PART 3

PART 5

 After leaving Mrs Atwood’s home, the two angels headed to the local huge supermarket and started to shop the food for the Christmas dinner. Andrew was trying to decide between 2 types of turkey when Monica came from another corner and the blond angel was going to ask for her opinion when something else called his attention: his dearest friend was carrying 10 pots of coffee, each one with a different flavour. Trying an extra effort not to laugh at that image, he crossed his arms in front of his chest with a totally mock serious expression on his handsome face as she finally placed the pots on the trolley.  “Monica... What’s this?!”

“Coffee pots...” she replied, with an innocent face and not fully understanding his concern.

“Ten?!”

She smiled sheepishly, “Well... they are all of different flavours and I couldn’t decide which one to take, so...”

“We cannot take 10 pots, Monica! We have to buy  the rest of the food and don’t forget there isn’t much money left.”

“But...”

“We’ll take only 1!” he said, with a solemn tone of voice, as if talking to a little girl.

Her mouth dropped open, as she didn’t believe he was denying her such thing. “Andrew!” she exclaimed, indignantly and deeply shocked.

“Monica...” the blond angel replied, secretly finding her annoyance adorable.

Sensing that she was going to be the one to give in this time, Monica gathered 9 pots and stared at him really upset, “I can’t believe you’re gonna make me do such thing!”

“I’ll be waiting right here!” was all he could say.

She turned around and returned through the same corridor to put the pots back on their shelves. Andrew watched her until she turned the corner and finally a tender smile formed on his lips, “I love you so much, my angel...”

When she came back, still with a very upset expression on her face, they continued to pick the food to prepare the Christmas dinner and, fortunately, the amount of money they had was enough to pay for everything.

“Tess will be so happy when she sees the table set and everything ready! I can even imagine her face!” Monica said, she and Andrew putting the bags in the car trunk.

Smiling, Andrew nodded his head, “Yes, the money we had was enough, we managed to buy food for the 2 days and I’m sure Tess is gonna love the surprise! Besides, there are a few dollars left to pay for the parking lot and to buy you a cup of mocha...”

Monica’s eyes lit up with his last words; of course she had let go of her previous annoyance but, playfully, she placed her hands on her hips and stared at him with a serious face, “Well, I thought you were the one to control my amount of coffee today...”

Smiling, Andrew gently stroked her cheek, “You know Monica, you look adorable when you get mad at me!”

“That’s not funny!” she replied, though she was visibly enjoying his teasing her.

Still laughing, Andrew placed a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “Come, I won’t leave my Angel Girl without her coffee!”

“You’d better not!” she spoke, with a smile on her face, and also encircled his waist.

“But you’ll have to drink it in the car, we have to go back to the cabin to get things ready for tonight!”

“Oh yes, we have too many things to arrange and cook dinner! And I won’t mind drinking my coffee in the car!”

*

 Andrew was leaving the parking lot and steering the car in a low speed with Monica sitting right beside him, happily drinking her mocha. Their hearts were filled with joy for helping the children at the orphanage, little Madeleine and Mrs. Atwood, and also for giving Tess a special Christmas dinner.

“It’s delicious!” the Irish angel exclaimed, savouring her favourite drink, and Andrew couldn’t help but chuckle at her childlike excitement.

“Promise you won’t tell Tess, ok?”

“I won’t, though she hasn’t been picking on me because of my affection for coffee lately...”

Andrew nodded his head smiling, “ ‘Affection’, right? Ok...”

But he didn’t tease her any longer, and was suddenly quiet for some seconds; he knew why the supervisor’s behaviour had changed lately: with the possibility of losing Monica, almost 2 months before, everything seemed to have taken a new dimension, especially their love for the little Irish angel. Having Monica by their side again, after all that they had been through was the greatest blessing they could ever receive and picking on her because of coffee cups or other trivial matters certainly wasn’t more important than saying ‘I love you’ or any other loving word that would come up on their mind.

 Andrew steered the car slowly through the street when suddenly, a boy, of about 17 years old, wearing rather old and worn out clothes, came running in front of them.

“Andrew!” Monica cried and, fortunately, the blond angel’s reflex was quick and he managed to brake the car in time.

Deeply scared, though, the boy stumbled and fell on the ground and Andrew took the opportunity to get out of the Cadillac, “Hey you could’ve died here, what’s going on?”

The boy was carrying 3 packages of cookies and quickly stood up. “It’s... it’s nothing, I’m sorry sir...” he was going to run away again but the blond angel grabbed his arm, “Whoa... wait a minute, buddy! Where are you going in such a hurry after all?”

“They’re gonna get me! Please, let me go sir!”

“Who is going to get you?” Monica asked, joining them.

“I... I took these cookies... my brothers and sisters wanted some but we don’t have any money so I... borrowed them from that grocery store...”

Monica and Andrew looked at each other understandingly. Some moments later, 2 visibly angry men came running from the same direction the boy had come, “Hey, you two! Have you seen a damn boy wearing a cap and carrying some packages of cookies?”

“Yes.” Andrew replied, and showed them the packages, “He dropped these on the way...”

“Damn little thief!” one of the man said, taking the packages back, “The streets are full of them at this time of the year!”

Grumbling, they went away back to where they had come from. Only then, Monica and Andrew got into the Cadillac, “You can come out now, they already left!” the blond angel said.

The boy, still with an extremely frightened expression on his face, finally stood up from the back seat and heaved a sigh of relief, “Phew... that was close! Thank you!”

“What’s your name?”

“Richard, miss.”

“And why did you take those cookies, Richard? Why didn’t you ask those men to give them to you?”

“They would never do it, lady! They’d rather throw them away!”

“You said they were for your brothers and sisters...”

“Yes... We don’t have much, you know. Christmas is gonna be a hard one this year. Mom and dad are out of job so there isn’t much money left. I thought that maybe nobody would notice if I borrowed some packages...”

“Borrow, huh?” Andrew said, with some mischief, and the boy lowered his head a bit ashamed, “Where do you live?”

“Down town...”

“It’s not that far... I’ll tell you what: we’ll give you a ride back home, ok?

Andrew drove until they crossed an invisible line in the city, which set the limits between the poor and the rich. There, houses were deteriorated, there was dirt in the streets and a visible state of abandonment.

“Where is your house, Richard?” Andrew asked; he and Monica didn’t miss the conditions of the place.

“Turn left after the next block...”

The boy’s house wasn’t different from the rest of the others. Small and withered, it had only small 4 rooms. At the moment Richard’s parents saw their son at the doorstep together with 2 strangers, a puzzled expression appeared on their faces. “Richard? What... what happened?”

“Did you do anything wrong?” they asked, immediately worried.

The boy lowered his head quite ashamed and embarrassed but it was Andrew who spoke first, “Richard was crossing the street and he ran in front of our car,  Mrs. But fortunately, I was able to pull the brakes in time.”

Hearing that, the woman wasted no time in holding her son tightly in her arms, “Oh thank God you’re alright!”

“It was all my fault...” he said, feeling really guilty, “I wasn’t paying attention...”

“Richard, son, why did you do that? God! I’m so thankful that nothing happened!” his father gently admonished him, ruffling the boy’s hair. Then he looked at Andrew, “Thank you sir. And I’m really sorry...”

“You don’t have to be sorry, Mr. And I think Richard will never do it again. I can imagine how frightening it must have been...” Monica replied, looking deep inside the boy’s eyes.

And, due to such an inquisitive look, the teenager couldn’t help but tell his parents the whole story, “Andrew and Monica saved me... I... I took some packages of cookies from a grocery store and those 2 men came after me...”

“What?” his parents stared at the boy in shock.

“I know it was wrong... please, forgive me...”

“You should never have done that, Richard! We’re poor but we would never steal anything!” His mother scolded him.

“Your mother is right! We’re going through bad moments but God gave me good health to work and we’ll go over this honestly!”

“I know... I’m so very sorry...”

“Sir, madam, Richard is really ashamed of what he’s done and I’m sure he regrets it, right Richard?” Monica intervened, sensing the boy’s remorse was totally genuine.

“Monica is right, I won’t. I promise... I’m so... ashamed... please, forgive me...”

“Oh God!... I can’t imagine what could’ve happened to you if...” his mother hugged him tightly again, while his father lifted a silent prayer of thanks.

“Monica and Andrew saved me... If it hadn’t been for them, I would’ve been caught...”

“Oh please, do come in, I can’t thank you two enough for what you did!” the woman said.

“We appreciate it madam, but we’re a wee bit late you know...”

“Yes, we need to hurry...” Monica and Andrew respectively spoke.

But Richard’s mother insisted, “Oh no, please, do come in, I insist! We don’t have much but would you like some coffee?”

At that moment, Andrew had to control himself not to laugh at the pleading look Monica shot him and the blond angel nodded his head, “It’s ok, we would love to.”

The angels entered the poor small house and their hearts were immediately filled with sorrow for that family. Richard had 6 siblings, 3 brothers and 3 sisters, and the accommodations were very poor. They were wearing worn out clothes and their toys were old and broken, probably second hand too. The boy’s father had been unemployed for nearly a year and all the little money he got was from temporary and poorly paid jobs. And his wife couldn’t get a job either, as nobody wanted to employ the mother of 7 kids.

The children soon befriended those 2 strangers that came into their house, and, during the time Monica and Andrew stood there, they could notice how loving their parents were. After they had drunk the coffee that Richard’s mother kindly offered them, the angels stood up and Andrew glanced at his watch, “We enjoyed the coffee, thank you so much but we have to go now,” Monica spoke.

Andrew nodded his head, “Yes, there’s a dear friend we’re going to meet in some hours.”

“We have to thank you two for bringing our son back and for what you did for him.

“I learned my lesson dad. I’ve never felt so ashamed.”

His father placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We know that, Richard. We won’t have a fancy Christmas this year but we’re all together and I’m sure that God will help us.”

The 2 angels looked around them, observing once more the poor little house, and then they stared at each other with the familiar and usual complicity in their eyes – no words had to be spoken, as they knew they were thinking exactly the same.

*

 Half hour later, before the children's and the couple's haunted eyes, Andrew and Monica finished to bring the last package of food to the house. Everything they had bought at the supermarket, together with the candies they had bought to help St. George orphanage, was now spread in the kitchen and in the living room of the poor home.

“God I can’t believe it... I... I can’t believe this is happening to us...” Richard’s mother said, she and her husband holding hands and with shocked expression on their faces. Richard and his little brothers and sisters stood in a corner, equally surprised and with a shy but curious look on their faces.

When they finished with the supermarket bags, Monica handed the children a package containing the Christmas ornaments she had bought a couple of hours earlier. “I know you’re gonna do a great work with these, wee ones!” she said, winking at their smiling little faces.

“Well, I believe that’s all.” Andrew said, he and Monica now truly ready to leave. But before they did, the blond angel gave Richard another package, “It’s been pretty cold these days, I’m sure you’ll need it...”

The boy unwrapped the package and saw the jacket that Monica had bought for Andrew in the shopping center. “Oh... It’s... It’s cool! I... I don’t know what to say, Andrew... Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Richard’s parents walked over to them with all the gratitude in the world reflected in their tearful eyes. The woman took Monica’s hand in her own, “I will thank God for the rest of my existence for the miracle He performed in our lives on this Christmas eve! And I’ll thank Him for sending you two to make it possible...”

“She’s right,” Richard’s father spoke, “God knows how difficult things have been but we’ll never lose our faith and we know He’s taking care of us.”

“He is, Mr. And holding onto your faith especially in these difficult hours, will help you to go through all this.” Monica spoke.

Andrew nodded his head. “This is a very much blessed family, you can be sure of it.”

*

They left the poor little house and were walking back to the Cadillac hand in hand when suddenly Monica made him stop, “Andrew...”

“Yes?” as he stopped walking, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a warm and silent hug.

“I love your sudden demonstrations of love, my angel!” Andrew said, also hugging her tightly, “Can you tell me the reason of such a warm hug?”

“Well, first because I love you. Second because I’m happy! It may sound strange but after all the presents we bought were scattered, I guess that this has been such a wonderful Christmas!”

“I couldn’t agree more! Besides, having you here with me is already enough to make it wonderful!”

She giggled, “Well I guess I can say exactly the same!”

He kissed the top of her head repeatedly; then he brushed a tender kiss on her forehead, “We have to go now. By this time, Tess must’ve arrived already and we can’t leave her and our little one waiting for us!”

“Oh no! Let’s go! They’ll be worried if we take too long!”

“Yes, besides, it’s getting dark already and I guess it’ll snow tonight!”

Before Monica got into the car, Andrew was quick to open the door for her, “Come in, my angel!”

“Thank you, sir!” she happily replied, kissing his cheek before getting into.

PART 6

Monica and Andrew were driving along the mountains back to the cabin and the night quickly fell upon earth, bringing not only darkness but also much cold. Andrew insisted that Monica should put on another coat and she was now rubbing her gloved hands and looking anxiously at the completely desert road up ahead of them. Even paying attention to the road, Andrew took one of Monica’s hands into his and squeezed it, “We’ll be there in some minutes.”

“I know. And I can’t wait to be in front of a warm fireplace, hugging our wee Joy and with you and Tess by my side!” she replied, a warm smile playing on her lips. The blond angel also smiled: the fact that he would spend Christmas together with his 2 beloved friends was responsible for the constant joy in his heart, especially after the accident with Monica during the earthquake some months earlier. Since then, he and Tess had learned to treasure even more every single moment together with the little Irish angel, if that was even possible.

With all the darkness and silence that surrounded them, they didn’t expect to meet another soul in their way, but, suddenly, the 2 angels saw, some meters ahead of them, a van stopped in the middle of the road.

“But what’s that?” Andrew spoke, immediately reducing the velocity.

“Goodness gracious! Why would someone stop a car up here in the mountains?” the little Irish angel exclaimed. And her kind and compassionate heart was immediately filled with worry. “Maybe they need help, Andrew!”

But her dearest friend wasn’t as trustful as she was. Being an angel of death for so many years meant witnessing the most cruel and ugliest side of human beings and that had caused Andrew to be always careful when approaching strangers. He stopped the car at a safe distance from the other vehicle, but didn’t turn off the motor. “Now, I want you to listen to me: I’ll go there to see if they need any help and you stay here, ok?”

Hearing those words, Monica’s heart started to pound loudly in her chest, as only then she realised the danger that could be hidden a few steps from them, “Oh, Andrew, please be careful...”

“I’ll be right back, ok?”

Praying for his safety, Monica watched as Andrew left the Cadillac and walked over to the mysterious van. The blond angel approached the vehicle and slowed down his pace. Now, a thin lay of snow was falling, covering the windshield, and he couldn’t see the interior. Andrew knocked on the glass, “Hello? Is anybody there?”

No answer was heard but the blond angel insisted, “Is there any problem with your car?” once again, there was silence. “Please, I’m here to help you; if you have any problem just tell me...”

Slowly, the door window was half opened and surprisingly, an old lady, with blond hair and blue eyes, was sitting on the driver’s seat. The blond angel couldn’t help but to heave a sigh of relief to see such a inoffensive human being and didn’t miss the fear that was evident on her face. “Madam, is there a problem with your car?”

“It... it broke down...”

“Well I think I can help you.”

But the woman didn’t reply to him, instead, she kept on staring at the angel with rather scared eyes.

“Madam, I won’t hurt you, I came here to help you; please don’t be scared!”

“Andrew?”

Monica’s soothing voice immediately called his attention, as well as the old woman’s. “Monica, angel, I told you to wait in the car, it’s cold here...” he said, now his fear had been replaced by worry due to the weather condition.

“It’s ok, Andrew, I... I knew it wasn’t dangerous...” she spoke, looking deep inside his green eyes; her own eyes telling him Someone had sent her to join him. The blond angel smiled and nodded his head understandingly. Then, they both turned their attention back to the old lady.

“There’s no need to be afraid, madam. My name is Monica, this is my friend, Andrew; we were passing by when we saw your car... we just want to help you.” Monica spoke, and the kind and trustful expression on that beautiful lady’s face made the old woman let go of her initial fear.

“We were going to the cathedral, in the neighbour town, but our car broke down...”

“We?” Monica asked, she and Andrew confused for a moment. Then, the woman lowered the window glass completely and the 2 angels saw, inside the van, a group of 10 children. All of them were wearing their choir costumes and had a very scared expression on their faces.

The angels exchanged another look, now fully understanding the small assignments they had been working on during that day. From the couple who owned an orphanage to those poor people in the van, God had managed to perform small miracles on that special day, using His 2 angels as instruments of his wisdom.

“I’ll try to fix it, lady. We’ll take you and the children out of here, don’t worry.” The blond angel finally spoke, and started to work in order to fix the van.

In this meantime, the old woman, Mrs Edwards, explained the angels that she and those children were going to make a choir presentation in the cathedral located in the same town Monica and Andrew had just come from, but the van had broken down in that desert road. And, besides missing the presentation, they couldn’t call for help, as her cell phone didn’t work in that place and it was a long distance until the city. To worsen the situation, not a single car used to pass by since they had stopped there, nearly 3 hours before.

Half hour later, the van was finally ready. “I guess it’s all set, Mrs Edwards!” Andrew said, closing the hood of the vehicle. Monica and the old woman had been on his side, holding a flashlight and assisting him with some tools and now there was a look of gratitude in the old woman’s face, “I don’t even know how to thank you 2 for this...”

“Please, you don’t have to. We did nothing more than our duty,” he replied.

Suddenly, a little girl, who seemed to be the youngest of the group, poked her head out of the van window, “Mrs Edwards, are we going back home? I have to go to the bathroom!” she spoke, with a tearful expression on her meek face, causing the old woman and the angels to be really sorry for her.

“Oh Karen, dear, I’m so sorry but I don’t think we’ll be able to come back home with this weather, it’s too dark and it’s too distant. I’ll drive you up to the church, we’ll stay there until tomorrow.” She spoke, and turned to the angels again, “Monica, Andrew, once again, thank you so much...”

“Wait, I have an idea!” the Irish angel interrupted her, “Andrew and I are going to our cabin, in the top of the mountain, to meet our friend, Tess. We planned to spend Christmas together and, well, its not gonna be a fancy party but you can stay there and spend the night with us!”

The old lady’s eyes grew wide in surprise, “Are you offering your house as shelter?”

“Yes! It’s not that big but of course there’s enough space for all of you. you can follow us along the road, we’re close now.” Andrew said.

“God did put you 2 in our way today...” Mrs Edwards spoke, with a mix of gratitude and awe.

Monica and Andrew returned to the Cadillac and the blond angel drove ahead, followed by Mrs Edwards in the van.