PART 1 – Another assignment ends well
“Thank you so much, Monica, for everything...” a woman holding a cute two year-old little boy said to the angel who was now leaving her house. The trio was standing by the gate and one could notice that they were bidding each other farewell. Monica smiled warmly and with contentment: another assignment had come to an end. A happy ending for the family she had been with for some weeks.
“Don’t thank me, Karen, thank God. He is the one who performs the miracles in His children’s life...”
“I know, but I’m also thankful for the angel He sent to help me,” the woman replied, winking at her. “We’ll miss you a lot, Monica... These days you spent here, together with us were... Well, we’ll never forget them, especially now that we know our nanny was in fact a real angel.”
“I also enjoyed these days... And I especially enjoyed staying together with this cute wee boy here!” Monica tickled the boy’s belly and he smiled broadly at her – an evidence of how attached he had become to her during those weeks.
His mother turned to him, “Monica is leaving, sweetie, why don’t you give her a kiss, huh?”
The boy stretched his chubby little arms and the Irish angel couldn’t resist in taking him in her own arms one last time, “Oh, wee Danny... You behave yourself and be a good boy to your mommy and daddy, ok?”
“K...” he replied, gazing at her with his sparkling green eyes; the sunrays making his blond hair even brighter.
She kissed his cheek and smiled at his own smile at her. “He reminds me of someone, you know... A very dear friend.” Then, after tickling his belly one more time, Monica returned him to his mother, and added, “Live in God’s teachings and you’ll be a very happy family, Karen, believe me.”
“I know... We all know that now, Monica, thanks to God and thanks to you.”
The Irish angel bid them goodbye one more time and turned around, leaving the beautiful blue house behind. Not far from there, two other angels had been watching her with smiling faces and as she came closer to them, Monica wrapped her arms around Andrew’s and Tess’ arms.
“Judging by this pretty smile on your pretty face, it seems that another successful assignment has just finished, right angel?” he said, glad to see his dearest friend so happy.
“Oh yes... Though I’m gonna miss them, ya know? Especially wee Danny, he’s such an adorable little boy!”
“And it seems that the feeling is mutual, that little boy really likes you, angel girl!” Tess added.
Andrew squeezed the youngest angel’s hand. “Well I don’t blame him! Who wouldn’t love to be under the care of this precious little angel?” he said, as she shot him a tender gaze.
“Well, I could come here once in a while to check on him, couldn’t I, Tess?”
“Of course, baby! But now let’s get going, we have the rest of the day and the night free and I could use a little rest at the cabin!”
“Oh really? We’re going to the cabin?”
“That is correct, angel girl!”
The three angels got on the red Cadillac, which was parked not far from there, and headed towards the mountain, where the beautiful and cosy cabin they used as a free time refuge was located.
*
“... yes, in fact, I would love to go back at The sign of the Dove to check out on the Mason family! I heard that Ben’s wife, Rebecca, is expecting a baby!” Andrew spoke. He, Tess and Monica were sitting on the comfortable sofa in front of a warm fireplace and had spent the last couple of hours drinking some tea (and mocha) and talking about past assignments.
The blond angel was standing right between his two friends and watched as Tess nodded her head, “Yes, I know how important this family is to you, angel boy. I too have a couple of families I’d like to see again and I’m glad that our angel girl here gave us the idea to visit them!” Tess spoke, but when the two angels turned to their left, they saw that Monica was peacefully sleeping right next to Andrew, resting her head over his shoulder.
“Well, it seems that our angel girl here has already said goodnight!” he spoke, in a low voice.
“I don’t blame her, poor baby has been dealing with a whole family and a little boy for weeks!”
“Yes... but you know how she’s always happy when she’s working. Besides, she loved taking care of that smiling little buddy...” Andrew moved slowly not to wake his dearest friend up and with extreme care and infinite tenderness, he lifted her in his arms and he and Tess headed to the Irish angel’s bedroom.
The supervisor entered first and turned on the light on the nightstand so that she could arrange the bed sheets and the pillows. Then, the blond angel lay his dearest friend on her bed and Tess covered Monica’s small form.
“When are you two leaving, Tess?” he asked, tenderly removing some strands of hair from Monica’s face.
“Tomorrow, by morning.”
Andrew sighed with some frustration, “I wish it weren’t so soon...”
“We’ll have some more time to bond, angel boy, I’m sure that the Father will grant us some days off eventually.”
“I know... Can’t wait for that...”
“And right now I guess I’ll follow angel girl’s suggestion and go to bed; being in human form can be tiring sometimes!” the oldest angel exclaimed, causing him to smile. “I couldn’t agree more, Tess!”
The two angels brushed a goodnight kiss on Monica’s forehead and left the bedroom in silence. Then, they bid each other goodnight and headed to their rooms.
PART 2 – A terrible surprise
On the following morning, Tess was the first one to wake up. She changed her clothes and prepared breakfast and only after setting the table did she go upstairs to call Monica. But, as she was coming closer, the supervisor heard a frightened cry coming from her charge’s room. Scared, she rushed towards the bedroom and knocked on the door, “Angel girl? What’s happening?”
“Oh, Tess...” she said, from inside the room.
“Baby, open the door!”
“I can’t!”
“Why? What’s happening to you? Why are you crying?”
“Something happened...”
“What?”
“I ... something happened to me...”
“Monica, please, open the door, you’re scaring me here!”
After a few seconds of agonising silence, Monica slowly opened her bedroom door. And when Tess saw her angel girl, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open: Monica’s body was all covered with tiny red spots and she had some tears in her eyes. “Tess... I... I don’t know what happened...”
“Angel girl... you... you got chickenpox!” she exclaimed, not believing in what she was seeing.
“Chickenpox? But... but, how come?” she said, giving a step closer to the supervisor, who gave a quick step back, somewhat scared. “You... You must’ve caught it...”
“But from whom?”
“I... I don’t know but the fact is that you have them now!”
“What... what am I going to do? What about our assignment?”
“Oh baby, I guess it’s not gonna be ‘ours’ anymore!” the supervisor said, shaking her head and still looking at Monica from head to toe. “You can’t go out in this condition! Somebody... human or angel... may catch it from you...”
“And what do I do then?” she came closer to Tess, who raised her hand and gave another step back, “You stay right here! Don’t leave your room until I come back, you hear me?”
“But Tess, I...”
“No, don’t ‘but-Tess-me’! Just trust me and... Whatever you do, don’t leave your room!”
Scared, the supervisor closed the door and climbed down the stairs in a hurry. Then, she grabbed the car keys and headed to the nearest town.
*
One hour later, the oldest angel came back carrying some supermarket packets and an extra pack with lots of medicine. She placed everything on the kitchen table and climbed the stairs, knocking on Monica’s bedroom door once again. “Angel girl?”
The old angel opened the door a little and saw her dear charge sitting on her bed, holding a pillow and with a worried and sad expression on her face. “Tess...”
“I’ve just come back from town. I paid a visit to that sweet little boy you took care of and found out that he’s covered with red spots just like you.”
“Oh no! Poor wee Danny!”
“Yes... poor him... well, I also went to the supermarket and to the drugstore and bought you everything you’ll need for the entire week, including the proper medicine and some vitamin, as you’re in human form and have to take good care of your organism. You’ve been granted a ‘special vacation’!”
“What about you?”
“I’m leaving now because the assignment is waiting for us, but I’ll be back in a week!”
“I’m terribly sorry for that...” the Irish angel spoke, extremely guilty for leaving her beloved friend to take care of the assignment all by herself.
The old angel frowned a little, moved with the evident sorrow she could see in Monica’s eyes, “Oh, baby, you don’t have anything to be sorry for, it’s not your fault! These things happen!”
“I’m gonna miss you so much, Tess.”
“I’m gonna miss you too, baby,” Tess was going to hold the younger angel but another look at Monica’s appearance stopped her from coming closer, “Stay in bed and rest as much as you can! And remember that I love you!”
“I love you, too...” she nodded, understandingly.
The supervisor closed the door and was already leaving when Andrew opened his bedroom door with a questioning look upon his face, “Tess?”
“Oh, good morning, angel boy. I’m glad you woke up!”
“What’s going on?” he walked up to her scratching his head, his short blond hair still disarrayed, and with a confused expression on his face.
“Well... some little changes have happened, baby. You’ve been reassigned.”
“Reassigned?”
“Yes, you’ll stay here for a week with a special mission...” she replied, in a visible hurry to leave the cabin.
“What mission, Tess?” he asked, even more confused.
The supervisor looked at Monica’s bedroom door and then back at him, “Well... you’ll see... Now, if you excuse me, I have to go, baby. I’m already late. There’s more food in the kitchen and... Some other things that you may find useful. And... little Joy is coming with me, she’s in the car already. Bye.”
Tess quickly climbed down the stairs, disappearing as she reached the bottom, leaving a very confused Andrew behind. Without any other option, he walked up to Monica’s door and knocked slowly, “Monica? You’re awake?”
“Go away, Andrew!” her voice had a defensive and dramatic tone.
“Away? Why?” the blond angel’s face became even more worried and he frowned with concern.
“Just go, Andrew, please!”
“Monica, can you tell me what’s going on here? Tess has just left in a hurry, she seemed to be running away from something!”
“You should do the same, run away!” this time, he noticed that Monica seemed to be crying, “No, I won’t go until you open that door and tell me what happened! Did you and Tess argue?”
“No...”
“Then, why didn’t you go with her?”
“I can’t...”
Sighing deeply, and really worried about his dearest friend, Andrew leaned against the door, “Angel, please, open the door and tell me what happened, I know there’s something wrong with you... please let me help you!”
“I can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“Because... Because I am ashamed!”
“Ashamed? Ashamed of what?”
“I can’t let you see me the way I am! It would be too embarrassing!”
“Monica, it’s me, Andrew! You have nothing to hide from me!”
After a short silence (which was making Andrew nearly insane with anxiety) the doorknob moved and the door was left ajar. Worried, he pushed it open and saw, at a safe distance from him, his dearest friend. She was wearing her pink pyjamas and her hair was tied up in a ponytail. And his mouth dropped open when he saw the tiny red spots all over her face and arms.
“Monica? You... you got chickenpox!”
“Yes...” she said, lowering her head and with some tears in her eyes, “Wee Danny has it too, Tess has just seen him... this is so embarrassing!”
Then he finally understood her reluctance in letting him see her. Sighing with some relief (as he was expecting something worse), he shook his head, “No, angel, it’s not embarrassing, it could’ve happened to any angel!”
“I’m all covered with red spots now and... I can’t help Tess with our assignment and I’ll have to be here all alone...”
Hearing this, he rolled his eyes and chuckled, “Well, yes, you’re all covered with red spots and yes, Tess will have to handle the assignment all by herself, but you’re not going to stay all alone, angel. I’ll be here with you!”
Now the little angel raised her head with worried teary eyes, “You can’t! You may catch it too!”
Andrew shortened the distance between them and, before she could protest again, he opened his arms and held her tightly, in a big, bear hug. “Oh, angel... Nothing in this whole wide world could stop me from taking care of you,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“But you’ll be putting yourself at risk because of me!” she spoke, still reluctant in allowing him to stay with her. With a smile on his face, the blond angel stroked her hair with tenderness, “And is there anything more worthwhile than risking myself for you?” as she raised her face to look at him, he wiped away her tears and added, “... I can’t think of anything!”
“I love you...” she spoke, new tears falling form her eyes, ‘ruining’ Andrew’s work.
“I love you too, angel. With all my heart!” he said, brushing a gentle kiss on her forehead, “Besides, I have just been reassigned, you know?”
“Reassigned?”
“Yes, I’ve been officially requested to stay here with you until you recover!” he explained, “But of course I’d do it even if nobody had asked me to!”
“But you might get ill too!”
“Hum... I don’t think so, since this is my assignment, I don’t think there is a risk of my catching your chickenpox!”
“Really?”
“Yes...” his smile grew wider to see that that last piece of information seemed to put her heart at ease. Andrew placed some strands that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear, and added, “And as I told you before, I’d take care of you anyway, even it that meant being all covered with red spots!”
Overwhelmed with tenderness and with gratitude, she rested her head on his chest and held him tightly, “Thank you so much, Andrew!”
“You’re more than welcome, Monica.” He felt that her skin was slightly warm and gently pulled away from their embrace. “You’re running a low fever, angel.”
“Yes... I guess you’re right...”
“Come, lie down here on your bed.” The blond angel waited until she was leaning against her pillows and covered her body with a blanket. “You stay here until I come back with your breakfast, ok?”
“Okay...”
After brushing a quick kiss on her temple, he left the bedroom.
PART 3 – Cheer up, angel girl!
Monica ate very little on that day and also on the following one. Besides her slight fever, the Irish angel was a bit upset for causing so much trouble to her angelic friends. Not being able to help Tess with an assignment and keeping Andrew stuck in the cabin taking care of her made her feel extremely guilty and somewhat embarrassed.
Sitting on her bed, lying against the pillows, she gazed through the window with a sad and pensive look in her brown eyes: the sun was shining and it was a very beautiful afternoon, which made her sigh and think about the many different things she could be doing at that exact moment. A slight knock on the door took her out of her reverie.
“Angel?” Andrew spoke, poking his head inside the room.
“Hi...” the low tone in her voice wasn’t very enthusiastic and he could detect the melancholy in her eyes. Frowning with concern, the blond angel walked over up to her bed and took her hand, “Monica? Are you alright? Are you in any pain?” he asked, checking her temperature by placing his hand against her cheek.
“I’m... I’m alright, Andrew. I’m just a wee bit...” she sighed deeply again, as she herself didn’t know how to voice what she was feeling inside. Lowering her eyes for a second, Monica started to play with the hem of the blanket, searching for an explanation to her sadness. Andrew waited patiently for the answer to come out of her mouth and a few moments later she spoke again, “It’s such a beautiful day outside and... and then I keep thinking of you and Tess... of the trouble I am causing you both, you know... I’m so sorry, Andrew...”
The blond angel shook his head with disapproval at what she had just said and squeezed her hand with both hands, “Angel, no! You shouldn’t feel like that, Monica, you’re not giving a trouble at all! Once in a while we all need a little help and even an angel needs an angel, you should know that by now! How many times you were my angel? How many times you were there for me, huh?”
“I know... And now I’m also sorry that I upset you by telling you this...” she frowned and lowered her head again but, despite her evident embarrassment, Andrew secretly chuckled, finding the expression on her angelic face rather adorable.
Sighing deeply, he cupped her chin and lifted her head up so that she could look at him again. “I want you to imagine something... Imagine that you and I had never met, that we didn’t know each other...”
Her eyes immediately grew wide with evident fear, as she obviously dreaded to even think of such a terrible thing, “I don’t want to imagine this, Andrew! It’s... it’s too awful!”
“Well, yes, it sure is and I don’t like to think about it either, but if that was true, right now, you’d probably be here all alone, as Tess still would have to handle the assignment by herself.”
He felt her squeezing his hand even tighter, as an immediate reaction to his words. “I see what you mean...”
“So little angel, don’t you ever think you’re a trouble to me or to Tess because the truth is that our existence would be a lot less happy if we didn’t have you by our side – either to laugh out loud or to take care of you when you’re not feeling well.” He gently stroked her cheek and concluded, “And we do it because we love you very, very much!”
With a tearful smile, she nodded her head and looked at him with eyes full of tenderness and affection, “My existence would be less happy if I didn’t have you by my side too, Andrew... Not meeting you is something so terrible that I... I feel my heart filled with anguish just to think of it... I love you very much too...”
With a pleased smile on his handsome face, he pulled her closer for a big, bear hug, “Oh, angel... It can be sunny outside but you know something? You light up my world right here inside this cabin, angel.” he spoke, kissing the side of her head and happy to feel the sudden happiness that his kind words had brought to her heart.
Only a long minute later did he pull away and looked at her meek face again, “And right now you’re coming with me; I think you should get out of this bedroom a little.”
“I have to confess that I was getting a wee bit bored to stay here all day, ya know?”
He nodded and gently tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, “Yes, it’s not fair to keep you trapped in here. Besides, I have a surprise for you!”
The way she tilted her head and looked at him with intrigued sparkling eyes was so adorable that made his heart melt, “A surprise?”
“Yep!” the blond angel took her both hands and helped her on her feet.
“What is it?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise!” he replied, visibly enjoying to play that game and to see the meek smile appearing on her face again.
“But... you’ll tell me what this is, yes?” she was burning with curiosity and he himself couldn’t hold the little secret for longer. Wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders and holding her hand, he guided her out of her bedroom. “And can I say ‘no’ to you when you give me that look?”
*
When they arrived at the living room, the Irish angel found a TV and a DVD on. “Andrew? May I ask... What’s... what’s all this?” she said, surprised to see the equipment there.
He led her up to the couch and sat down next to her, gently taking her hand, “Well... Although we’re in human form, angels still have some powers, you know... And some help!” he replied, “I realised it’s been a long time we haven’t been to the movies and then I thought about bringing the movies to this cabin, to make it more comfortable for you. And... as I know that you happen to be a big fan of Abbot and Costello I... kind of organised a little festival with them!” he showed her some DVDs where one could read ‘The best of Abbot and Costello’ written on their covers.
“The best of Abbot and Costello! Andrew... I... I... I don’t know what to say...” Once again, Monica felt grateful for having such a loving and wonderful friend right next to him – Andrew was not only taking care of her by giving her the right medicines at the right time and preparing the meals and vitamins so that she could heal faster; he was also doing everything to cheer her up, to send her sadness away.
“Well, you don’t have to say anything, angel. All I want is that you wait right here cause I’ll bring the popcorn, ok?”
The best reward the blond angel could ever get was to see her smile and the spark in her soft brown eyes; her excitement evident on her meek face. “Thank you so much... for being here and for being you...”
That statement was enough to make him blush. “You shouldn’t thank me for that... In fact, I’m the one who should be thanking you, after all, it’s you who make me feel a better angel...” The blond angel kissed her cheek and stood up, “I’ll be right back.”
“Erm... Andrew...” she spoke, before he could move away.
“Yes, angel?”
“I was wondering if... if you could bring some coffee too...”
Rolling his eyes with mock annoyance, he shot her a stern (but totally fake) look, “Alright... but it’s just one cup and not a single drop more!”
Smiling with more contentment, the Irish angel watched as he disappeared through the door heading to the kitchen, from where the delicious smell of the microwave popcorn was coming.
*
With popcorn properly cooked and cups of mocha and chocolate prepared, the two angels settled down in the sofa and started to watch Monica’s favourite actors in action.
And that loving atmosphere finally managed to send away the Irish angel’s slight sorrow and worry for some time. Together with Andrew, she laughed at the innocent and witty jokes and at the comedians’ funny manners. Andrew, for himself, couldn’t help laughing at his dearest friend: she already knew the lines and occasionally would repeated them together with the characters, leaving him to wonder how many times she had watched those films. And the most adorable to him was to see that Monica was having as much fun as if it was the first time she watched them.
When the second movie was over, the blond angel stood up to bring more popcorn and a few minutes later, when he came back to the living room, he found Monica peacefully sleeping in the coach, resting her head over a small pillow. He placed the bawl with their popcorn on the coffee table and knelt in front of her, taking a few strands of hair off her face and stroking her delicate skin. “Well, it seems that I was wrong after all, right? Even convincing me to let you drink 3 cups of mocha, you still feel like taking a nap!” he whispered.
He stood up and carefully placed a warm quilt over the little Irish angel, as it was getting dark already and the temperature was falling quickly. Then, he bent his head and brushed a loving kiss on her cheek.
PART 4 – A rebellious little angel
A few days had passed since Monica caught chickenpox and, despite the rash on her skin, her slight fever seemed to be breaking. Due to this, and also to the fact that she was feeling trapped inside the cabin, the Irish angel had an idea.
“... you have to throw some more food over there, Andrew... See those nests? There are lots of wee birds on those trees!” she spoke, sitting on an armchair placed in the porch and giving instructions to her dearest friend, who was gently persuaded to feed the small birds that inhabited the surroundings and who she had ‘adopted’.
Initially, Monica wanted to do it herself but Andrew forbid her to leave the cabin and, after one of those pleading looks, she managed to at least stay sitting at the porch, with a quilt covering her from her waist down (despite the warm sun that was shining on that morning). And from there the Irish angel could watch her dearest friend holding a pot of bird food and feeding the little animals. The idea didn’t please him very much, but, as usual, he ended up agreeing to do it, knowing that it would make her feel better.
When he finished his ‘assignment’, the blond angel returned to the porch and came closer to her, “Well, mission accomplished!”
“Thank you, Andrew.” Monica replied, with a smile and a grateful expression on her face. “I’m so blessed to have such a loving friend.”
That statement was enough to send away his superficial distress and the look in her soft eyes was such a tender one that he even felt guilty for being slightly bothered with a simple task.
Shaking his head and smiling, he knelt right beside the armchair and took her hand. “I’m the one who should be saying that, you know?”
“Well, I know I’m not perfect, but I try to be the best friend I can; you and Tess deserve it...” she spoke, blushing a little and with a permanent smile.
Laughing, he stood up and brushed a tender kiss her forehead, “You can be sure you’re the best friend an angel could ever have, Monica. And you don’t need to do anything else for it; just be yourself.”
She squeezed his hand and let out a sigh, “I miss wee Joy, you know. The house seems a bit more silent without her...”
Hearing that confession, Andrew frowned a little worriedly, “You do miss her, right angel?”
“Oh yes... I wish I could hug her tight and kiss her tiny head... But I’m glad she’s not here, you know. God knows what could happen to her if she stood here with me like this... Our baby girl could catch my chickenpox!”
Now the blond angel had to make a lot of effort not to laugh at Monica’s conclusion. “Well... that’s... that’s something to consider...”
Pleased to remember the happy little dog, she leaned on the armchair and contemplated the scenery around them. “Remember when she was born?”
“And how could I ever forget that?”
“She was so tiny, so weak. She almost didn’t survive...”
“But she had an angel taking care of her all the time and whose thousands of qualities include great determination!”
She smiled to hear that compliment and kept on talking, “You know I was the first person she ever saw?”
Andrew’s smile grew wider and he kissed her hand, “No wonder she’s such a happy little creature!”
The Irish angel giggled and looked back at him, “Oh but she’s happy because she has 3 angels who love her very much and take really good care of her!”
“Well, yes, that’s true. And talking about ‘taking good care’...” he stood up and raised his eyebrows, “... don’t you think you should go back to the house now?”
“Oh... well... in fact I thought I could stay here a wee bit more, Andrew and... without this blanket... You see, the sun is warm and I’m feeling alright...” she frowned a little, searching for the right words to tell him the effects of his overprotection, “In fact, it’s a wee bit hot here, you know...”
Andrew shook his head, still reluctant to leave her there, exposed to the weather, “I don’t know, Monica, you had a fever yesterday I don’t want it to come back...”
“Oh, I don’t think it’ll come back, Andrew. To tell you the truth, I guess I’m getting much better, you know...”
The blond angel ran his hand through his hair, not liking the way that conversation was going, feeling that he was about to lose one more battle. “Are you sure you’re not feeling anything? Not even a little indisposition?”
She nodded her head emphatically, “Yes, I promise you!” noticing his evident indecision, she added, “And it’s such a beautiful day; so sunny and warm! I feel so good breathing this pure air of the mountain...”
Sighing deeply, he finally gave in to her pleading look, “Alright... But it’s just a little bit more!”
“Ah, thank you, Andrew!”
“You’re still healing and have to be really careful!”
“But I’m healing faster and that’s because you’re taking a good care of me!” she replied, happy to have his consent. “In fact, I was wondering if, since you let me stay here, we could take a little walk...”
Andrew crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at her with a stern expression, “Absolutely not!”
But she didn’t give up that easily, “Not even up to that tall tree, where the nests are?”
“Nope!” he quickly replied, decided not to give in even more, no matter how hard it was for him to resist to such a meek pleading face.
Sensing that she was pushing a little too far, Monica sighed and leaned on the armchair, “Okay... I’ll behave myself...”
“That’s exactly what you have to, ‘Miss Wings’!”
He was going inside the cabin to put the bird food back in the kitchen, but Monica spoke again, “Erm... What about the blanket? Can I remove it?”
“Only if you come back to the living room!” his voice was still a stern one, which caused the Irish angel to frown, “You sound like Tess!”
“Well, that’s good to know because you’re not going anywhere from here, except for the living room or your bedroom!”
She gazed at him, trying to hide her amusement to see how serious he wanted to sound.
*
Some time later...
“... and if you look over there you see there are some the new nests; the wee birds were born just a couple of weeks ago.”
Monica and Andrew were walking not far from the cabin, near the trees where new nests had been built and she had her arm wrapped around his own for support.
“In fact, I guess the bird population in this area has increased a bit, ya know?”
Andrew chuckled and looked at her, “Well, maybe it’s because they’ve heard of your free restaurant for birds, came to check it out and decided to stay here as the food is great!”
Giggling, she gazed back at him, “It’s not everyday that I hear a compliment on my food!”
Watching the amusement on her face, he gazed at her “Now that you deliberated disobeyed me by leaving the house for a walk, will you please go back? Or you have any more objections to make?”
“Hum... no... we can go back now!” the Irish angel spoke, having fun with his mock upset face.
“Good! You’ve been quite a rebellious little angel today!”
“But don’t you love me just the same?”
“Well, yes, of course! And what am I supposed to do?”
Giggling, Monica stood on the tip of her toes and placed a tender kiss on his cheek; both angels returning to the cabin afterwards.
PART 5 – Thank you for being a friend! (Finale)
On the following morning, the 5th day of her forced vacations, Monica woke up a bit silent. After breakfast, she sat down by the living room window and remained there for a long time, contemplating the view around the cabin.
Andrew had noticed his talkative friend’s silence but, after checking if she had a fever or if she was in any pain, he decided not to push the issue. In fact, he knew the reason for her silence – Monica’s soul was like a bird: it wasn’t made to be trapped inside a house, isolated from the rest of the world. He knew she missed accomplishing the Father’s work, being in contact with human beings and having Tess and little Joy by her side. Without saying a much, the blond angel placed a kiss on her temple and informed her he had to go out but that he wouldn’t be long.
In fact, some time later, the Irish angel saw her friend coming back, climbing the porch steps. Andrew closed the door behind him carrying some logs for the fireplace and a bouquet of wild flowers he had picked in the surroundings of the cabin. He left the logs by the door and took a seat right in front of Monica, “Hey, these are for you!”
The small and delicate flowers finally brought a smile to her pretty face, “Oh... They’re lovely!” she exclaimed, smelling their sweet perfume. Then, she inched closer and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Thank you very much, Andrew... Your presence is like a gift to me, you know.”
Happy to see such reaction, he nodded his head, “Well, this hug and kiss and seeing this smile back on your pretty face are the best ‘thank you’ I could ever get! And the gift is mine to have you by my side!”
Monica frowned worriedly and slightly guilty, “I’m sorry, I’m a wee bit pensive today...”
“Today?!” he said, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise, which caused her to smile even more, “Hum... I guess you’re as pensive as always, angel, the only problem is that today you’re not voicing your thoughts as much as you usually do, right?”
Monica sighed deeply and lowered her eyes for a few moments, “I was thinking about wee Danny, you know, wondering how the poor little boy is doing. Chickenpox can be dangerous, Andrew, and he’s so young...”
“Yes, but his mother is taking good care of him, Monica, I’m sure he’s healing as fast as you are.”
“I’ve been praying for him... He’s such an adorable wee boy...” a slight smile returned to her face when she remembered something and she looked at Andrew again, ready to reveal a big secret, “There’s something I didn’t tell anyone...”
“And what is it?”
“Well... When wee Danny was sleepy, I used to put him in bed and... well... he used to gaze at me with those bright green eyes... He reminded me of you a little...”
Amused, he frowned with concern, “Hum... Should I be happy or feel jealous of that little buddy?”
Chuckling, the younger angel continued to talk, “At times like these... when he was almost falling asleep I... I would... sing for him...” she blushed a little when she said that, “I used to sing Danny Boy in a very low voice and... well... he seemed to like it...”
Andrew chuckled not only at the cute way she said that (as if she herself was amazed with that fact) but also at the shy, nearly embarrassed way she spoke. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t like it, angel.”
Blushing even more, she lowered her eyes, “Oh, Andrew... You’ve seen my worst already...”
With his green pools filled with tenderness, he reached out and cupped her chin up, “Yes, I’ve seen it. And your... ‘worst’ is just lovely.”
Deeply moved with emotion, and lost for words, she felt a tear rolling down her cheek, while her dearest friend kept on talking, “Besides, it’s not a matter of singing well or not... The most important is [i]why[/i] you’re singing!” The smile on his handsome face grew wider when he saw the tears falling from her eyes, “...And I know exactly what’s like to have an angel by my side, singing to bring peace to my heart. I bet that little boy had some really good dreams!”
Monica let out a sob; fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, “You know how much it means to me to hear what you’re just telling me, don’t you?”
“I just told you the truth, baby. And it’s not for you to cry...” he wiped away her tears with gentle fingers and held her tightly, “What will Tess say if she sees you crying like that, huh? That I’ve been treating you badly!”
That statement had the exact effect he wanted: a pretty, yet crying, smile appeared on her blushing face, “That would be impossible!”
It was at that moment that they heard the noise of a car coming closer to the cabin and looked through the window with surprised eyes, “Tess!” Monica exclaimed, rushing towards the entrance door. The supervisor left the Cadillac and also rushed up to her charge with her arms wide open like a mother who hadn’t seen her daughter for a long time.
“Tess! Oh Tess, I missed you so much!”
“Oh, angel girl! Come here, let me hold you, baby!”
“But... Isn’t it dangerous? You may catch chickenpox too...”
“I don’t care about that!” the oldest angel spoke, climbing the porch steps and giving Monica a big bear hug. “It’s been so lonely without you... I just couldn’t stay there without my baby...” she exclaimed, with some happy tears falling from her eyes.
With a contented smile, Andrew came closer to them and placed his arms around their shoulders, “I knew you wouldn’t bear to stay away for a long time, Tess!”
“Angel boy, it’s so good to see you again too, baby...” she took their both hands, “So good to see you both again...”
It was then that they heard a rather upset puppy’s bark coming from inside the Cadillac and saw that little Joy was nearly insane to get out of the vehicle, “Oh, wee Joy! You bought her too!” Monica spoke, happy to see the little dog.
“Yes, she couldn’t bear to stay away from her parents either! The poor baby was getting depressed!” They headed to the car to set the animal free, “I’m sure that she’s eager to kiss her mom!” Tess opened the car door and Joy rushed toward Monica with such a hurry that she bumped into the Irish angel’s bare feet.
Moved to tears, she grabbed the little animal in her arms and immediately received lots of wet kisses on her face, “Oh, sweetheart! I know, I know... I missed you a lot too!”
And, happy to watch that cute scene, Tess and Andrew exchanged a pleased gaze.
*
As Monica was visibly getting better and her fever had finally ceased, Andrew put some logs in the fireplace and agreed she could stay in the now warm living room. The two angels sat down comfortably on the sofa, with a blanket over themselves. The warm, cosy room and the large mug of mocha in their hands caused the Irish angel to feel a lot better after nearly a week of forced vacations. And, as Andrew had predicted, he wasn’t affected by the disease, which allowed him to take really good care of his dearest friend. The following days were also good for Tess, as being a bit tired after handling an assignment on her own, the supervisor took that opportunity to rest a little more; on that night it wasn’t different: some time after dinner, she had excused herself and went to her bedroom, followed by little Joy.
“I’m happy to know that wee Danny is already getting better from the chickenpox, you know. That was the best news Tess could ever give me these days!” Monica spoke, pleased with the big mug of mocha she was holding in her hands.
“Monica, there’s just one thing I ask you: don’t say a word to Tess about how much coffee I let you drink, are we understood on that?” he said, watching as she delighted herself with one of the many mugs she had drunk on that day.
“Okay, if you insist, I give you my word, Andrew. But I don’t think Tess will mind about my coffee liking this time, you know.”
“Oh no? And why not, may I ask?” he said, chuckling at her wording.
“Don’t forget that it was her who bought extra packs of coffee, from many different flavours before leaving the cabin! I guess this was a way to pamper me a little because I was ill and also a way to tell me that she loves me, even having to be away. That’s what you both always do to me, find ways to express how much you love me!” she blushed a little.
Smiling, Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him, and kissed her cheek, “Oh, angel... yes, I love you! Even if you’re all covered with tiny red spots, I still love you, my dotted little angel girl!”
Those last words caused her to giggle and she playfully punched him lightly on the arm, “Ouch!” he exclaimed, pretending that it really hurt.
Giggling even more, the Irish angel inched closer to him and kissed his cheek, “Thank you... for everything...”
“You don’t have to thank me, angel. Just know that I’m always ready to help you whenever you need me, ok?”
“I know, you never let me forget that!”
With their hearts filled with love, they held each other again and continued to watch the fire as a white dove cooed and perched on the window, bringing a quiet and peaceful night for everybody – angels and humans.
The end
