CHAPTER 10

The late hour meant less traffic and noise as even the normally boisterous city settled down to sleep and the cab passed quickly down the streets, following a route that circled the city and managed to pass through some of the prettier parts of it as well. Old-style street lamps reflected in the long river that flowed beside the street, and normally Monica would have enjoyed the sight, but she barely noticed, her eyes instead focused on what she could see of the sky.

The cab driver wasn’t the most sensitive of souls, but even he could see that his passenger was distressed, and he kept an eye on her in the rear-view mirror. He was waiting for her to snap out of whatever state she was in and tell him where she wanted to be dropped off, but she showed no sign of doing that. As the meter clicked around again, he glanced up, not surprised to see her still staring out the window.

“Excuse me… Miss? You’ve already run up a twenty dollar tab here… are you sure there isn’t somewhere you want to go?”

The sound of his voice made her look forward, and she gave herself a mental shake. “Umm… right up there… you can drop me at that corner,” she said.

“Are you sure? Look, I can stop the meter and just take you home…” They were no where near the bar, and had entered the down town shopping district. All of the apartments there were very high rent, and he had a feeling that his passenger didn’t live in any of them.

“No, this is fine. Really,” she insisted, already reaching into her apron and counting out the money. She saw his skeptical looking eyes in the mirror, but tried to smile back reassuringly.

He was reluctant, to just leave her, but there wasn’t much he could do about it, so he pulled over to the curb and turned around to face her. “Listen… there’s a police station just one block over, on the other side of the park,” he said. “If you’re in some kind of trouble…”

“I’ll be fine.” She was actually very touched by this complete stranger’s concern. It was quite a switch from the open hostility she had left behind at the bar. She passed the money forward and hopped out of the cab, giving what she hoped was a confident wave as he pulled away.

She watched until the taillights disappeared around a corner and then turned around to try to get her bearings. She had absolutely no idea where she was, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. At least she wasn’t at the bar, and she wasn’t getting a lecture from her supervisor. The reality that she was completely alone, however, hit her hard and a shiver ran up her spine. She had somehow hoped that God would simply speak to her and direct her Home. He had to know that she had abandoned her assignment, and as disappointed as she was sure He was, she still felt that He had to realize that she had every reason to give up.

The stars were partially obscured by the haze from the city lights, and as the little angel looked up at them she felt a little sob rise in her chest. No. He wasn’t going to bring her Home. Giving up was unacceptable. Angels didn’t just give up. They believed and they persevered until God’s work through them was complete. She blinked quickly and looked down at the ground. Why had He sent her when she couldn’t remember the most basic truths?

Cars passed by, but they were few and far between, and none of them were cabs. The angel sighed. If she was going to get back to her little apartment, she was going to have to call Tess to pick her up. The driver had said that the police station was nearby. That was as good a place to call from as any, and she thought that the walk through the park would probably do her some good.

A black wrought-iron archway marked the park entrance and she passed through it and let herself relax as the scent of flowers floated towards her. The paths were well marked, if narrow, and she wound her way through the park slowly. She could see God’s hand in the tiny violets beside a stone wall, and the gnarled branches of the crabapple tree that rained its white petals onto the brick path below, and felt the tightness in her heart begin to release.

“Awfully late to be wandering around alone, isn’t it?” His words lacked any true concern and Monica jumped back as the man stepped out from behind a tall oak tree.

“Yeah, seems like she oughtta be home in bed, don’t you think?” The sound of another voice coming from behind her made her spin around.

“Maybe we should just make sure she gets home okay,” the first man said with a chuckle.

Monica was frozen in place. This could not be happening. She was not going to let this happen. She turned her eyes forward and started walking, not looking at either man.

“Where do you think you’re going? Didn’t you hear our very kind offer?” The hand on her arm, so much like David’s from the night before, but this time she was ready for it.

“Let go of me!” she shouted and wrenched her arm free, swinging the other one around to strike him in the face.

He easily ducked out of the way. “Hey there! Looks like she’s got some spunk!”

“I’m sure we can work that out of her.” The words were cold and designed to cause fear as the other man reached out to grab her shoulder.

“No! Leave me alone!” Monica was terrified, but her fear was laced with something else: anger. She shoved the man in the chest and then struck out blindly, feeling a sense of satisfaction as her fist caught the edge of his jaw.

“That wasn’t very ladylike,” he growled, and his hand came down towards her face, making contact and sending stars shooting through her field of vision.

She expected another blow, and had tensed her body in anticipation, but it never came.

“If I were you, I would think very seriously about what you were about to do.”

Andrew’s voice held more restrained fury than she had every heard before, and she watched as he tightened his grip on the man’s wrist. The other man rushed forward to help, but he stopped at one look from the angel, and stood still as his friend fell to his knees.

“Hey… man… we weren’t going to do anything…” he babbled, reaching for the wrist that felt like it was trapped in a vice.

“I know exactly what you were going to do,” Andrew said with disgust. “Now get out of my sight.” He knew that there was only one way for them to run, right into the waiting arms of the police, and he released his grip and watched them stumble over themselves in their rush to get away.

“Monica?” He turned around and saw that the angel had already started walking back towards the main entrance. “Monica, stop.”

He jogged to catch up to her, then felt his stomach clench when she flinched at his touch. One hand was pressed to her reddened cheek, and her eyes were filled with tears she was refusing to spill. Reaching up, he gently pulled her hand away, relieved that she allowed the contact.

“Monica, talk to me. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes as he stroked the side of her face. A moment later and the pain subsided as a warmth flowed through her. She looked up and met his eyes.

“He doesn’t want you hurting any more than I do,” he said, stunned when she fell forward into his arms and held on as bone-wracking sobs shook her small body.

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have been here in the first place,” she cried, when she could finally speak again.

Shades of the guilt she still carried from Josh’s death hit Andrew harder than a fist. Once again she blamed herself for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Monica…”

“I ran away from my assignment, Andrew.” She felt those words should stop any argument about her culpability.

He held her tighter and stroked her hair. “And where were you headed just before this happened?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

She didn’t answer his question. “I knew when I was leaving that it was the wrong thing to do, but I couldn’t think. I saw him hit you… and then that boy… Why? Why does it have to be so hard? I should have been able to stop him… Tess was furious…” she shook her head. “He just seemed so out of reach… they all do.” She was looking in the direction her two assailants had gone and her eyes took on a faraway look that Andrew hated to see.

“I know it seems that way, Angel… I know how hard it is… and Tess knows too… believe me.” He couldn’t help chuckling at a memory. “And I think Paul is going to make certain she doesn’t forget.”

“I can’t face her tonight, Andrew…I can’t,” The little angel pleaded, not even responding to his mention of Paul.

She looked drawn and tired and though he couldn’t control what Tess decided to do, he could certainly delay things for awhile. Pulling away gently, he felt her sway slightly and he looked sternly into her eyes, “Have you eaten at all today?” Seeing her shake her head as she drew in a trembling breath, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, having noticed a 24-hour diner across the street, nestled within the town. If he couldn’t solve all of her problems, he could at least solve one at the moment as he was certain his friend needed something in her stomach and a good eight hours of sleep to even be able to think coherently.

The diner was relatively empty at this late hour and Andrew was relieved when after the waitress took one look at Monica, she led them to a quiet booth away from the few patrons that inhabited the restaurant. The little angel was still struggling to stop her tears and as the waitress had looked at her in concern, Monica had simply looked away.

Now Andrew watched as she fiddled with the edge of her napkin, trying to pull herself together, but having little success. Reaching across the table, he took her hands into his own and waited until she looked up at him, “Talk to me, angel. Tell me what is going through your mind right now so I can help.”

She sniffled, nearly breaking down all over again at the love and compassion that radiated from his face and she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she could speak honestly, with no fear of being scolded nor judged, “I want to go Home, Andrew, but I know that I can’t…but I don’t know what else to do,” She confessed tearfully, her expression one of a small child that had lost her way, “I can’t even talk to David about more trivial matters, yet alone his problems, so how am I supposed to help him? And why does it feel like every bit of evil in this world is finding me?”

Their waitress approached cautiously and with never taking his hands or his eyes from Monica, Andrew ordered two cups of coffee and a sandwich for his friend. He was grateful for the sensitivity of the older woman, who seemed to come and go with their coffee in gentle silence, leaving behind a handkerchief, which Andrew pressed into his friend’s hand, “For every bit of evil out there, Angel, there are at least one hundred people who care and the reason you feel like the evil ones are finding you is simply because you are now more acutely aware of their presence. God can overcome the evil, Monica, He does it all the time.”

“He didn’t tonight,” She argued gently, “That man hit me…”

“And the Father sent me and He took your pain away,” He replied, watching as she lowered her eyes in shame, “He loves you, sweetheart, and nothing changes that, not even the fact that you walked out of the bar tonight.”

“I shouldn’t have done it…but I didn’t know what else to do. At that moment it all felt so hopeless and I didn’t see how I could possibly help…I still don’t.”

Needing to close the distance between them, Andrew inched out of the booth and sat down next to her in order to pull her to him, “You’re measuring the world against the standard of one man, angel, and for what it is worth, I think I’ve been doing that too. But the world is not made up of Douglas McArthurs. Yes, there is evil in the world, but many of those people are still within the Father’s reach, and that is why we are here. In our own way, Monica, we are His hands and His voice and He has enabled us to make a difference for Him.”

She was quiet for a moment as she leaned against him, trying to draw strength from him, before she asked softly, “Do you think McArthur had an angel, Andrew?”

“I think at one time he did, yes,” He replied with certainty, “I think maybe he refused to see or hear God’s truth though, and that is why he turned out as he did,” He considered her question a moment longer before adding, “There are always going to be people who are unwilling to hear God’s voice, Angel, but we can never stop speaking for Him, or no one would ever be saved.”

The waitress arrived with Monica’s sandwich and the little angel managed a smile for her, “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, honey,” She replied warmly, reaching across to give the angel’s hand a little pat. Starting to turn away, she looked back once more, “You know, whatever it is can be made better with God’s help.”

“I think so too,” Monica replied softly, feeling the faint stirrings of hope deep within her heart once more.

Half an hour later, after being told that their bill was on the house, the two angels departed. As Monica followed Andrew out the door, she turned around one last time and saw their waitress handing the manager a bill, which she was paying out of her own pocket. A tired smile crossed the angel’s face, grateful for the reminder that there indeed was still goodness in God’s world.