CHAPTER 25

Sweet reality

The soft golden beams of light were just starting to grow over the bed as the sun rose into the sky the next morning, its light engulfing the two heavenly creatures as they slept entwined in each other's arms. The previous day and night had been perfect; more than either of them could ever have dreamed of, especially that given a year ago such things would not have seemed possible to them. They had experienced things they had never thought to feel and it had filled them with great awe, joy and most importantly, love.

As the soft yellow rays cast their glow over Monica's face, her eye lashes fluttered as if the sun itself was beckoning for the once heavenly creature to awake and share in the splendour of her first full day of marriage. Her eyes opened slowly once and then closed again for several moments but the feel of Andrew's bare chest beneath her cheek reminded her of all that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours and her dark eyes opened once more.

Raising her head carefully, so as not to disturb Andrew, Monica gazed up at him, her eyes taking in every aspect and contour of his face, still so gentle and tender in sleep and it seemed as if a small smile was on his lips, even as the feel of his heartbeat beneath her told her he was fast asleep.

She had never felt like this before and there was nothing she had ever experienced as either angel or human that could compare. The love that filled her heart caused it to ache and Monica didn't even realize it when her dark eyes were suddenly flooded with tears. She had always known that in some small way she had belonged with Andrew; everything about them had simply always fit; her curiosity that sometimes got her into trouble and his innate need to protect her, her need to chat about what she saw or felt and his ability to listen in absolute contentment just to name a few.

But all that had changed last night. The feeling of utterly and completely belonging to Andrew nearly knocked the breath out of her, the emotions were so strong and all she could think to do was to move closer to him and bury her face against the nape of his neck as the love bursting from her heart bubbled over in the way of her tears.

Her sudden movement combined with the slight shuddering of her shoulders caused Andrew's eyes to immediately open, and his arms, already around her in sleep, tightened their hold, "Angel? Baby? What is it? Monica, what's wrong?" His heart was beating rapidly even as fear gripped it. Urgently, he pulled away enough to look into her face and the tears that streaked it.

The tiniest smile crossed her lips as she shook her head, "N...nothing is wrong...please Andrew, just hold me tighter."

Not at all convinced, he tugged her back into his arms and listened as little by little her soft sobs began to diminish with the feel of his hand in her hair and his lips pressing against the crown of her head. Once she was reduced to just quiet sniffles, Andrew drew back to look at her once more, his hand coming to rest against her cheek, "What is it, Monica? Please tell me."

"It's not a dream, is it? Yesterday, last night; it was real, right?"

A slow smile graced his lips, seeing the love and hope in her dark eyes, "Yes, Angel. This is so amazingly and beautifully real."

Her own fingers reached up to touch his face, "I thought so, you see, but sometimes there are moments when things seem so right and so perfect that it seems they cannot be true and I was already so blessed just to have your love and when we stood at the altar yesterday," Her eyes searched his, memorizing everything about them though she had done the same thing many times before, "I could not imagine loving you anymore than I did at that moment, but after last night and now, this morning..." A tear danced on her lashes before falling onto her cheek, "Oh Andrew, the things I feel right now...the feeling of belonging to you completely when so many times in the last year I have wondered where I belong...it's just...Andrew, there are no words..."

The tears that flooded her eyes once more were consistent with the emotion that suddenly lodged in his throat and unable to speak, he leaned down and captured her lips in a slow, languid kiss that spoke of the sweetest eternity. When their lips finally parted, Andrew kissed away her tears until he was finally able to find his voice.

"My beautiful angel, my precious, precious wife, you're right. There are no words for me to express how grateful I am that you have given me your love and how humbled I am by your trust in me and not just last night or the past year, but every single day since God allowed our paths to cross. You have always made me feel so incredibly blessed, but never more than I did yesterday when you agreed to be my wife, and Monica, I have never loved you more than I do this minute."

The tears of one very emotional angel threatened again, "I love you so much," Her voice trembled and the fullness of her heart seemed to multiply when Andrew pillowed her against his chest once more and she rested in the contentment she could only find in his arms.

It was several minutes before Andrew spoke again, "You know, we were up rather late last night. Are you still tired, Angel, because it's fine if you'd like to go back to sleep for as long as you'd like."

Her bright eyes met his as she shook her head, "No, I feel wonderful."

"Well then, how about I fix us both breakfast? I can whip up some blueberry pan-"

"Andrew?"

Her questioning tone caused him to stop speaking as he waited patiently for her to continue.

"I was just thinking...well, maybe we could have breakfast in a wee bit and instead..." Her words trailed off as a deep blush rose to her cheeks and she lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling incredibly shy.

A low chuckle escaped him, finding her expression adorable, "Whatever you wish, my angel."

X

Morning turned into early afternoon by the time the two angels had left their little secluded cabin in the woods to journey to the falls. Due to the beautiful day, they elected to walk as it wasn't too far and for Andrew, it gave him one of his favourite opportunities; to listen to Monica's observations about every little thing she happened to see on their walk. But what he enjoyed even more was the feeling of her small hand tucked into his own as he listened attentively to each word.

"Andrew, perhaps we can go there later," The little angel pointed across the road to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, "It looks rather interesting, don't you think? And look at the tower..." Her dark eyes gazed up at the Skylon Tower with vivid excitement, "Do you think we might have time to go there? I mean, if we don't it's fine. I really don't mind what we do, as in all my journeys as an angel I've never been to this wee waterfall before, but it didn't really matter to me where we spent our honeymoon as long as we were together," She grinned and shook her head, "Of course, that's the purpose of a honeymoon, isn't it, Andrew? To be together and I think that is perfect and it doesn't matter if we are looking at a wee waterfall or at the top of a tower or in our little cabin or even our apartment. I'm just happy to be where you are."

Andrew stopped walking and turned to face her, his green eyes filled with great love and tenderness as well as a hint of amusement, "I feel the exact same way, Angel, but for the record, we are having dinner at the top of the Skylon Tower tonight," Seeing her surprised expression, his fingers touched her cheek, "I made the reservation weeks ago, baby. The view of the 'wee waterfall' is supposed to be especially beautiful at night."

Happily, Monica threw her arms around him, "It will be especially beautiful to be sharing it with you."

Despite the people walking along the streets on their way to and from the Falls, Andrew took his sweet time in kissing his wife, never noticing the soft smiles of older couples as they passed by the newlyweds.

When their lips parted, Monica's eyes were dancing happily as he took her hand once more, "C'mon, I want to show you this wee waterfall."

They walked down the remainder of the street and Monica soon became aware of a very loud roaring sound and her brow knitted together in confusion, "Andrew...that sound..."

He chuckled and continued to lead her across the street, being careful of the constant traffic, and when they arrived at the rail on the other side, he pointed across the ravine, "There's your wee waterfall, Angel..."

He wished he had a camera to capture her expression.

As angels, they had seen so many places in the world, so Andrew had been hard pressed to find a place that would surprise her. Having been around a few hundred years longer than Monica, Andrew had seen most places, but he had been delighted with the knowledge that Ella had helped him to find out, that despite countless assignments to Africa, India and other exotic places, the little angel had never once been assigned to Canada or even the part of New York that was close to the Falls. The expression on her beautiful face was worth everything to him.

She had released his hand and now her own little hands were curled tightly around the rail as her mouth gaped open slightly in awe. Her dark eyes were wide as she stared over at the roaring falls, the sheer power of them leaving her without words.

Chuckling, Andrew locked his hands onto the rail, his body encircling hers as he brushed his lips against her cheek, "Surprised, Angel?"

"Oh Andrew..." The words were but a breath, "Look at what the Father made..."

"Yes," he agreed though his eyes were on her and not on the Falls though he held every bit as much admiration over his own view.

"Have you seen this before?"

Moving his hands from the rail to wrap them around her waist, he nodded, "I have, baby, and I very much wanted you to see it."

"That's why Ella was asking me if I'd ever seen it! You've been quite the conspiring angel, Andrew!" She rested her head back against him, "I could stand here and gaze at it all day. Oh! We'll be able to see it from the tower tonight, won't we?"

"We will and at night they are lit up and it is amazing," Andrew turned her gently to face him, "There's another view of it I'd like to show you, if you will allow me," Seeing her questioning expression he continued as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and faced the view once more, "See down there?" He pointed far down below them.

Blinking, Monica could just make out a boat through the mist that surrounded the Falls, "A boat? And it goes way out to them, Andrew?"

"I know water sometimes makes you nervous-."

"But you'll be holding onto me the whole time," Eternally trusting brown eyes looked up into his.

"Absolutely."

Soon after they were walking down a steep hill after purchasing tickets for a ride on The Maid of the Mist. The walkway was wet from the sheer power of Niagara Falls and Andrew was careful to keep his fingers laced through Monica's so she wouldn't slip.

"See, the falls there to the left? Those are the American Falls. The more impressive on the right, The Horseshoe Falls are on the Canadian side. The views are better from this country, even though we are simply right across the ravine from our home state."

"How funny to be so close to home but in a place we needed a passport to enter. Humans can certainly do things in a strange way. Having a passport simply to get a different view of something."

At the bottom of the hill they were each handed a blue hooded plastic poncho and Monica's puzzled expression only caused him to be more smitten with her as he helped her to put it over her head, securing the hood despite her frown.

"I don't think I'll need that, Andrew...plus it makes it harder for me to see," The little angel tugged the plastic hood off to hang down her back and shook her auburn hair free.

Chuckling once more, he touched her nose with his fingertip, "Whatever you say, my beautiful little wife."

They soon boarded the boat, and though Andrew had ridden it, unseen as an angel in some free time long ago, he watched Monica's face as she absorbed every word the captain told them over the loud speaker. When he told the story of a little boy going over the falls years before and a Maid of the Mist vessel being the one to pull the child, shaken but unharmed from the water, the little angel's eyes sparkled happily.

But her attention was soon pulled away as the boat grew closer to the Falls and she pressed herself further into Andrew's arms as he stood behind her, ever protective, at the rail. At the exact moment the captain stated, "This is Niagara Falls!" the mist from being so close to such powerful water, caused her to have to blink rapidly to try to keep her eyes clear of water, though her efforts were in vain. Her auburn hair was soon soaked and plastered against her head as the boat turned around to begin its journey back to port.

As they moved away from the Horseshoe Falls, the little angel rubbed her eyes vigorously so she could gaze at the falls again without the incredible mist clouding her vision.

Andrew chuckled as his hands smoothed her wet away from her face, "Maybe you see the benefit of the hood now, baby."

Monica grinned wryly as she gazed up at him, "A wee bit, but still, I didn't want to risk missing a moment of it. Andrew, it was incredible...so amazingly beautiful. Did you feel the power of it?"

Her obvious excitement made him smile even more, "I did, Angel. Now, how about we grab some lunch, something light, and then take our time walking back to the cottage? We have to change for dinner anyway and our reservation isn't until 7:30."

Her brow crinkled up in adorable confusion, "So late?"

He nodded his head with a grin, "Yep. Is that a problem? Something you wanted to get back early for?" He added with a wink.

Andrew instantly felt guilty for teasing her when she turned red from the roots of her hair, all the way down her neck.

"N-No! I mean, yes... I mean...Andrew..." Monica bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes shyly.

Unable to help himself, Andrew captured her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, feeling her melt instantly into his embrace, "I'm sorry, but for the record, sweetheart, I'm looking forward to later myself."

The high color began to fade from her cheeks as she looked up at him with loving and tender eyes, "I love you so much, Andrew..."

His thumb caressed her cheek as he got lost in her doe like eyes for a moment, wondering how God could have placed so much beauty in one little angel, "I love you too, my little angel, and I plan on showing you how much for the rest of forever."

x

Andrew paced in the living room of the cabin and glanced at his pocket watch for the tenth time. He was smartly dressed in a shirt and tie and his suit jacket was draped over the back of the sofa. He had been ready for almost thirty minutes, they had twenty minutes until their dinner reservation and his wife had yet to emerge from the bedroom.

He was loathe to rush her as they were on their honeymoon, but this was the one thing he had planned that actually had a time attached to it. Sighing, he elected to give her five more minutes, knowing that with the rental car, they could leave as close as ten minutes till their reservation and still make it on time.

Thankfully, before he could glance at his watch another time, he heard the knob on the bedroom door turn. Whirling around expectantly, Andrew froze and decided instantly that the wait had been worth every second.

Her dress was knee-length, black and sleeveless; simple elegance, so much like Monica. It was a bit lower cut then anything he had ever seen her wear before, but only enough to give him the smallest tease and not enough to make her even remotely uncomfortable. She wore the emerald necklace Andrew had bought her for Christmas along with the matching earrings that were easily seen as she had swept her hair up, leaving only a few strands curled and down. The stunning vision was completed with a black wrap that had silver sparkling threads intermingled.

She took his breath away.

Monica felt herself blushing profusely as his appreciative eyes drank in her image, even as a tiny smile played on her lips.

"Monica...you are..." Andrew was having trouble finding the right words that would do justice. Clearing his throat to speak past the emotion, he attempted to finish, "Exquisite...so beautiful," Crossing the room, he took her face into his hands and kissed her tenderly, pulling away just far enough to take in every aspect of her delicate face.

"Well, I can say the same for my incredibly handsome husband," Monica replied softly, reaching up to run her fingers through the back of his short, blonde hair.

"How did I get so blessed, Angel?" His hand was still touching her cheek with infinite tenderness, "How did I get so blessed to have you love me?"

His whispered words brought tears to her eyes, "I've been asking myself the same question, Andrew. You are such a gift to me; my most precious gift, my greatest blessing and I love you more than I could have ever thought possible."

"My love for you just keeps growing, baby. Every time I think it has reached its completion, it seems to reach new heights I could never have imagined," He kissed her again and then allowed his lips to cover her cheeks, forehead and nose. Finally pulling away, he extended his arm to her, "Shall we?"

Smiling sweetly, the little angel wrapped her hand around his arm as he led her out of the cottage and to the car.

x

Dinner was the most romantic meal Monica could ever remember having had. The restaurant in the Skylon Tower was elegant and turned incredibly slowly, giving them a beautiful view of Niagara and the Falls. Just as Andrew had said, the Falls were lit up at night, changing colors every minute, from the purest white to the most stunning purple and it all took Monica's breath away. It was all she could do to concentrate on her meal between watching the lights on the Falls and the loving spark of Andrew's amazing green eyes.

Andrew watched as his wife took a dainty sip from her coffee cup and felt the now familiar feeling of his eyes clouding with great emotion. The candles on their table cast a glow over the little angel, even as her dark eyes caught the light, causing them to dance. It seemed to him that every second he became more infatuated with her, more in love.

Reaching across the table, he linked his fingers through hers, "Are you happy, Angel?"

Looking somewhat shocked by the question, Monica laid her free hand overtop their joined hands, "Andrew, how can you ask me that? I'm happier than I've ever been before. I not only married the angel I love, but he also happens to be my best and dearest friend and my soulmate..." A tear escaped her eye and trickled down her cheek, "Andrew, you make me happier than I think I even deserve to be! In fact, when you think about it, you married the only angel who can't cook and who gets lost going around the block."

He chuckled and reached to wipe away the wayward tear with his thumb, "And that same precious little angel who is both culinarily and directionally challenged, stole my heart the first moment I ever laid eyes on her. The things that you see as your faults only make you more endearing to me, baby," Rising slightly from his chair, he leaned across the table and brushed his lips against hers, "And besides, how boring would my life be without having to try new coffee recipes? And the getting lost thing? That only means I have to keep you right next to me, which suits me perfectly."

Her eyes were sparkling with happy tears, "I love you so, Andrew."

"and I, you, Angel."

With their meal finished, Monica started to wonder what they were waiting for. Andrew had already paid the bill, but then he had ordered more coffee for her and she was so perplexed that she didn't notice Andrew's amused expression. She finished off her cup of coffee and looked at him expectantly.

"Just another minute, Angel." He glanced at his watch, seeing that it was almost ten 'o clock..

"You're being quite mysterious, you know!"

Before he could reply, he saw the first one, and he pointed out the window, delighting in the gleefully surprised look on his wife's face when she saw the fireworks exploding right over Niagara Falls, "Worth the wait?"

Monica nodded wordlessly as she watched the display of brilliant colors in the sky for another few seconds before she looked back at him, "But it's not quite right, I'm afraid."

Now it was his turn to be perplexed, but only briefly as he watched Monica get up from her chair to walk over to him, carefully sitting down on his lap to snuggle up against his chest as they faced the window together.

Unable to say anything due to the love that filled his heart, Andrew simply wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer, knowing that Monica was rarely at a loss for words, and she wasn't as she whispered happily, "Now, it's perfect."