CHAPTER 7

Count your blessings

By the time the day at the school was over, Monica quickly walked home, bracing herself against the hundreds of other people crowding the sidewalks of the city. Though the warmth remained in her heart from her conversation with Ella, she wasn't sure anything would ever soothe her nervousness about how many people there were in this city.

She breathed a sigh of relief upon unlocking the door to their little apartment before a look of sheer determination crossed her face. She had decided before leaving work that she would surprise Andrew by preparing dinner.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, Monica put on an apron and tied up a ponytail so that her work could start. Singing an out of tune song, she spread the ingredients all over the counter - they had done supermarket shopping recently and she had found a lasagna recipe on that day's newspaper and it didn't seem too difficult. Pasta, beef, tomato sauce, cheese, oregano, garlic, vinegar and she decided to give it a special touch by adding some pepper.

The photograph above the recipe made things even more encouraging. She was determined that by carefully following the instructions she would be able to prepare him a nice and yummy surprise. With four different kinds of pans, many forks and spoons, she put the ingredients and mixed them according to the instructions. The only problem is that it didn't take a trained eye to see how awkwardly Monica moved the utensils in order to mix everything and adding the other ingredients.

When she was finished, the little angel noticed that it was slightly different from what she could see in the picture, but elected to think that its appearance would change once it was cooked. Monica was going to stick the casserole dish in the oven when she looked at the peppers over the counter and decided to add just a wee bit more.

She moved the stove buttons and adjusted the temperature according to the explanations on the book and decided set the table as it baked. There was tomato sauce and flour on her face and her apron was all dirty with the other ingredients. She was just finishing to arrange the dishes, when a strange smell of something burning reached her nose. Frowning, Monica followed the smell and saw that there was smoke coming from the kitchen.

"Oh, my goodness!"

The Irish angel grabbed a dish towel not to burn her hand when she pulled the stove open. And when she finally did so, more smoke came out of it. Monica tried to sent it away by waving the dishtowel, which only made the smoke spread faster through the apartment. Fortunately for her, Andrew unlocked the apartment door at that very moment.

"Monica?" he called, and the words "I'm home" died in his mouth once the smell reached his nose. Frowning with worry, he rushed to the kitchen, where he found his beloved angel girl trying to put out the beginning of fire she had just started.

"Angel?"

"Oh, Andrew... I... I don't know what happened..." she tried to say, as he took the dishtowel from her hand and finally removed the casserole dish from inside the stove. "... I was cooking our dinner..."

She said enough - Monica was cooking and that fact alone spoke volumes to him. Andrew was quick to put it in the sink, and open the faucet so that water would help to cool down the dish. Disappointment was all over Monica's face when she saw the dinner she had so carefully prepared all burned.

"Are you alright?" he wanted to know, as he turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and immediately looking for any sign of injury caused by her disastrous culinary adventure.

Monica shook her head, frowning and biting her lower lip. "I did everything according to the recipe! I promise I did, Andrew!"

Glad that nothing bad had happened to his precious little angel, Andrew tried to smile - funny to think that he had just started to work as a firefighter and the first fire he had to put out was caused in his own home. "It's alright, angel." He spoke, secretly amused at her meek dirty face.

"No, it's not alright... I... I wanted to make something to you, Andrew! Something that would please you once you got home! And... and look what I did!"

Smiling, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "You know what pleases me when I get home?" he spoke, gazing at her lovingly, still finding the little pout on her face rather adorable. "A very beautiful little angel who I happen to be amazingly in love with!"

Watching as a blush crept over her face, he bent down and kissed her cheek, in an attempt to cheer her up.

But the little angel let out a frustrated sigh. "I made such a mess..."

Andrew pulled her in a warm embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Monica. I know what you were trying to do here, angel. I appreciate your surprise!"

"I wonder if my adjusting to human life will be something like this..."

Sensing that her disappointment was not only about a burned dinner, Andrew tightened the hold around her a bit more. "Here's the deal: I'll help you get things settled and you and I will try to do the recipe again, following it step by step, okay?"

Even if her enthusiasm had gone, she nodded slightly. Amazing how under Andrew's guidance, everything seemed a lot easier - everything, from dinner dishes to understanding the universe that surrounded her. And it was on that cooking lesson that she learned that cooking food at a hotter temperature would take a lot less time than she had thought.

"I know it says here that I have to heat at 350 degrees but I wanted it to be ready before you arrived, and I thought I could accelerate the process by rising the temperature a wee bit more since I'd be just in the next room, settling the table..."

She explained, after they had finally savoured a new dinner - almost entirely prepared by Andrew. Once they were comfortably settled in their couch, Andrew cradled the little angel in his arms so that they could relax from the hard busy day and tell each other their impressions on their new journey amongst humans. And it didn't take him too long to realise that the ritual was helping Monica to deal with her new routine. His gentle words always managed to soothe her spirit and put her heart at ease.

Trying his best to keep a serious face, he nodded. "I see. Well, angel, stoves can work real fast sometimes, so it's always best to keep temperature low... it might take a little more time to bake but you won't risk losing your meal."

"I understand..." she spoke, still embarrassed by all the previous trouble.

The blond angel kissed her temple lovingly and smiled. "You didn't tell me how your day was."

She told him about Ella and the lovely bulletin board she had prepared for the children and how she had gotten the idea for it. Then she spoke of her expectations for the next days and how she had planned her first classes. And little by little his precious talkative soul mate was coming back to her own self.

"Andrew?" she called him, noticing that he was quietly listening to her eternal chatter.

Watching her questioning look, he took her hand to his lips. "I was just admiring all the beautiful things you did today, angel. A loving surprise for me. A new friend. A board that reflects so much of God's teachings... who else in this entire world would have thought of it other than someone with such a beautiful heart like yours?"

Feeling a blush rising on her cheeks, she lowered her eyes for a moment. "You're telling me that it makes up for the mess I made in the kitchen?"

Chuckling, and aware that she was joking too, he cupped her cheek with his hand. "I love you so much..." he spoke, tenderly combing her long auburn hair with his fingers, as if committing to memory every single strand and its sweet perfume.

Monica reached out to touch his face, running her slender fingers along his cheek and lips, "You always bring the sun to my heart... even when everything seems clouded and confusing... And I promise you, Andrew, that I'll make your days happy ones for the rest of eternity..."

"With you by my side, angel, I know my existence will be forever blessed." He replied, kissing her lips softly while stroking her cheek. When they pulled away she smiled shyly and for a moment only, as another kiss started, and Andrew dared to tighten the hold around her a bit more as he tasted her lips slowly, tenderly like a reminder of a love promise that he too would vow to fulfil along his existence.