PARTs 12 and 13 - finale

PART 12

Monica was in the kitchen, carefully planning on what she would use to prepare the ‘special lunch’ for Andrew and Tess:

“It would be good if Andrew were here to taste this too...”, she said,  and was about to start preparing a chicken. But, before the angel could do it, Joy burst through the kitchen door and barked several times:

“Hey, sweetheart, what’s the problem?”

The dog moved away from her when she tried to come closer, and then the Irish angel understood what her precious ‘baby’ wanted:

“Joy I can’t play with you now, I have to cook. Why don’t you call Andrew or Tess?”

But the little dog continued to stare at her with pleading eyes. Monica opened one of the kitchen doors, which led to the living room, and looked around:

“Andrew?... Tess?... Are you in there?”

There was no reply. The Irish angel turned around and looked at the little animal:

“I’m sorry dear, but they must be at the beach now. Why don’t you stay here and watch me? I promise you that later we can play all day long.”

The dog barked one last time and whirled around, getting out of the kitchen through the other door, which led to the yard. At that moment, a thought crossed Monica’s mind: what if the gate was open and the playful puppy managed to escape to the street? She remembered the incident on the beach some days ago and it was like remembering of an appalling nightmare. Immediately, she turned the stove off and left the kitchen, in search for her little ‘baby’:

“Joy, come back here!”, she called, standing in the middle of the green yard. But the dog didn’t return her calling, having completely vanished.

Meanwhile, Andrew and Tess entered the house through the front door, and headed straight to the kitchen:

“We have to be fast, Angel Boy!”, the supervisor commanded.

”Yeah, I know that. But I think it’ll take her a lot of time to find Joy!”, the blond angel said.

They opened the cabinets:

“Take every pot of coffee or pepper or anything she can use as a weapon to kill the food!”

“What about the other ingredients? We have to leave them here so that she can cook!”

“Just leave exactly the right amount. That way, she won’t have the chance to ‘exaggerate’ on her imagination!”

“Right... And that mixture she, I mean, YOU made me taste about an hour ago?”

“She probably might have put it in the fridge; take it and replace it for another one, but without the pepper and the coffee.”

The two angels worked fast and carefully not to make any noise. If Monica returned, not only their plan would be ruined, but also Monica’s heart would be hurt, as her inability to cook would be more evident than never.

Outside, in the front yard, the Irish angel checked the gate, and felt partially relieved to see it was locked. But Joy had disappeared and she was still worried, as the little animal was too small and young to defend herself.

“Joy! Please answer to me!”, she called, looking in the bushes spread along the garden.

That search lasted about 20 minutes, when Monica finally had the idea look under Tess’ car, finding the little animal crouching with her roundish belly on the grass:

“Oh, finally! There you are, wee one! Thank you Father!”, she exclaimed, as the puppy came straight to her arms, barking happily when the angel scooped her and kissed her little head:

“Don’t you ever do that again, young lady! You scared me!”, Monica scolded her, as if she was talking to a naughty child.

She received lots of kisses as an apology for that unscheduled ‘hide and seek’, and returned to the kitchen, to continue her work. Fortunately, she found no trace of her dearest friends nor suspected that the cooking ingredients had been tampered with:

“Now you’ll stay right here, miss!”, the angel said, placing Joy on the floor, “It’ll be your punishment for running away and scaring me like that! Besides, I was just about to start preparing my special lunch, and I won’t be interrupted anymore!”

*

3 hours later:

“Is the lunch ready yet?”, Andrew asked, poking his head through the kitchen door with a curious look.

“Yes, it is. But it’ll be a surprise, so go away!”, Monica gently shoved him and closed the kitchen door. Then, she turned around and checked the meal for the last time. In the living room, her two friends waited anxious to know the result of their plan:

“I’m starving, Tess! I hope this plan really works ‘cause we’ll have to taste more than a spoon this time!...”, the blond angel whispered.

“It’ll work, Angel Boy, trust me!”, the supervisor assured. Before they could say anything else, the kitchen door was opened and Monica came through it, carrying two bowls: one of salad, the other with rice. She placed them on the table, being attentively observed by the other angels:

“I’ll help you with this, Monica...”

“No way, Andrew! You two will stay right here!”, she kindly insisted, returning to the kitchen afterwards.

Some seconds later, the Irish angel returned with the main dish: a large tray containing the chicken, covered with mushroom dressing and green beans. Everything set, Monica joined her friends with a smile upon her face:

“Well, I hope you like it. Like I’ve said before, I’ve been practising in my free time and I think I managed to improve a little. Although I must confess that I had some little problems while preparing it...”

“I’m sure it’s good, baby.”, Tess said, enthusiastically, “Would you like to thank the Lord?”

“Yes...”

The three angels conjoined their hands and Monica started her prayer:

“Dear Father, I’m glad that you gave us this time to rest and enjoy the wonders of the world you’ve created with so much love. But I am specially grateful that you gave me these two dear friends. Without them, these vacations wouldn’t have been so wonderful, because they make my own existence special, bringing happiness and love to my heart. So thank you for these moments we’ve spent together and thank you for blessing me with Tess and Andrew, as I love them both very much.”

Tears of joy formed in the corner of their eyes, as those loving words went straight to their hearts.

“We love you too, Angel Girl! Very, very much!”, Tess squeezed her hand, looking at her charge also with love and happiness. Andrew reached out and took her other hand, kissing her palm:

“You’re a precious blessing to our own existence, honey!”

She shot them a grateful and loving look. After that, Tess changed the subject and took a fork and a knife:

“Now let’s eat, ‘cause I’m hungry and also curious to check how you’ve been improving your culinary abilities!”

PART 13 - FINALE

Lunch set and everything ready, the three angels served themselves and started to eat; Andrew and Tess were the first ones to taste the meal, being attentively observed by Monica:

“Is it good?...”, she had an anxious and somewhat worried tone in her voice. Tess chewed the chicken with rice and smiled:

“That’s good... Very good, indeed, baby!”

Andrew had a pleased and rather surprised expression on his face:

“Tess is right... It’s really good!”

“Really?”, Monica herself was surprised with their reaction.

“Yes.”, the blond angel assured, “You added the ingredients in the right amount, it tastes really good.”

“Believe me, baby, you did  a very good job here!”

Pleased with those comments, the Irish angel started to eat her meal. But, then, her face became a serious one:

“I-I’m afraid it’s a wee bit... plain...”

The two angels looked at her:

“No, it’s not!”, Andrew objected, “You did it right, Monica!”

Tess agreed with him:

“Yes, there’s nothing wrong about it!”

Monica tasted another portion and shook her head:

“No, there’s something... Better saying, there are many things missing here...”, disappointment was evident on her face.

“I don’t think so!”, the supervisor insisted.

“Yes, I can’t see what’s missing!”

“Tess, Andrew, I know you’re trying not to hurt my feelings, but I’m aware that I cannot cook as well as I thought I could...”

“And what on Earth is missing here?”

“Well, a wee bit of pepper and salt... Perhaps one or two spoons of coffee... And I’ve heard or read somewhere that you can even add some sugar to the chicken to make it tastier!”

Tess and Andrew exchanged a quick glance, inwardly relieved that they didn’t have to try that recipe.

“But I couldn’t find any of these ingredients in the kitchen; they have finished and we were so busy having fun that we simply forgot to buy some more!”

“Really baby? How could we let that happen?...”, the oldest angel wondered, with the most innocent face in all Heaven.

“Well, anyway I’m sorry that it isn’t as good as I intended it to be.”

The blond angel took her hand and squeezed it:

“Honey you don’t have anything to be sorry about; it’s delicious. Tess and I could eat a lunch like this everyday!”

Hearing that, Tess shot him a stern look; while Monica smiled hopefully:

“You would?”

Only then, he realised that he shouldn’t have spoken that much, but it was too late:

“W-well... Yes... I mean... If we were in human form everyday... you know...”

Contentment now evident on her face, she smiled broadly at them:

“Are you serious?”

“Yes!”, he assured.

“Well... I’m flattered then!... Oh, I forgot to bring the orange juice, wait a minute!”

As soon as she disappeared through the kitchen door, the blond angel looked at the supervisor, who kept on staring at him:

“What’s the matter, Tess? The food isn’t anything sophisticated, but, in fact, it is good!”

“Yes, that’s true, it’s good, but the problem, Mr, is that you shouldn’t exaggerate on your compliments! We won’t have the opportunity to ‘arrange’ the kitchen the way we did every time she decides to cook! And that little angel has a lot of imagination and only God knows what sort of ideas can come up in her pretty head!”

It wasn’t possible for him to reply because, a second later, Monica came back, holding a jar of orange juice:

“Tess, Andrew, I was thinking and I’ve just had a wonderful idea, you know...”

The expression on Tess’ face was severer than never.

“What... What kind of idea, sweetie?”, Andrew asked, fearing the answer, though.

“Well, I’ve decided that, as you really approved of the meal I prepared for you, though I think that it could have been much better if I had a wider set of ingredients, I’ll practice even more, you’ll see! And, every time we have a day off or another vacation, I’ll prepare you a special meal!”

Tess nearly dropped the fork in her hand, and Andrew was lost for words with that announcement:

“...Really?...”

The Irish angel nodded her head enthusiastically:

“Yes! What do you think about it? Isn’t it a lovely idea?!”

“Well...”, Andrew started, though he wasn’t sure of what to say.

“We’ll talk about it later, baby.”, Tess interrupted him, before he could make any ‘dangerous’ comment again, “Now let’s all eat, ‘cause the food is getting cold!”, she stated, trying to conciliate a kind tone of voice towards Monica and a stern gaze towards Andrew.

*

It was a wonderful lunch and the following afternoon was a pleasant and lazy one. The angels got together in the porch, Tess sitting on her comfortable beach chair, with little Joy sleeping on her lap, and Andrew and Monica sharing a hammock, and chatted for hours and hours, feeling the soft breeze that blew from the ocean on their faces.

By 5 o’clock, they decided to go to the beach to watch the sunset, and Monica remembered to take a camera with her, as they wanted to have a souvenir of those wonderful (and sometimes troubled) days they had spent together. And their little puppy dog chased them all the way.

“Well, let’s organise this: I’ll stay in the middle and you two on my side!”, Tess said.

“Oh, please Tess, let me stay in the middle, so that I can hold both of you!”, Monica protested. The supervisor rolled her eyes to the sky:

“Fine, you stay in the middle, Miss Wings!”

But Andrew placed himself between the two angels:

“Hold on a second! I’ll be the one to stay in the middle!”

“And why?!”, the Irish angel asked, with some dissatisfaction.

“Because... Well, because I’m the male angel here, so I’m the one who should be in command and organise this photo!”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“Yes, that’s pretty fair, Miss Wings!”, he objected, secretly finding her annoyance lovely, “Besides, I am the one who can give you two a real big hug!”

“OK, so turn on that camera and let’s get that picture taken!”, Tess ordered, with some impatience.

“Wait! We’re forgetting wee Joy! We can’t leave our baby out!”

Monica scooped the puppy, which was watching the angels with curious and excited little black eyes, and held her close to her chest. But it was Tess who protested this time:

“Oh no! This baby will stay with me!”, she said, and took the animal from her charge’s hands.

“But, Tess, she’s my baby too; I’m her mother!”

“Well, I’m her grandmother; that makes me twice her mother!”

“Could you two make up your minds?!”, now it was Andrew who was impatient. The Irish angel gave up arguing with the supervisor:

“Ok, she can stay with you, Tess...”

“Good! That’s the way it should be. Now can you turn that camera on, Angel Boy?”

Andrew placed the camera on a rock:

“Ok, it’s automatic. I’ll turn it on and, 10 seconds later, it will take our picture.”

He joined the two and, while Monica and Tess were straightening their hair and standing in their position for the last time, a mischievous smile appeared on the blond angel’s face. Suddenly, he turned to the Irish angel and whispered into her ear:

“I think you’re too serious, Angel Girl!...”

Then, he started to tickle her without mercy; Monica let out a mix of a loud laugher and cry, which caused Joy to bark excitedly, finding the scene really funny, while Tess frowned with disapproval at her two charges:

“Hey, what the heck are you two doing?! Stop with that mess right now! It’s an order, I won’t be in a picture like this...”

But that was too late, the camera took their picture at that exact moment, recording a hilarious scene: Andrew tickling Monica, the Irish angel laughing broadly and helplessly, and Tess scolding both of them, holding an excited barking puppy dog.

In the background, the waves hit the shore and a white dove cooed and crossed the beautiful orange sky.

THE END