... OK...," Jerome raised his hands in defeat. He slowly stood and walked into his office. "You guys go... I don't know. Get some coffee. Robby? Get... Order some... lunch? I guess?" He closed his office door, walked over to his desk, and sank into the chair, staring at the phone in his hand. After several minutes, he finally lifted it and began to write out a text.

Kathleen,

I'm sure by now you must think that I've got to be in the finals for Worst Father of the Year. I'm not sure I'd disagree with you either. All I can do is apologize again. Irridessa is... difficult to keep occupied. I had a girlfriend that said she would help and that obviously did not work out as you discovered last week. Watching her with you, however, was incredible and I am in awe at your skill with her. I wish I had that in a greater capacity.

I have some colleagues that would like to talk to you... and Irridessa... between your sets today. Would you be able to spend some time with us and hear them out? I can't promise you'll be interested, but I can promise that there is no pressure to say 'yes' to anything. Your job is absolutely not something that is in danger. You're doing wonderfully and have a long future here. At the very least, we will have lunch for you.