CHAPTER 6

The morning began much as the night had ended and it was nearly eleven 'o clock when the two angels descended down the stairs to fix some breakfast. Monica accepted her task of peeling potatoes for hash browns as she continued to cast shy glances over at her husband, who was cracking eggs into a bowl.

Both angels knew that in one night everything had changed. Given the depth of their relationship over the years, neither of them could have ever imagined feeling anything more, yet they did. They felt a lot more.

Andrew's heart was so full he didn't know how it continued to beat. Where only a day ago, he had known that there was nothing he would not do for her, now, he felt a protectiveness for the little angel that knew no bounds, nor did his love for her. The things they had experienced on their wedding night had filled him with awe and wonder and a sense of completeness he had never known before. He'd had no idea that such emotions even existed.

A small grin played on his lips as he caught Monica looking at him out of the corner of his eye and he found her sudden shyness adorable, "Are you doing okay over there, Angel?"

When she simply nodded her head, Andrew's smile faded to a frown of concern. Was something bothering her? Had he upset or hurt her in some way he had not been aware of?

Turning to look at her, he was about to ask, when he saw her finish slicing the last potato and at that moment she turned to face him.

The words, "I'm finished.", died on her lips when she met his gaze and a heartbeat later, Monica had thrown herself into his arms and burst into tears.

The blonde angel's eyes widened as he clutched her tightly to him, his mind racing with what could have possibly brought on such emotion, "Baby, what is it? What's the matter, Monica? Please, tell me so I can make it right."

But for the moment she was too overcome to reply and Andrew carefully maneuvered them to a kitchen chair, where he sat down and drew his wife into his lap, "Shh. Angel, please, talk to me," He was growing desperate and he finally pulled away enough to look into her face, but what he saw there, only confused him more. Through her tears, there was a trembling smile on her face.

"I...I'm sorry," Monica managed to say through soft sobs as her husband's tender fingers wiped at her tears as new ones fell, "I just...I was just feeling so much, Andrew...so many things...good things, wonderful things, but things that felt so powerful...and there were no words and it felt like...all I could do was cry. I was trying so hard not to, but then when you looked at me..." Another sob escaped her, "I could see in your eyes that you felt all those things too..."

His relief was palpable as he hugged her tightly to himself once more and kissed the top of her head repeatedly, "I know," Andrew whispered hoarsely, the emotion so tight in his throat he could barely speak, "I feel them all too, Angel. A love so strong and so different from anything I have ever known before...I don't even know what I could compare it to."

"Yes," she murmured, her teary eyes searching his, "All these years of being your friend, of loving you, I thought that it surely couldn't be any stronger than it already was, but I was wrong. The things I felt last night, this morning, right now...oh Andrew...there are no words. The closest I can come is saying that I love you but it doesn't come close to what I'm feeling inside."

X

They remained in that loving embrace for some minutes, the peaceful atmosphere of the mountains was a background for the comfortable silence that was established in the kitchen. Monica's tears slowly subsided as Andrew slowly stroked her auburn hair. With a slight smile on the corner of his lips, he spoke again.

"I wonder if my beautiful assistant is feeling alright to give me a hand with breakfast."

She bit her lower lip a little embarrassed, and smiled adorably at him. "Yes..."

"Okay..."

He held one of her hands and helped he rise to her feet. Andrew could not resist placing a tiny peck on her lips before giving her another minor culinary task to accomplish.

X

"You know something, Andrew..." she said, happily placing the slices of bread in the toaster and turning it like Andrew had previously taught her.

"What is it, angel?" he wanted to know, a smile already playing on his lips as he knew that by the tone of her voice she was going to start her eternal remarks about the world that surrounded them.

"Perhaps the Father has also a small plan by putting us together..." she said, turning to look at him. He also stopped what he was doing to face her.

"And what could it possibly be?"

"I mean, there are infinite wonderful reasons why He allowed us being together, and all of them fit in his perfect plan but... Everyone, humans or angels, were made with the purpose to learn and develop themselves."

The angel of death raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly, trying to follow her thoughts and at the same time hide his amusement. "Yes..."

"Well... perhaps one of the many wonderful things that will come out of our love is the fact that we'll have the chance to spend more time with each other and you'll be able to teach me how to cook properly! Who knows, maybe I'll become a good cooking angel someday?"

He couldn't help chuckling at two things: the adorable way with which she had spoken and at the conclusion itself. "I wouldn't mind at all spending my existence by your side and teaching my sweet angel how to cook!"

"I know, I-"

She didn't finish her sentence as the smell of burnt bread soon reached their noses and they turned their eyes to the toaster: it had just spit back two completely black slices.

Andrew didn't know what to say about that small accident, afraid of hurting her feelings, but it was Monica who let out a sigh and spoke. "Well... Looks like I'll need many lessons!" she said, resignedly but not really upset. Then, she tilted her head and approached him a little more, a slight smile back on her face. "Which is good because it means having more time close to you!"

Highly amused, he gently lay both hands on each side of her face and pressed a loving and playfully loud kiss against her lips. Her giggling made his heart ten times lighter and they put aside their cooking tasks for a couple of minutes, as some other loving kisses followed the first one.

X

"... when I was created I used to lie down in the fields of Ireland and look at the night sky in awe, marvelled at the thousands of sparkling dots I could see..."

Monica was comfortably leaning in Andrew's embrace and both angels were sitting in the porch steps from where they had watched as the sunset behind the mountains and the first stars appear in the sky. He had carefully draped a quilt over their shoulders and in between love kisses and whispered loving words, they welcomed a very beautiful night.

Always with a smile upon his face as he listened intently to every word she had to say, the blond angel kissed her temple. "And did you stay all alone up there to wait for the night to come?"

"Yes... But not for a very long time, you know, Andrew. I confess I was quite afraid when darkness fell, even if I was in my angelic form and the Father was watching over me all the time." A playful smile appeared on her lips and she turned her head to look at him. "And there wasn't a dazzling guardian angel there to protect me..."

"Dazzling?" he said, tightening the hold around her small shoulders a bit more.

"Yes. As charming as he can be. And there would be no classes about the stars either! And at that time I didn't have this feeling that other than the Father I belong to you completely..."

Her Irish lilt was like music to his ears and he would never get tired of listening to her voice again and again. Leaning over, Andrew cupped her chin and brought his face closer to hers. He kissed her slowly and lightly, savouring that sweet caress as she tilted her head, feeling his fingers entangling through her auburn hair.

When they reluctantly pulled away, she leaned against his shoulder and gently lay her hand over his heart. "May I ask you something?"

Andrew smiled at the same time he pressed soft kisses against her forehead. "You know the answer to that."

"Can we spend one night of our honeymoon outdoors? Like in a camp, with a tent, a fire and marshmallows?" She felt him chuckling at her request and tilted her head to look at him.

"It sounds great, angel!" he finally spoke, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "If the weather continues like this I think we can arrange this for the next few days."

"Thank you!" The grateful broad smile on her face nearly undid him. It was past 8 p.m. and the slightly chilly breeze of the mountains was moving some wisps of her auburn locks.

He raised his eyebrows with a pensive expression. "But we're not gonna camp right now, and I guess it's high time we finished our lesson about the stars and galaxies, don't you think?" he asked, playfully touching the tip of her noise with his index finger.

"I think you're right... I'm a wee bit cold myself, you know."

"Let's go inside, angel. It's really getting cold." He kissed her forehead one more time and immediately rose to his feet, giving her a helping hand so that she too could stand up. She noticed how the tone of his voice turned into a more serious one as once again his protectiveness was evident. Andrew wrapped his arms around her small shoulders as her much shorter arm encircled his waist and both angels in human form headed inside the cabin, closing the door behind them. There, a warm fireplace was waiting for them.