Mysterious ways
PS. It's advisable reading the previous episode (Episode 35: A day in the park) before reading this one.
It took Monica and Matthew around 20 minutes to get at Keysville. The Irish angel pulled over in a stone street, with lots of pretty small stores which sold all sorts of products - and her eyes sparkled even more when she realised one of these products was coffee. Matthew left his car and walked over up to her.
"Here we are. Keysville 's commercial area!" he joked, "Just don't go too far because the city ends like five blocks from here!"
"Oh, thanks, I'll remember that!" she said, looking around her and not sure of what the next step was. "It looks like a cosy little town. Are you from here?" she wanted to know, partially due to her inner curiosity, partially because she didn't know what else to say.
"Well, yeah. I left it some years ago and lived in some other cities, you see. But I kinda got tired of going around so much... Here is my home, you know?"
"I know exactly what you mean."
The young man sighed and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Well... I guess this is it..." he said, for the lack of better words.
"Erm... it looks like..." she replied, and Matthew noticed she glanced at the coffee shop for the second time.
"Would you like a coffee?"
"Oh, I... I'd love to but aren't you late for work?"
"It's the least I can do, Monica. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably wouldn't get to work today, as no one stopped to help me out on that road. Please, accept."
"Well, in that case, thank you very much."
X
When they left the coffee shop, around half an hour later, the man and the angel bid each other goodbye and headed to opposite directions. While Monica got into the red Cadillac and drove away - disappearing in the nearest corner, Matthew went home to change his clothes. He had already called work explaining he'd had a problem with the car and would be late on that day.
The young man was just finishing to button his shirt when the doorbell rang and he glanced at his watch, "Man, what is it now? A conspiracy so I don't get to work?" Sighing with impatience, he walked over up to the door, "My boss is gonna kill me!"
But when he opened it up, the expression on his face disappeared completely, and now he went pale like he had seen a ghost. Standing in his front door were the young woman who had spoken to Andrew in the park, about an hour earlier, and a little boy. Tears fell freely from her eyes and she saw him and it took them a few instants to recover from the shock.
"Evelyn?"
"Matthew..."
"Evelyn... Oh, God, I've searched for you for so much time... I..."
"I came here... because... because I needed to ask for your forgiveness... We both made mistakes in the past, but what I did to you was... unacceptable... I just didn't have the right..."
Confusion clouded over the man's face. "How... how did you know I was living here again?"
"I didn't... I just gathered all my courage and decided it was time we saw past our mistakes because..." she looked at the little boy who was holding her hand and eyeing them with a curious look. "... because someone here doesn't deserve to suffer due to his parents' faults..."
Now Matthew turned to look at the little boy, and immediate tears filled his eyes. "No... that... can't be..." The young woman nodded her head and he knelt down right in front of the little boy, "Joshua?"
"You know my name?" he asked, with the innocence proper of a three-year-old.
"Oh, yes... I do, little buddy..." He replied, wiping away the tear that rolled down his cheek.
"And why are you crying?"
"Because... because I'm happy... I'm very happy, you see..."
"Josh," his mother also knelt down next to him and caressed his dark hair, "this is Matthew... this is... your dad, honey..."
The boy's mouth curved into a cute smile and he looked at his mom and then back at Matthew, "Really? My real dad?"
"Yes, sweetie... Your real daddy..." Evelyn replied, wiping away the tears that never ceased to fall.
"Can I give you a hug, Joshua?" Matthew opened up his arms, terrified of being rejected, but instead, the little boy accepted his offer and threw himself in the young man's arms. "Oh, God... Thank You... thank You so much!"
"We made mistakes... both of us... but leaving our house taking our son with me and not telling you where we were was... unforgivable..." She said, "And only now I came to realise how much he needs a father next to him... How much he needs you."
Evelyn watched as he held their son with the same father love she had seen in the park, between Andrew and Angela, some time earlier. "I came here without even knowing if you still lived here... I thought you'd probably moved away..."
"And I did... a while before you left... Oh, God! I wasn't even supposed to be here now, I should be at work..."
"Then it was really God who guided you here..."
A lump formed in his throat at those words. The mysterious woman who had appeared on the road apparently coming from nowhere, the magical way she fixed his car and how she caused him to return to Keysville were indeed unbelievable. And then, the woman named Monica had vanished into thin air once he left the coffee shop.
Looking back at his son's face and marvelling at his smile, Matthew had the certainty he been blessed with a miracle.
X
Glad to get rid of the sandals, Monica walked barefoot along the park, enjoying the feeling of the soft green grass on the soles of her feet. She was smiling because she knew exactly where she would find the two most precious treasures of her life. A minute later, her eyes spotted Andrew and Angela under the shadow of a tree, near the lake.
The blond angel was lying on the ground and their baby was lying over his chest, peacefully asleep. Even though he had his eyes closed, Andrew wasn't asleep and could feel her chubby little hand grabbing his thumb. He had a smile on the corner of his lips, and didn't know how many times he turned his eyes up to the sky and thanked God for putting that little creature in his existence. Lately, humans had made his heart ache with sorrow and disappointment, and he wondered if he was the right angel to be an angel of death. Angela soothed his heart and purified his soul with as much love as only her mother was able to transmit.
As Monica came closer, his smile grew a little, but he remained with his eyes closed, secretly picturing her curious expression once she knelt next to them. Marvelled at the image of Andrew and Angela lying in there and so close to each other, the Irish angel leaned over and brushed a tender kiss on the little girl's cheek, and then caressed her auburn hair. Then, she turned to look at Andrew and narrowed her eyes; her smile now had turned to a mischievous one.
She leaned over again and placed a feather light kiss on his forehead, her hair gently tickling his handsome face and neck. As he remained motionless, she insisted and now kissed the tip of his nose. But Andrew didn't move or said anything, even though he could hear an amused giggle escaping from his beloved angel girl. Monica caressed his short blond hair and kissed his eyelashes, his cheeks and finally, his lips. And it was then that she felt his hand on the back of her head, pulling her closer to him, deepening that sweet kiss a bit more.
Some moments later, she pulled away and couldn't help giggling at his words.
"... I guess I should visit this park more often..." He joked, his eyes still closed, but a playful smile on his lips.
"... well, me too, it's not every day that an angel who is granted with some free time finds a cute little angel baby and a handsome angel of death lying on her way..." She replied, "And has the chance to kiss them both!"
Andrew finally opened his eyes and caressed her face with his free hand, "How could you not? They both belong to you..."
He could see her love reflected in her sparkling brown eyes, and pulled her down to lie on the white towel he had lay on the grass. Monica rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying as he wrapped his arm around her small form.
"How was the walk in the park?" She wanted to know, eyeing him with a permanent smile.
"Great! Our little angel here had so much fun that she fell asleep!"
"I knew you would! You're a perfect daddy and she is a very curious wee angel!" Monica spoke, gently caressing the baby's hair.
He looked straight into her sweet brown pools and then at her meek face, as if contemplating a present. "You know, angel... When God gave me you I thought I didn't have the right to ask for anything else for me... My world was complete then. But then... you're so wonderful, angel... so amazingly beautiful that you gave me a second blessing, just as amazing as you."
She bit her lower lip, always moved at his loving words and gestures. "I love you so much, Andrew... You know you'll own my heart forever, don't you? That you and this wee one are my entire world..."
Smiling warmly at her, he placed a few auburn strands behind her ear, "I can see it in your eyes, my angel..."
Their faces inched closer and another loving kiss followed, his fingers entangling in her auburn hair; and on the following moments when air became an issue, that warm kiss turned into little other ones, not less loving.
Monica let out a contented sigh and turned to look at Angela, who stirred a little in her sleep, but never woke up. "This wee one is also a very intelligent little angel!" She turned to look back at his questioning green eyes and concluded, "I don't know a more comfortable place to take a nap other than right here!"
"Well, there was another angel who was missing, though, and we both missed her!" He bent down and kissed her lips softly once again, "How was your assignment, angel?"
With some amusement, he watched as the expression on her face turned into a confused one. "Well... I guess the assignment still is..."
"What do you mean? Isn't it over yet?"
"Y-yes... and... maybe... Or maybe not..."
Chuckling at her wording, Andrew straightened his body in order to face her. "And that means..."
"Well... taking into consideration that I did exactly what I was told to do... And that I didn't take any wrong turn with Tess' car... I guess it means that God works in mysterious ways..." She concluded, and her face became serious, "Sometimes more mysterious than we can possibly imagine!"
Andrew narrowed his eyes and frowned a little, trying to understand her reflective words - he was probably the only one angel who had this ability and the required amount of patience to do so.
She looked at him and noticed how hard he was trying to interpret her confusing words, and smiled. "But I know I did the right thing, as I was told to come here and reunite with my two most precious blessings!"
Smiling, she inched closer and kissed his lips and then rested her head over his shoulder, leaving Andrew to wonder if he could ever measure the love he felt for her. But he ended up reaching to the same conclusion: it was impossible to know the extent of his feelings for her and for the little angel lying in his arms.
The angels spent some wonderful moments just lying on the green park, enjoying the soft breeze and the few gentle sunrays that managed to cross the generous oak tree canopy. Some time later, a crying little one broke the silence, but it took her just a few moments to realise she was in her daddy's arms and that her mommy was back from her assignment for little Angela open up a broad smile.
"Hey, look who's up! Hello, sweetie!" she said; she and Andrew sitting up straight so that Angela could face them.
"See? I told you your mom would be here soon, my little angel!" Andrew said, carefully handing the cute little baby to her mother.
"And I missed you so much, honey!" Monica gently kissed their daughter's cheek and caressed her soft auburn strands, receiving an immediate happy smile as a reply. "I wonder when she'll be able to go Home with us, you know..."
"Yes, me too." He said, taking a small stuffed ladybird and touching Angela's tiny nose with it. Her baby's laugher made them laugh. "Though I have to confess I've spent quite happy moments with you both here on Earth!"
"So have I..." The angel turned into human form gazed at him and caressed his handsome face, "All the moments I spent with you here were... unforgettable..."
Looking deep inside those sweet brown pools, Andrew crossed the small distance between them and pressed his lips against hers, cupping her cheek and deepening the kiss a bit more - both of them not noticing how Angela looked at the stuffed little ladybird, longing to have the small toy in her hands again. But as she noticed her parents were a bit distracted, she emitted another baby squeal and their loving kiss ended with them laughing and exchanging some more small kisses. "... as I was saying, they're all unforgettable, even if they involve wet diapers and a crying little one..." Monica added, causing her beloved Andrew to laugh even more.
They were going to kiss each other again but all of a sudden, someone cleared her throat next to them, and they turned to see their beloved supervisor standing on her feet right next to them.
"Tess!" Monica exclaimed, glad to see her supervisor and dearest friend.
"I think some angels here have been enjoying the earthly habits too much lately!" she replied, with a grumpy tone in her voice, which only caused Monica and Andrew to exchange an amused glance.
"Well, I know a wee angel here who has missed you very, very much!" Monica said, rising to her feet with Andrew's help, and holding a very smiley little baby.
And Angela's cheerfulness managed to break the apparently bad mood on Tess' face in a blink of an eye: the oldest angel opened up a broad smile and kissed the baby's tiny hands. "Hello, my pretty little angel girl! You're the cutest little angel I've ever seen in my whole existence!"
Angela seemed to have as much fun as her parents and she kept on looking either at Monica and Andrew or at Tess, with a smile that never faded.
"Tess... are you here for a new assignment?" The Irish angel wanted to know, secretly worried about the mission she had fulfilled in the morning.
The supervisor raised her head, turning her full attention to the two angels. "No, baby. I'm here to tell you two that we're going back Home, now that you three managed to fulfil God's plan."
They exchanged a new glance, now more confused than never. "We 'three'?"
With a pleased expression on her face, she nodded her head. "Yes! While you were on the road helping that poor man, Monica, Andrew was here in the park, talking to a confused young lady. And only after she saw the interaction and obvious love between father and daughter, did she realise how selfish she was being by keeping her son away from his father."
Surprised, Andrew ran a hand through his blond hair. "I... I knew there was something wrong with that woman but I couldn't imagine..."
"You did your part, angel boy. You and this cute little angel girl here!" she replied, once again smiling at Angela. Then, she turned to look at them again, "You two had to be here, that woman needed to witness the father's love, and to understand it is one of the ways that God's love shows itself. Angel girl here managed to finish the assignment, by taking this little boy's father back home, so that his meeting with his son could be possible."
Monica heaved a sigh of relief and smiled happily at that piece of news. "Oh, Tess, but this is wonderful!"
"The Father's plan is always wonderful, baby!" the supervisor smiled, and then looked at the trio, "Well, and now it's time for us to get going!"
"But Tess... Angela... she can't..." Andrew tried to speak, but Tess raised her hand, "Angela is coming with us, mister Halo!"
The couple of angels looked at each other for the third time, not believing in what the supervisor was telling them. "You mean she's..."
"She's assuming her angelic form at this very moment. And what a perfect little angel she is!" Tess' eyes were sparkling with joy as now she would be able to "drool" over the little angel a lot more often.
Overwhelmed with joy and emotion, Monica and Andrew kissed their daughter and then kissed each other's lips. On the following second, they were all dressed in white and invisible to the human eye. The blond angel wrapped his arms around his dear Monica and, side by side, they walked along the green field on the park - little Angela comfortably resting in her mother's arms, and with a permanent smile on her face.
A white dove cooed and flew by at the very moment that the four angels disappeared.
To be continued