CHAPTER 27

Angel tourists

Monica and Andrew had lunch at a lovely restaurant not far from the park and the second part of their outing finally started as now the couple got a taxi and headed to the wine region, which was not too far from where they were. The sunny and rather warm afternoon only made their journey even more pleasant. And when they arrived there, Monica was once again thrilled like a five-year-old at so much to see.

"In the Bernard Shaw's Festival, visitors can watch plays in all those theatres, angel. Both written by Bernard Shaw and by many other famous writers, such as Noel Conrad." Andrew explained, as they walked along the main street. "We can watch one of them before we walk around the tents." He suggested, and was glad to see her smile.

"Ah, yes, I'd love to, Andrew. You see, I'm quite a fan of Mr Shaw's plays! His characters... He had such a skilful way to write down his texts!"

Andrew soon got the schedule with the plays, theatres and the times they would be on, and both elected to watch "Pygmalion." The play started half hour later, and a very excited little angel followed her beloved valentine inside the theatre and for obvious reasons, Andrew was the one to locate their seats.

"It says 4B, Andrew, I wonder if we should go through that corridor." Monica suggested, looking over the tickets in his hands.

Trying to keep a serious face, Andrew cleared his throat and pointed to the direction that was opposite to what she was indicating. "Erm... actually our seats are that way, angel... You see, odd numbers on the left. Even numbers, on the right."

"Oh..." she nodded her head understandingly, and then looked at him again, as a smile graced her lovely features. "They have a very peculiar way to organise their seats!"

Chuckling, he placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her in the right direction. Soon after, the play finally started and for two hours the couple of angels got themselves entertained with the narrative and the performance of the actors.

X

Time went by fast and before they knew it, it was over. Hand in hand, the couple walked along the street towards the tents built two blocks from where the theatre was. And if for two hours, Monica had remained quiet and attentive to the story, now Andrew knew that he would spend the next few hours listening to her comments. And he would do it intently.

"Do you know the story that inspired Mr Shaw to write Pygmalion, Andrew?

"The man who sculpted a statue of a woman and fell in love with it, right?"

"Exactly. And the legend says that after much begging, Aphrodite made the statue turn into a human being and they could finally get married."

He saw the sparkle in her eyes as she said that. "It's a beautiful story."

"Oh, it certainly is..." she made a brief pause. "... It seemed impossible at first but their love was so strong that it proved that they could be together."

Andrew stopped walking and stood right in front of her, and stroked her face with tenderness. "And I'm sure Pygmalion vowed to love his wife and make her happy for the rest of their existence."

A second later, he captured her smile with his lips and Monica covered his hand with hers. The sweet kiss didn't last for long as they were in public, but Andrew's secret wish was to take her breath away and hold her for dear life. Another tiny kiss on the tip of her nose and they resumed their walk.

The tents in the main street were selling all kinds of wine, mostly made in the region and admired all over the country, "These wine producers have been living here for centuries now, you see, Monica. It's a business that goes on through generations of the same family."

"And I wonder what a joy it is to work with your loved ones and in such a lovely place!" she said, observing the tents and their surroundings, as the sun hadn't set on the horizon yet.

In the tents, visitors were offered a free trial and Monica and Andrew were passing by one of them when a friendly saleswoman asked them if they would like to try some of her products.

"It's one of my most famous wines!" she said, giving them a small paper cup with a tiny bit of a red wine. Monica and Andrew looked at each other: the Irish angel was a little uncertain as neither of them had forgotten the day when, by accident, Monica drank more than she should have and ended up in a big trouble.

"Well... it's wine and it's a little. It won't do you any harm, angel." Andrew spoke, concluding that it was safe for her to drink just a small amount.

"Oh, my goodness, it's lovely!" Monica exclaimed, she and Andrew feeling the sweet flavour of such an elegant drink.

"My wife is right. It's delicious."

"It's a sweet wine," the woman explained, "and it also makes a lovely gift."

Andrew and Monica had planned to buy a souvenir for their dearest friends and Andrew liked the woman's suggestion and bought a bottle to give his friend, Mark.

"I wonder if perhaps we could have a wee bit more?" Monica spoke, observing how carefully the saleswoman wrapped up the bottle in a pretty package.

"Of course you can, madam!" she said, serving her another portion.

"Erm... Monica..." Andrew tried to say something but he gave up when his beloved angel took another sip.

"It tastes wonderful!" she spoke, and turned to the saleswoman. "Congratulations on your work!"

"Oh, thank you, dear." The woman gave Andrew the small bag with the shop logo. "I'm glad you liked it!"

They bid the woman farewell and continued their journey to the other tents. Some beautiful art craft called Monica's attention and she took the opportunity to buy Ella a set of earrings and necklace, and it was then that she realised she was hungry. The couple stopped by a café and had a light snack, but much to the angel's disappointment there wasn't coffee.

As the small diner was crowded, Andrew had to go and pay for their food inside. The Irish angel stood alone for a while, sitting at the table placed outside and gladly admiring people passing by. A voice, however, took her out of her reverie.

"Excuse me, miss..."

An elderly couple, with a friendly smile, had approached her while she was lost in her thoughts and she returned their smile. "Yes?"

"Albert and I are a bit lost here... We're looking for the Madison theatre. Pygmalion, the play we're going to see, starts in 20 minutes. But I guess we took a wrong turn somewhere..."

"Madison theatre?" her eyes were wide with surprise.

"Yes. We were wondering if you could help us..." the gentleman spoke.

"Oh, I certainly can. I've been to this same theatre myself! You see, Andr- I mean, my husband and I watched Pygmalion this afternoon!"

Monica had always wondered if some day, her assignment would consist of helping someone find the right directions to their destination, and this time it seemed real. She and Andrew had a ten-minute walk from the theatre to the fun fair and it wouldn't be any trouble taking the couple there and returning. As a precaution, she went up to her beloved to let him know where she was going, as he was stuck in a huge queue to pay for their snack. Aware that she would be with two inoffensive people, the blond angel didn't see any problem in her guiding them. Much on the contrary, he was glad that she was helping someone who needed it.

And in fact, that small assignment was successfully accomplished, as the Irish angel delivered the old couple safe and sound to their destination. She bid Mr. and Mrs. Freeman good bye and was glad to know that they were travelling on a second honeymoon, and made a mental note to suggest to Andrew the same thing in the future. On her way back, Monica passed by the same tents she and Andrew had visited a while before, and her pace slowed down. In one of them, which they hadn't noticed the first time, the wine bottles were so beautifully settled in a basket containing other foods such as cheese and package of crackers. Such delicate work called her attention and she came closer.

"Would you like to try our best wine, Mrs?"

Monica heard the male voice and turned to see a funny looking old man, with white hair and a long beard, wearing suspenders over his protuberant belly and a friendly smile. She chuckled, as he somewhat reminded her of Santa Claus. "Oh, thank you. I'm afraid I've tried a lovely one already."

"Oh, but you certainly didn't try the best!" he said, quickly offering her a paper cup filled with Serendipity Rosé. It smelled so good that she couldn't resist taking a sip.

"Goodness gracious, it's wonderful!" she said, and took another large sip. "I wonder if I sense the taste of other fruits!"

"Watermelon, candied sour cherries, fresh strawberries, cranberries and just a touch of cotton candy on the finish!" he said.

"Oh, but that's a very intelligent invention!"

"We have many other options..." he said, picking another bottle. "Gamey Noir. Flavours of black cherries, plums and raspberries with a spicy note."

"Spicy?" she said, gladly accepting another cup. Her peculiar love for pepper and other condiments made her fall in love with the new drink, and the old man couldn't help laughing when she took a large sip.

"Like it?"

"Oh, I certainly do!" She replied, with enthusiasm. "Actually, I guess I could tell my husband to come in here and buy another bottle... You see, Andrew has just bought a very good wine to give his friend, Mark. But I believe that we could take one more of these to our home!"

"Well, why don't you try a Dessert wine too, this way you can tell him your favourite?" The man suggested.

"A dessert wine?"

"Yes... Riesling, for instance. Baked apples and honeyed pears with spice and melons. Or Barrel Fermented Icewine: An incredibly luxurious wine filled with flavours of honeyed apricots, vanilla beans and tangerines!"

X

Meanwhile...

Andrew finally managed to pay for their lunch and even bought Monica some honey candies. He stood in front of the diner waiting for her but it took him two minutes to check his pocket watch and start to make calculations and assumptions. She should have been back by this time.

"Angel... where are you, baby?" he murmured to himself, and sighed with some impatience. Chatty like she was, perhaps she took some time talking with the elderly couple. Perhaps she was on her way and so many things to see slowed her pace down.

He elected to wait.