Sweet Days
Monica stirred in her bed and slowly opened her brown eyes, catching a confused glance of her surroundings: the sun rays were already coming through the window and the beige curtains swayed a little as a gentle breeze blew inside the bedroom. And then a tiny smile appeared on her meek face when she remembered where she was and especially who was together with her. For one week, she had been spending the most wonderful days of her existence with her soul mate, her beloved Andrew. They had got married with the Father’s blessing, as He knew how great and pure was the love that had brought the two heavenly beings together. After the beautiful ceremony held in the green fields of Ireland the angels had been granted some weeks off and Tess, their eternal ‘angel mother,’ had brought them to the beach house. The oldest angel wished them happiness and joy and then disappeared, leaving them alone in that secluded part of the Earth.
Since then, every day was a sweet one, filled with happy memories and infinite love. Andrew had been more caring than never – in fact, Monica felt as if her love for the blond angel was even greater than what she herself had imagined. The kind, gentle way he treated her, his sweet kisses and caresses, the lazy afternoons they would lay down in the hammock placed at the porch and stay in each other’s arms, either in silence, contemplating their beautiful surroundings, or just chatting, would be in their memories forever. He didn’t mind the topic. For him, listening to her endless observations about nature, human beings, angels, their feelings... knowing what she was feeling inside her heart was a blessing.
When Monica turned to her side, however, she didn’t see the blond angel lying next to her. Instead, on his pillow there was a red rose. Her smile grew wider as she saw the flower and, sitting on the bed, she took it in her hands, smelling its sweet perfume. She often woke up later than Andrew, it was true, and when that was much later, he would always leave a flower next to her.
A few moments later, somewhat sensing that his precious angel girl was awake, Andrew opened the bedroom door slowly, and carrying a tray with a delicious breakfast in his hands. His heart nearly melted with what he saw. Monica was sitting on their bed, leaning on the pillows and holding the flower he had left for her against her heart; the deep red petals contrasting with the pure white of her sleeveless night-gown. Her broad smile and the absolute love he could see written on her face went straight to his heart and he thought he had just fallen in love again.
“Hey... Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” he greeted her.
“Good morning, Andrew...” she spoke, tilting her head and eyeing him with an adorable mix of curiosity and amusement. “I wonder where you get these every time I wake up late!”
Chuckling at her sweet manners, and committing to memory her meek features, he stepped closer and placed a tiny kiss on her lips, “Well, I told you before, angel, I’m glad that, even in human form, angels still have some powers. Besides, I’d go and find you a flower even if I had no powers at all!”
“Well, then I’m glad you have them because I wouldn’t like you looking for flowers to give me and away from me!”
Smiling, he sat down in front of her and took the rose from her hands, placing it inside a small vase on the nightstand. Then, he took her both hands and kissed each of them. “Then you don’t need to worry cause while we’re here, I won’t move away from you, my sleepyhead angel girl!”
Blushing a little, she lowered her eyes for a brief moment, suddenly embarrassed for always waking up after him. But as she heard his voice again, she raised her head and looked deep inside his green eyes. “How did you sleep?”
“Well... very well in fact; I cannot lie!” she answered, as if confessing a big secret. And watching as he continued to smile, Monica frowned a little, “Do you think I might be getting lazy? You know, we’ve been in human form for a week and sometimes we can get affected...”
Now the blond angel couldn’t help but laugh at her conclusions and at the slight worry he could see in her eyes, “That’s not funny, Andrew! Don’t you know that angels who stay in human form for long periods of time do get affected by human feelings?” the tone in her voice was a nearly upset one – which only made her look even more adorable to him.
“You know Monica, you’re unbelievable! You’re the most hard working angel I know! You never give up, you’re always doing your best, always eager to work...” he cupped her chin, “And honey, even if you were the laziest little angel in Heaven, I’d still love you!” he said, letting go of her hands and gently grabbing her face, and kissed her lips once again.
“Well... in that case I don’t need to be so worried...” the Irish angel spoke, the cheerful smile back on her face.
“Ok, then. So now you can have your breakfast!”
Andrew kissed her cheek and moved to sit next to her, placing the tray with their food right in front of them.
“That’s not fair, you know... You’re always the one to cook! But today I’ll prepare lunch!” the decisive tone in her voice and her words caused his smile to disappear for some seconds, and he had to make a lot of effort not to show his worry.
“No... no, honey, you see... I kinda started to prepare it already... Besides, I like cooking, I really do. And it’s even more special if it’s for you...”
Gazing at him with tenderness, always amazed by how sweet he was with her, Monica lay her hand on his face and gently made him bend his head, filling his cheeks and lips with lots of tiny kisses (and to his relief not noticing his slight concern about her suggestion to cook).
“I love you!” the Irish angel spoke, with a cheerful smile and causing his heart to melt a second time.
“I love you too, angel...” after he kissed her lips again, he pointed at the tray, “Now will you eat your breakfast? I don’t want any weak little angel around here!”
Loving his stern tone of voice, she let out a giggle and kissed his cheek. “Yes, sir!”
X
Monica let the foam of the waves tickle her feet and wet the brim of her long white dress, at the same time the wind disarrayed some strands of her hair. With a loving smile, she watched as Andrew walked over to her, holding a small object in his hands. On that afternoon, they had been walking along the beautiful deserted beach for some time and Monica decided to gather some seashells. So her beloved husband had the idea to catch some of these near the rocks, but as she could hurt her feet with the pieces of broken shells, he told her to wait for him there.
A second later, he was at her side, giving her a big seashell. “Oh that’s beautiful, Andrew!” she exclaimed, enchanted with the well-shaped cone.
Glad to see how happy she was, he smiled, “They say that if you put it in your ear, no matter where you are, you can listen to the waves of the sea.”
“Really?” she said, already placing it close to her ear and causing him to chuckle.
“Yes, but you actually have to wait until you’re not on a beach, you know...”
The Irish angel looked at him with a cheerful smile upon her face and, standing on the tip of her toes, she placed a tender kiss on his lips, “Thank you!”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulders, bringing her closer to him in a huge warm embrace. “You’re more than welcome, angel!”
Andrew contemplated her meek features one more time and kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose and finally her lips, and both angels shared a slow loving kiss. He still kissed her cheeks and her temple before she rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and sighing with contentment in his strong arms.
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, after some silent minutes contemplating the deep blue ocean. A smile appeared on Andrew’s face with that question, “Yes... lovely...” he answered, resting his cheek on the top of her head, without exactly looking at the ocean but gazing at an invisible point instead; lost in his own thoughts as he kept on caressing her hair.
Narrowing her brown eyes, the Irish angel raised her head and looked at him again, with a questioning expression on her face, wondering if he was really talking about the scenario that surrounded them. He let out a chuckle and bent his head, kissing her lips one more time, tasting the sweet flavour of her mouth while she melted in his embrace, enjoying his caresses and feeling a surge of happiness to think that she belonged to him.
x
“... one day I’ll have the courage, I promise...” Monica spoke, comfortably resting the back of her head against Andrew’s chest. Both angels had been sitting on a towel, on the beach, and there they had watched the sun set. The blond angel had lit a small fire close to them and wrapped his arms around Monica’s shoulders.
With infinite tenderness, he stroked her hair and kissed the side of her head, “I know you will, angel. Swimming can be a lot fun, you see...”
“Yes, it seems to be...” she said, watching as the flames danced in the air, illuminating that small spot on that deserted beach.
“And don’t forget that I’ll be with you all the time!”
Smiling, Monica turned her head to face him, “That’s why I said I would do it someday!” After he kissed the tip of her nose, she continued to talk, “It’s just that... the sea scares me a bit you know... It’s so vast... Sometimes I feel that that huge mass of water will swallow me all of a sudden!”
Chuckling, he tightened the hold on her, “I would never let it swallow my angel girl!” then he tried to put on a serious face, somewhat understanding her concern, “But I admit that the sea can be dangerous sometimes. After all, there are waves and all... But we could try a lake, what do you think?”
“Hum... it’s a smaller mass of water but... it still scares me a little, Andrew...”
“What if I’m there, holding your hand?”
“You promise?”
He kissed her cheek lovingly, “Of course I promise you, my angel. There are some lakes not far from here, formed with the water of the ocean. If you want to, we can go there before our honeymoon finishes...”
She frowned slightly at those last words, thinking how sad it would be when those wonderful days came to an end and Andrew didn’t miss her worry, “hey, hey, I don’t want anybody sad around here! We’ve been on the beach for only a week and according to Tess, we’ll be here for two weeks! We still have plenty of time to enjoy it!”
The Irish angel sighed deeply, a bit calmer after hearing those words, “I know... But it’ll be sad when it’s over...”
“And who told you it’ll be over?” he cupped her chin and made her turn her head, “Whenever you have a day off or some free time, you’ll be right here, in my arms, Mrs!” he emphasised the last little word and placed a tiny soft kiss on her lips.
A cheerful smile appeared on her face, making her previous worries vanish completely. “There’s no other place I’d rather be!”
They inched their faces closer and shared a long, sweet and tender kiss, full of love. Even though they had kissed many times before, Monica couldn’t help feeling pleasant butterflies in her stomach every time she felt Andrew’s lips against hers and his arms holding her tightly.
Only long minutes later, did they part and Monica returned to the previous position against his chest. “It’s in days like these that I think about the week...”
“The week?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the week had 8 days?”
“And what would you do with the extra day, may I ask?” he was clearly amused with her somewhat confused reflections.
“Well, that would be a day for the ones who are on honeymoon, you know, so they could stay together a wee bit more! A kind of ‘honeymoonday’...”
He let out a small laugh “Well, although I love the idea, don’t you think you’d make a little mess with the humans’ calendar?”
“Hum... Yes, I suppose so...” a sudden cold breeze reaches them and she flinched a little.
Andrew placed a tiny kiss on her shoulder, “It’s getting cold, we’d better go inside, angel.”
He stood up and helped her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her shoulders; both walking towards the house. “Besides, we may not have an 8th day in our week, but we have a delicious dinner waiting for us, a cozy house, a warm fireplace, and, most importantly, honey... we have each other!” he spoke, kissing her cheek and making her giggle.
“Yes, you’re right. I couldn’t have been more blessed: I have you and it’s not for some days; it’s for the rest of eternity!”
Monica stopped walking and grabbed his face, making him bend his head so that she could lay some loving kisses on his lips.
“That’s exactly what I was going to say!” he said, and, sharing one more kiss, they held each other and headed to the beach house, only a few steps away, with the certainty that those were the sweetest days of their existence.
To be continued