PART 2

Meanwhile...

“What will it be?”

The café attendant didn’t even look at Monica when she asked what the Irish angel wanted for a drink, but her coldness didn’t affect the eager costumer. “Oh, I’d like a large double mocha latte, please, and a large cup of chocolate...”

The woman, who appeared to be in her late thirties, looked at her with a questioning face, but Monica was quick to speak again. “The mocha is for me, but Andrew, my husband, he’s not very fond of it I’m afraid.”

“I see... Well, we don’t have chocolate.”

Monica frowned in a way that would certainly endear her beloved Andrew. “Oh... I suppose this might be a problem then. I wonder if you perhaps have some ginger ale, please?”

“Coffee, straight and simple, that’s what we got at the moment. Now what will it be? I don’t have all night long.”

Only then did Monica realise the woman’s distress, and a second look right through her tired dark eyes was enough for the sensitive little angel notice that there was much sadness in that apparent bad humoured expression.

“I can see you’re alone here...”

“Yeah, you’re a real genius, sweetie. Now, as you can see I got plenty of work to do, so what will it be?”

Monica looked towards the queues and saw that they were long so Andrew would probably take a while to buy their tickets. Then, she looked back at the grumpy woman and crossed the counter. “What are you doing?”

“I think I haven’t decided yet and while I do it, I will give you a little help!”

The woman kept on staring at Monica with a confused look in her eyes. “I don’t get it...”

“In ten minutes, everyone will go to their respective cinema rooms and things will be calmer here, but while it doesn’t happen, let me write down the orders.”

Even though the woman didn’t understand why the young lady was doing it – offering help when she was supposed to be having fun out there, she had no choice but to accept it.

X

“She was here just a second ago! How can she just disappear, Adam?!”

“Yeah, I saw her but she disappeared when I went to the kitchen!”

Rafael’s and Adam’s worried voice and the way they searched in every corner of the small apartment didn’t leave room for doubt: Angela was nowhere to be seen.

“Did you look in the bedroom? She might have crawled up to her room to look for a toy...” The angel of death suggested, running his hand through his hair.

“No, she’s not there! Angela! Hey, sweetie, where are you?!” the Spanish angel called, he and his friend on the brink of despair.

But it was then that they heard a small baby giggle, and looked at each other with haunted eyes. “Did you hear this, Adam?”

“You bet I did!”

They scanned the living room trying to figure out where it had come from. “I think it came from behind the sofa...”

When they heard that sound for a second time, Adam shook his head. “She’s playing with us!”

“Playing?! Well, I say this is not funny at all!”

“That’s not what she’s thinking, buddy!”

The two angels immediately searched behind the couch, in an attempt to find the little girl, but found nothing.

“How can such a little creature just disappear like that?!” Rafael was even more nervous with Angela’s naughty tricks.

“She’s an angel, that’s how!” his friend said, and they looked around them, thinking about where that adorable angel could be hiding.

X

“I... I don’t know what to say...”

“And I guess I never saw things this way...”

The couple that was having the beginning of a fight right behind Andrew in the queue for the movie theatre was now staring at the ground, without knowing what to say after the words they had just heard from the angel in human form.

“I guess an apology would be nice.” He replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest and aware that the people in the queue had already entered the movie theatre.

The young man turned his eyes to his girlfriend and she could see genuine regret written on them. And truth to be told, Jennifer had to admit that she had been difficult to deal with lately – the loss of her job and the lack of money made her wonder if she had made the right decision to marry him even being so young.

“Jenni... please don’t take my words to your heart... I... I didn’t really mean them.” He finally said, after a long sigh.

“I... don’t blame you... I haven’t been such a nice person myself.”

Andrew checked his pocket watch and was a little worried about Monica, wondering if her poor sense of direction had led her to another part of the shopping mall. But he knew that she too was probably working on an assignment and their strong connection told him she was alright. He turned to look at the couple again, sensing that his little mission was over.

“Look, I’m sorry if I was a bit harsh but sometimes it seems that young people can’t bear anything less than happiness. Life will always test you guys, and you can’t just give up on everything you have because you’re not willing to let go of things that, in the end, shouldn’t have any importance.”

Alan held his young wife’s hand and, even though still embarrassed, he smiled. “Well, Andrew, we’ve only known you for ten minutes but we already feel we shouldn’t disobey you!”

“Alan is right... I suppose we should thank you for scolding us.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

They smiled and Alan squeezed Jennifer’s hand. “And Jenni... There’s a place I’d like to take you rather than the movies...”

She looked at him with questioning eyes. “Where?”

“The restaurant where we first met...”

He could see how her eyes were immediately filled with tears of emotion. “Really?”

“Yes...”

With a pleased expression on his face, Andrew watched as the young couple left the movie theatre, and nodded with satisfaction. An assignment had just been accomplished. Now it was his Monica he had to wait for – and a message right to his heart sent by his loving Father told him he should wait for her exactly where he was.

X

“Cups in their right place, cupboard clean, and mocha beans inside the appropriate machine!”

The “temporary café attendant” happily announced, looking at a still confused Robyn Gibbs. “Actually, if you ask me, those mocha machines are one of the cleverest inventions in the last hundred years!” Monica exclaimed. “Even though when I’m at home I prefer to use those pretty teapots of the eighteenth century; the flavour is a wee bit different you know...”

Frowning even though she was in a better mood, the woman placed a dish towel over the counter and stared at her. “Who are you after all, Monica?”

“Well... a coffee fan, in between other things!” She said, winking at the woman. Then, realising that the customers had finally left, the Irish angel picked the mocha cup she had paid for. “And I guess your work has finished here, right? Now you can go home and stay with your son, he’ll love to see his mommy coming back home earlier!”

Quickly, before that woman made any more questions, she walked away, but could still hear her voice. “Hey... Thank you!”

The Irish angel walked fast along the now empty corridors wondering if the film she and Andrew would see had already started. It didn’t take her too long to find her beloved angel sitting on a bench and waiting for her. And when he saw Monica approaching, the angel of death rose to his feet with a slight smile.

“I’m so sorry, Andrew... I... I was...”

“Let me guess: you found your assignment?”

She bit her lower lip sheepishly. “Yes... Can you believe it she works exactly at the coffee shop?”

Laughing and with his heart filled with tenderness, Andrew placed a strand of her behind her ear. “Well, the Father has always a perfect plan! And let me guess again: besides helping her out, you got yourself a small gift?”

She looked at her cup of coffee and then back at him with slight disappointment. “Oh, I’m sorry but there wasn’t hot chocolate there, you see...”

“Oh no? And what about this coffee of yours?” he was pretending to be a little mad, but she didn’t notice it at first.

“The coffee? But I thought you wouldn’t like to have it...” was her worried reply.

“I do, angel!”

Only then, a playful smile returned to his face and he cupped her chin up and brought his lips to hers, in a soft kiss that made him feel the sweet flavour of coffee mixed with her perfume.

X

“I found her!” Rafael announced, with relief written all over his face.

Adam rushed towards Angela’s room and found the little angel standing behind an armchair next to her crib, holding onto her small stuffed frog. And when the two found her, she gave another funny giggle, smiled at them and let go of her little toy to clap her hands.

“I’ll tell you, little angel, life with you is anything but monotonous!” Adam spoke, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking at her with mock annoyance.

“And I bet she thinks the same thing about us, Adam... After all, we’ve entertained her all night long!” Rafael took Angela in his arms and she shot them one of those smiles that would melt even the hardest of the hearts. It was far too clear that she had become very fond of the two during that evening, despite the mess and all the worry she had caused.

“Yeah, but now the fun is over cause it’s high time little angels were in bed!” The angel of death stated firmly, as if she could really understand his command.

X

Andrew opened the apartment door slowly and allowed Monica to enter first. And what they saw made them feel sorry: Adam was lying on the bigger couch; Rafael on the smaller one. Both of them were fast asleep and once could see there were traces of exhaustion on their faces.

“Oh, poor them, Andrew...” Monica said, approaching Rafael slowly, careful not to make any noise.

“Yeah, they look really tired!” The blond angel chuckled with some amusement with such a rare scene.

“I’ll go check on Angela...”

Monica headed to the baby’s room and quietly opened the door: there was soft light coming from the lamp near the window, creating a cosy atmosphere. Smiling with tenderness, she approached the bed to see little Angela sleeping quietly in her crib, covered by a warm blanket and surrounded by her favourite little toys.

“Ah, wee Angela... my precious little angel...” she whispered, gently caressing her daughter’s soft hair. “I’m sorry I couldn’t put you to bed tonight, but I wish you only good dreams, sweetheart...” Monica bent down to lay a gentle kiss on the baby’s temple, and then she felt Andrew's hands over her shoulders.

“Seems like a certain little angel is having a peaceful night sleep!”

The Irish angel turned to him and her smile grew wider. “Look at her face... Serene, calm... and with a slight smile on the corner of her lips... Exactly like her daddy’s!”

Chuckling, Andrew wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and spoke very close to her ear. “Well, she has a lot of reasons to sleep with a smile on the corner of her lips!” he said, and kissed her cheek, “And so is her daddy!”

Monica stifled a small giggle at his words, and the two stood there for a couple of minutes. The wind blowing outside reminded her of something. “Talking about sleep, let me take a blanket for Adam and Rafael, they might feel cold.”

She gently disentangled from his loving embrace and went to look for two warm quilts for their angelic friends. Andrew stood by Angela’s crib for some more time, admiring their little one and offering a silent prayer for her and for the beautiful family he was granted with.

Monica returned to the living room and covered them with a warm blanket. “Father, thank You for sending Your two angels to watch over Angela... and thank you for the chance to give them a safe shelter while they’re here on Earth.” She prayed in a low voice, and then left the room towards her bedroom.

X

Later on that same night...

“I can hear you thinking...”

Using Andrew's chest as a pillow and now wearing a comfortable flannel pair of pyjamas, Monica stared at an invisible point ahead of her while his fingers caressed her auburn hair. But the sound of his voice brought her back to reality and she turned her head to look up at him.

“I was thinking, you know...”

“About?” He always found it endearing the way she elaborated her thoughts before voicing them to him.

She propped up her chin on her two hands, folded on the top of his chest. “... Your assignment was to teach a young couple about selflessness and the importance of being together... Tess’ assignment was to stop an old couple to break up... Adam and Rafael’s was to stay here and watch over wee Angela...”

“Yes...”

“I wonder about Robyn... I helped her at the café but it seemed so little to do for her... You see, she had something in her eyes... exhaustion and some sadness...”

Thinking about what to say, Andrew placed a strand of hair behind her ear. “As angels we know that smallest actions can huge consequences... Maybe your small action helping her showed this woman that there are good people in the world. Maybe you managed to touch her heart someway...”

“Hum... well, that might be true as she was a wee bit grumpy when we first spoke.”

“Or maybe, your helping her could also allow her to get home and be with her son, you said she has a son, right?”

A smile appeared on her lips and her eyes shone with joy as she imagined the eight-year-old little boy greeting his mother. “Oh, yes, you are right! And I can also imagine how happy she will be to hold him tight after a tough working day!”

Also smiling, Andrew kissed her forehead and tightened the hold around her. “Well, she had a very charming helper!” He pulled her closer a bit more and now and kissed her lips softly at the same time he caressed her cheek.

“Well, it was nice to think that there was a charming ‘councillor’ waiting for me!” she spoke, playfully rubbing her nose against his. Wrapped up in each other’s embrace, the angels in human form fell asleep to the promise of eternal love and thanking their Heavenly Father for such a blessed day.

X

On the following day...

“Monica... Angel?”

Confused, the Irish angel opened her eyes for the first time and saw Andrew's face on that Saturday morning. “Andrew?”

“Are you fully awake?” he wanted to know, bending his head and chuckling at the expression on her face.

He helped her to sit down in bed as she spoke again. “I think so... What... what is it?”

“Tess bought the newspaper this morning and I thought you’d like to see what’s on the first page...”

Still very confused, she took the newspaper in her hands and in a blink of an eye, Monica was in full alertness due to what she saw: the headlines were announcing that a mother had managed to save her eight-year-old son from a fire in her apartment on the previous night. They also said that if she had arrived a little bit later, the boy would have died because he was asleep when the flames started and didn’t know where the keys were.

“This is your answer, angel.” Andrew spoke, sitting next to Monica and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Yes... And you were right about God’s smallest actions, Andrew... You were perfectly right.” She said, resting her head against his chest; joy and gratitude all over her face as a white dove flew by the window in the beginning of a sunny spring day.

X

To be continued.