PART 1

Monica had spent the last two hours in the kitchen, busy with a huge amount of food and exotic condiments, and the joy on her face was a reflex of her condition. A three month belly couldn’t be noticed under the flowered dress she was wearing but the young angel was happily humming a song, feeling like the happiest mom in the whole world. She and Andrew were staying at an apartment in a small town not far from Salt Lake City, but only the blond angel was on assignment. Since she’d found out about her pregnancy, the number of assignments meant for her to fulfil had been reduced a little, in order to preserve her condition.

But she didn’t complain. Most of the time, she was the one to advise and help her beloved Andrew and her dearest friend Tess about their missions and was happy when they ended up successfully. As a matter of fact, the little angel started to see the world through different eyes – she was sweeter than never, more attentive to everything around her and her sensitiveness was even greater, if that was ever possible, and her increased perception was a valuable help to the other two angels. Monica was becoming a wise angel, who would certainly have a brilliant future doing the work of God.

All her wisdom, though, wasn’t reflected in her cooking abilities. She finished to mix the food inside a sauce pan and with the help of a spoon she put a little bit of it in the palm of her hand. But a worried expression appeared on her face after she tasted the funny looking mixture and that’s when she felt his presence even before he appeared right behind her. The little angel turned around with a broad smile, completely forgetting about the rather disastrous lunch.

“Angel...” Andrew was smiling back at her and visibly flattered at how fast she could feel his loving presence.

“Andrew!” she gave two steps and wrapped her arms around his neck, in a warm embrace, tenderly returned by her beloved Andrew. He loved to hold her like that and to caress her auburn hair, now aware that he was holding two heavenly beings instead of one.

“How is everybody doing?” he wanted to know, pulling away just a few inches and placing his hand over her belly.

Giggling, she nodded her head and covered his hand with hers, “Everybody is doing just fine! And happier now because you’re here! I thought you’d be away until tomorrow...”

“Well, plans have changed and I’ve just found out I’ll have a few hours free,” he replied.

“Some free time? Really? So the assignment is doing fine?” her curiosity was like one of a five year old. Amused, he placed a few strands of hair behind her ear and then traced the outline of her delicate jaw with his index finger, drinking the beauty of her meek features.  “Yes, everything is doing just fine, baby. Thanks to God and thanks to a wonderful little angel who’s been giving me precious pieces of advice.”

“I’m happy I could help,” she replied, slightly blushed.

Andrew’s green pools were gazing at her beautiful image sparkling with love, and only after a long minute did he speak again, “How come I saw you just yesterday and you’re even more enchanting today?”

“Andrew... You’re exaggerating...” she replied, blushing even more and looking even more adorable to him. The blond angel cupped her cheek with his left hand and bent his head, aiming her rosy lips. A second later, their eyes closed and they were sharing a loving, affectionate kiss. Ever since he’d found out about Monica’s pregnancy, Andrew took every free minute to check on her, even if sometimes she was peacefully asleep and they didn’t get the chance to talk. It was alright with him. The mere fact that he could see her asleep image was enough to fill his heart with great tenderness and love, and all these feelings were reflecting on the way he fulfilled his assignments. Besides this, now that his precious “angel girl” had to stay in human form for some months, his care and worry about her were duplicated.

“... I’m not...” the blond angel playfully rubbed his nose on hers and kissed her lips once again, “... you are enchanting everyday and in every way!”

“You’re far too kind...” she replied, “... and I wish today’s lunch was as enchanting... I’m a wee bit worried about it...” He followed her gaze and saw the little mess his beloved angel girl had just made with the food – and he had to struggle not to laugh at it. “... I guess I was a bit confused with the ingredients or how long I should cook them...”

“Well... sometimes these things happen, sweetie...” he said, softly running his hands on her upper arms, “But I came here exactly to ask you if you’d like to have lunch with me later.”

“Really? Could we?” her eyes were immediately bright.

“Yes, I’m leaving now but by midday we could meet at the town restaurant.”

Her eyes grew wide with excitement, “Oh, that would be great! I’m tired of staying here all day long, I so wanted to go out for a walk but with you and Tess away it wouldn’t be that fun...”

“Well, we could have lunch and then I’ll take you and our little angel here for a walk, how about that, huh?” his kind smile and the loving gaze in his green polls were so full of tenderness that she felt like she’d fallen in love with him all over again. “We both think it’s a wonderful idea, the day is so beautiful...” she answered, lost in his loving eyes.

“It sure is...” he replied, committing to memory every little detail of her meek face, “Can I meet you at the restaurant, in about an hour?”

“It’s perfect for me... I’ll have time to tidy up this mess and change my clothes, then.”

Andrew knelt right in front of her and tenderly ran his hands over her belly, “Hey, little one... Daddy loves you, and we’ll be together again soon, okay?”

While he kissed her belly, Monica caressed his short blond hair, moved with the affection he’d always shown towards her and their little baby. Then, the blond angel stood on his feet and cupped her face with both hands, “I love you, angel...”

“I love you too.” She replied, closing her eyes as their lips collided in one more loving kiss. Slowly, Andrew’s form started to fade, until it disappeared completely, leaving a sweet taste in Monica’s mouth. Even when he’d gone completely, Monica remained with her eyes closed, and placed her hand against her lips, still savouring the sweetness of that loving caress.

X

The restaurant Andrew referred to stood only 20 minutes away from the apartment he and Monica were staying at. Happily, the Irish angel walked along the street, enjoying the gentle sunrays that shone across the blue sky and the perfume of the flowers spread by the soft breeze. Wearing a beautiful hat, a flowered dress and a light pink cardigan that matched her sandals, she soon found the restaurant and, even though she was half hour early, the little angel was feeling so hungry that she couldn’t help entering and picking a table. Andrew surely wouldn’t mind if she had an appetiser before he arrived – much on the contrary: the blond angel had been overprotective of her in the last few weeks, and kept on insisting that she should eat more as “now she was eating for two”.

“May I take your order, madam?” a friendly waiter asked. Monica smiled back at him, “Oh, well, I’m waiting for someone... My husband,” she replied, always happy to refer to Andrew like that, “... and as he hasn’t arrived yet, I’d like some orange juice and some potato salad.”

“Okay...” he said, writing down her order. The young man was already leaving when she added, “Oh, and I’d also like a steak... You know, I could have another one when my husband arrives...”

Chuckling, he wrote the extra information on his pad of paper and left.

While Monica waited for her food she observed the people inside the small and cosy restaurant. There was an old couple sitting not far from her, and judging by the smile on their faces, she concluded they’d been married for long and happy years. She started to imagine how she and Andrew would be in the future and smiled: although the effects of time wouldn’t act upon them, their love would certainly remain stronger than never. Then, she turned her eyes to another family, and saw that a mother and a father were helping their 5 year old son to cut his food into small pieces before eating it. With a patience proper of parents, they would also answer to every single question the little one made them and exchange a loving gaze once in a while. Not far from them, there was a group of teenagers, probably enjoying their summer vacations and having pizzas and hamburgers for lunch. That was not very advisable, she thought, but the way they loved spending their free time with one another and the genuine friendship that bonded them all together was so beautiful to watch that it was worth giving up one day of regular food.

Suddenly feeling an eerie sensation of panic, the Irish angel turned her eyes to the entrance door and saw it when a tall and thin man, wearing a black ski mask, entered the restaurant and headed straight to the cashier. Everything happened very fast: he pulled a gun from inside his jacket and pointed it at the woman sitting in there.

“The money, now!”

While she opened the register and started to give him all the money in there, he pointed the gun at the ones inside the restaurant, “I don’t want to use it so nobody moves or uses a cell phone, you hear me?”

Panic spread around immediately and everybody sitting near him moved away, terrified at the sight of the gun in his hands. Trying to remain calm, the angel caressed her belly and lifted a quick prayer, “Father, please, stay with us all... Help us, please...”

“You!” the man said, pointing at the man who was sitting together with his wife and son, “You have a car?”

“Y-yes...” he said, terrified for his family.

“I want the keys!”

With trembling hands, he stood up slowly and reached inside his pocket,  placing the keys over the table so that the man could take them. “You’re coming with me, too. You’re gonna do the driving!”

“No! Please, don’t!” the wife pleaded, extremely nervous.

“Silence, woman!” the man shouted, her pleading making him extremely nervous. The baby boy also got scared, and started to cry, upsetting him even more.

“C’mon, man, I’m telling you to come with me! We’ll get away from here and if anybody her calls the police he’ll pay!” he insisted, but then it was Monica who stood up and walked over up to him, “No, please, leave this man with his family...”

“You shut up and sit there! I didn’t talk to you!”

“I’m going with you... Provided that you leave this man together with his wife and child...” the Irish angel spoke, looking deep inside the thief’s eyes. The man gave a few steps towards her, looking at the insolent little woman with surprise and indignation. “Are you trying to tell me what I should do?”

“No... I’m offering to be a hostage in this man’s place. I can drive your car and take you away from here if you leave right now and don’t hurt anybody...”

Firmly holding a gun, the man eyed Monica suspiciously, doubting such a petite and fragile woman cold have so much courage. “No! I need that guy, he’s stronger, he can drive along!”

“I can do the driving!” she replied, facing him without fear, and permanently listening to God’s loving words echoing in her heart. She knew there was a reason for her being there – the assignment she’d been longing to have for weeks was finally before her eyes and there was nothing to fear as her loving Father was protecting her all the time.

Monica’s petite form and the fact that she was wearing a dress prevented him and everybody else to know about her true condition. Besides, she was so determined that nobody would never suspect of anything. “You wouldn’t resist driving for 30 minutes...”

“Take this man’s car and take me with you... I’d never try to escape or to hurt you...” she insisted, clearing seeing the doubt in his eyes. And deep inside, he knew she was right: she wouldn’t offer any danger to him due to her fragile form. Besides, he couldn’t remain there any longer, soon the police would arrive.

“Okay... You grab those keys and let’s go!” he said, taking the bag with all the money. “And if anybody calls the police here this woman is going to pay!”

Both left the small restaurant through the back door and headed to the only car parked outside. “C’mon, open it up and take the wheel!”

She did as he told her and once he was seated on the passenger’s seat, Monica started the car and they left the small restaurant.

The customers inside the place heaved a sigh of relief but were also deeply worried about the young lady who volunteered to go with the thief. “Oh, George, she saved you! She risked herself for us to be together!” his wife cried, holding her husband and crying son tightly.

“God... please, please watch over her... She was like an angel who appeared n our way...” the man prayed, equally shaken with what had happened.

“We have to call the police! God knows what can happen to that poor woman!” the old man said.

“But he told us not to call...” his wife warned.

“But I have to tell the police the restaurant has been robbed!” a restaurant employee said, grabbing the phone.

“Let’s wait a little! This way he’ll think we did as he said. Give them a few minutes at least.”

X

Half hour later, when Andrew turned the corner holding a small bouquet of wild flowers, there was a crowd in front of the restaurant and the blond angel quickened the pace to get there faster. If there was immediate concern in his eyes just because of the many people in there, seeing two police cars parked in front of the building only made his heart beat to accelerate. “Excuse me... sorry... excuse me...” he made his way through the crowd and saw that the area had been isolated by the police.

“Sorry, sir, but you cannot pass...” a police officer was quick to stop him, “You don’t understand, sir, my wife is in there! We’d arranged to meet in this restaurant and I got late a few minutes!”

The urgent tone in his voice told the officer that he should be allowed to enter.

“I told you I didn’t want anybody in here!” the sheriff spoke, as he saw Andrew together with the other officer.

“Sorry, sir, but I guess this man is the young lady’s husband...”

Running his hands through his blond hair, Andrew listened to what had happened there, at that very restaurant about an hour before, and the more he heard, the faster his heart would beat. His Monica, his angel, had been taken away from him by a criminal and not even the certainty that their loving Father would protect her and their baby was enough to make him less nervous. She’d left her hat over the table and Andrew soon recognised it as belonging to his wife.

“We’ll warn the neighbour cities and put two cars to go through the main road, if they took it, they won’t go very far.” The sheriff spoke, feeling sorry for the devastated blond man sitting in front of him.

“I don’t care about the money, sheriff. If you can bring this young lady safe and sound, then I’ll have my reward already...” an old gentleman spoke, coming closer to them and not missing the angel’s despair. “... God won’t allow anything bad happening to her, son. I’m sure this man will set her free somewhere as soon as he realises he’s far enough.”

Andrew raised his head and looked at him – the old man was short and thin, and His white hair and the wrinkles on his face were evidences that he was in his late sixties. The sheriff was quick to introduce him, “This is Mr Parks, the owner of this restaurant.”

They greeted each other briefly and the sheriff spoke again, “We’ll get them before he thinks he’s safe.”

That statement only scared the blond angel even more and Andrew looked deep inside the man’s eyes, “Sir, there’s something you don’t know... Probably that guy who took my wife doesn’t know it either but... But Monica is three months pregnant.”

“Oh, my God... I’m so sorry, son...” Mr Parks spoke, deeply shocked at that piece of news.

The people inside the small restaurant were visibly shocked and twice sorry to hear that piece of news, and soon they lifted their prayers for the safety of the Irish woman who had been kidnapped. “We’ll find your wife and we’ll bring her to you, young man. I give you my word.”

Sighing deeply, and feeling awfully powerless, the angel nodded his head, running his hands over his face, not believing something like that was happening to him. In silence, he stood up and walked up to the window, looking at the bright blue sky and lifting a silent and desperate prayer. “Father, I know there must be a reason for all this, but please, protect her and the baby... Please, make them return to me in safety, for I love them so much... They’re my world...”

A hand over his shoulder interrupted his prayers. It was Mr Parks.

“I know what you’re going through, young man... But I trust that God won’t let happen again... Not because of me...”

X

Instructed by the thief, Monica took a back road that was rarely used and as she drove along it, he started to count the money inside the bag. The Irish angel was attentive to the way ahead of her but she would also take a look at her raptor once in a while, surveying every little detail she could about that stranger, even though he remained wearing the black mask. One of these details was the fact that he was wearing a wedding band on his left hand, and she saw in it the opportunity to start a conversation. “How long have you been married?”

He stopped his task and looked at her. “Why are you asking me this?”

“I can see your wedding ring... I was wondering why a man who probably has a family waiting for him has such extreme measures...”

“Don’t you dare to judge me!” he replied, visibly upset.

“I’m not judging you. All I’m doing is trying to understand what took you to commit that robbery...There must be a reason why you decided to steal this money...” she said, looking deep inside his eyes for a brief second.

There was something about that woman that disturbed him but at the same time, it made him feel a weird sensation of peace. A feeling of trust he’d hardly experienced before. Scared, he turned his face away from her and looked outside. “What do you care...”

“I do care... otherwise I wouldn’t have offered myself to be your hostage... even knowing that the gun you used in the robbery is a toy...”

Shocked and surprised, he turned to face her once again, “I... How do you...”

“I just know... And I also know that a man only comes to such an extreme measure if he’s desperate; if something terrible has happened in his life...”

Some minutes of uncomfortable silence passed by until he finally decided to speak, “I... My wife and I are going through difficult times...”

“What happened?” she wanted to know, secretly relieved that he was starting to open his heart.

The man finally removed the mask, revealing his dark hair, brown eyes and a black birthmark on his left cheek. “We... had a baby who needed special attention, she was born prematurely and with serious problems... my wife had to stop working to take care of her. Besides, I lost my job soon after that... The treatment costs money... The money we don’t have...”

“I’m terribly sorry...” she was immediately moved by his story and, for a split second, she felt guilty for having so much with Andrew while others had to go through such difficult times in life.

“Janet is a fighter, she tells me that everything will be fine, but it’s difficult to believe it when I catch myself choosing between eating or letting her eat the last piece of bread we have in the cabinet...”

“But stealing... it’s not going to solve the problem, you’re just bringing a new problem to your wife and daughter...”

“At least they’ll have something to eat for a while...”

“But this is wrong, sooner or later your wrong actions will be discovered and then...”

“Don’t you think I’ve tried to find a new job? Don’t you think I begged for money and food before getting the courage to do what I just did? I didn’t want to hurt anybody, I just needed the money!” he spoke, sighing deeply, “I’d do anything to protect my wife and my daughter...”

Monica nodded her head understandingly. She knew what was like to have an innocent little baby totally dependent on her. “I know how you feel...”

The man frowned with concern for the second time, “Do you have a family? Are you married?”

“Yes... And I’m pregnant...”

Now he felt a terrible sensation of guilt and looked at the angel with regret and shame. “Oh, God... I... I didn’t know it... I’d never agree to take you with me if I’d known it!”

“I know... and God knows that too...” she looked at him with so much compassion that for an instant, he wanted nothing but to go back at the restaurant and return the money. But he couldn’t do that – he would be arrested at the moment the police saw him and what would be of his wife and little daughter?

“Pull over, please...” he said, and by the expression on his face it was possible to see he felt terrible.

“What are you going to do?”

“Please, just pull over...”

She did as he said and he stared at her in disbelief, “Are you really pregnant?”

“Yes. And I can understand what made you have this attitude, even though I don’t agree with it.”

“I... I didn’t know what to do... I had no other choice...”

“That’s not true... There’s always someone ready to help no matter how terrible things seem to be.”

“What’s your name?”

“Monica.”

“I’m Steven. When my wife and I were told that our daughter would have to go through a special treatment to survive we thanked God for that second chance. She could have died at the hospital...”

The Irish angel smiled and the expression on her face softened. “I’m happy to hear it, Steven. I’m happy to know that you and your wife saw it as a blessing and not as a terrible problem.”

“We did... But soon after that I lost my job and then money was over and even food wasn’t enough... I felt like a complete loser...”

“Please, don’t say that. The same loving Father you thanked for having your daughter alive is watching over you and to Him, you’re very special. And to your wee girl, you’re the most wonderful father in this world.”

“I just wanted my family to have a decent life...” he spoke, moved with emotion.

“There’s no room for theft in a decent life, Steven. You have to build it up on solid foundations, otherwise... sooner or later everything falls apart.”

“I know... God what was I thinking?” he ran his hand though his dark hair in despair.