Angelic Friday Part 4 (the final edition)

So I finished the last three stories. They were quite different than the others. I have to say in general I enjoyed this anthology. There were a few stories I didn't connect with but that's to be expected. I was actually surprised that they were able to have as many stories as there were outside of the guardian angel coming down to earth and then staying after falling in love with their charge. I thought it ended well for me.

The Tenth Avatar by Roland Graeme (27 pages)
Santangelo by Zahra Owens (28 pages)
The Archangel of Castro by Diana Copland (20 pages)

The Tenth Avatar - Arun moved from India to the US in part to more fully explore being gay. He sees a hot blond a the bar and his friend encourages him to make a move. He sort of does but the guy is leaving so they just exchange a few words. Arun inherited some money and a statue from his uncle in India and when the delivery of the statue arrives it's delivered by the hot guy from the bar, Jack. They start dating and Arun starts focusing more on his faith as the statue was of the avatar Kalki (or Calico as Jack calls him). I quite enjoyed this story as Jack asked Arun about his faith and Indian culture. It didn't have an overt angel theme but kind of left Kalki's influence on their relationship open to interpretation.

Santangelo - Mike is rescued from a gay bashing by Gabe, a former Dr. who stitches him up at the hospital. He tells Mike is daughter has a terminal genetic illness and he spends time with her. Mike is attracted and starts hanging out with them even though Gabe gives him the stay away vibe. Finally Mike finds out why he's staying clear, he's HIV positive and hasn't been with anyone since his diagnosis. Mike, who is usually a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy finds he's not scared off by the diagnosis or the prospect of caring for a terminally ill child. I liked this one as well, as you don't see HIV stories often and I thought it was handled well and the only angel connection was Gabriel and Michael's names.

The Archangel of Castro - Nick owns a diner in the Castro and he is known for taking care of kids who are trying to find their way, help them get on their feet. Brian, a young Mormon man came to him about 8 months ago ill and in trouble. He nursed him back to health and kept him as a room mate. He is madly in love but Brian is 25 (he's 42) and gorgeous (he's average). Gabriel is a local character who runs around in cut-offs, angel wings and a Christmas tinsel halo. One night after sending Brian off on a date Gabriel gives Nick shit for being so blind and or not believing he's worthy of love. He says things that make Nick wonder about him as he seems to know things no one else would. When Brian comes home early Nick finally pulls his head out of his ass and takes the offered love. It was a cute story, but I'm a sucker or the good Samaritan story line and Gabriel in his wild outfit was amusing.