A special place
“She’s waking up, Tess...”
“Oh, thank You, Father!”
Andrew and Tess watched, with their hearts pounding loudly in their chests, as Monica stirred in bed and opened her eyes. They were in a hospital bedroom and there was an IV tube in the little angel’s arm; besides a machine to register her heart beats.
“Monica? Angel?”
“Andrew... Tess...” she whispered, with weakness evident not only in her voice but also on her pale face.
“We’re here, baby; we’ve been here for the last 10 days! Praying for you, angel girl!” the supervisor was quick to say, taking her free hand and struggling not to cry.
“... Where are we? What... what happened?”
“We’re in a hospital, sweetie; you got hurt in an explosion while you were on assignment, in that school, remember?” Andrew answered, softly running his fingers through her hair, and, like Tess, making a great effort not to cry. And hearing that, Monica’s eyes grew wider with panic, “Oh God! What about those children, what about...”
“Shh! Calm down, Monica! The kids are fine; they’re all safe, like the rest of the people in there!”
“Really?” she looked at her two dearest friends with confused eyes, and they tried everything they could put her heart at ease.
“Yes, they’re all fine, there were only some minor injuries but they’re all at home right now, baby; only you got seriously hurt and doctors had to bring you here.”
Monica looked at the IV tube in her arm and at placed her hand on her head, feeling some bandages on her temple.
“But they said you’ll be fine now, that the worst is gone, angel.” Andrew held her free hand in his own and kissed it. Only then she realised the sorrow and anguish in the angels’ eyes – evidences of the hard days they both had spent by her side.
“Andrew... Tess... I’m sorry, I can imagine how worried you must’ve been...”
“No apologies, baby! You’re healing now and that’s what matters!” the supervisor said. Monica turned her eyes to Andrew and saw that, as much as he tried to hide it, his sadness and fear of losing her was so visible that they prevented him to talk. Quietly, he shot her a reassuring look and bent his head to brush a soft kiss on her forehead.
*
Some weeks later...
“You’re finally ready, angel girl!” Tess spoke, finishing to comb Monica’s long hair. They were in the hospital bedroom, but now the little Irish angel was fully recovered and had a happy smile upon her meek face.
“You know, Tess, when I first woke up here I was feeling sad an sorry that you were so worried because of me... But now I’m glad I stood here these days cause I’ve been talking to some other patients and I could help them! I guess the Father left me in this human form for a longer time so that I could do His work right here too!”
“Yes, He has always a greater plan in His mind, baby...” Tess finished her work and Monica, now wearing a beautiful flowered skirt, a white sleeveless T-shirt and comfortable sandals, carefully inspected her appearance. Then, she looked at the supervisor and grabbed her hand, “But I’m happy to be with you and Andrew again!”
“So let’s get going cause that angel boy is going to have a nervous break down if he has to wait another minute!”
Giggling, they finally left the bedroom and met Andrew at the entrance hall. When he saw his beloved Monica now fully recovered and smiling at him, the blond angel opened his arms for her, with his heart swelling with love. She let go of Tess’ hand and rushed towards him, wrapping her own arms around his neck a few seconds later, enjoying to feel his warm embrace around her body, lifting her off the floor.
“God... I feel so grateful you’re back to us... to me, angel.” Andrew whispered in her ear.
“Oh Andrew... Whatever happens to us, I’m sure that the Father will always keep us together...” she replied.
The blond angel placed her on the floor and pulled away just a few inches, so that he could look at her, and tenderly stroked her cheek. “I love you...”
“I love you too...” her eyes were shining with some tears of emotion. Andrew bent his head and placed a loving and tender kiss on her lips. That sweet caress was meant to say more than words; it was a reminder of how much they needed each other, how deeply they were connected, like no other angel had ever been.
Some moments later, Andrew placed soft kisses on her face and they rested their foreheads together. Tess, who had been standing by their side all the time, rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. “Should I remind you that you’re in human form and, therefore, in public, and that there are people watching?”
Smiling, they pulled away and looked at the supervisor, who couldn’t hold her mock stern face any longer, and smiled too, “But I have to admit you’re really cute together!”
Monica held their hands in her own and squeezed them, “I love you both so much, ya know?”
“Let’s say we suspected that, right Tess?”
“Oh yes, we had a slight suspicion!”
They held the little Irish angel and tenderly stroked her cheek, “I’ll be going now, baby, but I’m sure I’ll leave you in good hands.”
“What do you mean, Tess?”
“Well I mean that you were granted two days off and angel boy here has received a special assignment: to take a good care of you!”
Monica’s mouth dropped open and she stared at her dearest friends in surprise, “What? Two days?”
“Yep! And from now on, you’ll be under my responsibility!”
“Really?”
“Yes, so you’d better keep a good eye on our precious little angel girl here, you hear me, Mr Halo?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The two angels kissed the supervisor goodbye and Andrew grabbed Monica’s hand. “Well, it’s you and me now, angel.”
“And where are we going now, Andrew?”
“Close your eyes, sweetie...”
Burning with curiosity, she closed her sparkling brown eyes while Andrew held her both hands, kissed them and placed a tender kiss on her lips. A second later, she heard the blond angel speaking again, “Open you eyes now, angel.”
Monica happily obliged him and when she looked around her, she felt her heart beating faster. Her eyes were immediately filled with tears of emotion and a broad smile appeared on her face, “Andrew...”
“When Tess told me you’d have some days off and asked me if I could keep an eye on you I started wondering what place in the world you’d like to go and... well, by the look on your pretty face, I guess I made the right choice!”
Monica covered her mouth with her trembling hand as she turned around and contemplated every little detail in her surroundings, “My beloved Ireland...”
From behind her, Andrew wrapped his arms around her shoulders and waist and kissed her cheek, “The last time we’ve been here together we were working on an assignment so it wasn’t possible to take a walk around or enjoy ourselves. But now, I was hoping you could show me your favourite places!”
The little Irish angel turned around to face him, “... I love you so much...”
“Really?” he replied, touching her nose with his and happy to see a tiny smile on her lips.
“Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
Their faces were just a few inches from each other and in a split second they were sharing another loving kiss.
*
Monica was sitting in a booth in a charming cafeteria downtown Ireland, looking content with her chin propped in her hand as she waited for Andrew.
On the table, there were 2 empty large cups of mocha and her eyes lit up when she saw the blond angel coming back to his seat next to her carrying a third one.
“Here you go... one more extra large cup of mocha for the lady with the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
“Ah... thank you, Andrew!” she said, grinning first at him and after at the cup itself. Shaking his head with some disapproval, he watched as she grabbed the cup with both hands and removed the lid, taking the first sip a second later.
“And don’t you forget: you must not tell Tess a word about this!” he said, sitting by her side and with a serious expression on his face, as if talking to a little girl.
Monica stopped drinking and faced him with a pleased smile, “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t... And... I love you!”
This time he couldn’t help chuckling at the cute way she had said that and also at the cream moustache she had above her upper lip. Playfully, the blond angel narrowed his eyes and stared at her. “Hum... can I trust an angel with a mocha moustache and who has been drinking gallons of coffee in the last half hour?”
With a mischievous smile, she placed the cup on the table and, without warning, grabbed his face with both hands, pressing her lips against his. It took Andrew only a split second to adjust to that situation, wrapping his arm around her waist and tenderly stroking her cheek.
A few moments later, they pulled away and the Irish angel surveyed his face with a satisfied expression, “Hum... now you have a mocha moustache too and also tasted some coffee... And I still trust you with my very existence!”
With his heart practically melting with love for that little Irish angel in front of him, he shook his head and smiled, “Have you any idea how much I love you, angel?”
Purposefully, she looked at the 3 large cups of mocha on the table and then nodded, “Hum... Yes! I guess I have!”
Laughing even more, he brushed a tiny kiss on her lips and, once again, stroked her cheek with tenderness, “You know... I would drink gallons of coffee this way for the rest of eternity...”
“Well, that can be arranged... But first, let me finish my mocha!” she said, highly amused, and then continued to drink her favourite beverage, while her beloved Andrew kept on placing feather like kisses on her temple and gently stroking her hair.
*
“... what about that one?” Andrew asked, he and Monica were lying next to each other, on a green field and looking at the blue sky. A white towel had miraculously appeared on the green grass, where the angels were lying, and the two had been observing the clouds passing in the sky, trying to guess what they looked like. And needless to say that Andrew was having a lot of fun with Monica’s confusing associations.
The Irish angel was resting her head on his upper arm and, after reflecting about his question for a few moments, she smiled, “A coffee pot!”
Andrew let out a loud laugh, which caused her to look at him with a questioning face, “What?”
“That’s not a coffee pot!”
“Of course it is! Look at its roundish shape and the handle...”
The blond angel looked at her, committing to memory every feature of her meek face and secretly amused at her slight annoyance, “I guess I let you drink way too much coffee, angel!”
“And what is it then, huh?”
Andrew looked at the cloud again and then at her, “You wearing a pony tail!” he answered, laughing again at her pouting face. The blond angel pulled her closer to him and filled her face with lots of kisses and then she rested her head over his chest.
The monotonous movement of his fingers through her hair, along with the sound of his heart beat, made her close her eyes and let out a contented sigh. “It was a wonderful day!”
“Yes...” he agreed, now with a serious face: sad memories of some weeks earlier were back to his mind, “You know, when I first knew about the explosion at the school and that you were hurt I was angry Monica...”
The Irish angel raised her head to face him and was sad to see the sorrow in his eyes, “Oh Andrew... Please, don’t remember this...”
“No, it’s ok, angel.” He gently stroked her cheek, “I was furious, to tell you the truth, but then... When I saw you lying on the bed, so badly hurt, all I could think of was asking the Father to heal you soon, because... I wouldn’t bear staying away from you, angel”
“I can say exactly the same.”
A slight smile appeared on his lips and he went on talking, “And when doctors told me you were getting better, when Tess and I were told you’d get better and heal little by little, I felt so grateful that I forgot about my hate and all I could feel was that my love for you grew even stronger.”
With a broad smile on her face, she inched closer and caressed his cheek, “That’s what I feel every minute; my love for you is constantly growing and...” she lowered her voice, as if she would tell him a secret, “...if you ask me, I don’t think this will ever stop!”
Andrew drew her closer to him and kissed her lips once again; a long loving kiss, slow and sweet. Then, he traced a line on her jaw and contemplated her Gaelic features for a long minute, “Andrew?” she spoke, with a questioning face, but with the same loving smile.
“I was thinking, Monica... A love like ours... I guess it’s never happened before...”
“Well, Tess told me she has never heard of it!” He placed some strands of her hair behind her ear and kept on looking at her with loving eyes. “You’re a wee bit pensive today, aren’t ya?” she spoke, always with a cheerful tone in her voice.
He returned her smile and touched her nose, “I’m sorry; there’s a pretty angel right here in my arms and I just keep on forgetting about everything else... I guess I’m in love!”
Giggling at his loving words, she inched closer and placed some tiny kisses on his lips. Then, the Irish angel looked at the sky one more time, “The sun will set soon... Can I ask you something?”
“You know the answer for that.
“There’s a place near here from where you can see the sun setting behind the mountain. Would you like to go there?”
“Of course I would, angel.” He stood up and offered his hand to help her. Then, Monica pointed at his shoes, “You could take them off, ya know, walking around barefoot on the grass is good!”
“I’m not ‘the angel of no shoes’!” he replied, in a teasing tone of voice. But now, instead of being annoyed, Monica smiled mischievously at him, “Very well then... It’ll be more difficult for you to get there first!”
Saying this, she let go of his hand and started to run. “Hey! That’s cheating!” he shouted, but all he got in reply were her excited giggles.
Chuckling at her childlike excitement, the blond angel ran after her, purposefully giving her a small advantage so that he could watch her laughing and enjoying herself. Only when he noticed they were coming closer to a ravine, did Andrew accelerated his steps and, a second later, Monica felt a pair of strong arms encircling her waist and let out a squeal.
Gently, and always carefully so that he wouldn’t hurt her in anyway, the blond angel knocked her on the ground, “I beg your pardon?” he spoke, watching as she tried to catch her breath, “That’s not fair!”
“Oh really?” he spoke, sitting in front of her and taking some strands of hair off her face.
“And I won! I arrived here first!”
“You’re such a little cheating angel!”
“I am not! And now I have the right to claim my prize! I deserve another large cup of mocha!”
Frowning with mock disapproval, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m not. And you’d better start looking for another café, mister!” she grabbed his hand, “Now come, let’s see the sunset!”
Hand in hand, the two angels walked over in that vast green field searching for the ravine that wasn’t far from them. Andrew’s heart felt lighter and warmed to see his beloved Monica so happy and with her human form completely restored. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her; including giving his own existence to see her safe, and, at that very moment, watching her safe and sound and being able to hold her and tell her how much he loved that little angel, was all that mattered to him.
To be continued