CHAPTER 3

"Hullo, wee one!"

A smiling Irish angel greeted the wide eyed little girl who opened the door for her on that sunny day. It was the beginning of her assignment and Monica had offered her prayers for guidance so that she could be able to help that apparently lovely family. And she was having fun with the fact that little Jane had immediately recognized her.

"It's you!" the little girl happily exclaimed.

"Jane? Who is it, sweetheart?" the mother's voice came from somewhere inside the house, even though the woman already knew who was coming.

She appeared a second later, and with a smile she greeted the visitor. "Ah, you must be the nanny that the agency sent, right?"

With a friendly smile, the angel nodded her head and shook hands with the woman. "That is correct. I'm Monica and it's very nice to meet you, Mrs Clark."

"I know her, mommy, she's the angel I saw today!" the little girl exclaimed with enthusiasm, and caused her mother to laugh.

"Oh, well, as a matter of fact she must really be as I thought it would take at least two weeks for them to send a nanny and I asked urgently."

"I understand you want me to start tomorrow." Monica spoke, following the woman up to the living room and attentively watched by little Jane.

"Exactly. Please, have a seat…" she said, showing her the sofa. "I was offered this incredibly good opportunity to go back to work after five years and there was no way I could let it go. You see, my husband and I used to have better financial conditions to run a house with three children. But times have changed, you know, and since our Jane here is grown up enough, I feel I need to help him."

"I understand; you are a team, you and your husband."

"Yes. And I confess I wanted to go back to work for myself too. I missed it…"

There was a brief silence as the woman seemed to be daydreaming about her return to work. Jane, for herself, never stopped gazing at Monica and seemed quite happy with her nanny. Monica winked at her and then turned to face Mrs Clark again.

"Well, I'll go and call the boys," she said, rising to her feet. "You be a good girl and keep Monica company, okay, Jane?"

"Okay, mommy!" the girl replied, still smiling at their guest.

When her mother disappeared through the living room door, Jane stood up and walked over to Monica. "Where is the other angel?"

"You must be talking about Andrew. Well, he is busy right now."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Well, he-"

"Here they are!" Mrs Clark voice was heard again and she brought her two other boys, "Monica, this is Aiden and Josh. Aiden is seven and Josh is ten. Boys, this is Monica and she'll be helping mommy and daddy out while we're at work."

"Hello, Monica! Can you rollerblade?" the seven year old asked, with a friendly smile at her with his brand new equipment, which included a blue helmet, knee and elbow pads and a pair of what he would describe as "wild rollerblades."

"Oh, well, I'm afraid I can't but I could certainly use a little help from you, Aiden!"

"Deal! We can start tomorrow!"

"I can hardly wait!" she said, and turned to the other boy, who remained serious.

"It's very nice to meet you, Joshua."

He nodded his head. "Nice to meet you too, miss…"

Monica eyed him carefully. Although he was polite, there was some sadness in his eyes she could immediately detect and which she knew she would find the reason for this eventually.

There was a little more talking as Mrs. Clark gave her some more instructions on the house and the family schedule. Monica also met Mr. Clark, and noticed that despite some lack of organization, that they seemed like a loving family. The angel headed to her temporary house by the beginning of the evening and the events of the day were not the only thing that kept on playing on her mind. Her thoughts were on her beloved Andrew and how he was dealing with the consequences of his latest assignment.

Monica remembered the many assignments in which he had worked with children, not as an angel of death but as a caseworker, and the amazing way he always had with the little ones. She smiled at the realization that she too was said to be able to connect with children so easily and wondered if that coincidence had to do with the fact that she and Andrew had the same essence.

X

Andrew walked for some time after he had bid Monica goodbye and the usual worry he would always feel whenever he left her alone on this Earth was not present in his heart this time, as Tess was with her. Besides, her assignment was a calm and safe one and he knew how much his beloved little angel enjoyed spending her time amongst children – she herself was a bit of a child too, and the innocence with which she could see the world, even after all she had been through, enchanted him.

Thinking about Monica's enthusiasm with her new mission, the blond angel did not notice where his feet guided him until he saw himself standing in front of a historical building in the city main street. Quietly, he received the message from his loving Father about what he should do then and also in silence, he nodded his head humbly and entered the building.

"Good afternoon, my name is Andrew…" he started, to the secretary that was sitting at a desk in front of the entrance door. And right over this same door, there was a heading informing where the angel was walking in right now: "Save our Children Law Enforcement Agency."

"Oh, good afternoon, Andrew. Mr. Collins is waiting for you." She politely said, rising to her feet so to guide him up to another office at the end of the corridor. "Follow me, please."

"Thanks."

She guided him up to the last door of the short corridor and after a light knock, the secretary pulled it open. "Excuse me, sir… Andrew is here."

"Oh, good! Please, tell him to come in, Beth!" the man sitting behind the desk friendly answered. He was in his early fifties and was had a tired but friendly look on his face. When the angel of death shook hands with him, he could realize that there was much sorrow in his soul, maybe because Andrew too carried a heavy burden with him right now.

"It's nice to meet, Andrew."

"Very nice to meet you too, Mr Collins."

"I have here a folder with your profile, places you've worked and your experience with missing people cases in the past, Andrew. And I can say I was very impressed."

"Thank you, sir. Though I can say I wish our job wasn't necessary as it's not easy to deal with everything that missing people involves…"

The man threw him a sympathetic look, somewhat able to read the sorrow that was also in the newcomer's soul. "I do understand what you're talking about."

"Fortunately, most cases were crucial to catch a criminal or, most importantly, to find a missing victim."

"That is right. It says here you have experience in negotiating and intermediating."

"It's been a few years now, but I think I managed to have success in almost all of them."

"Right." The man made a short pause and, after one more brief look at his résumé, he looked at Andrew once again. "Married?"

That one question finally placed a smile on his face. "Yes, sir."

Also smiling at Andrew's joy, Mr. Collins kept on talking. "Ok. Children?"

"Oh, no. Monica and I got married recently."

"Oh, I could say so! Your face lit up with enthusiasm!" the man finally joked, as Andrew nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, Andrew, the process for your being admitted to this law enforcement agency starts now. We'll do some tests and other interviews, but I have a feeling that your contribution to this agency will be valuable. There… have been a few cases of missing children and so far, not a clue has been found despite all efforts that this agency has done." He said, and Andrew could notice how much that reality had struck the man so far.

"Thanks for the trust, sir. You can have my word that this is an assignment I'll measure no efforts to fulfill."