PARTs 5, 6 and 7

PART 5

Arriving at the Bowling Alley, the three angels took their respective pair of shoes and went to the alley. Tess quickly grabbed the most beautiful ball:

“This is what I call fun, babies! No noisy little creatures running around you or screaming in your ears!”, she said, getting ready to throw the ball.

“It was really a pity that we couldn’t see the film. I like bowling, though. In fact, it’s the second chance that it gives you that I admire most in this game.”, Monica stated, with a smile.

“Well, then I warn you, Miss Wings, you will need lots and lots of second chances to beat Tess!”, the supervisor had a pretentious tone in her voice. Andrew tugged his hands into his pockets and remained in silence, sighing with some boredom while the two were planning their strategies.

“Now, babies, watch me and learn how to play!”

She got a firm hold on the ball and was ready to throw it when, suddenly, the lights in the Bowling Alley were gone, and everything was in a total darkness.

“Andrew?!...”, Monica immediately called.

“I’m right here.”, he moved in her direction and took her hand. The Irish angel wrapped her arms into his.

“But what the heck happened this time?!”, Tess grumbled.

“There must have been a blackout in the whole neighbourhood; take a look outside: the streets are all in the darkness to.”, the blond angel observed.

“I hope it doesn’t take too long to fix it...”, Monica said, not pleased at all with her surroundings.

“Let’s wait here for some minutes, ok?”, Andrew replied, still holding his friend’s hand.

Some time later, with the help of flashlights, the administrator of the establishment, together with some employees, came to see the customers:

“I’m really sorry, guys, but it seems there has been a blackout in three blocks, including this one, and it’ll take sometime to fix it. I’m sorry but we’ll have to close it.”

“Well... I guess this little incident puts an end on our night outing...”, Andrew said, not being able to hide how pleased he was.

*

The three angels got in the Cadillac and drove off, back to the beach house. But, on their way home, Monica saw a video rental shop and had another idea:

“Oh, Andrew, stop the car, please! I already know what we can do! We couldn’t enter the movie theatre but I still want to see a film, so I figured out we could rent one!”

“Rent a movie... Yes, I agree with you, Angel Girl. Andrew stop the car over there, ok?”, Tess commanded. A little impatient, but relieved with the fact that they would go home anyway, the blond angel parked the car a few metres ahead and they entered the shop:

“May I help you?”, the attendant asked.

“Yes, we would like to rent a movie, please.”, Monica politely replied.

“And do you have any title in mind?”

“Well, not really. In fact, we are in a bit of an indecision here.”

“I think I can help you out. What kind of movies do you like?”

“A romance!”

“A comedy!”

“An epic!”

Monica, Andrew and Tess answered, respectively, and at the same time. The shop attendant looked at them a little confused, while the three stared at one another; a new argument about to come.

*

Finally back at the beach house, the three angels turned the TV and the DVD on (both had appeared miraculously in the room) and placed ‘Titanic’ in the DVD compartment. Tess took a sit on her comfortable armchair, while Andrew and Monica sat on the couch (with Joy lying on the Irish angel’s lap); each one holding a bowl of popcorn:

“Well, at least now we’re gonna have some fun!”, the oldest angel stated.

“And I’m glad that we could find a film we three can enjoy together!”, Monica said, with a smile.

“I don’t see ‘comedy’ written on it!”, Andrew complained, taking a look at the DVD box.

“Oh Andrew, there wasn’t a film which was a comedy, an epic and a romance at the same time... I’m sorry.”, the Irish angel replied, as kindly as possible, “But we can go to the movies another day and watch a comedy!”

He nodded his head, resignedly.

“Hush! The film is going to start!”, Tess protested.

“Am I wrong or this movie lasts 3 hours?!”, the blond angel asked, still reading the information on the box.

“Yes, isn’t it wonderful?!”, his friend answered, with enthusiasm. He sighed with boredom.

*

One hour later:

“Andrew! You are snoring!”, Monica complained, and the blond angel quickly opened his eyes:

“I am not snoring! I am... just clearing my throat!”, he replied, causing Monica to narrow her eyes and stare at him in total disbelief. He decided to ignore her and pay attention to the story.

Half an hour later:

“Andrew! You are snoring and using my shoulder as a pillow!”, Monica shook him, as, this time, her dearest friend’s head came to rest on her right shoulder, while he snored. He opened his tired green eyes and straightened his body:

“I guess there’s a problem with this couch...”

“Shh you two! I wanna see the film!”, Tess scolded them for the second time.

With a exhausted expression on his face, Andrew looked around him and saw Joy peacefully sleeping on Monica’s lap. Then, an idea came to his mind: he took the little dog in his arms and lay on the couch, using his friend’s lap as a pillow:

“Andrew if you lie down you’ll sleep and won’t see the film!”

“No, I will, Angel Girl. I’m just looking for better accommodations!...”, he replied, comfortably resting his head on her leg and holding the little chubby dog (who never woke up).

*

Three hours later, while ‘My heart will go on’ was playing together with the credits of the film, Monica and Tess were practically bawling their eyes out, each one holding a paper handkerchief:

“Oh Tess, it was so beautiful!...”

“Yes, it really was, Angel Girl!... What a lovely young couple!... What a lovely ending!”

“Yes, I agree! I’ve never seen such a beautiful love story!”

“Neither have I, baby!”

“I’ll never forget that! It was wonderful! Don’t you think so, Andrew?”

But the only answer to Monica’s crying question was a loud snore. Sobbing, the Irish angel looked disapprovingly at her best friend, who continued to sleep peacefully, resting his head on her leg:

“Male angels!... Huhm! How can they be so insensitive about such a beautiful love story like this?!”

Tess shook her head, also with disapproval:

“Don’t mind that, baby. Now, if you excuse me, I’ll go to bed and finish my crying there! I wasn’t prepared for such a strong dose of emotion!”, the oldest angel said, standing up and leaving the living room.

Monica wiped the tears on her face and blew her nose, trying to recompose herself:

“Andrew, wake up! How could you sleep during the whole film?!”

In reply, she heard nothing but another loud snore. Sensing that he would never wake up, the Irish angel took a cushion and, holding his head carefully, so that she could stand up, placed it exactly where her leg was. Then, she left the living room for a few minutes, coming back again; this time carrying a blanket, which she used to cover his sleeping form.

At that moment, Joy, who was comfortably lying in his arms, moved and, even sleeping, the little dog placed some tiny ‘kisses’ on the blond angel’s chin:

“... I love you too, Angel Girl...”, he murmured, without opening his eyes, causing Monica to giggle at that scene. Gently, she ran her fingers through his short hair and whispered softly into his ear:

“I love you very, very much too...”, and brushed a loving kiss on his temple, “Good night, my friend...”

The Irish angel stood up from the couch and turned off the lights, and, after checking on the twosome once more, she went to her bedroom. But  what she never noticed was the smile of contentment that appeared on Andrew’s handsome sleeping face.

PART 6

The rain continued to fall down in that somewhat chilly morning, causing that to be an unusual summer Saturday. At the beach house, Tess and Monica were still sleeping, as they had gone to bed very late on the previous night.

The Irish angel was comfortably resting underneath a warm blanket and lots of pillows, and her bedroom door had been left ajar. Suddenly, a chubby little dog poked her head in and stepped inside the room, running towards the bed. Joy barked several times, but was unable to draw Monica’s attention. As it was very high for her to jump on the bed, the playful puppy soon found a way to wake her ‘mom’ up: she started to pull the angel’s blanket, which was hanging from the bed. On the following minute, the quilt was on the floor, and Monica was awake.

“Looks like you’re ready for another day, aren’t you, wee one?”, she said, looking at the dog with sleepy eyes. Joy barked again, as if agreeing with that, and then, pleased to have achieved her goal, the puppy ran to another bedroom.

Five minutes later, it was possible to hear Tess’ voice echoing loud and clear throughout the beach house:

“Who had the courage to wake this dog up so early???!!!”, she grumbled, as Joy practically flew away from her bedroom; now going straight to the kitchen, where Andrew was, preparing breakfast. The blond angel had already taken a shower and was wearing the green sweater Monica (with Tess’ help) had knitted for him, blue jeans and black shoes. When Joy entered the kitchen, he looked at her with a mischievous smile:

“Is the assignment fulfilled?”

He received a bark as a reply.

“Very good job, little one! Here goes your reward!”

He placed a bowl full of dog food right in front of her, which she attacked with no mercy.

Thirty minutes later, Monica and Tess were changed and sitting at the kitchen table, the three angels having their breakfast.

“So, what are we going to do today?”, the Irish angel asked, while savouring a double mocha late specially prepared for her by her dearest friend and still half sleeping.

“I can’t even think properly, as I’m still shocked by the way I was woken up this morning!”, Tess mumbled, eating a piece of cheese.

“Well, it’s almost 11 o’clock, you two shouldn’t have slept so late yesterday night! I woke up hours ago!”, Andrew stated, teasingly.

“It’s because you didn’t watch the film; you simply snored away on my shoulder and on my lap all the time!”, Monica replied, in disapproval. The blond angel shot her a loving smile:

“I’ve never had a better accommodation in all my existence!”,  he said, winking at her. She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but smiling too.

“And concerning what we’re gonna do today, don’t worry you two, ‘cause I’ve already got a plan!”

“Oh, I don’t feel like going out, yesterday night was too tiring!”, the supervisor protested.

“I agree with Tess, Andrew. Maybe we could go out tomorrow...”

“You don’t even know where I intend to go!”

“Well... wouldn’t it be to the movies?”

“Guess again!”

“Don’t you tell me you wanna go to the beach with all this rain pouring down outside!”, the oldest angel said.

“Nope.”, he replied, keeping the suspense.

“So... Where to, Andrew?”

“To a cyber café, Angel Girl!”

Hearing that, Monica’s eyes lit up and a broad smile appeared on her face:

“Oh that’s a lovely idea! I’ve already noticed there’s one in town, it’s not far from here, we can arrive there in 10 minutes!”

“Why am I not surprised that this kind of information is provided by you, Miss Wings?!”

“Oh Tess, please! It’ll be fun, I’m sure it will!”

The supervisor stood up:

“No way! This old angel here is coming back to bed right now...”

“This is definitely what you will not do, Tess! I’ve been walking around with you two, going everywhere you want to, and now it’s my turn! You owe me this!”, Andrew interrupted, and the tone in his voice gave no opportunity for any more protests.

“Oh, alright then!”, the oldest angel finally agreed, with some (mock) annoyance. Monica stood up too and gave her a big hug:

“Thanks Tess! It wouldn’t be fun without you! In fact, it is only fun when I have the two of you right on my side, so that I can always have an opportunity to say how much I love you!”

If there still was any nuisance in the air, it vanished completely at those loving words, and Andrew also stood up from his chair, joining the embrace:

“And how could we go on existing without our loving, affectionate, adorable and sweet Angel Girl, huh Tess?!”, he said, kissing the top of Monica’s head. The supervisor nodded:

“I don’t believe I can even imagine this, Angel Boy!”, both angels causing Monica to blush deeply.

*

Arriving at the cyber café, each angel went to sit in front of a computer, side by side, with Monica also holding a cup of coffee with her.

“So, would you recommend any web site, Andrew?”, she asked, staring at the computer screen, without knowing where to start.

“Is there anything about music?”, Tess wanted to know.

Sitting between the two, the blond angel smiled, as he already knew exactly what he was going to do:

“Ease you two! I know a great web site, and I’m sure you’ll like it too!”

“And what ‘wonderful’ web site can it be, Angel Boy?”

“What is it about, Andrew?”

“Just type: www.touched.com!”

They did as he said and their eyes widened in surprise as the page was loaded:

“It’s us!”, Monica exclaimed.

“And whoever designed it certainly has good taste, look at my picture! I’m gorgeous!”, Tess stated, in a self assuredly way, causing the other two to exchange an amused glance.

“Alright you two, now do what I do!”

Then, he clicked on ‘message board’ and, after, on ‘fan fiction’:

“What is it, Andrew?”

“All these titles are stories about us, Angel Girl; written by our fans from all over the world!”

Monica’s eyes grew wide:

“Oh really?!”

“I didn’t know there was such thing!”, Tess was as surprised as her charge.

“yes, there is! And there are many kinds of stories here, funny, dramatic, short, long; everything you can imagine.”

“My goodness! What a lovely idea!”, the Irish angel said.

“So, what are we waiting for?! Let’s read them now!”, the supervisor anxiously commanded.

“That’s why I brought you two here!”

PART 7

Some time later:

“This is really funny!”, Tess’ laugher echoed throughout the shop.

“What are you reading, Tess?”, Monica asked, with curiosity.

“All these humorous stories I found in here! They’re simply hilarious!”, the supervisor explained, “You should try and read them too!”

Her two charges followed her advice and, some minutes later, the three angels were staring at the computer screen and laughing incessantly:

“Oh, dear Father! I wish we had more assignments like these!”, Monica exclaimed. Andrew nodded his head:

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be a bad idea! What do you think, Tess?”

“Well, I think you two may be right. After all, angels too have the right to have some fun and enjoy themselves sometimes!”, she agreed.

*

Nearly one hour later, Andrew and Tess noticed that Monica was sniffing continuously and looked at her with worried faces:

“Angel Girl, are you alright?”

“Oh, yes, Tess...”, she answered, with her eyes filled with tears.

“So... Why are you crying?”, Andrew asked, giving her a handkerchief.

“Well... I’ve been reading some of these stories...”

They opened the same page she was reading and the Irish angel kept on talking:

“They are so sad and have so much pain and suffering...”, she sniffed again, “But all are so beautifully written and have such a beautiful message of faith and hope; so many valuable lessons about trusting in the Father’s words, that they had an effect on my emotions and now... I cannot keep them inside!...”, she explained, wiping some tears from her face. Andrew and Tess exchanged a look that was a mix of concern and amusement:

“Monica, they are ‘fan fiction’. That means that they are invented stories...”, the blond angel said. She looked at him slightly indignant:

“But they could perfectly be true! Just take a look at them you two and you’ll see that I’m right!”

Curious about the stories (and not wanting to disagree with her), they decided to read them.

Some time later:

“Hey Monica, you were right! These stories are absolutely great!”, Andrew said, really impressed with what he had read. Sniffing just like her charge, Tess nodded her head:

“Yes, Angel Girl, you were totally right about them, they are so very beautiful!...”, she stated, with some tears rolling down her cheeks.

Sitting between the Irish angel and the supervisor, Andrew looked at his two weeping friends sympathetically and passed his arms around their shoulders, bringing them closer to him.

*

About half an hour later:

“Wow, that’s something I’d call curious!”, the blond angel said, with a playful tone on his voice.

“What is it, Andrew?”, Monica wanted to know, peeping at the screen of his computer. He smiled mischievously:

“We are dating, honey!”, he teasingly answered. Tess grimaced at what she had heard, while Monica’s eyes widened in surprise:

“You’re what?!!”

“Really?!”

They both exclaimed, at the same time. Laughing, Andrew let them see the page he was reading:

“Yes, that’s it! Take a look!”

The other two opened the same page and started to read:

“Oh, that is so cute!”, Monica tenderly stated. But distress never abandoned Tess’ face:

“ ’Cute’??!! You two are angels, Miss Wings! We all are, for Heaven’s sake!”

Andrew and Monica looked at each other, trying to hold their laugher:

“We know that, Tess! But I love you two so much, you know, that, if we were humans, we three would be a real family!”

“Yeah, I agree with Monica! A family with babies and all!”, the blond angel agreed, still teasing the supervisor and causing the Irish angel to shoot him a loving look. But Tess kept on with a stern face:

“Oh Father, I can’t believe I’m hearing such thing!... I think you two have been exposed to computers and to caffeine too much for one single day!”

“Oh, c’mon Tess! Just imagine: besides Joy, there would be a lot more babies for you to take care of and spoil everyday!”, Andrew playfully remarked. Monica agreed with him:

“Yes, Tess. Wouldn’t you like to be a grandmother twice, maybe three times?!”

And, surprisingly, at that moment, Tess’ face became a pensive one, as if she was seriously taking that possibility into consideration.

Noticing that, Monica playfully nudged her dear friend on the ribs and they exchanged an amused glance. But, when she realised that her two charges were attentively watching her (and unsuccessfully trying to keep a serious face), the oldest angel scolded them once more:

“What are you two looking at, huh?!”, she mumbled.

“Oh... Nothing, Tess...”, Monica shrugged her shoulders. But, seconds later, Tess surrendered herself:

“Alright! I admit it! Of course we would ALSO be a family if we were humans! I have no doubts about that!”

The younger angels smiled and held her tightly:

“You know something, Tess? We love you!”

“And of course I know that, too, Angel Boy. I also love you two. But now, let’s go back home, ‘cause it’s enough of computers and coffee for the both of you!”

And, after spending that entire rainy day at the cyber café, the three angels returned to the beach house.

*

Late at night, while Andrew and Monica were fast asleep, Tess got up from her bed and, secretly, tiptoed over to the kitchen, where she found a laptop that had miraculously appeared on the table:

“... Now let’s see if there are new chapters posted tonight...”, the supervisor whispered, turning the laptop on and connecting it to the web. She opened the page that she and her friends had been reading all day long and smiled with satisfaction:

“That’s it!”, she exclaimed, and started to read.