As Andrew entered the church, Monica walked over to him with a content smile on her face, her eyes shining with happiness. “Oh, Andrew! I’m glad you’re here! Everything is finally ready! And Rose is coming in a few minutes!” she announced, excitedly.
The blond angel gazed at her, marveled at the sparkling in her eyes and not missing how beautiful she was in that light beige dress. It was v-necked and sleeveless, slightly below her knees. Her hair was loose in large auburn locks spread over her shoulders and a pair of small and delicate pearl earrings, matching a pearl necklace, completed her outfit.
“Well, I bet she must be very beautiful, but she’s not the only one... You look absolutely gorgeous, angel!” he exclaimed, unable to stop contemplating every feature of the angel right before his eyes and not aware of Tess’ presence right behind her.
“Thank you!” she replied, shyly, with a light blush on her cheeks, “You’re handsome yourself, Andrew! You really are!”
“Wanna marry me?” he suddenly asked, never stopping smiling at her. And now both her and Tess’ eyes grew wide; Monica let out a giggle while the supervisor placed her hands on her hips and stared at him with a shocked expression on her face.
“What?!” the two angels asked, but with completely different tones in their voices: Tess’ was one of distress, while Monica’s was more like an amused one. Loving the way the Irish angel reacted (and not paying attention to Tess’ stern face), Andrew continued to talk.
“We have everything settled already! And soon the priest will be here, so I thought we could take this chance...”
Feeling her blush deepen, she too kept on smiling and let out another giggle.
“Well, in fact I do...”
“Really?!” he and Tess replied, once more with totally distinct tones of voice.
“Yes, I do.” she naturally replied, and really having fun with that situation, and then turned into a more serious (but totally fake) face, “But I guess we would have a wee bit of a problem, you know...”
“And what problem could we have, sweetie?” the blond angel wanted to know.
“I sure can think of a thousand!” Tess spoke, but none of them listened to her.
“Well, there aren’t houses for ‘married angels’ in Heaven so we wouldn’t have a place to live!”
Pretending to think deeply about the “problem” she had mentioned, Andrew nodded his head. “Yes... You may be right... I hadn’t thought about that!” then, he took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it, “Well, I’ll tell you what: we can wait a little more and when the authorization for married angels to build their houses is given, then we can talk about that again, what do you think?”
“I think we have a deal!”
“I think you two are out of your minds!”
Both Monica and Tess respectively replied; once again, in completely different ways. Smiling, he grabbed her face with his both hands and placed a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose, causing the supervisor to roll her eyes. “Oh, please, for Heaven’s sake!”
Now laughing at the oldest angel’s bad humour, they pulled away and held each of Tess’ arms.
“And you will be our ‘best angel’, Tess!” Monica announced, causing her to stare at her even more amazed.
“I will be what?”
“Our ‘best angel’! Isn’t there a best man? Why can’t there be a ‘best angel’?”
“Yes, and, in some years, you will have lots of grandchildren to play with!” Andrew added, now really exciting the supervisor’s imagination. They observed as, little by little, something similar to a smile started to appear on Tess’ face.
“Oh no, Andrew,” Monica kindly objected, “I’d say Tess will have many ‘grandangels’ to play with!”
Andrew winked at his dearest friend and the two angels watched as a satisfied look appeared on the supervisor’s face, exchanging an amused glance. But that expression didn’t last for long, as, suddenly, the oldest angel frowned sternly, “Oh, c’mon we have a wedding to take care of!”
X
While they were away in Ireland, Monica and Andrew met John and Rose, and from the start they noticed not only how good people they were but also how much they loved each other. After suffering so much with her previous marriage, the Irish woman decided to return to her hometown, now taking her adorable five-year-old daughter. There, she met the History teacher, and was sure that he was the closest thing to an angel God had sent her. John fell in love at the moment he lay his eyes on her. His protectiveness and concern, the tender way he treated both Rose and little Marie... The little girl had immediately "adopted" him as the father she'd never had before, and he loved her as his own daughter.
He loved them so much! And now a dream was finally coming true. Standing in the altar, elegantly dressed and visibly nervous, he waited for the wedding ceremony to start. In fact, John was so nervous that Andrew had patted him on the shoulder some minutes earlier. "Chill out, John! She's here already!" the blond angel spoke, highly amused.
"I know... I just didn't know things would be so... tense!" the man replied, straightening his tie as he never took his eyes away from the church door.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, nervousness will go away as soon as you see her coming through that door!"
And Andrew was right. Once the chapel doors were open, John couldn't feel anything other than cheer happiness inside his very soul. Also standing in the altar, Monica and Tess watched with great joy as little Marie, dressed in a cute maid of honour dress, entered the church. She was smiling with contentment to see her mother and the one she considered her father getting married and finally forming the family that the little girl had so constantly prayed for. With slow steps, previously rehearsed, the smart little girl carried a basket full of rose petals and spread them along the aisle.
Then it was Rose who came along some moments later. Andrew had the honour to conduct her and she was so beautiful that John felt the slight impulse to walk over to her and kiss her right now. Her image walking towards him with that cheerful smile upon her beautiful face filled his heart with joy and the deepest love; it seemed that he was falling in love all over again. Finally, after years loving that woman, she was going to become his wife, with God’s blessing.
Rose’s happiness was also reflected all over her face, and she looked at John with all the love in her heart evident in the spark of her eyes. For years, he had been an extraordinary friend, a great supporter, a loving father to her little daughter and the most wonderful man in the world to her. In short, the love of her life. Rose knew that she would always find a safe shelter in his arms and that the love she felt for him was endless. His presence and gentle soul had left an imprint in her own heart forever.
She and Andrew finally arrived at the end of the aisle and as John and Rose held each other’s hands, everybody could witness the great love in their eyes.
“You look absolutely gorgeous...” John whispered in her ear, causing her smile to grow wider.
The priest started the ceremony and, one hour later, he was giving his final blessing to the couple. “... I pronounce you husband and wife.” He then looked at Marie, who was standing close to them, and winked at her.
The little girl stepped even closer to the altar and made the last remark, “Now you may kiss the bride, uncle Johnny!”
Hearing the guests laugher, and also laughing at the little girl’s words, John and Rose gazed at each other and he took her both hands and kissed them. Then, he grabbed her beautiful face and finally placed a loving kiss on her lips, under the guests enthusiastic applause.
X
There was a reception with music, dance and a beautiful cake right after the ceremony. As usual, Andrew invited his dearest friend to dance with him and the two angels swayed in each other's arms, either laughing with happiness, or just smiling lightly, enjoying the way it felt whenever they danced together. Some time later, the happy couple left the church, and Tess, Andrew and Monica (this one, with tears in her eyes), along with the other guests, watched as John and Rose entered the car and waved them goodbye.
"That wedding dress is possibly my best creation!" the supervisor was clearly proud of herself. "It's even more beautiful than Dr. Lucy Scribner's!" she said, referring to a past assignment.
Chuckling, Andrew brushed a tender kiss on Monica's cheek and offered the sobbing little angel a handkerchief. Once the car with the newlyweds started to leave, she, Tess and some other guests threw a handful of rice on them, as a white dove cooed and flew up in the blue sky above their heads.
The end
