PART 2

A minute later, inside the gentlemen's room...

Andrew had opened a faucet and was trying to clean his suit - his effort a rather useless one, when all of a sudden a very familiar and dear voice came from behind him.

"I didn't mean to cover you up with sauce, you know..."

He quickly turned around and saw his beloved Monica standing right before him, still wearing her costumes, and with a pleading yet adorable expression on her face.

"Monica, this is the gentlemen's room!" he spoke, looking around with a worried expression on his face.

"I know, but I could not wait to ask you something!"

After he was sure there was no one else inside that restroom, he turned his attention to her and as he lay his eyes on the beautiful angel standing right in front of him, he couldn't help but stop to think how amazingly beautiful she was.

"Wh-what do you want to ask me?" he spoke, confused and enchanted at the same time. She had just made a mess around there and yet he couldn't be more grateful to see his lovely angel girl again.

"Who is the young man sitting with you? What is his name?"

"Bob? Are you in this assignment too?"

She was thoughtful for a moment, not sure of how to answer to his question. "Well... no... but... perhaps I am..."

"Monica!" he was again worried about the presence of someone entering through the door and her frequent confusing statements right now would only make things worse.

"I feel there might be some connection here, you know. My assignment is in the kitchen and I have reasons to believe that two destinies were put together tonight, with our help..." she spoke, while he kept on looking at her from head to toe, fascinated with her costume.

"His name is Robert Miller... And..."

"Oh, that's him then! I recognised him as I approached your table!" she was visibly excited as her brown eyes beamed with joy. Only then she noticed Andrew hadn't finished his sentence. "And?"

He let out an impatient sigh. "I'm having trouble concentrating right now..."

Only then she realised what he meant, and the way he was looking at her. A slight blush rose on her cheeks as she smiled. "Oh..."

"You... you can't stay here, Monica, this is the gentlemen's room and it's not a place for you."

"Well, then I'm glad that you're the only gentleman here right now because you're the only one I can see in all aspects a gentleman can be seen!" her Irish lilt and the witty expression on her face left him speechless but before he could say something else, Monica smiled and gently lay her both hands on each side of his face. "...but I also happen to have an assignment to accomplish!"

She kissed his lips quickly and on the following second, Monica was gone. He couldn't help but chuckle with amusement.

X

Hidden in a corner, the Irish angel watched as Suki walked over to the table were she was serving before. In the young lady's thoughts was the uncertainty that had settled in her heart after her beloved Robert had left her, almost a year ago. And when the young couple lay their eyes on each other, emotion could be seen miles away.

"Robert? Bob?" she said, with trembling voice and almost dropping the tray.

"Suki?! Suki, it's really you!?" he rose to his feet again and was as surprised and as nervous as she was. They forgot everything around them and, as Suki's tears quickly fell from her eyes, he walked up to her and gently lay both hands on each side of her face.

"Yes, Bob... it's me..."

"How did you end up here? When did you come to America?!"

"I left it all behind... I felt a part of me was missing... my best part... and it was here..." she explained, a sobbing voice and moving look.

Robert caressed her face with tenderness and emotion. "Oh, Suki... my beautiful Suki... I think I don't deserve you, baby... But I love you... I love you so much... and I want to tell you how sorry I am..."

"When you left I fell ill... I was so sad... so incredibly sad..."

"I came back to your house on the day I left, I wanted to take you with me but you... you had gone..."

"My parents... they made me to..."

He shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. Had Bob arrived earlier, things would have been different. Much suffering would have been avoided. "Oh, Suki... I thought I had lost you... I was afraid to go back there and find out you had got married..."

"They wanted me to, but I refused... I felt I could never belong to someone else other than you..."

He wiped away her tears with gentle fingers and smiled. "I promise that I'll live to honour you... that I'll live to honour your love, baby... If you accept me back..."

"Oh, Bob..." She burst into tears and searched for the comfort of his arms, and the young man held her tightly, fiercely as if his life depended on it.

And in a way, it did.

From a distance, the Irish angel smiled broadly at the moving scene and as those who were in the restaurant applauded the young couple, she wiped away a few tears that had rolled down her face almost unnoticed. Those were tears of joy that every angel would shed once in a while when their assignment was fulfilled as beautifully as this was.

X

Andrew left the elevator on the corridor of the 5^th floor of that residential building and walked up to apartment number 502. He had changed his shirt and got rid of the blazer that had been ruined earlier during the lunchtime and now, once his duty was over, there he was, to spend the last night in his temporary home. There, he inserted the key in his temporary apartment and turned the door open a few seconds later. Like his beloved Monica's, the blond angel's assignment had also been fulfilled but now he wondered where his adorable valentine had gone after Suki and Bob's meeting at the restaurant.

But his questioning finished as soon as he lay his eyes at the coffee table, in the middle of his living room, and saw that a delicious dinner had been made and was just waiting for him to arrive. Whenever he had to spend some time on Earth, in human form, Andrew used to keep his temporary home clean and organised. But now, besides the evident order, there was also a cosy and warm atmosphere surrounding the place, and it reproduced some of the Japanese restaurant's decoration.

Smiling, he closed the door behind him and before he could say something, the angel of death was greeted by the familiar soothing voice he loved so much. "Good evening, Andrew..."

Monica entered the living room and her Irish lilt filled his ears, as he especially adored the way she pronounced his name. And his smile grew wider as she was still wearing the lilac Japanese kimono which made her look so beautiful. Now, however, all the make up on her face was gone and her auburn hair was cascading over her shoulders and down her spine. As she approached him with the beautiful smile that accentuated her dimples on her cheeks and chin, Andrew reached to lay both hands on her face; his joy was evident.

"Good evening, angel! I feel like a human husband who got home and found his lovely wife waiting for him!" he bent down and very gently pressed his lips against hers, in a slow loving kiss which both of them longed for during each other's absence. He moved one of his hands and entangled his fingers through her hair, caressing her long strands and applying gentle pressure so that he could deepen that sweet caress.

Monica held him tightly and welcomed the kiss with the same intensity, her heart beating with joy at the feeling of being in his arms again. His tender touch, the way he would always hold her so delicately... truth to be told, Andrew's arms was the safest place on Earth.

Only long moments later did they pulled apart and the blond angel took the opportunity to kiss her again but now with tiny loving kisses.

"I missed you so much... It's like missing Home, you know, Andrew..." she spoke, finally resting her face against his chest, listening to his heartbeats as he held her more tightly.

"I know how you feel, angel, as I feel the same thing..." he let out a sigh and kissed the top of her head - Monica was short and now, with her bare feet, the angel was even shorter and it seemed she engulfed by his strong arms. "... and I'd never imagine our paths would cross in such an expected way!"

The Irish angel looked up at him with some embarrassment despite the smile that was playing on her lips. "I'm sorry that during my path I ended up dropping your lunch all over you..."

Chuckling, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and returned the gaze. "Hum... I guess I can forgive you..."

Monica stood on the tip of her toes but only could manage to brush a kiss on his chin. "Actually, I prepared you something as a way of making it up to you..." she spoke so adorably that his main concern was left unnoticed.

"Really? But... did you cook all this?"

"Oh, I have to confess that I didn't. I ordered it for delivery..." those words brought him relief. "...and came to your 'house' so that I could prepare you a typical Japanese dinner!"

Highly amused, he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her dearly. "I can see it includes this beautiful outfit!"

Monica looked down at her own clothes and then back at him. "Oh, well, I didn't mean to spoil the atmosphere, you know... And I kinda enjoy this pretty kimono!"

He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head - it was evident he couldn't get his eyes off her. "I have to confess that I'm enjoying it too!"

Blushing at his flirting and equally amused, she gently disentangled from his embrace and grabbed his hand, leading him up to the table.

X

"Did it make up for the lunch that you didn't get to eat?" Monica wanted to know, lazily lying in his arms, a couple of hours later, when both of them decided to spread over the shaggy carpet on the living room floor. Andrew had his back against the sofa while she used his chest as a comforter and traced invisible patterns on the fabric of his shirt.

He chuckled and took her hand to place a kiss on her palm. "Everything was perfect, angel."

"I have to confess that since I started working at that restaurant I thought about surprising you with something special!" she told him, receiving a kiss on the top of her head.

"You did surprise me!"

Monica turned her head up so that she could look at him. "I was so happy that our assignments ended well!"

"I'm sure the Father guided us to that very moment there in the restaurant..." he said, stroking her hair.

"Yes... and I'm glad that getting the job there wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be!"

Those words and her enthusiasm made him curious. "What do you mean, angel? Did you have to actually get the job?"

"Yes, I applied for it, Andrew!"

"And... how did you get the job at a Japanese restaurant? I mean, you're certainly the most beautiful angel I've ever seen in my whole existence but I noticed that the waitresses there have Japanese origin..."

"Oh, that was because of my culinary abilities, ya know?"

It took Andrew a lot of effort not to laugh at that revelation. "Your... culinary abilities?"

She nodded excited as a ten-year-old. "Yes! The manager of the restaurant, Mr Hishida, is a wee bit grumpy, you know. But I learned that he was a coffee fan so I took the opportunity to prepare him a double mocha latte and he loved it so much that he accepted me for the job!"

The blond angel could not hold it any longer and laughed. "Oh, Monica... You're certainly one of a kind!"

Enjoying the fact that he too was amused, she inched closer and nuzzled her face up to his neck, kissing him lightly on his cheek. "You're one of a kind to me too, you know..."

He looked down at her, still finding her image wrapped up in that beautiful gown hypnotising. "And so amazingly beautiful..." his hand was now against her cheek and he cupped her face so that he could kiss her lips softly. "...my beautiful angelic geisha..."

His whispered words to her ear and the other kiss that followed them caused her to feel pleasant butterflies in her stomach and her lips curved into a smile as the kiss continued. It was soon followed by another, and another. More loving words were softly spoken in that cosy little apartment and soon its lights were off, as their meeting too was blessed with much love and with the joy that would always fill their hearts whenever they were together.

X

To be continued