CHAPTER 21

Tess had been able to spend the week following their engagement at the farm, and she had been so grateful for that. In the course of just a week she had been able to see just how close they had become, and it had brought tears to her eyes on more than one occasion. She couldn’t imagine how she had ever doubted that they were perfect for one another. The look of pure adoration in their eyes when they looked at each other was enough to convince the most cynical heart that there was such a thing as profound true love. The two younger angels had been sorry to see her leave at the end of the week, but she had promised that nothing would keep her away from their wedding and they knew better than to doubt her word.

Somehow the next days turned into weeks and in a blur, a month had passed and the wedding was suddenly only a day away. Even for such an intimate wedding, there had been little details that needed to be worked out, but Alex had managed most of them, leaving Monica and Andrew to simply enjoy their time together as a couple. The only real change had been in the frequent calls between the young agent and the Irish angel in between the weekend visits.

As much as Monica and Andrew loved having all of their friends with them, those weeks were filled with time that they treasured. They gave them the time to be together without the shadow of doubt and fear hanging over them. Monica would never have guessed how much one little ring would mean to her. She had always simply believed Andrew when he told her that he loved her and when he assured her that she had nothing to worry about when it came to that love. Yet somehow, having his promise made real had given her a feeling of peace that manifested itself in a hundred different ways. Andrew, watching as she appeared to open up and bloom again like a desert after a long-awaited rain, felt himself more touched and blessed every day. He glanced over at her as they drove back to the farm after their “rehearsal dinner” as Alex had called it, and wondered at the fact that by dinner time the next day, she would be his wife.

He glanced forward to assure himself that Paul’s eyes were fixed on the road, and then leaned over to kiss her gently on the cheek. Her eyes were sparkling as she turned to him with a smile on her lips. Her hand reached across the space between them and rested on top of his.

“What was that for?” she whispered, so low that even Alex couldn’t hear it over the song wafting from the radio.

“Just because,” he replied, and turned his hand over to grasp hers tightly. He didn’t let it go until they pulled to a stop in front of the house.

The two couples walked into the house in silence. Andrew and Monica were thinking about what was to come, and Paul and Alex were thinking about how lucky they were, and about how happy they were that their friends were about to share the same blessing that they had been given.

As they walked into the living room Alex turned and gave Monica a little hug, and then did the same to Andrew. “It’s late and you have a big day ahead of you, so you’d better hurry right off to bed.”

Andrew smiled at her indulgently, “I think that you’re the one who needs rest. You’ve pulled all of this together for us.”

She waved her hand at him and grinned, “Aww, it was nothing. Sheesh, a wedding with only six participants and one of them is God… and I thought Paul and I had a small wedding!” Monica giggled and Paul wrapped his arm around his wife.

“She’s right, though,” Paul said, “You’ll be surprised how tiring tomorrow will be. So off to bed, both of you… and I think that we’ll be following pretty quick ourselves.”

“Whatever you say,” Andrew said as he once again took Monica’s hand in his.

Alex caught the motion out of the corner of her eye and held up a hand. “Whoa… I just remembered… Andrew, you can’t stay in her room tonight.”

“What?” He looked confused and Monica’s hand tightened around his.

“It’s the night before your wedding! You aren’t allowed to see her from now until her big entrance.”

“But… but we aren’t… doing anything,” Monica said as she blushed.

Paul contained his chuckle at the way Andrew’s eyes shot open, and Alex helped him by poking him in the side as she stepped forward.

“No, I know that… I mean… I don’t know that… but… look, it doesn’t matter. It’s part of the tradition. You just aren’t supposed to see each other ahead of time.”

Monica looked up at Andrew with a hint of apprehension in her eyes. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to sleep.”

Andrew rubbed his thumb soothingly over the back of her hand and then looked over at Paul and Alex. “Well, traditions were meant to evolve. How about if I stay with her until she falls asleep? Would that work?”

Alex nodded, almost sorry that she had mentioned it at all. It was supposed to add a fun bit of excitement and anticipation, but she had forgotten just how different Monica and Andrew were from the average couple.

“That would be fine,” she said with a smile. “Just perfect.”

*****

“Monica, honey, it’s time to get up,” Alex said quietly as she gently shook the angel’s shoulder.

Brown eyes slowly opened and a beautiful smile stretched across peaceful features. Her last memory was of Andrew stroking her hair and kissing her forehead, but she had a feeling that God had played a part in helping her sleep through the night.

“Good morning, Alex,” she said with eyes shining.

“Today’s the day,” Alex said, excitement in her voice. “Tess got here a few minutes ago and she’s already down in the meadow making sure that everything’s ready. So get yourself showered fast and we’ll head down and get you dressed!” She leaned forward and kissed Monica on the cheek. “I can already tell that I was right… you’re going to be a beautiful bride.” She quickly scurried out of the room, tossing another smile over her shoulder as she went.

Half an hour later, Monica was showered and dressed in jeans and a tank top and ready for the quick ride down the field where Andrew had proposed. Although she and Alex had decided on things together, she hadn’t been allowed to see it for the past two days. Alex wanted it to be a surprise. When they rode into the clearing, the little angel’s breath caught in her throat.

In the center of the field, surrounded by flowers, was an archway made of twisted grapevines and supple willow branches. It was dotted with flowers and ivy, cascading down and sending their sweet scent into the air to meet with that of the wildflowers. At the edge of the woods stood two white tents. When Monica noticed two horses already grazing at the far end of the field Monica knew that Andrew and Paul were probably already inside one of them, getting ready. She slid off Scout’s back and let Alex lead her inside the other tent.

Tess was there, beaming a great smile and ready to hug her tightly. “Oh, baby, you already look beautiful,” she said.

Monica smiled happily. “If people keep telling me that, I’m going to start to get a swelled head.”

“Well start buying new hats now, then,” Alex teased, “because I have a feeling you’re going to hear it quite a few more times.”

The sunshine poured in through the thin canvas material, casting a soft light on everything within, from Monica’s dress hung on the center pole, to the little dressing table laid out with her flowers, and makeup, and a small box, wrapped in gold paper. She looked at it curiously as she walked over and picked it up.

“Who is this from?”

“Why don’t you read the tag?” Alex said with a grin.

The little angel opened up the tiny card and saw, in Andrew’s neat handwriting, “To my best friend, my soulmate, my beautiful bride… love for always and a day.” There were tears in her eyes as she clutched the tag to her chest, and she thought she might have cried if Alex hadn't pushed her gently.

“Aren’t you going to open it?”

She carefully unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. Inside, nestled on a bed of sand, rested a pair of delicate pearl earrings, and encircling them was a gold bracelet. The links were twisted and curled, and embedded within were tiny pieces of tumbled sea glass, in pale green and blue. They carried all the colors of the ocean that she loved and she touched one stone in particular. It was the exact color of Andrew’s eyes. She couldn’t help but think of what had caused the pearls to form, and what had polished the glass to such soft beauty. They had started out as accidents, but there really were no accidents in God’s perfect plan, and with a simple gift, Andrew had reminded her of that once more.

“They’re beautiful,” Tess said as she looked over Monica’s shoulder.

“They’re perfect,” Monica breathed.

.*****

“Knock, knock,” Paul’s voice sounded from the other side of the tent and Alex could nearly hear the rolling of his eyes, “Are we about ready in there?”

Alex was just completing the finishing touches on the little angel’s hair, making whispy curls with the battery operated curling iron she had brought along.  Due to Andrew’s gift, a last minute decision had been made for Monica to wear her hair up for the most part, but Alex had carefully singled out strands of her auburn hair to curl and leave down.  She had added Baby’s Breath to the loose bun on top of her head and with just a touch of makeup, Monica looked positively beautiful.

“Come on in, honey,” Alex replied as she finished and moved to pull back the tent flap for him.  He entered and she drew in a sharp breath at how wonderfully handsome he looked in his black tuxedo.  Recovering, she smiled as she moved to kiss him, “You clean up pretty well, Gatlin.”

“I could say the same for you,” He remarked with a wink, taking in the pale blue matron of honor dress she was wearing.  Her cheeks were already flushed with excitement, but the rosiness deepened as he whispered in her ear, “And I think later on, we’ll be having our own second honeymoon.”

She grinned, kissing him once more, “You have a deal,” She quickly whispered, before she moved aside.

As his wife moved, Paul’s eyes came to rest on the angel and they widened even as he felt a lump forming in his throat.  Her dress was made of a very fine silk fabric in the purest of whites, and it fit her perfectly.  The neckline dipped slightly into a heart shape and her emerald necklace was showcased above it.  Delicate lace was appliqued to the bodice along with tiny pearls and the spaghetti straps just wide enough to allow a thin line of pearls as well.  The skirt was perfectly plain, but fell gracefully over her legs with just a bit of a flair at the end and a slight train in the back.  Altogether, it made a beautiful image, and Paul was struck speechless. Finally managing to find his voice, he reached for her hands and held them gently in his own, “Monica…you’re a vision.”

She blushed and lowered her eyes shyly.  Raising them once more, she smiled up at him, “You look very handsome, Paul.  Is Andrew ready?”

He chuckled, “The poor guy is more than ready.  He’s been waiting for this moment a long time, honey, but I left him in Tess’ capable hands.  Are you nervous?”

She considered his question for a moment and then squeezed his hands, “Only a little,” Seeing him raise his eyebrows she continued softly, “Paul, I’m marrying Andrew…my best friend…there isn’t much to be nervous about in that.  Nothing has ever felt so perfect to me before.”

“Tess has just started the music, so we’d better get a move on,” Alex interrupted gently, blinking back her tears.  She knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she and Paul were about to be part of something extremely special and just looking at her friend reminded her of that once more.

Monica gave a tiny nod, before moving to hug Alex tightly, “Thank you for everything.  God has blessed me so much; with Andrew and with you and Paul.  I love you.”

“Ohh, you’re going to make me cry, honey,” She replied, hugging her tightly, “You look so beautiful, Monica, and I’m just so honored to be standing up for you.  Andrew is one lucky angel.”

“That works both ways,” Monica whispered in return, her heart fluttering at the thought that in a matter of minutes really, he would be her husband, joined with her for all eternity.  She would never want for anything more.

Smiling, Alex pulled away, giving her husband a quick kiss on the cheek, “I’ll see you both up there.”

As his wife departed, Paul turned back to Monica, as he found himself searching for some words of wisdom to impart to her but considering she was an angel and she got plenty of direction from the Big Guy, it seemed nearly hopeless, “I know he is going to make you very happy, sweetheart,” He said softly, unable to help but to lay a gentle hand on her cheek, “And as long as you two are always honest with each other, about everything, you’ll never go wrong.  He wants to share everything with you, Monica, from the hard stuff to the wonderful stuff and I know you want the same thing,” He smiled as she nodded her head, her dark eyes shining brighter than the ring on her hand, “I guess we’d better get going as I have double duty today with standing up for Andrew and between you and me, between that and giving you away, I have never been more proud.”

“Paul…” She whispered tearfully, touched by his honesty.

“I love you, and you look beautiful.  Now, let’s go make all your dreams come true.”