FINALE

The cosy and warm cabin up in the mountains was the three angels’ destination on that happy night. Soon, the clock hung on the living room wall would ring midnight and the snow falling outside announced that it would be a white Christmas. And when Tess, Monica and Andrew appeared in the room they were enthusiastically greeted by an excited puppy dog.

“Hey there, we missed you too, baby!” the supervisor spoke, taking the chubby black spaniel in her arms. Although Monica also wanted to greet her ‘baby’ properly, she couldn’t, as Andrew was standing right behind her and had his hands covering her eyes. The reason for that was a simple one: he and Tess had prepared a surprise for their beloved friend by decorating the cabin with the miniature village and some other objects she had seen at the RS Toys and which had obviously enchanted her.

“Can I see already?” she asked, burning with curiosity to see what the surprise was.

“Hum... I’m not sure... you don’t look very curious to find out what Tess and I prepared, angel!” Andrew teased her, exchanging an amused glance with the supervisor.

“You’ll only really see if I’m curious if you look at my eyes but for that you have to uncover them!” her Irish lilt filling their ears and her childlike excitement only caused them to laugh even more. “You know something, Monica? You’re definitely the most adorable little angel I’ve ever met!”

He kissed her cheek and finally allowed her to see the Christmas decoration. Monica’s eyes sparkled with enchantment and her mouth dropped open when she saw all those bright little lights that composed the miniature village and the Nativity Scene with a Christmas tree near the window.

“Oh, my goodness! You two... you’ve...”

“We found that this cabin needed a special decoration this year and, once you were busy with your assignment and didn’t have any free time to do it, Andrew and I decided to do it by ourselves!” Tess spoke, enjoying to see the excitement on the angel’s face.

“Yep! And we took in consideration your visible preference for the decoration at Mr Richardson’s shop. It wasn’t that difficult to pick!”

“It’s... so beautiful... So pretty and bright and... and magical...” Monica exclaimed, as excited as a child. Then, she turned her eyes to her friends with a moved expression and a tearful smile. “I love you so much, you know?”

“You know that the feeling is mutual!” Tess replied, “And while you two kidnapped my baby and were out there trying to fulfil an assignment, I prepared the Christmas dinner – And it’s getting cold!”

Hearing that, Andrew crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Erm... Tess, if I can remember it well, I kinda helped you prepare it!”

“You did the basics, mister! Besides, my idea for a desert was not a coffee cake!” he missed the stern look in Tess’ eyes when he heard Monica’s excited voice, “A coffee cake? We have coffee cake for desert?”

“Yes, angel, I prepared it especially for you!” Smiling to see her reaction, even though he was expecting for it, the angel of death kissed the top of her head.

“... among other things, as you didn’t think I’d spend Christmas eating coffee cakes!”

Making an extra effort not to laugh, Monica took the supervisor’s hand and squeezed it, “I’m sure everything else is delicious, Tess!”

x

Christmas dinner was a happy and blessed one. Tess offered a prayer of thanks for being together with the ones she loved and for the blessings God had given them during the year. The food prepared by both Tess and Andrew was indeed delicious and the angels chatted happily for hours. By midnight, they held each other with wishes of a merry Christmas. Biting her lower lip, the Irish angel looked at each of her beloved friends with a mysterious expression on her face. “When... When we spent Thanksgiving holiday here last month, I planned a surprise for you too...”

Amused and remembering the occasion pretty well, Andrew crossed his arms in front of his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Hum... You’re talking about the top secret assignment you had hidden in your notebook and which you wouldn’t let me see?”

“Yes.. I’m sorry, Andrew but it was a surprise and now I just hope you like it...”

She pointed to the bright Christmas tree by the fireplace and the two angels saw two colourful boxes resting under it. They were carefully wrapped in beautiful and colourful paper and there was no doubt Monica was responsible for that.

“Oh, baby! You didn’t have to!” Tess exclaimed, moved to see that even so busy with her latest assignment the little Irish angel found time to give them a little present.

“Of course I had to, you’re my friends, my family!” she replied.

“You’re our family too, angel girl. And the Father couldn’t have given us a better family!”

Andrew studied every little trait of Monica’s meek face – all her love and tenderness, as well as her excitement, were visible in the spark of her soft brown eyes. Chuckling at how eager she was to see them opening the presents, the blond angel bent his head and kissed her cheek, “Thank you, angel.”

Tess opened her box and found two smaller boxes inside of it. “Oh, so you want to make suspense, right?”

Watching as her dearest friend nodded emphatically, the supervisor opened the first one and her mouth dropped open to see what was inside, “Oh, baby! That’s beautiful!” in her hands, a gorgeous silver brooch, with two little doves flying together, forming a heart in the middle. And their eyes were made of two tiny sapphires. “It’s lovely! So gorgeous and elegant! Thank you, angel girl!”

“Now open the other one!” Monica’s voice was all excitement.

Tess happily obliged her and opened the second package: her smile grew wider for the second time in less than a minute: holding an angel keyring, she looked at her beloved charge with her eyes moved with emotion.

“The wee doves together represent friendship, you know. And the angel keyring is for you to hang your car keys. Both are also a way of telling you how much you mean to me, how much I love you, Tess.”

“I love you too, baby! You mean the world to me!” the old angel hugged her dear charge tightly, in a mother embrace and trying the best she could not to cry.

Then, when they pulled away, Monica took the other present box and gave it to Andrew. “Now it’s your turn, Andrew!”

“Okay!” Under Monica’s attentive eyes, and with a permanent smile on his face, he opened the box, and, like Tess, he found two other smaller boxes inside of it. The blond angel opened the bigger one first and there lay a beautiful woollen scarf and a warm pair of gloves – both of them dark green. “Oh, Monica... they’re very beautiful! Really! Both are really beautiful, I love them!” he exclaimed.

“I remembered the sweater I made for you some time ago and, as it’s been really cold lately, I thought that maybe you needed a pair of gloves and a scarf that would match it... But I have to confess that I bought these two at a store as my knitting abilities have not been entirely developed yet...”

With infinite tenderness, he stroked her cheek lovingly, “What really matters to me is that the present comes from you, baby.”

Smiling back at him, she pointed to the other box, a very small one, “There’s one more left.”

“Yes, let’s see what we got here...” he placed the gloves and the scarf on an armchair and opened the other box: it was a silver lapel pin with the Celtic Knot design.

“It’s the Celtic Knot. It symbolises all that is eternal, as in everlasting life or eternal friendship,” she explained, carefully analysing the expression on his face, wondering if he had liked it or not.

Smiling, he nodded his head and pulled her for a tight hug, “Then you chose the present that best symbolises what I feel here, inside my heart. It’s as big as the eternity we have ahead. I love you, angel.”

Happy to hear that, and now sure that her two dearest friends had enjoyed the presents, Monica kissed Andrew’s cheek and took Tess’ hand, “I love you both very much... forever.”

“We love you too, baby,” Tess replied, still fighting back her tears.

“We sure do, angel.” Aware that Tess was nearly crying, the blond angel kept on talking, “And just because we love you for the rest of the eternity, we have a surprise number two for you, right Tess?”

“Oh, yes!”

“A surprise number two? What is it?”

“Look again, angel girl!”

Monica looked at the Christmas tree and saw that there were two other present boxes under it. With bright surprised eyes, she turned to face them again, moved with emotion.

“You... you didn’t have to...”

“Oh look who’s talking!” the oldest angel exclaimed, amused to see Monica’s slight embarrassment. The Irish angel knelt in front of the Christmas tree and took the first package, on which there was a note: “From Tess to Monica.”

She gazed at the supervisor and smiled. Then, she shook the package and placed it next to her ear. Not hearing anything, the little angel started to unwrap the package very slowly, being extremely careful not to tear the beautiful paper. At that moment, Andrew had to cover his mouth not to laugh at the expression on Tess’ face: she was nearly insane with Monica’s “ritual” not to spoil the wrapping.

“Father, give me patience...” she murmured, rolling her eyes.

Two minutes later, Monica finally finished to unwrap the paper and her smile grew wider to see a beautiful lilac woollen poncho, carefully and beautifully knitted by Tess herself. The flowered details gave it a special charm and the little angel was all excitement once again. “Oh, Tess! Tess! It’s gorgeous!”

“Yes, it really is, isn’t it?” she replied, smiling and pleased with her own work.

“Thank you so much!” she kissed the oldest angel’s cheek.

“You’re more than welcome, baby!”

“And it’ll look even more beautiful on you, angel.” Andrew spoke, enjoying to see her blushing, “Now go on, I want to see if you like my present!”

“I’m sure I’ll like it, whatever it is!” she took the second package and – after repeating the same “unwrapping ritual,” she finally opened it. Inside the box, there were two other smaller packages.

“You see? You’re not the only angel who likes surprises!” he said, when she shot him a surprised look. Inside one package, there were a hard cover book and a silver bookmark, which had the shape of an angel. Already loving it, she read the title of the book: “The Most Beautiful Poems Ever Written.”

“Since you’ve always been a dreaming little angel, I thought you’d like it!”

“Like it? I love it, Andrew! Thank you! Thank you so much!” she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight.

Smiling and knowing exactly what her reaction would be, he returned the hug, tenderly combing her long auburn hair with his fingers. “But it’s not over yet, you have a second present to unwrap...”

“Yes...” she replied, with her eyes already filled with tears. The second present chosen by the blond angel was a cute angel bear, holding a small heart where she could read, “I’m your eternal guardian”.

“I thought that he could keep an eye on you while I’m away, you know.” Andrew spoke, as Monica let out a tiny sob and her tears started to fall. Somewhat expecting that reaction too, he gathered her in his arms one more time and kissed the top of her head repeatedly. They remained in that loving embrace for long minutes, until she finally calmed down.

“I always thank the Father for having you at my side... You’re so precious to me, baby!”

She received a kiss on the cheek from Andrew and from Tess and the two older angels exchanged a pleased look, happy to have the little Irish angel in their existence, as she was the best Christmas present they could ever get.

Soon, there were two other gifts under the Christmas tree – Tess and Andrew also exchanged presents. The supervisor gave Andrew a jacket and Tess got a beautiful and elegant combination of hat and gloves, and even little Joy got two warm dog sweaters and a dog blanket. It was a happy and blessed night, filled with God’s love.

x

It was early in the morning and Monica, along with little Joy, were the first ones to wake up. The Irish angel didn’t miss the opportunity to brew herself some coffee, as Tess was sound asleep in her room. Then, she sat on the loveseat by the window, carrying a mug full of mocha and her poem book, always followed by the cheerful puppy dog.

Monica spent happy minutes there, alternating between reading beautiful poems and watching, with childlike excitement, as the snow fell down outside. She was exactly observing as the soft white flakes landed on the window when she heard a familiar dear voice in the living room. “Angel?”

She turned her head to see Andrew entering the room and walking over up to her. “Merry Christmas, Andrew!” The angel greeted him, with a meek smile upon her face, which immediately filled his heart with tenderness.

“Merry Christmas, angel!” He bent his head and brushed a kiss on her forehead. Then, the blond angel sat down next to her, equally smiling. “I was going to ask you what you’re doing up so early, but I guess I’ve just found it out!” he pointed to the now empty mug in her hands.

“Oh, well... I... I wanted to see if we were having a white Christmas, you know...” she replied, with some embarrassment, and noticing as he raised his eyebrows, “You’re not going to tell Tess, are you?”

Her blushing face was so incredibly cute that he decided to tease her once again, “Hum... I don’t know...”

“Andrew!” her Irish lilt and the way she pronounced his name – differently from everyone else, had certainly left an imprint in his heart forever. With a mischievous expression on his face, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, “Well, I won’t tell but there’s something I want you to do...”

“Something? What is it?” she questioned, with a confused look.

“I want you to read me one of these poems, as I can see you really liked the book!”

Smiling again, she nodded her head. “Oh, but I certainly did! And right before you arrived, I was reading some of them and I found this tiny little one...”

“I’m listening...” he said, straightening his body. Monica had selected it with her angel bookmarker and started to recite it to him.

In the twinkle of stars and the rustle of leaves
in each crystal of snow floating down from above
in a candle warm glow, in each heart that believes,
He has written His unending story of love!
Merry Christmas!

Andrew reached for her hand and pulled her closer to him, in a warm embrace. “It’s beautiful, angel.”

“I feel so happy and blessed, Andrew.” She let out a sigh and rested her head on his shoulder. “I wish all the human beings could feel just the same...”

“It’s one more Christmas wish, and you know that the Father listens to all of them, don’t you?” he replied, running his fingers through her hair.

“I know...” Monica’s face became a pensive one for a few seconds and Andrew watched her in silence, knowing that she was trying to organise her thoughts before voicing them to him. Finally, she pulled a few inches away and turned her head to face him again. “A long time ago, when the only friend I had other than the Father, chose the darkness and evil, I cried very much, you know.”

He knew he was talking about Kathleen, the angel that had turned her back to God and left Heaven and all her friends behind. He knew the impact that fact had had on Monica and how long it took her to make friends again. The blond angel would be forever thankful and feel deeply honoured to have won the little angel's trust. But the mere thought of seeing that kind and warm hearted creature crying and deeply sad, feeling lonely out there, caused Andrew an intense pain. His feelings of deep protectiveness were even more evident, and although he knew it was impossible, deep inside his heart he wished to go back in time and be there for her at that difficult moment. “I can imagine how you felt, angel. I’m so sorry...”

“Of course I prayed for her to find peace and to see the light again, and that nothing bad would happen to her... But I also prayed for me, Andrew. I asked the Father to take away the sadness inside my heart and send me my friend back. But you know what? He did even better than what I had asked for: He gave me you and Tess and I never loved two living souls the way I love you...”

“Oh, Monica... angel...” he murmured, deeply moved to see the tears in the corner of her eyes.

“And with you it was even more special, you know, because I didn’t recognise that the Father was giving me a present when He sent you to meet me...” she held his hand in both of hers and squeezed it, “But I’m happy that I know that now!”

The blond angel placed a kiss on the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, as she kept on talking, “That’s why, since the day I found how precious you are to me, I’ve become more hopeful. I’m always praying that better days will come, and they will, as God holds all His children in the palm of His hands.”

Lots for words, and fighting back the tears himself, Andrew tightened his hold on her and nodded, “Yes, He does, angel. I know that because, since the day we met, my own days have become brighter ones. You, baby, bring much love and joy to my existence and make me see the world through different eyes.”

"Different eyes?"

"Yes..." He bent his head to seek for her sweet brown pools, "When my faith is shaken and my courage seems to be abandoning me... When anger seems to enter my heart... All I have to do is look at you... and listen to your voice... or hear the kind words you have to say to me... You're the perfect reminder of the Father's presence, angel. That's why I love you so much..."

A lonely tear made its way down her cheek and he reached it at the same time he cupped her face. The angel of death crossed the small distance between them and brushed a loving and tender kiss on her forehead and on the tip of her nose. They remained there, in the living room, enjoying each other’s company, and watched as a white dove cooed and perched by the snow covered window, announcing the beauty of Christmas time. The most blessed time of the year.

The end