Thief of hearts - by Deyse

Weeks after Corey had passed away, Monica, Andrew and Tess came back to the shopping centre where Alice, his adoptive mother, had a news stand. From the escalators, the three angels watched as the woman smiled and put on her necklace, with a heart shaped locket. After looking at Corey’s picture inside of it, she seemed to be recovering from the loss of her son and carry on with her life.

Happy to see that, the angels smiled at one another and headed to the exit of the building. When they saw the revolving doors ahead of them, Monica’s and Andrew’s smile became a mischievous one, and the blond angel was the first one to speak.

“After you...”

“Oh no. After you, Andrew...” Monica replied; both chuckling at Tess’ frowning face, as they both knew the supervisor had a kind of fear of passing through this kind of doors.

But, realising that this feeling was something silly, Tess finally decided to face it. “Oh, c’mon, it’s just a door!” she exclaimed, and was the first one to cross the door.

Andrew and Monica exchanged an amused glance and he allowed her to go before him, following her afterwards.

“So, what are you ladies doing now?” the blond angel asked, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

“I’m doing a rehearsal for the special presentation of the angels choir,” the supervisor spoke.

“Oh... I see...” Andrew was immediately aware of Monica’s feelings when the subject ‘singing in the choir’ was brought up, and, watching as her smile faded a little, he was quick to keep on talking, “Well, then I guess it’ll be just the two of us, angel!” he gave her a light squeeze on the shoulders.

“What do you mean?” she wanted to know, eyeing him with curiosity.

“Well, I was watching those people at the amusement park and, well, I didn’t invite you to try out some of the attractions cause we were both working on the assignment, but now that we have some free time I thought it would be fun to go there! What do you think?”

The blond angel watched with pleasure as Monica’s wide smile reappeared on her beautiful face and her brown eye sparkled with excitement. She looked at Tess as if she was a little girl asking for permission to go. “Oh, Tess, it’s going to be so much fun!”

The supervisor nodded her head, “Yes, it sure is! I hope you both have a great time!”

“We can come back there some other day too, Tess, so that you can try that yourself!” Andrew spoke, taking Monica’s hand into his own.

But the oldest angel didn’t show much enthusiasm about it. “Hum... yeah, maybe... I’ve faced one challenge today, it’s gonna take some time to try strong emotions again! Well, I gotta go now, see you two later!”

“Goodbye Tess!”

They watched as she disappeared and Andrew kissed the back of Monica’s hand, “So, let’s go?”

“Yes!” she replied, with an excited expression on her face, and letting go of his hand to wrap her arm around his own.

x

When they arrived at the amusement park, there were so many attractions to try that the Irish angel was a bit indecisive.

“Well... We can have a go on the cups and later on the ghost train! And there’s a small roller coaster too! It seems exciting... Though I guess I’d be a wee bit afraid of all those loopings and unexpected turns... But I guess maybe the dodgems...”

“Monica, Monica, wait, angel...” Andrew interrupted, standing in front of her and placing his hands over her shoulders, smiling and finding her excitement the cutest thing, “We’ll have all day long to try all those attractions and I’ll help you to choose them, ok?”

Also smiling, she sighed deeply and blushed a little, “I’m glad you’re here, you know...” she spoke, as if she was revealing a little secret.

“Well...” Andrew gave a steps towards her, grabbed her face with both hands, taking the opportunity to stroke her cheeks, and kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose and finally her lips. “... There's no other place I'd rather be right now other than here with you!”

With a wide smile, she wrapped he arms around his waist in a warm embrace, which he happily returned, now kissing the top of her head repeatedly. “Now, what do you say we started with something light?”

“Ok...”

x

With a broad smile that never disappeared from their faces, the two angels had a great time together at the amusement park. Monica’s constant laughter, followed by Andrew’s one, reflected all the joy and fun they were having together, and both secretly lifted a prayer of thanks for those blessed and unforgettable moments, which they would surely keep in their hearts forever. They tried the dodgems, the ghost train and the cups. Then, the couple stopped in front of the rollercoaster.

“Are you sure about this?” Andrew asked, looking at his beloved friend with apprehension. But she looked back at him with her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Yes! Come, it’s our turn!” she practically dragged him to the car.

Some minutes later, when the trip was over, they left the rollercoaster with a giggling and even more excited Monica. “I want to go again!”

“I thought you’d be scared, angel!” he said, chuckling at how happy she was.

“No! I mean, I was but... it’s so much fun, Andrew!”

“Ok, then, but we’ll stop to eat something later!”

“I guess we have a deal!” she spoke, dragging him by the hand once again.

x

After so many strong emotions, the angels sat down to have a snack and talk, and Andrew couldn’t get tired of watching all the excitement in the Irish angel’s face. From across the table, he reached out and took her hands.

“I love to see you happy and with this beautiful smile upon your face, Monica! You have no idea how good it makes me feel!”

“Well, it’s all thanks to you, Andrew!” she replied, her face was glowing with so much happiness.

He kissed her hand and looked deep inside her brown eyes, “Well, it was one of the best days in my existence!”

“One of?” she repeated. But he kept on talking, not missing her slight disappointment, “Yes... one of. Because the happiest day was when met an enchanting angel, with a charming accent, beautiful eyes and a warm heart...”

Blushing deeply, she lowered her head, “You’re certainly being kind... I remember I wasn’t that gracious with you when we first met...”

He chuckled, and brushed his thumb on the back of her hand, “Well, you were a bit upset, I admit it. But it didn’t stop me from seeing how wonderful you were...” he enjoyed when she blushed even more and added, “And you looked quite cute when you got mad at me!”

That statement made her smile grow wider and she let out a giggle. At that moment, his own face became serious and he inched his chair closer to hers, reaching out for a small velvet box inside the pocket of his jacket. Then, the blond angel took her hand and placed the box in her palm.

“Andrew? What is it?”

“I... I bought you something at the mall, before I met you and Tess this morning...” he spoke, with a loving gaze in his green eyes, “I hope you like it!”

“Andrew!” she exclaimed, looking at him with the same tenderness.

“Open it!”

She removed the red ribbon around the box and opened it: there was a gold necklace inside, with a heart shaped locket.

“Oh, Andrew! Andrew! It’s beautiful! It’s... I love it!” she spoke, tears of emotion threatening to fall from her doe-like eyes at any moment. She threw her arms around his neck, in a tight, warm embrace. Deeply pleased with her reaction, Andrew held her back and buried his face in the nape of her neck, inhaling her sweet perfume. “Let’s say you have my heart... literally and metaphorically speaking!”

“I love you so much, you know? You have my heart too... forever...”

They pulled away just a few inches and he gently stroked her cheek, “I love you too, little angel.” He spoke, and their faces inched closer until his lips touched hers in a loving and sweet kiss. Monica raised her hand to touch his cheek and after to caress the hair on the back of his head, never breaking that affectionate kiss. Only a minute later, did Andrew pull away and lay tiny kisses on her forehead and again, on her lips.

“Can you put it on for me?” Monica asked, her eyes shining with love for him.

“Sure...”

He put the chain around her neck and fastened the clasp in the back of her neck. Then, he kissed the top of her head, pulling her to her feet. “Come with me, there’s something we definitely must do!”

He took the curious looking angel by the hand and they walked over to the photo booth. “I've just realised we don’t have a single picture together! Besides, your locket needs a picture and we definitely need to have a ‘souvenir’ of this day!”

“But that's a lovely idea!”

She watched with interest when he deposited a coin in the machine and then the two entered the booth.

“You have to look at that lens...” he spoke, “... and we have to be close together!”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem...”

From behind, Andrew wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his cheek against hers. Four pictures were taken in a sequence. In the first one, the angels were resting their heads together, cheek against cheek. The second one showed Andrew bending his head and kissing her left cheek. In the third picture, Monica was the one to place a sweet kiss on his face. And finally, the fourth picture showed the two angels sharing a tiny kiss on the lips.

“Something tells me those pictures were great!” he spoke, kissing the tip of her nose.

“Let’s see them!” the excited Irish angel replied.

The four small pictures came out of the machine and both angels smiled with contentment, pleased with the result of the photographs.

“Choose one to put inside your locket, angel.”

“That’s impossible... I love them all! Do you think you could pick?”

“Well... I can’t choose either! Why don’t you fold them all and put them inside the locket?”

“I like this idea..." she did as he had suggested and then turned her eyes back at him. "And... I’ll keep them inside my heart too, ya know?”

“So will I, angel!” he spoke, softly stroking her face. “Can I keep one for me?”

“Of course!”

He took the picture in which she was kissing him and placed it inside his pocket.

“Now, come with me, there’s an attraction I want to go!” she said, dragging him along with her.

“It’s not the rollercoaster, right? Cause that hot dog may end up coming back if we take another ride!”

“No!” she said, pointing to the attraction she was eager to try. “It's the love tunnel!”

“Well... I couldn't think of anything more appropriate...”

Holding each other, with Monica resting her head on his shoulder, the two angels entered the car and enjoyed the pleasant trip.

“I love you...” the blond angel whispered on her ear.

“I love you too...” she whispered back, both holding each other and enjoying that pleasant little trip, grateful for those hours of joy and sure that they would all be etched in their hearts forever.

The end.