The Japanese surprise
The elegantly dressed young man got out of the taxi in front of the sophisticated restaurant, a place where some businessmen usually met in order to decide the future of their companies or new ways of investment while they enjoyed fine and very expensive Japanese food. He crossed the entrance hall and the host took him to a previously reserved table. He was in his mid-twenties and was wearing a dark blue suit and carried a leather briefcase, and he was relatively young to be there.
But Robert Miller was an exception. He had come from a rich and traditional family and completed his studies abroad. Like his father, he was brought up and educated to continue the family business and as a way of learning, he had been sent to Japan and spent two years there. And if in the beginning he wasn't willing to do so, leaving the country proved to be one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life.
As he crossed the hall and got to his table, another gentleman was already waiting for him. He was tall and blond and like him, was wearing an elegant dark suit.
"Hi, Andrew, I'm sorry I'm late but something came up at the office and I couldn't leave earlier..." he was quick to apologise, and took a seat at the table.
"Well, it seems you're not the only one who is late." The blond angel spoke, checking his pocket watch. "Mr Ozawa's secretary has just called. He'll be here in like 20 minutes."
The young man let out a sigh of relief and sank on the chair opposite from Andrew. "Phew! I'm so glad for that otherwise I'd have another lecture from my ol'man!"
Andrew shook his head as he heard that comment. "I don't get it, Bob. If you're unhappy with this life, why don't you tell your family so?"
"It's not that easy, Andrew." He said, as the waiter brought him a drink. "Sometimes I do want to just leave it all behind and go back to Japan... to get back the life that I left behind there, you see..."
"You know, it's not too late..."
Robert let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. But it's not too simple either. When I met Suki I didn't think about anything else other than being with her... It seemed I had lived just to be with her... You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
The blond angel smiled slightly and nodded. Yes, he knew it very well. Being with his beloved Monica was like feeling a sweet eternity of joy. And as if it wasn't enough, their union had brought him a second blessing: cute little Angela, who now was certainly in her mom's arms or being extremely spoiled by a grumpy supervisor. But the two were far from him now: Monica, in some part of the world, taking care of an assignment just like him; Angela lying in gentle arms and under Tess' attentive eyes as she fell asleep lulled by the old angel's beautiful voice. Andrew could hardly wait for the time when he would hold the two angels in his arms again, kiss them softly and tell them how much he missed them.
"Yep, I do. That's why I'm telling you that if there's true love in there, nothing can be wrong in the end!"
"Well, I thought so too until my father and her parents knew about our plans to get married..." he lowered his head in visible sadness.
Andrew's face turned a serious one and he looked at the young man in the eye. "And do you think it's right that your father and her parents interfere in your life using the argument that you're not adequate to each other just because you come from two different worlds? You told me that Mr Miller didn't approve of your relationship with Suki because she doesn't belong to a rich family and because he wants you to marry someone from your social background... These motives are not legitimate ones."
"I wish I had more courage... I wish I could stand before him and say I'm going back to Japan and get married to the woman I love, but I'm weak, Andrew..."
"So you will choose to live with this guilt and with a woman you don't really love? You will run the risk to have an unhappy life?"
Those words seemed to shock him as Robert raised his head and stared at Andrew in doubt.
"Trust me, Bob, this is not how God wants you to spend your time on Earth."
A long silent minute had passed as the young man spoke again. "Do you think there's still time? She... she was disappointed with me, you see. And her parents... they took her away from me too but I didn't fight... I wonder if she wants to see me again."
"You cannot blame yourself for not trying to give you two a second chance..."
Their conversation was interrupted by a friendly-looking middle aged man. Mr Ozawa greeted them and it was possible to notice his Japanese accent. Now that meeting started to become a real business one, and apparently the blond angel would have to wait for a new opportunity to accomplish his assignment.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the same restaurant...
"I'm very nervous, Monica... It's going to be the first time I go there to serve the tables..." a young lady, dressed in traditional Japanese black kimono that was wore by geishas spoke. Her hair was up in a large bun, adorned with flowers and she wore the characteristic make up on her face, leaving her Japanese origin even more evident.
Truth to be told, the only one who was visibly far from having any Eastern feature was the other "geisha" who she was talking to.
"Oh, Suki you should know that being nervous is not going to help you, ya see?" She spoke, her Irish lilt was clear to anyone near them, "With a wee bit of patience you will soon get practice."
The young lady sighed deeply and sat down on a nearby stool. "I am starting to think I shouldn't have left Japan to come here... To come to look for someone I didn't even know if will be happy to see me again..."
She was about to cry, but Monica knelt down on the floor and, feeling terribly sorry for the assignment she had right before her, she placed a supportive hand over her shoulder. Like her, the Irish angel was wearing a lilac kimono and her auburn hair was equally tied up in a large bun. Her outfit and the white make up and red lipstick on her face did make her look pretty, and probably at a distance she would be mistaken as a geisha.
"You don't know that, Suki. From what you've told me, Robert loves you deeply despite the mistake he made when he came back home."
"And left me behind..."
"You said he was crying on the day he left, that your family made him leave, and that his father was also against your romance. And you also told me he promised you he would come back..."
"That's true... But I guess I'm dreaming about something impossible... And because of him, I decided to tell my family I'd fight for our love. Then I came to this country, and everything is so new and so unsettled to me... Sometimes I feel I came from another time and place..."
Monica let out a small sigh and nodded. "Sometimes I too feel like I am still adapting to some human habits. But you only manage to understand them if you have a forgiving and open heart."
"My family told me that sooner or later Bob would get tired of me and leave..." The young lady told her. "I must say that they were rude to Bob and that I argued with them, I told them Bob was different. But I guess that they weren't that wrong after all..."
The Irish angel searched for her hand and squeezed it gently. "If you truly believe it, then why did you decide to come to America?"
Suki lowered her head as she herself didn't know how to reply to that question. "The truth is that I'm feeling lost right now... and hopeless..."
"I understand that... but you should trust your heart first. And trust that there's a loving God looking after you, guiding your steps even though you don't know exactly where they're leading you to."
The girl rose her head and looked at Monica again. "Does God heal the anguish I'm feeling inside right now?"
"Oh, yes, He does, Suki. He's a loving father who cheers up when He sees His children's heart is filled with joy."
Suki wiped her tears and rose to her feet. "I'm going to show you something..." She left the restaurant kitchen for a moment and went up to a small room attached to it. There, she searched for her bag, which was in a little cabinet. "I have a picture of him..."
She showed Monica the photograph taken a few months earlier: she and her boyfriend were holding each other with a broad smile upon their faces, the couple's happiness was evident. "It's by a lake in my hometown."
"This is such a beautiful place..." Monica spoke, taking the photo in her hand and smiled.
Suki nodded her head in agreement, a bittersweet memory crossing her mind. "This is where we first kissed..."
The Irish angel was going to say something else but the chef's voice interrupted their conversation.
"Hey, one of you two, go take the order of table number 7!" he said, with a strong Japanese accent.
Suki looked at her friend and colleague with her eyes filled with tears and Monica didn't think twice before rising to her feet and volunteering to do the task. "I'll handle things here, Suki. Perhaps you should go to the restroom and fix your make up, you see..."
"Thanks, Monica... Thank you very much for your support..." she spoke, evident gratefulness in her eyes.
The angel gave her a friendly smile and left to fulfil her duties as the waitress of that thematic restaurant. Monica took the tray with table 7 order and left the kitchen praying for Suki. For the last two weeks the little angel had been a friend to her and listened intently to her sad story but Monica wasn't quite sure on how that assignment would end. Of course she had offered to help Suki look for her boyfriend, she knew that either good or bad that meeting could be, Monica would offer the poor young lady all her support and reassurance. But what was the Irish angel there for? How could she help more?
Monica sighed as she headed to the table number 7, at the same time her beloved Andrew's image came to her mind, warming her heart with joy and with the certainty of her being in his arms after nearly two weeks of separation.
There, a business conversation took place. "Years living here and I still cannot get used to your food..." Mr Ozawa spoke, as the geisha waitress approached them. And when she started placing the meal on the table, Andrew turned his face up and immediately recognised her.
Monica's eyes met his own a second later and her first impulse was to greet him, but before she could, she heard the Japanese businessman's words again. "Oh, there it is!"
Andrew had to suppress a small laugh as he saw his beloved angel girl dressed up like that and wearing all that make up. He had seen her wearing some other unusual costumes before, and every time she did it would secretly amuse him. This time it wasn't different: Monica's lilac kimono and the way she had tied up her hair were different from everything else she had already wore, and in a way she really looked beautiful in those clothes.
And when she heard Mr Ozawa's voice, Monica turned to her left and saw the friendly old gentleman looking at the tray she was carrying - and which was rather full and heavy. But a second voice did have an impact on the angel. And it wasn't Andrew's.
"Contrary to you, Mr Ozawa, I got used quickly to the Japanese habits... and I can honestly say that I miss them..."
Bob's words called Monica's attention and she couldn't help looking at him before she even started to serve the food. And it only took her that very second to understand God's perfect plan.
Her surprise to see Suki's boyfriend sitting at that table was such that she accidentally dropped the tray and the food over the one that was closest to her - in this case, her dear Andrew.
"Oh, my goodness!" Mr Ozawa spoke, as he, Bob and Andrew himself rose to their feet. The blond angel's dark suit was now partially covered with sauce and other Japanese condiments.
"Oh! I... I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, twice nervous: she had covered her beloved Andrew with food and found out that her assignment's solution was standing right before her. Nervously, she placed the tray on the table and took a napkin to help him clean himself - even though she had done a lot more damage to his clothes than what she could even clean with a small piece of cloth.
"It's... it's okay..." Andrew replied, and not really minding the incident itself, but truly worried about Monica, as he could see her nervousness. Besides this, he knew her well enough to notice there was something else going on; something he didn't know exactly what was, but which could well have relation to his assignment.
A moment later, the restaurant manager came along, and seeing the mess his geisha waitress had caused, he was quick to apologise.
"Oh, no, it's... it's okay... it was an accident..." Andrew tried to say, and exchanged a secret glance with Monica, who was eager to tell him something.
"Yeah, it could've happened to anyone..." Bob tried to help, feeling sorry for the poor waitress.
"We're really, really sorry, sir!" the manager spoke, as nervous as Monica.
Andrew tried to smile. "It's alright, really, I... I can clean it..."
"Get someone to clean this mess, quickly!" the man said, and Monica gladly took this opportunity to leave - there was an assignment to fulfil but she had to be quick. She gave Andrew another look and left.
"Oh, well... this is quite unexpected, Andrew!" Mr Ozawa said, and truth to be told, he seemed to be having fun with the situation.
The angel of death nodded. "Yeah, I guess unexpected is the perfect word right now... Erm.. if you excuse me, I'll go to the gentlemen's room to try to clean my suit..."
"Sure, Andrew, go ahead! Mr Ozawa and I can discuss the accountant's report while you do it." The young man spoke.
X
A minute later, inside the gentlemen's room...
Andrew had opened a faucet and was trying to clean his suit - his effort a rather useless one, when all of a sudden a very familiar and dear voice came from behind him.
"I didn't mean to cover you up with sauce, you know..."
He quickly turned around and saw his beloved Monica standing right before him, still wearing her costumes, and with a pleading yet adorable expression on her face.
"Monica, this is the gentlemen's room!" he spoke, looking around with a worried expression on his face.
"I know, but I could not wait to ask you something!"
After he was sure there was no one else inside that restroom, he turned his attention to her and as he lay his eyes on the beautiful angel standing right in front of him, he couldn't help but stop to think how amazingly beautiful she was.
"Wh-what do you want to ask me?" he spoke, confused and enchanted at the same time. She had just made a mess around there and yet he couldn't be more grateful to see his lovely angel girl again.
"Who is the young man sitting with you? What is his name?"
"Bob? Are you in this assignment too?"
She was thoughtful for a moment, not sure of how to answer to his question. "Well... no... but... perhaps I am..."
"Monica!" he was again worried about the presence of someone entering through the door and her frequent confusing statements right now would only make things worse.
"I feel there might be some connection here, you know. My assignment is in the kitchen and I have reasons to believe that two destinies were put together tonight, with our help..." she spoke, while he kept on looking at her from head to toe, fascinated with her costume.
"His name is Robert Miller... And..."
"Oh, that's him then! I recognised him as I approached your table!" she was visibly excited as her brown eyes beamed with joy. Only then she noticed Andrew hadn't finished his sentence. "And?"
He let out an impatient sigh. "I'm having trouble concentrating right now..."
Only then she realised what he meant, and the way he was looking at her. A slight blush rose on her cheeks as she smiled. "Oh..."
"You... you can't stay here, Monica, this is the gentlemen's room and it's not a place for you."
"Well, then I'm glad that you're the only gentleman here right now because you're the only one I can see in all aspects a gentleman can be seen!" her Irish lilt and the witty expression on her face left him speechless but before he could say something else, Monica smiled and gently lay her both hands on each side of his face. "...but I also happen to have an assignment to accomplish!"
She kissed his lips quickly and on the following second, Monica was gone. He couldn't help but chuckle with amusement.
X
Hidden in a corner, the Irish angel watched as Suki walked over to the table were she was serving before. In the young lady's thoughts was the uncertainty that had settled in her heart after her beloved Robert had left her, almost a year ago. And when the young couple lay their eyes on each other, emotion could be seen miles away.
"Robert? Bob?" she said, with trembling voice and almost dropping the tray.
"Suki?! Suki, it's really you!?" he rose to his feet again and was as surprised and as nervous as she was. They forgot everything around them and, as Suki's tears quickly fell from her eyes, he walked up to her and gently lay both hands on each side of her face.
"Yes, Bob... it's me..."
"How did you end up here? When did you come to America?!"
"I left it all behind... I felt a part of me was missing... my best part... and it was here..." she explained, a sobbing voice and moving look.
Robert caressed her face with tenderness and emotion. "Oh, Suki... my beautiful Suki... I think I don't deserve you, baby... But I love you... I love you so much... and I want to tell you how sorry I am..."
"When you left I fell ill... I was so sad... so incredibly sad..."
"I came back to your house on the day I left, I wanted to take you with me but you... you had gone..."
"My parents... they made me to..."
He shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. Had Bob arrived earlier, things would have been different. Much suffering would have been avoided. "Oh, Suki... I thought I had lost you... I was afraid to go back there and find out you had got married..."
"They wanted me to, but I refused... I felt I could never belong to someone else other than you..."
He wiped away her tears with gentle fingers and smiled. "I promise that I'll live to honour you... that I'll live to honour your love, baby... If you accept me back..."
"Oh, Bob..." She burst into tears and searched for the comfort of his arms, and the young man held her tightly, fiercely as if his life depended on it.
And in a way, it did.
From a distance, the Irish angel smiled broadly at the moving scene and as those who were in the restaurant applauded the young couple, she wiped away a few tears that had rolled down her face almost unnoticed. Those were tears of joy that every angel would shed once in a while when their assignment was fulfilled as beautifully as this was.
X
Andrew left the elevator on the corridor of the 5th floor of that residential building and walked up to apartment number 502. He had changed his shirt and got rid of the blazer that had been ruined earlier during the lunchtime and now, once his duty was over, there he was, to spend the last night in his temporary home. There, he inserted the key in his temporary apartment and turned the door open a few seconds later. Like his beloved Monica's, the blond angel's assignment had also been fulfilled but now he wondered where his adorable valentine had gone after Suki and Bob's meeting at the restaurant.
But his questioning finished as soon as he lay his eyes at the coffee table, in the middle of his living room, and saw that a delicious dinner had been made and was just waiting for him to arrive. Whenever he had to spend some time on Earth, in human form, Andrew used to keep his temporary home clean and organised. But now, besides the evident order, there was also a cosy and warm atmosphere surrounding the place, and it reproduced some of the Japanese restaurant's decoration.
Smiling, he closed the door behind him and before he could say something, the angel of death was greeted by the familiar soothing voice he loved so much. "Good evening, Andrew..."
Monica entered the living room and her Irish lilt filled his ears, as he especially adored the way she pronounced his name. And his smile grew wider as she was still wearing the lilac Japanese kimono which made her look so beautiful. Now, however, all the make up on her face was gone and her auburn hair was cascading over her shoulders and down her spine. As she approached him with the beautiful smile that accentuated her dimples on her cheeks and chin, Andrew reached to lay both hands on her face; his joy was evident.
"Good evening, angel! I feel like a human husband who got home and found his lovely wife waiting for him!" he bent down and very gently pressed his lips against hers, in a slow loving kiss which both of them longed for during each other's absence. He moved one of his hands and entangled his fingers through her hair, caressing her long strands and applying gentle pressure so that he could deepen that sweet caress.
Monica held him tightly and welcomed the kiss with the same intensity, her heart beating with joy at the feeling of being in his arms again. His tender touch, the way he would always hold her so delicately... truth to be told, Andrew's arms was the safest place on Earth.
Only long moments later did they pulled apart and the blond angel took the opportunity to kiss her again but now with tiny loving kisses.
"I missed you so much... It's like missing Home, you know, Andrew..." she spoke, finally resting her face against his chest, listening to his heartbeats as he held her more tightly.
"I know how you feel, angel, as I feel the same thing..." he let out a sigh and kissed the top of her head - Monica was short and now, with her bare feet, the angel was even shorter and it seemed she engulfed by his strong arms. "... and I'd never imagine our paths would cross in such an expected way!"
The Irish angel looked up at him with some embarrassment despite the smile that was playing on her lips. "I'm sorry that during my path I ended up dropping your lunch all over you..."
Chuckling, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and returned the gaze. "Hum... I guess I can forgive you..."
Monica stood on the tip of her toes but only could manage to brush a kiss on his chin. "Actually, I prepared you something as a way of making it up to you..." she spoke so adorably that his main concern was left unnoticed.
"Really? But... did you cook all this?"
"Oh, I have to confess that I didn't. I ordered it for delivery..." those words brought him relief. "...and came to your 'house' so that I could prepare you a typical Japanese dinner!"
Highly amused, he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her dearly. "I can see it includes this beautiful outfit!"
Monica looked down at her own clothes and then back at him. "Oh, well, I didn't mean to spoil the atmosphere, you know... And I kinda enjoy this pretty kimono!"
He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head - it was evident he couldn't get his eyes off her. "I have to confess that I'm enjoying it too!"
Blushing at his flirting and equally amused, she gently disentangled from his embrace and grabbed his hand, leading him up to the table.
X
"Did it make up for the lunch that you didn't get to eat?" Monica wanted to know, lazily lying in his arms, a couple of hours later, when both of them decided to spread over the shaggy carpet on the living room floor. Andrew had his back against the sofa while she used his chest as a comforter and traced invisible patterns on the fabric of his shirt.
He chuckled and took her hand to place a kiss on her palm. "Everything was perfect, angel."
"I have to confess that since I started working at that restaurant I thought about surprising you with something special!" she told him, receiving a kiss on the top of her head.
"You did surprise me!"
Monica turned her head up so that she could look at him. "I was so happy that our assignments ended well!"
"I'm sure the Father guided us to that very moment there in the restaurant..." he said, stroking her hair.
"Yes... and I'm glad that getting the job there wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be!"
Those words and her enthusiasm made him curious. "What do you mean, angel? Did you have to actually get the job?"
"Yes, I applied for it, Andrew!"
"And... how did you get the job at a Japanese restaurant? I mean, you're certainly the most beautiful angel I've ever seen in my whole existence but I noticed that the waitresses there have Japanese origin..."
"Oh, that was because of my culinary abilities, ya know?"
It took Andrew a lot of effort not to laugh at that revelation. "Your... culinary abilities?"
She nodded excited as a ten-year-old. "Yes! The manager of the restaurant, Mr Hishida, is a wee bit grumpy, you know. But I learned that he was a coffee fan so I took the opportunity to prepare him a double mocha latte and he loved it so much that he accepted me for the job!"
The blond angel could not hold it any longer and laughed. "Oh, Monica... You're certainly one of a kind!"
Enjoying the fact that he too was amused, she inched closer and nuzzled her face up to his neck, kissing him lightly on his cheek. "You're one of a kind to me too, you know..."
He looked down at her, still finding her image wrapped up in that beautiful gown hypnotising. "And so amazingly beautiful..." his hand was now against her cheek and he cupped her face so that he could kiss her lips softly. "...my beautiful angelic geisha..."
His whispered words to her ear and the other kiss that followed them caused her to feel pleasant butterflies in her stomach and her lips curved into a smile as the kiss continued. It was soon followed by another, and another. More loving words were softly spoken in that cosy little apartment and soon its lights were off, as their meeting too was blessed with much love and with the joy that would always fill their hearts whenever they were together.
X
To be continued