PART 3

A while later...

Juliet passed by Andrew in a hurry but with a hopeful smile on her face. He had already tidied up the restaurant and elected to remain there while Monica had a conversation with the young waitress. He knew there was no one in the entire world that could deliver the Father’s message the way his beloved valentine did.

Even though she had had many cups of coffee that day and in spite of their little argument in the kitchen earlier.

“Goodbye, Andrew!”

“Is there something going on?” he wanted to know, glad to see the happy tears on her face, a sign that Monica had finally accomplished her assignment.

“Edmund Reyes is my father. And I could say it was a coincidence that you first came up here with news exactly about my father, but now I know that there is no such thing as a coincidence. My son and I are going back to Castle Dale; I’ll look for my dad and try to recover the time we were apart. And Jimmy has to meet his grandfather!”

Smiling, the blond angel nodded his head. “I’m happy to hear it! All the best, Juliet!”

“Thank you. Wish you all the best here and I know you are in good hands! Monica is the best thing that could have happened in your life, believe me!”

She left the café, locking the door behind her as it was past 11 PM and they were not accepting more customers. Andrew chuckled at her last words as he knew that they were nothing but the most absolute truth.

“She will soon be with her family again and a happy future waits for her...” Monica appeared next to him, and despite their little argument earlier there was a pleased smile on the angel’s face. “... I’ve just been told.”

He nodded in agreement. “Her father is a good man. He made many mistakes in the past but I can tell he regrets each of them. And he misses his daughter very much.”

“It’ll be a beautiful reunion!” she exclaimed, picturing the scene of a father and daughter holding each other and Juliet’s wee boy next to them, looking with curiosity at his grandpa.

He was going to smile at her but a sudden thought made him keep a stern look on his face. “Well, then I guess my assignment here is over because she finally got news from her father and also because coffee is already over.” He spoke, raising from his chair and removing the apron that Monica had made him wear all day long.

The Irish angel raised her eyebrows and watched him in his somewhat adorable pout, and could not help but hide a mischievous smile.

“I don’t think so, mister.” She spoke, crossing her arms in front of her chest and with a mock stern expression on her face.

Andrew narrowed his eyes at so much impertinence. “I beg your pardon?”

“Well, as far as I know, this assignment isn’t over because I haven’t received the message to leave here, so I’m still in charge of this café and, consequently, you are still my employee. And as my employee you are supposed to be here tomorrow. I’ve contacted the coffee supplier and they are sending more tomorrow at seven, so your presence is mandatory when we open the doors.”

She knew she was annoying him when he brought his face closer to hers, standing just a few inches from her. “You know something? I’ll talk to your supervisor!”

Saying that, he passed by her and headed to the front door.

“Where are you going, may I ask?”

“To our temporary home since ‘my assignment isn’t over’!” he said, “And you are coming with me!”

She was going to mention something else when he pulled the door, but to their surprise it didn’t open.

“Now what?” He said, a little bit more annoyed than he already was.

Watching her shrug her shoulders with a confused expression on her face, the blond angel turned the door knob once again, but to his surprise – and Monica’s as well, the door didn’t open.

“Juliet might have locked it when she left... are the keys with you?” he wanted to know, and watched as a slight frown appeared on her forehead.

“The keys?”

He crossed his arms and faced her. “Yes, Monica, the keys. You sure have a copy of them, don’t you?”

“Well, I... I might have it...” she replied, not totally certain of her words. “...somewhere...”

Under Andrew’s incredulous eyes, she searched for the spare key that used to be under the counter where she had been near all day long. To his relief, she found it. But when the blond angel inserted it in the key hole and turned it, the key broke.

“I can’t believe it!” he grumbled, frowning annoyed at what had just happened.

“Oh, dear...” Monica spoke, but without giving it too much importance. “Is there another door?”

“I’m afraid not...” she replied. “We happen to be locked in here, you know...”

He let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over his short blond hair. “Alright, then. Let’s get out of here in our angelic form and tomorrow we’ll find someone to open the door.”

“Well, I’m... momentarily bound to remain in this lovely eighteenth-century building.”

“Bound to remain here?” there was a frown of concern in his face as he approached her.

“My... angelic abilities have been severely affected due to... well, due to the revelation I have just made and to my intense activity here during the day...”

“You mean due to some human habits of yours...” he spoke, still upset and as if scolding a nine-year-old.

But Monica kept her mock serious face and tilted her head, eyeing him with tenderness despite the fact that she was having fun at his annoyance.

“You look quite cute when you are mad, do you know that?”

He was slightly surprised at that comment, but it wasn’t enough to soften his heart. “Is the boss making eyes at her employee?” That reply, made with utmost seriousness, caused her to giggle, and she wrapped her both arms around his own.

“You are responsible for that, mister, since you are definitely the most handsome employee I’ve ever had!”

Standing on the tip of her toes, she brushed a tiny kiss against his jaw, not missing the effect of her tender caress.

Andrew finally looked at her and on the following second, wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. “The next time, I will be the boss in charge!”

Monica rested her head against his chest and let out a soft sigh; the smile was permanent on her face. “I won’t mind it a tiny bit, you see... There’s nothing you can ask me that I won’t do...”

Rolling his eyes, as he knew that he was the one who couldn’t deny her anything – coffee included, the blond angel caressed her hair and kissed the top her head.

That tender gesture made Monica’s smile grow wider and she pulled away just enough to look at his face. “But I’m still the boss now...” Watching as he raised his eyebrows with a hint of a smile on his face, she kept on talking. “...And as your boss I have to announce that I have changed my mind. Since I cannot go out, you are staying here with me overnight, mister waiter-angel.”

“I guess I don’t have any choice... After all, you’re my boss...”

“Exactly!”

He cleared his throat. “And... What is my next task then, may I ask?”

“Well... As a coordinator I encourage my employee to be more independent and search for the answers to his own questionings, I...”

They had been standing inches apart for many times during that day, and Andrew realised  he could not wait any longer to do what he had been wanting to since the moment he had stepped inside that café. Crossing the small distance between them, he pressed his lips against hers, silencing her with a long, affectionate caress that conveyed the promise of eternal love he had made her years before, when they first confessed their mutual feelings.

Monica let her hands travel over his broad shoulders up to his neck and then her slender fingers ran through is short hair. She let out a small sigh for being in the safest place on Earth she had ever been – his arms.  As that sweet caress ended, the Irish angel’s smile returned as now her beloved valentine worked on placing small kisses over her porcelain face. While one arm kept on permanently holding her against him, his right hand searched for her hair and he finally undid the ponytail she had been wearing all day long. Now, his fingers could comb those soft auburn strands that always shone so bright to him.

“I hope I’m doing alright...” he joked, kissing the tip of her nose and eliciting a small giggle from her.

“I have to say that you are a highly qualified worker, mister, and that I’m very pleased with your performance.”

His hand cradled her meek face now, admiring the cute dimples that were visible whenever she smiled. “I love you...” his voice was low as those words were meant only for her to hear and despite the fact that he could easily shout it aloud to the entire world.

Monica leaned into his touch, treasuring the fact that he could always transmit so much love and peace just by a simple gesture. “I love you so much, Andrew... Always a wee bit more than the moment before this...”

Smiling, as her use of words was always endearing to him, Andrew’s fingers retook the familiar ritual of entangling through her long strands and on the following second, their lips were pressed against each other all over again. He held her for dear life while delivering soft caresses and speaking loving words against her ear and both angels knew that the old little coffee shop building would be a shelter for their love on that starry night.

X

To be continued