After breakfast, which included porridge for the six-month wee Angela, they got ready and left the small apartment. Andrew drove along the road that led to the mountains, his attentive eyes were twice careful as he was carrying the two most precious gifts of his existence in that car.
Despite the cold weather, the road was in good condition and it wasn't snowing yet. Andrew and Monica chatted happily and their little baby's giggles and sounds amused them deeply. Chuckling, the blond angel shook his head and held his laughter when Monica decided to sing to Angela. Fortunately for him the Irish angel was on the back seat next to Angela's chair, and didn't realise how much fun he was having.
"Look, Andrew! She's smiling! I guess she likes it!" the Irish angel exclaimed, enthusiastically.
"Of course she likes it, Monica. Why wouldn't she?"
The angel turned her eyes to the rear view mirror, meeting his green ones. "Well..."
"This little angel loves everything that comes from you, angel! And she's not the only one!" he replied, with a wink at her.
Monica inched forward and bent her head, brushing a kiss on his cheek.
The trip went on uneventfully in its first two hours and around midday Andrew realised that his beloved companion was a bit quieter than usual. Angela had fallen asleep and he soon understood the reason to Monica's silence, as he too felt exactly like her.
"Hungry, angel?"
"I... I confess that I am..." she said, secretly feeling her stomach churn.
Aware of that fact, the blond angel nodded his head and, with a smile, he started to reduce the speed. He stopped at a small restaurant along the road.
The café was simple and there were few people in there at that time. The lady who took care of it was immediately enchanted with Angela's cheerfulness, as the little one woke up right after they entered and much to everybody's surprise, she didn't cry. Much on the contrary: the little baby kept on distributing toothless smiles while her parents ate, and later on she enjoyed the bottle of milk that Monica was offering her.
The happy trio soon called an old lady's attention. She was sitting at the table next to theirs and couldn't help smiling at the tender scene.
"She's a very beautiful and sweet little girl..." she said, with eyes full of admiration.
Monica and Andrew exchanged a pleased glance and then looked at her. "Thank you!" said the Irish angel.
"She took it after her mom!" Andrew added, causing Monica to smile at him.
"You're not from here, are you? I never seen you before..."
"Oh, no, we're not... We're heading to the mountains, we'll spend Christmas there." The blond angel replied.
"Oh, I see. Bet you have some other relatives waiting for you; you're such a beautiful family!"
"Thank you, but well... we'll spend it with a dear friend, Tess. She's like a real mother to us and she always stays with us on special days."
Hearing the Irish angel's reply, the woman nodded her head. "I hope you have a wonderful holiday."
"Thank you. The same to you, madam!" Andrew spoke, and as the woman rose to her feet to leave the restaurant, they noticed she was carrying two bags with groceries. It wasn't such a heavy load for someone younger, but it certainly demanded some effort on a sixty-two woman.
The blond angel was quick to offer help. "I could take those for you..."
"Oh, but I don't mean to interrupt your lunch..." she said, a little embarrassed.
Monica kept the empty bottle inside her bag and stood up, holding little Angela in her arms. "Andrew is right, and we've already finished."
"Well, in that case, thank you so much."
The angels and the old lady paid their bill and left the small café together, and chatting about the weather. Monica had draped a small blanket over Angela's tiny shoulders and the little girl kept on gazing at everything around her with curious wide eyes.
"Is your house far from here? We could give you a ride so that you don't have to carry it." Andrew gently offered, once they were by their car.
"I really don't want to be a bother..."
"Oh, but you're certainly not a bother. Your family must be waiting for you and this way you'll get home faster."
The woman smiled and then nodded her head in agreement. "Well, in that case I'll accept your offer. But no, there isn't anybody waiting for me..." she said, with a slightly bitter tone in her voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Monica's smile faded away and the woman placed a gentle hand over her shoulder. "Don't worry, it's alright. My husband passed away a few years ago and my only daughter lives far from me."
"So you do have a family."
"Yes, I do. But we're better off away from each other. It's good for everybody."
They stopped walking right in front of the car and while Andrew placed the bags with her groceries in the trunk she took the passenger's seat. They talked for a while and following her instructions, Andrew managed to get at her house in only a few minutes. It was simple, but cozy, located in a small village by the foot of the mountain. While Andrew took her bags to the kitchen, the old woman showed Monica and Angela her small Christmas tree, adorned with objects that soon enchanted mother and daughter.
"I keep the tradition, even though there's nobody to see it."
"Please, forgive me to ask, Mrs Kelly, but your daughter... how long..."
"Six years."
Andrew returned from the kitchen and placed his hands over his wife's shoulders. "Everything set!"
"I don't know how to thank you both... You've been so kind... a real beautiful family."
"Thank you, but I guess we're not the ones who deserve this... You're entitled to have a beautiful family too, Mrs Kelly..." the Irish angel spoke, and she and Andrew noticed as she lowered her head.
"Too late, I'd say."
The two angels exchanged a look of complicity and Andrew nodded. Smiling, he reached out to take Angela from Monica's arms. "Hey, little one, what about you and I head to the car, huh? Would you like to drive a little?" he spoke, receiving a baby's giggle as a reply. The blond angel took her tiny hand and made her wave at the old lady, who was looking at her with eyes filled with emotion. "Say bye to Mrs Kelly..."
"Oh, sweetie, goodbye... You're a very beautiful little angel!" she said, caressing her pink cheek and not aware of Monica and Andrew's second glance.
He kissed Monica's cheek and left. It was then that the Irish angel reached for the old lady's hand and squeezed it. "Mrs Kelly, whatever it is that happened between you and your daughter, remember that forgiveness is always an option..."
"A terrible argument... And then she left..." a lonely tear rolled down her face as she looked at the small Christmas tree on the corner of the living room. "Every year I build that up hoping that... she... she might come around..."
"Why don't you contact her?"
"I guess I... I'm too proud for that... and too afraid she refuses to talk to me..."
"Mrs Kelly, each day of anger and hate is one day less in a person's life. Each day of love and compassion is one more day in our existence."
The power of the angel's gaze was so intense that the woman felt the presence of tears and the strange sensation that there was something different about the young lady who was holding her hand.
"You... seem to have a sort of... glow around you..." she said, staring back at Monica in disbelief. "I must be imagining things!"
The warm smile upon the angel's face seemed to soothe her troubled heart and, amazingly, it gave even more certainty to the words that followed. "Remember what we are celebrating tonight, Mrs Kelly... There shouldn't be any room for anger."
"Sometimes I wonder if God knows me..."
"Oh, yes, He knows you because He made you. And like an understanding and forgiving Father, He knows how much you want to try again..."
"I do. But... there were so many mistakes... on her part... and on mine too..."
Monica placed a hand over her shoulder, "Everybody makes mistakes, Mrs Kelly. But if you're truly willing to change and start all over again, then open your heart to God's love. There won't be any place for fear then."
"I don't think I deserve it..."
"You're his child. And what parent doesn't think their child deserves a new chance?"
The woman cried openly and Monica offered her a warm embrace. To Mrs Kelly, it was as if God Himself was holding her and speaking to her heart words of encouragement and reassurance through the little angel's small form.
The family of strangers left her house some minutes later and once their car disappeared in the corner, the old lady stared at the phone on the end table.
X
"... I wish I had done more for her, you know, Andrew..." Monica spoke, a pensive look in her eyes while she and Angela played with a stuffed little turtle. The little angel was sitting on her chair and looked really happy with her favourite toy.
"You did what you had to do, angel. I can see now why we were told to go to the cabin in this form. We've been in that woman's life for just a few minutes, but I'm sure that our presence and especially what you told her might have touched her heart exactly the way the Father intended it to be."
The Irish angel sighed deeply, and then nodded her head. "You're right. I just hope she finds peace... she seemed to be such a sad woman..."
A baby's giggle draw their attention and placed a smile back on their faces. "Looks like somebody is having a lot of fun during her little trip!"
"You know how much wee ones get excited at this time of the year!"
Andrew chuckled under his breath: it wasn't only the youngest ones who were thrilled at Christmas time. He knew a beautiful angel, with a warm heart and childlike manners, whose beautiful brown eyes sparkled with joy at Christmas time.
They chatted a little more and at a certain point, they saw a car standing in the middle of the road not to far ahead. And its driver, a young woman, was standing next to it with a very worried expression on her face.
"Oh, dear... she seems she could use some help, Andrew..." the Irish angel spoke, immediately feeling sorry for the stranger.
Andrew nodded his head and pulled over right behind the other car. "You stay here with Angela. It's pretty cold outside." He said, opening the driver's door. As he approached the young woman he could see she looked rather apprehensive about him and the fact that it was a deserted road. It was obvious that her vehicle didn't work and she seemed ready to run away from any stranger who came closer to her.
But the young lady let out a sigh of relief when she saw that that tall blond man coming towards her was not alone, and inside his car there were a woman and a little baby. A family had stopped to help her.
"Hey, something wrong with your car?" Andrew offered, with his always so kind smile.
"Yes... it just stopped and I really don't understand anything about engines..." she said, rubbing her own arms as it was quite cold outside.
Andrew came closer to the car and, as she had already opened the hood, he checked its motor. "Hum... I think I can fix it for you..."
Her eyes shone with hope. "Really?"
"Yes. It'll take just a few minutes."
"Oh, thank you so much, sir! I've been here for over an hour and the few cars that passed by me didn't stop..." she explained, "... and I'm feeling so hungry!"
"My name is Andrew. And my wife Monica is in our car with our daughter. You can wait there, and we have some food for the trip."
"Thank you very much, Andrew..."
The young lady was in her early twenties and on her face it was still possible to see a hint of fear and insecurity. She walked towards the red Cadillac with quick steps but as she approached the car, the stranger felt a little ashamed. Nevertheless, Monica's friendly smile and her soothing voice inviting her to come inside for a while seemed to send her shyness away.
"Hullo, I'm Monica!" the angel greeted as she opened up the door. "Please, do come in!"
The girl sat at the passenger's seat and smiled shyly. "Nice to meet you Monica, I'm Jasmine. I'm sorry I have made you guys stop..."
"Andrew and I are glad we could help you." The auburn-haired lady said, holding a cute smiling baby in her lap. "And this is wee Angela."
The baby's cheerful expression soon melted the girl's heart, and she reached out to take her tiny hand. "Hey... hello, Angela! You're a very beautiful little lady!"
A baby sound was a reply to that compliment, amusing Jasmine even more. "She's lovely! You're a very blessed family, I can see!"
"Thank you, Jasmine." Monica reached out for the pack with sandwiches she and Andrew had bought at the café, and offered her. "Would you like one?"
"I... I hope I'm not bothering..."
"You're definitely not."
They spent the following minutes talking and Monica noticed that despite the smile on her face, there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. The Irish angel noticed she was also heading to the mountains judging by the way her car was going.
"I live in one of the few cabins that exist up in the mountains. My husband, my little daughter and me. It's a very small family, you see."
"Ah, a small and blessed family!" the Irish angel spoke, happy to know about it.
"Well, yes. My little Jade is six and looking at this little one I remembered the days when she was a baby!" her smile faded just a little, "They were... hard days for both my husband and me, but every time we saw her smile our hopes were renewed almost immediately."
"Babies have the power to inspire love wherever they go, as they are a blessing from God."
"I do believe that. I just wish..." now she was serious again and sighed.
"Is there something wrong?" Monica wanted to know.
"Well... I... I do have a family. A bigger family but... I guess my husband and I are not welcome..." she confessed, feeling surprisingly at ease to talk to that stranger.
"Please, forgive me for asking, but have you ever tried to make any contact with them?" Monica wanted to know.
"There... there were many harsh words spoken... they were too many and too painful..."
"And are those same hateful words taking away the courage to make the first attempt towards reconciliation?"
The young lady nodded, not aware of that fact until then. "I... I had never thought about it but I guess so..." Monica eyed at that young woman as if trying to solve a puzzle, as she kept on talking. "I got pregnant very soon and my boyfriend and I didn't expect it, but... the truth is that Jade made us realise how much we loved each other. More than we did." she said, and then her expression softened a little. "And to think that my mother even doubted Mike could make me happy..."
Monica noticed that Andrew was closing the hood of Jasmine's car and in a couple of minutes they would bid the young lady goodbye. She placed a gentle hand over the girl's shoulder. "Jasmine, each day of anger and hate is one day less in a person's life. Each day of love and compassion is one more day in our existence. If you truly want to try again, and give the first step to reconcile with your family, then trust the God's love that comes with your little daughter. Hold on to that instead of fear and uncertainty. They will not lead you anywhere."
"D-do you think so? D-do you think... my mother would be happy to know that..."
"That she's a grandmother? What mother wouldn't be?"
Andrew knocked at the window on the passenger's seat. "I guess it's all set!"
Jasmine smiled and nodded at him. Then, she turned to Monica and searched for the angel's hand. "Thank you so much, Monica... I guess it was God who put you and your family in my way..."
Monica returned the squeeze. "He's always watching over us all, Jasmine, because He loves His children very much."
The girl thanked both angels and after she started her car, Andrew returned to the red Cadillac, taking the driver's seat. Monica was now sitting by his side, as little Angela was back to her chair and had dozed off to a slight sleep. On the Irish angel's face, there was a contented smile and a distant look, as if her thoughts were miles away. He couldn't help chuckling.
The angel of death inched closer and leaned to the right, "You know there's a song called 'Beautiful dreamer'?" he spoke in her ear, and was glad when she turned to look at him, as their faces became only inches away from each other.
"Really?"
"Yep!" he was looking deep inside her brown eyes, flirting with her and enjoying to see how much she enjoyed that. "And 'someone' certainly reminds me of it!"
Monica tilted her head and felt her heart beat stronger at the power of his tender gaze. On the following second, their eyes closed and their lips met in a loving kiss. The blond angel cupped her cheek and caressed her soft skin as that loving caress went on, and it soon became tiny kisses.
"... this is better than a dream, though!" she said, giggling softly.
"Well, thank you, I'm glad to know it!"
"Isn't it wonderful when the Father uses his angels to fulfil such a perfect plan, Andrew?"
Smiling, he turned the car keys and looked back at her. "Well, it sure is, angel. But I guess your comment has a greater meaning, doesn't it?"
"Actually, yes!" she replied, smiling as if he had guessed a big secret.
"And I'm sure you'll tell me what's in this pretty little head of yours, right?" he said, highly amused.
Monica inched closer and brushed a loving kiss on his cheek. He knew there was at least one hour of endless chatter on the way, but he would never get tired of hearing her soothing voice and lovely accent. Actually, he could spend the rest of the eternity doing so.
X
A car was parked in front of Mrs Kelly's house. The old lady had given up dialling her long gone daughter's number, as there was nobody called "Jasmine" living there any longer. She was sure she had lost her only family for good now.
But a knock on the door took her sadness away for a while and when she opened it up, Mrs Kelly placed her hand against her heart, feeling it racing from surprise and shock. "Jasmine?"
"H-hi, mom..." the young lady was unsure of what to do or say.
"I... I wasn't expecting to see you again..."
"If... if I'm bothering, I'll leave, I'll..."
"I'm just saying this because I phoned you and there's another family living in there..."
"Mike and I moved years ago." She said, feeling awkward.
"I see... And why would you let me know where you were? After all, we practically said each other everything we had to. There was nothing else left." The woman didn't have the intention to reply like that, with a bitter tone in her voice, but she couldn't avoid the words that had come out of her mouth.
Jasmine felt like turning around and going away. She wouldn't allow her mother to remind painful moments. "I... I guess it was a mistake to come here..."
Mrs Kelly raised a hand and, feeling terribly guilty, she tried to stop her daughter. "No, please, wait..."
"I'm sorry I bothered you, I-" The cell phone inside her bag interrupted her. "Mike?"
The voice on the other side of the line was an anguished, desperate one, and moments later, the expression on the young woman's face changed drastically. "Oh, my God! When?!"
As she listened to what her husband was telling her, Mrs Kelly noticed the immediate tears in Jasmine's eyes, and the way her entire body trembled with fear and despair. What could have caused such a change?"
"Jasmine? A-are you alright?" the old lady asked, and then quickly rushed to support her as Jasmine felt suddenly dizzy. "Oh, my God, Jasmine? Dear, what's wrong?"
"My daughter... Jade... She... she disappeared!" was all that she managed to say.
Mrs Kelly's face also changed: that piece of news caused her to be surprised, shocked and terribly anguished.
X
Andrew heaved a sigh of relief as he saw their cabin amidst the trees and bushes on the top of the mountain. By the end of the afternoon the snow started to fall along with the temperature, and the angels in human form were glad they would have a shelter to spend the next two days. Besides this, it was Christmas evening, Monica was eager to decorate it, just like she always did whenever they spent this special day on earth.
"I hope Tess doesn't take too long to get here. I love the way she keeps singing while she cooks, you know, Andrew."
The angel of death smiled and nodded his head as he parked their car. "I sure know what you mean, angel. Tess' singing, your joy and now this cute little angel's smile are already part of my Christmas... Actually, they're the best Christmas presents I could ever get!" he said as he turned the motor off, and Monica wasted no time in grabbing his face with both hands and placing a smack on his lips. "... well, along with that!"
Giggling, Monica got out of their car and felt how cold it was outside. When Andrew reached for little Angela, she threw a warm blanket over the baby's back, and the couple quickly climbed up the steps up to the cabin door. Moments later, they were already inside the house: it was warm and cozy, and the vision of the so familiar wooden walls and the pretty living room filled their hearts with great peace.
"Here we are now, wee one! See? Now you, daddy, auntie Tess and mommy will have the best Christmas ya ever had!" Monica ticked her daughter's belly and both angels were rewarded with a cheerful baby smile.
"She'll be here at any moment!" he said, checking his pocket watch.
"I'll get Angela changed and then we'll start the decoration!"
"Ok, I'll get our bags inside."
He watched as his two angel girls went upstairs. His eyes were shining and one certainly could see his joy at having them close to him on that special time of the year. As they disappeared on the top of the stairs he headed outside to take their bags.
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