CHAPTERS 10 AND 11

CHAPTER 10

The noise that was coming from upstairs in the cabin caused Joy to bark incessantly and scared Monica and Andrew so deeply that for a few moments, the angels even forgot about the argument they were having.

“Stay here...” the blond angel spoke, with visible tension in his voice and on his face. Monica didn’t reply, but not because she was upset with him: she felt panic creeping over her soul as she watched her dearest friend turn on his back and climb the stairs. And, shedding some more tears, she lifted a silent prayer for his safety.

Andrew arrived at the second floor and soon realised that the noise was coming from the bedroom at the end of the corridor. It was a kind of “guest room”, rarely used by them. The blond angel walked along the corridor towards it but first he took the time to check on Monica’s bedroom, then on his own and finally on Tess’: everything seemed to be in order. He sighed deeply and continued to walk. Seconds later, he turned the door knob and opened the door. Inside the dark room he found what was causing the noise: due to the strong wind, the branch of a tree had broken the window and now it was open and going back and forth with the strong gusts.

The blond angel heaved a sigh of relief as he turned on the light and saw the pieces of broken glasses and the window hitting the wooden frame. He closed it, finally making the noise stop, and left he room, as he could feel in his heart all the worry coming from Monica’s one.

When she heard his steps coming back, the Irish angel sighed with relief and, holding the little chubby dog close to her chest, she watched as he climbed down the stairs. “The wind was blowing so strong that one of the branches of the tree broke the window. It was going back and forth,” he quickly informed, hoping to put her heart at ease. And after hearing that, Monica lowered her head and stared at the floor, her previous sadness once again taking control over her soul.

Andrew noticed the sudden change and it filled his heart with a terrible sensation of guilt. What was he thinking talking to her like that? Why had he told her such hurtful words? At that exact moment, the blond angel felt ashamed of himself. Unable to talk to Monica or to God; undeserving of forgiveness, that was for sure.

“I... I’ll prepare you something to eat, you can’t take the medicine without having dinner...” he finally spoke, and left the living room.

*

During dinnertime, Monica remained quiet, increasing the tension between the two angels. But her silence wasn’t totally intentional: besides her sorrow, she was extremely exhausted to talk. As soon as she took her medicine, the Irish angel headed to her bedroom and, after shedding some more tears, she fell into a deep, restless sleep.

Andrew, for himself, didn’t go to bed immediately. After inspecting all the windows and doors, something which was becoming a strange but inevitable habit, he climbed the stairs and stopped in front of Monica’s door. He didn’t enter, though. With his green eyes filled with tears of regret, he just stood there and lifted a silent prayer for her recovering. And hoped that, somehow, he could do something to erase that awful evening.

*

Monica woke up in the middle of the night with the cries that were coming form Andrew’s room. With her heart beating fast and slightly confused, she sat down in bed and saw that even little Joy was uneasy: the cries were continuous and he was calling her name. With some difficulty, as she was still a bit dizzy and with a low fever, Monica got up and, after putting on her robe, she walked up to the door and left her room towards her friend’s one.

Andrew was lying in bed, his head shaking from one side to another as he seemed to try to reach something invisible in front of him. “Monica... angel... don’t go... I’m sorry... It’s all my fault...”

Her heart broke she heard that. At that moment, Monica could understand the reason for his aggressive behaviour: he was still afraid. Memories of his latest assignment, combined with the nervousness about her physical condition, had scared him so deeply that he ended up saying those hurtful – but totally meaningless words to her. But now she could feel all his guilt and regret and she knew that he was truly sorry about what had happened.

“... Andrew?” the Irish angel spoke, gently placing her hand over his shoulder.

“... Monica! No! Let her go, please! Don’t hurt her!” he said, in a loud voice, still lost in that terrible nightmare. Moved to tears, she lay a hand on his face, “Andrew, wake up, you’re having another bad dream... Please, wake up, I’m here...”

His eyes suddenly opened and, breathing hard, he looked around him: he was in his bedroom, the bedside lamp was on, softly lightening the room, and his dearest friend was sitting at the edge of the bed, with a worried expression on her face, holding his hand and praying that the nightmare would finish.

“... you were having a bad dream...” she spoke, wondering if he was really awake.

“Monica... angel, I’m so sorry...” it took him just a second to sit up straight and hold her tightly in his arms. Crying, he closed his eyes and buried his face on her shoulder, deeply ashamed. “I’m terribly sorry, angel! I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings... I’d never mean to hurt you!”

“... Andrew...” Monica’s voice was a teary one, she was sobbing like him and clutching at his T-shirt.

“... I’m so ashamed right now I just don’t have the courage to ask you to forgive me...” he let out a sob and stroked her hair, “... I don’t even deserve to have an angel right here with me, and especially an angel like you...”

Monica closed her eyes tightly, “... please don’t say that...”

“You’ve been here all this time, trying to make me feel better, supporting me and helping me to find my courage back... And then I just treat you like that... I’m so ashamed... so ashamed...”

“I know how you’ve been feeling... I know you’re scared and worried about me, and I know that at that moment you weren’t thinking...”

“I didn’t even give you the chance to speak... You were helping people... This is something I was supposed to be doing too...”

The Irish angel opened her eyes and gently pulled away, just enough to look into his eyes, “And you will be doing it soon... Every creature, even angels, feel weak and need a moment of reflection sometimes. You’re not different, Andrew.”

“But that doesn’t give me the right to offend the ones I love... to hurt their feelings like I did to you...”

“You were nervous... you were desperate thinking that something had happened to me, and I should have waited for you before going to look for that little girl’s mother...”

“No, you did what you should do...” he lay his hand over her face, “... right before we came to the cabin, you said I was always right about you... But that’s not true... please, don’t take those words I said at the hospital to your heart, because they were totally meaningless...”

“I won’t!” she quickly interrupted him, “I know you didn’t mean them and I know you’re sorry... I can feel it...”

“I’m so ashamed I don’t have the courage to ask for your forgiveness...”

“But I forgive you, Andrew... I’d forgive you 100 times more... You’re my friend, my dear friend, and I love you so much...” she started to cry and it took him a split second to hold her tightly once again, in a fierce embrace.

“Oh angel... The Father knows how much I love you too, how precious you are to me. And I can’t possibly imagine what my existence would be like without you by my side...” he kissed the side of her head and continued to stroke her hair.

*

On the following morning, Andrew woke up suddenly, as if reacting to another nightmare. He soon realised he was in his bedroom – the shy morning light was coming through the window, and looked at his right: his dearest angelic friend was sleeping peacefully next to him. He gently lay his hand on her cheek, heaving a sigh of relief to see that her fever had finally broken.

“Oh thank You, Father...” he whispered, placing some strands of hair behind Monica’s ear and looking at her with his eyes filled with love and tenderness. Her forgiveness had brought some comfort to his heart, that was for sure, but the dark marks under his eyes were the evidence that he hadn’t slept on the previous night, still blaming himself for what had happened at the hospital. He hadn’t forgiven himself for those words.

“...Andrew?” the Irish angel suddenly spoke, her soothing voice taking him out of his reverie as she looked at him with slightly confused and sleepy eyes.

“Hey angel... How are you feeling?”

“I’m... I’m fine, I think...”

He softly covered one of her hands with his, “Your fever has broken. The medicine is working.”

A tiny smile appeared on her face, “That’s some good news...”

“Yes, but you’re still weak and you should rest as much as you can.” He spoke, and she didn’t miss his protective look at her.

“I will, and I’ll get better soon now, you’ll see.”

“Yes, you will, angel. I’ll take care of you.” Andrew sat up and straightened the blanket around her small form, “Starting by now. You should eat and drink lots of liquids, I’ll make your breakfast. And then I’ll go outside to pick some logs for the fireplace; the thunderstorm brought some cold to the mountains.”

“But it’s raining outside...” Monica protested, somewhat worried that he could also catch a flu.

“Yes, but I won’t go far and you need to keep warm, it’s pretty cold in here.”

Andrew brushed a gentle kiss on her cheek and stood up, “I’ll be right back with your breakfast, ok?”

“Can I have some coffee too?”

That request brought a slight, tiny smile to his face, “How could I forget this little detail?”

*

After Andrew brought her breakfast (and waited until she had finished it, just to be sure she would eat properly), he left the cabin to catch some logs for the fireplace.

Monica, for herself, decided to remain in bed and follow his and the doctor’s instructions. The Irish angel had returned to her bedroom and was having some fun playing with little Joy and one of Andrew’s shoe laces when suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She knew it wasn’t her angelic friend and, frowning a little, she wondered who could be there, in such a secluded place. For a few moments, she was in doubt whether to answer to that or not, but the person insisted and she stood up and climbed down the stairs.

Cautiously, Monica approached the window and looked through the curtains, and soon her apprehension was replaced by worry. Quickly, the Irish angel rushed to the door and unlocked it: there, in the porch, were the woman and the little girl she had helped at the hospital on the previous night.

CHAPTER 11

“You?” the woman said, holding her baby daughter in her arms and as surprised as Monica.

“Oh... that’s quite unexpected...” the Irish angel replied, with a tiny smile.

“Yes... it’s... God, it’s such a coincidence!”

“Well, if God were here I think He would tell you that coincidences don’t exist!”

Those words caused the woman to smile, “Oh yes... After all, He seems to be putting you in my way in the last 24 hours!”

She immediately noticed that both mother and daughter were wet due to the light rain that was falling and opened the door a little bit more, “Please, come in, it’s cold outside!”

“Thank you...” the woman said, visibly worried about her daughter being exposed to that weather. “My car broke down on the road that crosses the mountain and I decided to follow this road and ask for help. But I must confess that I was almost giving up, as there isn’t a single house around and no cars passing by!”

“Oh goodness! Then I’m sure the Father guided you to this cabin! I’d be happy to help ya!” the Irish angel said, closing the door. Joy soon came to greet the visitors and the little girl quickly pointed to the animal, smiling excitedly. The woman placed her on the ground and the child started to play with the little dog.

“Hullo, Amy... This is wee Joy!”

“Joy...” the girl repeated, ruffling the animal’s soft fur.

“I guess they’ll get along very well! You said your car broke down...”

“Yes, far from here, but I didn’t have a cell phone with me, and it would be too far to come back.”

“I’m glad you didn’t, there aren’t any other cabins around, just this one,” the Irish angel spoke, and then smiled again, “I didn’t tell you yesterday, but my name is Monica.”

“Nice to meet you, Monica,” the woman shook hands with her, “My name is Pamela Garner, and of course you already know Amy. Yesterday I took her to the hospital because she had a slight flu and I was afraid of travelling with her in this condition. But she’s fine now.”

“Oh I’m glad she’s getting better! It’s nice to meet you both. And you can stay here for as long as you want, it’s raining and it’s too cold to go back and find your car. I have a friend who can fix it, but it can be later.”

“Oh God... thank you so much... I must confess I was even afraid to knock at your door, as I didn’t know what kind of person I would find... I even thought it would be impossible to meet another good soul like the one I met yesterday at the hospital...”

“As you said, it seems that God wanted our paths to cross...”

“Yes, and I’m glad for that!”

Monica turned to the little girl, “Hey Amy, would you like a piece of chocolate cake?”

The child smiled shyly and looked at her mom, as if asking for permission. “It’s okay, sweetie. Monica is our friend.”

“Yes, please, Monica...” came the girl’s reply, almost immediately.

“Come with me, you should eat something, you’ve been walking for a long time.”

*

Monica set them cake, cookies, fruit juice and hot chocolate. For her, however, the little Irish angel couldn’t resist and set some more mocha (even if she had drunk all the mocha Andrew had made for her earlier). And while they were eating, she didn’t miss how hungry they seemed to be, especially the little girl.

“Have you been travelling for a long time?”

“Oh... yes... yes, Amy and I have been on the road for some time...” the woman answered, with a slight trace of fear in her eyes. And then, changed the topic, “And you? You live here for a long time?” 

“No... no, my friends and I come here once in a while.” Monica replied, finding the insecurity in the woman’s face rather strange, “I have many good memories of this cabin.”

Suddenly, they heard a man’s voice at the front door, “Monica! I’m home!”

Amy immediately jumped from her chair and wrapped her little arms around her mother’s waist, and Pamela herself seemed to freeze to hear Andrew’s voice.

“It’s okay, it’s my friend...” the Irish angel was quick to say, noticing their sudden change in their behaviour. “I’m here Andrew...”

The blond angel appeared at the kitchen door a second later and was surprised to see that they had unexpected guests. “Angel...” he said; his hands and his T-shirt were dirty due to the task he had been doing outside.

“Andrew, these are Pamela Garner and wee Amy. Their car broke down some miles away and they walked all up to here looking for help...” she said, not missing the fear on their faces caused by Andrew’s presence. “Pamela, Amy, this is my friend Andrew. He and I have been spending some days here.”

“Nice to meet you, sir...” the woman finally spoke, holding her child tightly.

The blond angel nodded and smiled friendly at them, “Nice to meet you, Ms Garner... nice to meet you Amy...”

The little girl buried her face in her mom’s sweater, causing him to chuckle, even if he was also a little embarrassed. “You must’ve walked a lot! You did well to come here, there aren’t other houses nearby...” it was then that he noticed something, “And... I guess I’ve seen you before... You were both at the hospital yesterday, right?”

“Yes...”

“Isn’t it amazing, Andrew?” Monica asked, still surprised.

“Yes... Amazing but we’re glad we can help you.” he said, aware that his presence seemed to be scaring them a little, “Well... the rain started to get heavier and it’s gonna be quite difficult to fix your car now, but I can check it later for you. Now, if... if you excuse me, I’ll go change these clothes, I’ve picked some logs for the fireplace, the temperature is falling quickly. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want, okay?”

“Thank you...” Pamela replied, with the fear none of the two angels missed.

Right before Andrew left the kitchen, he stepped closer to Monica and stroked her hair, “How are you feeling?”

“Better, Andrew. The fever is gone and I’m feeling much better now,” she replied, shooting him a reassuring smile that melt his heart. “Good. I’ll be right back, you have to take another dose of the medicine in a few minutes...” he bent his head and brushed a gentle kiss on her forehead, giving her a reassuring smile and a tender gaze.

When he left the kitchen, the Irish angel turned to Pamela, “Is everything okay?”

“Y-Yes... I’m not used to strangers, that’s all...”

“I see... But Andrew is my friend, you don’t need to be afraid of him.”

After a brief silence, the woman replied. “I saw you both yesterday... I saw the tears in your eyes... He hurt your feelings...”

Monica didn’t want to remember that night, especially because she had already forgiven her dearest friend and also because she knew what had caused his attitude – fear of losing her. “Yes... Andrew and I... we argued... He was nervous because I didn’t tell him where I was... When we arrived at the hospital I was very ill and he thought... he thought something bad had happened to me...”

“That didn’t give him the right to make you cry...”

“He apologised...” the Irish angel replied, surprised that someone could have such a bad impression about her dearest friend, the most loving soul she had ever met. Noticing that the woman lowered her eyes, still not convinced by her words, she insisted, “Ms Garner, Andrew has a kind and gentle heart, it’s not like him to act like that, and he only acted that way because he was desperate looking for me... Besides God, he is the one who takes care of me when we’re on... when we’re together...” she quickly corrected herself.

“I’m sorry... it’s none of my business...” she said, keeping her eyes lowered.

Monica reached out across the table and squeezed her hand. “You don’t need to apologise. And you’re both welcome to this house, don’t forget that, ok? Andrew and I work helping people and nothing makes us happier than being able to help.”

“Thank you... Thank you so much, Monica...” the woman spoke, with a lot of gratitude.

*

As Andrew had predicted, the rain got heavier and dark clouds covered the mountains, bringing a chilly wind and too much cold. After they arrived, Monica set Tess’ bedroom for Pamela and little Amy, where the two could change their clothes. The woman was carrying a small bag with some of the little girl’s clothes but she herself didn’t have anything to dress. Fortunately, however, she and Monica were of the same size and the same height, and the Irish angel kindly lent her some of her own belongings (and Monica was glad she could do so, as she had been secretly scolding herself for bringing more than necessary).

Once she had left the two guests, she went downstairs, where she found her dearest friend standing by the window, looking outside at the pouring rain with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I already set them down, I’m so glad the Father sent them to us, Andrew.” Monica said, walking over to him.

“Yes... I wonder what could’ve happened to them if they hadn’t found this cabin... And you and I know Who guided them up to here!” he spoke, turning to face her and causing her to smile.

“We sure do, huh?” Noticing the slight sadness that insisted on being in his eyes, she took his hand and squeezed it. “Andrew? What is it?”

Sighing deeply, he lowered his eyes, “They’re afraid of me...”

She didn’t want him to know that, as she was aware that it would make him feel even worse than he already was. “Oh... but... that’s because they’re not used to strangers you see... Pamela told me so herself...”

“They saw me arguing with you at the hospital, Monica... They saw your tears...”

“Yes... But I already told her the whole truth. I explained her what had happened and how ill I was when you took me to the hospital...” she reached up and gently stroked his face, “...I told her who takes care of me whenever we’re working together here on Earth...” and quickly corrected herself, “...except of course that I omitted the ‘Earth’ part...”

Overwhelmed with tenderness, the blond angel looked deep into her eyes and took her hand into both of his, “I already told you this before, but I have to say that to you again... Please, forgive me for what I said, I apologise from the bottom of my heart, Monica...”

“And I forgive you, Andrew. I’ll always forgive you because I have no doubt that, right here in this kind and gentle heart, which unfortunately is filled with sadness right now, there’s much love...”

“And you can be sure that great part of this love... a huge... an immense part of it... will always be directed at you, angel...”

With a broad smile upon her face, and causing him to smile too, she let go of his hand and kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly afterwards. “I love you...”