PART 1

The elegantly dressed young man got out of the taxi in front of the sophisticated restaurant, a place where some businessmen usually met in order to decide the future of their companies or new ways of investment while they enjoyed fine and very expensive Japanese food. He crossed the entrance hall and the host took him to a previously reserved table. He was in his mid-twenties and was wearing a dark blue suit and carried a leather briefcase, and he was relatively young to be there.

But Robert Miller was an exception. He had come from a rich and traditional family and completed his studies abroad. Like his father, he was brought up and educated to continue the family business and as a way of learning, he had been sent to Japan and spent two years there. And if in the beginning he wasn't willing to do so, leaving the country proved to be one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life.

As he crossed the hall and got to his table, another gentleman was already waiting for him. He was tall and blond and like him, was wearing an elegant dark suit.

"Hi, Andrew, I'm sorry I'm late but something came up at the office and I couldn't leave earlier..." he was quick to apologise, and took a seat at the table.

"Well, it seems you're not the only one who is late." The blond angel spoke, checking his pocket watch. "Mr Ozawa's secretary has just called. He'll be here in like 20 minutes."

The young man let out a sigh of relief and sank on the chair opposite from Andrew. "Phew! I'm so glad for that otherwise I'd have another lecture from my ol'man!"

Andrew shook his head as he heard that comment. "I don't get it, Bob. If you're unhappy with this life, why don't you tell your family so?"

"It's not that easy, Andrew." He said, as the waiter brought him a drink. "Sometimes I do want to just leave it all behind and go back to Japan... to get back the life that I left behind there, you see..."

"You know, it's not too late..."

Robert let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. But it's not too simple either. When I met Suki I didn't think about anything else other than being with her... It seemed I had lived just to be with her... You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

The blond angel smiled slightly and nodded. Yes, he knew it very well. Being with his beloved Monica was like feeling a sweet eternity of joy. And as if it wasn't enough, their union had brought him a second blessing: cute little Angela, who now was certainly in her mom's arms or being extremely spoiled by a grumpy supervisor. But the two were far from him now: Monica, in some part of the world, taking care of an assignment just like him; Angela lying in gentle arms and under Tess' attentive eyes as she fell asleep lulled by the old angel's beautiful voice. Andrew could hardly wait for the time when he would hold the two angels in his arms again, kiss them softly and tell them how much he missed them.

"Yep, I do. That's why I'm telling you that if there's true love in there, nothing can be wrong in the end!"

"Well, I thought so too until my father and her parents knew about our plans to get married..." he lowered his head in visible sadness.

Andrew's face turned a serious one and he looked at the young man in the eye. "And do you think it's right that your father and her parents interfere in your life using the argument that you're not adequate to each other just because you come from two different worlds? You told me that Mr Miller didn't approve of your relationship with Suki because she doesn't belong to a rich family and because he wants you to marry someone from your social background... These motives are not legitimate ones."

"I wish I had more courage... I wish I could stand before him and say I'm going back to Japan and get married to the woman I love, but I'm weak, Andrew..."

"So you will choose to live with this guilt and with a woman you don't really love? You will run the risk to have an unhappy life?"

Those words seemed to shock him as Robert raised his head and stared at Andrew in doubt.

"Trust me, Bob, this is not how God wants you to spend your time on Earth."

A long silent minute had passed as the young man spoke again. "Do you think there's still time? She... she was disappointed with me, you see. And her parents... they took her away from me too but I didn't fight... I wonder if she wants to see me again."

"You cannot blame yourself for not trying to give you two a second chance..."

Their conversation was interrupted by a friendly-looking middle aged man. Mr Ozawa greeted them and it was possible to notice his Japanese accent. Now that meeting started to become a real business one, and apparently the blond angel would have to wait for a new opportunity to accomplish his assignment.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the same restaurant...

"I'm very nervous, Monica... It's going to be the first time I go there to serve the tables..." a young lady, dressed in traditional Japanese black kimono that was wore by geishas spoke. Her hair was up in a large bun, adorned with flowers and she wore the characteristic make up on her face, leaving her Japanese origin even more evident.

Truth to be told, the only one who was visibly far from having any Eastern feature was the other "geisha" who she was talking to.

"Oh, Suki you should know that being nervous is not going to help you, ya see?" She spoke, her Irish lilt was clear to anyone near them, "With a wee bit of patience you will soon get practice."

The young lady sighed deeply and sat down on a nearby stool. "I am starting to think I shouldn't have left Japan to come here... To come to look for someone I didn't even know if will be happy to see me again..."

She was about to cry, but Monica knelt down on the floor and, feeling terribly sorry for the assignment she had right before her, she placed a supportive hand over her shoulder. Like her, the Irish angel was wearing a lilac kimono and her auburn hair was equally tied up in a large bun. Her outfit and the white make up and red lipstick on her face did make her look pretty, and probably at a distance she would be mistaken as a geisha.

"You don't know that, Suki. From what you've told me, Robert loves you deeply despite the mistake he made when he came back home."

"And left me behind..."

"You said he was crying on the day he left, that your family made him leave, and that his father was also against your romance. And you also told me he promised you he would come back..."

"That's true... But I guess I'm dreaming about something impossible... And because of him, I decided to tell my family I'd fight for our love. Then I came to this country, and everything is so new and so unsettled to me... Sometimes I feel I came from another time and place..."

Monica let out a small sigh and nodded. "Sometimes I too feel like I am still adapting to some human habits. But you only manage to understand them if you have a forgiving and open heart."

"My family told me that sooner or later Bob would get tired of me and leave..." The young lady told her. "I must say that they were rude to Bob and that I argued with them, I told them Bob was different. But I guess that they weren't that wrong after all..."

The Irish angel searched for her hand and squeezed it gently. "If you truly believe it, then why did you decide to come to America?"

Suki lowered her head as she herself didn't know how to reply to that question. "The truth is that I'm feeling lost right now... and hopeless..."

"I understand that... but you should trust your heart first. And trust that there's a loving God looking after you, guiding your steps even though you don't know exactly where they're leading you to."

The girl rose her head and looked at Monica again. "Does God heal the anguish I'm feeling inside right now?"

"Oh, yes, He does, Suki. He's a loving father who cheers up when He sees His children's heart is filled with joy."

Suki wiped her tears and rose to her feet. "I'm going to show you something..." She left the restaurant kitchen for a moment and went up to a small room attached to it. There, she searched for her bag, which was in a little cabinet. "I have a picture of him..."

She showed Monica the photograph taken a few months earlier: she and her boyfriend were holding each other with a broad smile upon their faces, the couple's happiness was evident. "It's by a lake in my hometown."

"This is such a beautiful place..." Monica spoke, taking the photo in her hand and smiled.

Suki nodded her head in agreement, a bittersweet memory crossing her mind. "This is where we first kissed..."

The Irish angel was going to say something else but the chef's voice interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, one of you two, go take the order of table number 7!" he said, with a strong Japanese accent.

Suki looked at her friend and colleague with her eyes filled with tears and Monica didn't think twice before rising to her feet and volunteering to do the task. "I'll handle things here, Suki. Perhaps you should go to the restroom and fix your make up, you see..."

"Thanks, Monica... Thank you very much for your support..." she spoke, evident gratefulness in her eyes.

The angel gave her a friendly smile and left to fulfil her duties as the waitress of that thematic restaurant. Monica took the tray with table 7 order and left the kitchen praying for Suki. For the last two weeks the little angel had been a friend to her and listened intently to her sad story but Monica wasn't quite sure on how that assignment would end. Of course she had offered to help Suki look for her boyfriend, she knew that either good or bad that meeting could be, Monica would offer the poor young lady all her support and reassurance. But what was the Irish angel there for? How could she help more?

Monica sighed as she headed to the table number 7, at the same time her beloved Andrew's image came to her mind, warming her heart with joy and with the certainty of her being in his arms after nearly two weeks of separation.

There, a business conversation took place. "Years living here and I still cannot get used to your food..." Mr Ozawa spoke, as the geisha waitress approached them. And when she started placing the meal on the table, Andrew turned his face up and immediately recognised her.

Monica's eyes met his own a second later and her first impulse was to greet him, but before she could, she heard the Japanese businessman's words again. "Oh, there it is!"

Andrew had to suppress a small laugh as he saw his beloved angel girl dressed up like that and wearing all that make up. He had seen her wearing some other unusual costumes before, and every time she did it would secretly amuse him. This time it wasn't different: Monica's lilac kimono and the way she had tied up her hair were different from everything else she had already wore, and in a way she really looked beautiful in those clothes.

And when she heard Mr Ozawa's voice, Monica turned to her left and saw the friendly old gentleman looking at the tray she was carrying - and which was rather full and heavy. But a second voice did have an impact on the angel. And it wasn't Andrew's.

"Contrary to you, Mr Ozawa, I got used quickly to the Japanese habits... and I can honestly say that I miss them..."

Bob's words called Monica's attention and she couldn't help looking at him before she even started to serve the food. And it only took her that very second to understand God's perfect plan.

Her surprise to see Suki's boyfriend sitting at that table was such that she accidentally dropped the tray and the food over the one that was closest to her - in this case, her dear Andrew.

"Oh, my goodness!" Mr Ozawa spoke, as he, Bob and Andrew himself rose to their feet. The blond angel's dark suit was now partially covered with sauce and other Japanese condiments.

"Oh! I... I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, twice nervous: she had covered her beloved Andrew with food and found out that her assignment's solution was standing right before her. Nervously, she placed the tray on the table and took a napkin to help him clean himself - even though she had done a lot more damage to his clothes than what she could even clean with a small piece of cloth.

"It's... it's okay..." Andrew replied, and not really minding the incident itself, but truly worried about Monica, as he could see her nervousness. Besides this, he knew her well enough to notice there was something else going on; something he didn't know exactly what was, but which could well have relation to his assignment.

A moment later, the restaurant manager came along, and seeing the mess his geisha waitress had caused, he was quick to apologise.

"Oh, no, it's... it's okay... it was an accident..." Andrew tried to say, and exchanged a secret glance with Monica, who was eager to tell him something.

"Yeah, it could've happened to anyone..." Bob tried to help, feeling sorry for the poor waitress.

"We're really, really sorry, sir!" the manager spoke, as nervous as Monica.

Andrew tried to smile. "It's alright, really, I... I can clean it..."

"Get someone to clean this mess, quickly!" the man said, and Monica gladly took this opportunity to leave - there was an assignment to fulfil but she had to be quick. She gave Andrew another look and left.

"Oh, well... this is quite unexpected, Andrew!" Mr Ozawa said, and truth to be told, he seemed to be having fun with the situation.

The angel of death nodded. "Yeah, I guess unexpected is the perfect word right now... Erm.. if you excuse me, I'll go to the gentlemen's room to try to clean my suit..."

"Sure, Andrew, go ahead! Mr Ozawa and I can discuss the accountant's report while you do it." The young man spoke.