PARTs 8 and 9

PART 8

It was still early in the morning and, after two days of heavy and continuous rain, the sun was shining brightly again and, together with the calm waves of the ocean and the blue sky, formed a beautiful scenario.

At the beach house, Andrew was the first one to wake up. He changed into a white T-shirt, blue bermudas and a comfortable pair of sandals, and, as soon as he entered the kitchen, the blond angel was excitedly and warmly greeted by Joy:

“Hey little one! Looks like the two of us are the early birds around here - no offence!”

The playful puppy barked softly, wagging her tail as he stroked her black soft fur.

“As you were the very first to wake up, you’re gonna be the first one to have breakfast too, ok?”

After placing a bowl full of dog food in front of the animal, which devoured eagerly, he prepared breakfast for him and for his two dearest friends.

Table set, Andrew walked over to Monica’s bedroom and slightly knocked on the door. Some seconds later, the Irish angel came to open it:

“Good morning, Angel Girl!”

“Good morning, Andrew!”, she answered, with a smile upon her sleepy face. He looked deep inside her brown eyes and joked:

“Do you still wanna come or should I just turn around and let you continue to sleep peacefully in your comfortable bed?”

She smiled even more:

“No! I’m coming! I just need some minutes to change myself.”

“You take your time. I’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen!”

Some time later, the Irish angel appeared at the kitchen wearing a one piece blue bathing suit, a white wrap around her waist and a pair of flip flops. When she saw her ‘mom’, Joy clumsily ran towards her and Monica scooped the chubby little dog, holding her close and receiving lots of ‘kisses’:

“Hullo, wee one! Did you have a good sleep, huh?”

“Actually, she was the first one to get up in this house!”, Andrew said, sitting at the table and pouring her and himself some coffee. Monica came closer to him and kissed the top of his head, taking a seat afterwards:

“I guess she’s enjoying these vacations as much as we are!”

“I have no doubt about that!”, the blond angel joked.

She placed the little puppy on the floor and took her mug, eagerly sipping her favourite drink:

“It’s such a beautiful day! I can hardly believe the sun is shining again after these two rainy days!”

“Yeah, if there’s a good day to swim in the ocean, it’s today!”

“How did you know the weather would be better?”

The blond angel smiled and looked through the window at the bluest of the  skies:

“Well, I had some help...”

“Oh...”, she smiled and nodded her head understandingly.

They finished their breakfast and Andrew took her hand:

“Let’s go?”

“Yes!”

The two angels left the house and headed towards the beach. Hand in hand, they walked in the sand enjoying the warm sun and the breeze that blew form the sea:

“Early in the morning is the best time to swim; the water is calm and with almost no waves.”, Andrew explained.

“I only hope it’s not so cold...”, Monica said, staring at the sea with a thoughtful look.

“Well... it may be a little cold, but, after a while, you’ll get used to it.”

The Irish angel nodded her head and sighed, still with her eyes focused on the ocean.

“Are you ready?!”, her dearest friend asked, with a loving smile on his face. Only then, she looked at him, returning his smile:

“I am ready!”

Monica took off her wrap and her flip flops and took his proffered hand; both angels entering the sea afterwards.

“Oh my goodness! You didn’t tell me it would be so cold, Andrew!”, the angel squealed, with water up to her waist.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that cold, Monica!”

With a mischievous smile, he started to splash water on her, causing Monica to scream even more:

“Andrew! Don’t do that! Please, stop it!”

“You gotta get used to the temperature of the water, Miss Wings!”

“But not this way!”

“You know what? You’re right. The best way is to dive in the water straight away!”

Saying that, the blond angel dived in the sea, right before her surprised brown eyes, and reappeared some metres ahead:

“C’mon, Monica! It’s no fun to stand still in the same place!”

“I don’t believe I could do such thing!”, she replied, with her eyebrows raised.

“Of course you can!”

The Irish angel considered that for a few seconds and took a deep breath, diving in the cold water and emerging beside him seconds later. Andrew chuckled at that brave act:

"That’s it, Miss Wings! You did it!”

“Yes, but the water is still cold!”, she complained, her lower lip slightly trembling.

“That’s why you have to swim! C’mon, we cannot stay here, let’s go until that point over there!”, he indicated a spot that stood about 20 metres from where they were. But Monica looked at him with indecision evident on her face: she wasn’t afraid of the water anymore, but that didn’t mean that she was an expert in swimming.

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yes, I’m definitely sure!”

After some hesitation, she nodded:

“Ok, but... Do you promise to stay on my side all the time?”

Andrew chuckled at that question, as it wasn’t necessary to ask such thing:

“Of course I promise, Monica. I won’t let my Angel Girl float away into the ocean!”

Both relieved and pleased with that statement, she smiled again, and they started to swim.

*

The initial apprehension Monica felt about water quickly subsided, and after one hour of swimming, she had forgotten about its coldness and was having a great time with Andrew; even setting a competition to see who managed to swim faster.

The two angels completely lost track of time and didn’t even realise that the sun grew hotter, the beach started to become crowded (specially with many tourists) and big waves started to form in the ocean, crashing upon the sand.

“I think the sea is becoming a wee bit rough!”, the Irish angel said, with the water up to her shoulders and almost being carried away by a wave if it wasn’t for Andrew’s tight grip in her arm.

“But, as I said before, I got a firm hold on my swimming Angel Girl and I won’t let her go!”

“I know that!”, she replied, with a smile and not really afraid of the rhythm of the ocean. It was then that, from where they were, they saw Tess and little Joy walking in the sand:

“Hey, take a look over there, Monica!”, the blond angel pointed.

“It’s Tess! I think she’s looking for us... Hey Tess! We’re here!”, Monica said, in a loud voice and waving her hand so that the supervisor could see them. But Tess didn’t see them nor hear her calling, as she was trying to spot her two charges along the sand:

“Where in Heaven can these parents of yours be, baby?...”, she said, with little Joy chasing her. The small animal, on the other hand, had an accurate ear and would recognise her mom’s voice anywhere. As soon as the puppy heard Monica’s calling, she wasted no time in rushing towards the sea, straight to where the angels were. And she was so fast that Tess didn’t even realise her sudden escape:

“Come with grandma, baby, let’s look for them in another...”

When she turned around, all the supervisor could see was the small black fur ball moving quickly in the direction of the water and an enormous wave about to crash on the tiny creature:

“Oh no! Joy, come back here!!!”

From the sea, Monica’s and Andrew’s eyes grew wide in shock and despair when they saw the frightening scene:

“Oh my God! It’s Joy, Andrew!! She’ll be hit by that wave!!!”, the Irish angel cried, letting go of his hand and desperately trying to get to the animal. But impulsive attitude only increased Andrew’s worry:

“Monica wait!!! Don’t go now, you’re gonna be...”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, as it was too late: near the sand, the chubby female dog abruptly stopped running when she saw an enormous shadow surrounding her and a huge mass of water rising right in front of her. Joy gave one feeble bark and was hit by the wave that crashed violently on the sand. Monica, for herself, was trying to reach her and was also hit by another wave, which was formed right behind her.

Both angel and dog were carried away by the water, but, fortunately, were delivered right on the sand, practically on Tess’ feet:

“Oh dear Father! What was that, babies?!”, the supervisor exclaimed, taking Joy in her arms and helping Monica to stand up. Andrew arrived one second later, and ran towards his friends:

“Monica, are you alright?”, he asked, taking some strands of her hair off her face. Despite the horrible moment, the two were fine; just a little shaken up by the incident.

“I think I swallowed some sand and some water...”, the Irish angel replied, coughing, “...and I have a salty taste in my mouth too...”

“You shouldn’t have let go off my hand, honey; I was going to drag you with me!”, Andrew said, still a little concerned about his dearest friend.

“I know, it’s just that, when I saw that big wave and my wee baby being carried away I was so desperate that I forgot about everything...”

Tess turned to the dog she was holding with a equally worried but also stern face:

“Did you hear that?! You should have never gotten away from me, you stubborn little fur ball!”, she scolded, as if dealing with a two-year-old. But the dripping animal shook her head in order to get rid of the wetness in her long ears and reached up, covering her face with tiny kisses:

“Is it my impression or are you trying to buy me with sweet kisses?!”

But, try as she might, the supervisor couldn’t hold her ‘upset’ tone with such a cute and sweet attitude:

“... Ok... I know you’re sorry... and I’m glad you’re fine, baby. You had your grandma and your parents worried sick about you!”, she said, soothing the animal’s wet fur and giving her to Monica afterwards.

The Irish angel stroked the little animal and was also greeted by lots of tiny (and wet) kisses:

“Oh, wee one... I was so scared when I saw that big wave carrying you...”, she kissed her head and held her tightly. Andrew let go a sigh of relief:

“Well, thank God, nothing serious happened, and you two are alright.”

“Yes, but probably my wee baby will have a trauma of water forever!”

The Irish angel placed the animal on the sand so that she could put on her flip flops and the wrap around her waist. But, at the moment Joy faced the sea, she started to bark repeatedly and (somewhat) ferociously at the water, which surprised the three angels:

“I don’t think she’s really afraid, Monica...”, Andrew said, a smile forming on his handsome face, “...In fact, I’d say she’s really mad at the water!”

“I think you’re right...”, his dearest friend agreed, rather shocked by that unexpected attitude, “... She seems to be reprimanding the sea for hitting her!... And... I would even say that she’s... she’s a wee bit grouchy...”

“I wonder after whom she has taken that...”, the blond angel said; he and Monica turned to face Tess, who crossed her arms in front of her chest, with a stern expression on her face:

“What?!...”

The two angels exchanged an amused glance, as the small puppy continued to, angrily, ‘yell’ at the sea:

“Well, she’s been through a bad experience and she’s not pleased with it! What did you want? She has the right to be mad!”

That time, Monica had to cover her mouth not to let a small giggle escape, while Andrew lowered his eyes to the sand, chuckling at that incredible discovery.

“Well, everything is fine and nobody got hurt after all, so I gotta go!”

“Where are you going, Tess?”

“I wanted to make some desert but I have to buy the ingredients. As  animals are not allowed in supermarkets, I had to drop my little baby here, with you two.”

“That’s ok, I don’t think there will be more swimming lessons for today.”, Andrew said, winking at his dearest friend, who nodded vehemently:

“Andrew is right; maybe we could have a walk on the beach and drink some juice, ‘cause I still have a taste of sand mixed with salty water in my mouth.”

PART 9

Andrew and Monica gathered their belongings and started to stroll along the seashore, with the Irish angel holding her precious baby in her arms. They stopped at a small restaurant in front of the beach, so that the blond angel could buy them some orange juice, and they sat down at the table (placed in the sand) to enjoy the view:

“Although I have to admit that the swimming lesson was a wee bit troubled, the ocean is so beautiful to look at, specially on a lovely day like this!”, Monica said, with little Joy moving around their feet. Andrew let go of his glass and took his friend’s hand:

“I hope I didn’t ruin your day...”

She shot him a kind a loving smile:

“My day would never be ruined if I’m spending it with someone I love so much!”

He returned her smile:

“Yes, but I think that swimming lesson didn’t help very much...”

“Well, I may not be the ‘angel of swimming’, but that irrational fear of water is something of the past now.”

Andrew held her hand in both of his and kissed it:

“I’m glad to hear that, Monica.”

“And we can try again tomorrow!”, she said, with a wink. The Irish angel finished her juice and sighed:

“Do you think they serve coffee?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that question:

“I don’t think so...”

But seeing a trace of disappointment starting to form in her brown eyes, he had an idea:

“Well... I’m not really sure, so I’ll go and check it out, ok?”

She nodded her head and her smile came back to her face:

“Thanks!”

The blond angel stood up and went to the counter, while she remained sitting at the table.

A second later, an old couple, wearing flowered and colourful tourist clothes, came closer to her:

“Excuse us, young lady...”, the old woman said, with a friendly tone in her voice and a kind smile. The Irish angel looked at them and returned their smile:

“Yes?”

“George and I are visiting this town, we arrived yesterday but, as it was raining, we only had the opportunity to come to the beach today. But... we have a little problem and we were wondering if you could help us...”

“Oh, yes, of course I can!”, Monica replied, pleased with the possibility of helping someone, as it was something that she was always ready for.

“Well, we were taking a walk, the view was so beautiful that we weren’t paying attention to where we were going and... now we’re lost!...”

“We bought this guide on the way but we forgot our glasses at the hotel so it’s not helping very much...”, the man explained, showing her a leaflet. His wife kept on talking:

“I wanted to go shopping after visiting the beach, so if you could tell us where the shops are, specially the ones that sell crocheted clothes and knitting material...”

“No, you don’t wanna go shopping now, Clara! I’m tired, I wanna go back to the hotel...”, the old man objected. But the woman looked at him sternly:

“But George, I told you I wanted to go shopping! I can’t believe you came all the way here to stay locked up inside a hotel room...”

“And you can’t seem to stop shopping for a minute!”

Monica stood up and tried to stop the argument between that friendly but rather clumsily couple:

“Oh, please, don’t argue, I think I can help both of you...”, her soothing voice seemed to calm them, because they stopped talking and looked at her a little ashamed of themselves:

“I’m sorry, young lady...”, the old man said, apologetically.

“My name is Monica and I’m visiting the city too, with my friends, and I’ve had the opportunity to go round town these days, so I can teach ya the way to go to the hotel and to the shops...”

The Irish angel patiently gave them instructions of where to go, which took some time, as they not only had difficulties in seeing but also in listening.

In this meantime, Joy remained quietly sitting near her mom’s chair, resting from her first ‘dive’ in the ocean. But, all of a sudden, the playful puppy spotted, not far away from her, a yellow cat. Joy immediately stood up and started to snarl at the other animal, which also faced her with an unfriendly expression. That rivalry stare lasted about 10 seconds, and, after that, the black fur ball rushed towards the cat, which wasted no time in running away from her pursuer. And Monica was so busy trying to help the old couple that she didn’t notice the puppy moving away from her and disappearing among the other people at the beach.

*

Some minutes later, Monica finally managed to finish her explanation and made the twosome realise that they were not so far from the hotel:

“... follow my instructions and, when you see the gas station, you just have to go straight and turn left.”

“Thank you very much, Monica!”

“Yes, you’re really an angel for being so attentive!”, the old woman said. Hearing that, her smile widened:

“It was a pleasure. But can I ask you something? Please don’t argue about sightseeing; you told me you’re going to stay here for 3 weeks, and there’s plenty of time to visit the entire city and the other towns. Besides, it’s almost lunch time and, in this meantime, many shops are closed. So, if you accept my suggestion, go back to the hotel and leave the shopping for the afternoon.”

They smiled at each other and, after, at her:

“Ok, dear, we’ll do as you say. I hadn’t thought about that and, to be honest, I’m hungry too!”, the lady admitted. Her husband agreed:

“Yes, and we can do the shopping in the afternoon!”

“Goodbye, Monica! And thank you again, dear!”

“Goodbye!”

She watched as they moved away and it was then that Andrew came back:

“Looks like you’ve made new friends!”

“They were a wee bit lost and I gave them some information about the town and helped them to find their way back to the hotel!”, she happily announced. Andrew gazed at her and smiled, not missing the great contentment she felt for helping someone. The Irish angel gazed back at him and, at that moment, he remembered something:

“Oh, I’m sorry, Monica. I talked to the manager and they don’t serve coffee, just juices...”

Her eyes widened in surprise:

“Andrew, you didn’t have to talk to the manager!”, she said, taking his hand. Slightly blushed, the blond angel lowered his head for a few seconds:

“Well... I guess I wanted to compensate you for your unexpected dive...Did I exaggerate?”

Giggling, she raised herself up on the tip of her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek:

“Well, I’d say you’re a very a devoted friend, and I’m happy for that... Now, let’s go back home ‘cause Tess must be finishing to cook lunch and I’m hungry!”

“Alright, then. I’ll brew some coffee for you afterwards, when Tess takes her nap...”

“That’s a lovely idea...”, she approved, returning his mischievous smile, and turned to look near the chair she was sitting on:

“Let’s go, wee one, you can rest when we get...”

But, at that moment, her eyes were filled with shock and panic when she realised that Joy had disappeared:

“Oh no!... Andrew, she’s not here!...”

“Are you sure?...”, he said, checking under the table and not finding anything, “Let’s take a look around! She can’t be that far!”

They looked around the restaurant, but couldn’t find any trace of the small puppy:

“Oh, Father... What are we going to do now?”, the Irish angel was already desperate. Andrew sighed deeply, and ran his fingers through his blond hair:

“Hey, calm down, Monica, we’re gonna find her, ok?”, he said, “And that young lady will be literally and metaphorically in the dog house when we find her!”, the blond angel stated, with some annoyance but also with concern, and they started to walk along the beach in search of the little puppy.

*

Joy chased the cat until it disappeared through the crowd, as the velocity with which the feline ran away was too much for the small (and rather heavy) dog. Only then, Joy stopped running and realised something: her ‘parents’ weren’t there anymore, and there was no trace of them nearby. The playful puppy looked around her and, after noticing that she was alone, she started to wander along the sand; her head lowered and a sad expression in her tiny black eyes.

The animal walked for some time when she saw, sitting on the sand, in a desert part of the beach, a little boy, of about 4 or 5 years old. He had his knees drawn up to his chest and was covering his face with his hands. Joy came closer to him and barked softly in order to draw his attention. He raised his head and looked at her, sadness evident in his eyes:

“I don’t have anything to give you...”, he said. But the small animal kept on staring at him:

“...and I don’t wanna play either. I got lost from my mom...”, his voice was a crying one. Joy came closer to him and, after ‘kissing’ his face, sat down right beside the boy, also with a weeping physiognomy.

“Hey... what’s the matter? You got lost from you mom too?”

A feeble bark was a reply to that question. Sensing that he was not the only one with a big problem, the little boy turned his full attention to the dog:

“Don’t be sad... She’ll come after you, I’m sure she will!”, he said, stroking Joy’s soft black fur. Then, he showed her the baseball ball he had in his hand:

“Don’t you wanna play?”

Immediately, the little dog stood up, excitedly wagging her tail and with her eyes wide open. That was enough to make the boy smile broadly:

“Great!”

And the child and the young animal started to play along the sand, completely forgetting about their previous worries.

*

Andrew and Monica walked around the beach for nearly half an hour, asking everybody if they had seen a chubby black spaniel puppy. The two angels even split up in order to cover a bigger area, but couldn’t find any trace of Joy:

“She seems to have completely vanished, Andrew!”, Monica was about to cry, terrified with the possibility of losing her precious baby.

“She must be here somewhere, Monica! I’m sure she is!”

“What if she entered the water again?”

“I doubt whether she did this! Besides, she only entered the water because she heard your voice!”

“And if she goes to the streets, Andrew? There are cars passing by!...”

Andrew placed his hands on her shoulders:

“Monica, she didn’t go to the streets, she must be looking for us here, on the beach!”

“And if anybody finds her and takes her away from me?!”

“Nobody’s gonna take her away from you, Angel Girl! I’m sure Joy would never agree to have another mother!”

The blond angel wiped some tears away from her face and grabbed her hand:

“C’mon, let’s keep looking!”