THREE ANGELS IN A CAMPSITE

By: Deyse M.

Spring had arrived earlier and thousand of different kinds of flowers were blossoming thanks to the bright sunny days, with the bluest of the skies, and the soft breeze that transported their seeds to every nearby garden, spreading more beauty along the entire city. The constant humming of the birds and the joy on people’s faces didn’t leave any doubt: one of the most beautiful and pleasant seasons had started and deserved to be enjoyed at the maximum.

In the city park, full of green and bushy trees, a dark skinned woman was sitting on a bench, holding an umbrella and impatiently glancing at her watch at every ten seconds:

"... I promise I’ll set these two straight on these days off!", Tess mumbled. Only then, she noticed there was a paper left on the bench. It was lilac and had some small flowers on the board. The supervisor unfolded it and, after reading its content, chuckled and rolled her eyes to the sky:

"It’s ok, I recognise it’s for a good cause, but I will set her straight just the same!", she stated. Seconds later, Tess felt a pair of hands gently squeezing her shoulders:

"Hey Tess!"

A tall, handsome man, with short blond hair and green eyes appeared right beside her and greeted her with a beautiful smile on his face:

"Well, Mr, does this pocket watch of yours need new batteries?"

"You look gorgeous in the spring, did you know that?"

"Don’t you try that to me you too! Where have you been?"

"Well, Monica asked me to buy Joy’s favourite cookies...", he explained, showing her the bag he carried with him.

"Is that what you have in there?", the supervisor had an inquisitive and rather curious expression on her face. Slightly embarrassed, the blond angel moved the bag away form her, in an attempt to hide its content:

"Yes...", was his feeble reply, "Where... where’s Monica?...", he asked, trying to change the subject. Once again, Tess rolled her eyes and handed him the note she had found on the bench a minute ago. Andrew took it in his hands and read it aloud:

He soon recognised his dearest friend’s handwriting, with hearts above the letter ‘I’. Besides, the note had been written with lilac perfumed ink:

"It’s grape!", he joked, smelling the paper and finding Monica’s attitude adorable.

"She’s late!", Tess spoke, still with some impatience.

"But don’t you love her just the same?", Andrew replied, as he knew the supervisor’s slight bad humour wasn’t really true.

"Of course I do! But I’ll set her straight during these days off anyway! And you too, Mr! Don’t you think you can do whatever you want to, just like our last vacation! I’ll put order in the house this time!", she firmly sated, with a solemn tone in her voice. Then, glancing at her watch for the 100^th time, she exclaimed:

"Does it take that long to go and get Joy?!"

At that exact moment, the two angels heard a loud cry and an unmistakable voice, with an Irish accent, echoing throughout the park:

"Joy!!! Stop!!!"

Tess and Andrew turned around and saw, not far away from them, a rather funny scene: a chubby black cocker spaniel puppy, firmly carrying a package of dog cookies in her mouth, being chased by an extremely angry woman and by a long haired lady, holding a hat in one hand and a pair of sandals in the other.

"Hey! Stop it, you little monster! Help! I’ve been stolen!", the woman shouted, with an very angry tone of voice. Joy was running a few steps ahead of her as fast as she could, in order to escape from the furious woman. Monica was coming right behind them, also trying, without much success, to reach the little dog.

"But what the heck is that?!", Tess exclaimed, even more distressed, while Andrew was trying his best not to laugh at the riot the group was causing in the park, including running over some picnic baskets and almost knocking some passerbies down:

"Somebody catch that creature! She stole that package of cookies!"

Some people, hearing the woman’s appeals, tried to grab Joy, but the little chubby fur ball managed to escape from all of them, passing between their legs or changing the course of her direction. All that confusion ended up calling a policeman’s attention and he immediately ran to see what was going on, as well as everybody else who was visiting the park. And, after escaping from so many people, Joy was suddenly surprised by a huge fence, which set the limits of the park.

The small puppy looked around her and saw that there was nowhere to go: she was trapped. A second later, lots of people, including a worried Irish angel, an angry woman and a tired policeman, surrounded her, and the chubby fur ball backed away from them:

"I finally got you!", the angry woman said, now with some pleasure.

"But what’s happening here, ma’am?", the policeman wanted to know. The bad humoured lady, who could hardly breathe, pointed at Joy with anger:

"I’ve been stolen by that little monster! I had just left the supermarket and put my packages on the ground to tie my shoelaces when I was suddenly attacked by that animal, who grabbed that package of cookies and ran away!"

"That’s not true! My wee Joy didn’t have any intention of stealing!", Monica spoke, with an anguished tone in her voice.

"Oh no? And how do you call that, huh?!"

"She didn’t know the package had an owner; when she saw it in the street she thought it had been abandoned! Joy didn’t know what she was doing, she’s still a baby..."

At that moment, another voice, stronger than the others, was heard:

"Wait a minute, what’s going on here?!"

Tess and Andrew made their way over to Monica and the Irish angel looked at them rather embarrassed:

"Tess... Andrew... we... we arrived...", was the only thing she could say.

"I can see that, Miss Wings! In fact, the whole park can!"

"Monica, what happened here?", Andrew asked, noticing the worried look in her eyes.

"Our wee Joy made a mistake, she thought that this lady’s package had been abandoned in the street and then she took the package of cookies that was inside it...", Monica explained. But the woman interrupted her:

"That animal attacked me deliberately!"

"Oh, that’s not true!", the Irish angel was really offended in hearing such thing.

"Yes, that’s true!", the woman insisted, and turned to the crowd: "That little creature is a threaten to human beings!"

"Hey, hold it there, miss! Nobody talks like that about my baby!", Tess protested, already with an upset expression on her face.

"Wait a minute! Please, try to cool yourselves down! If you don’t speak one at a time it’s gonna be impossible to understand what the matter is!", the police officer shouted.

"Officer, what she’s saying obviously isn’t true! We all can see that the little dog is inoffensive!", Andrew spoke, standing beside Monica. Only then, the woman noticed something:

"Wait a minute! I know you two!"

They exchanged a quick glance and stared back at her: their memory came back some months before, until their last vacations together, when the 3 angels stayed at a beach house for some wonderful days. They remembered the little incident with Tess’ sweater, when Joy undid it completely and they spent the rest of the day walking around the city in search of another one, to replace the destroyed outfit.

Monica had taken the sweater she had knitted for Andrew as a model and they ended up in a shop, whose owner was an extremely rude and unkind lady, with an awful humour and who didn’t think twice before saying what she really thought about Monica’s knitting abilities, deeply hurting the Irish angel’s feelings.

That was the same woman who stood in front of them now, in that park, accusing their little ‘baby’ of the most horrible actions.

"I remember you...", Andrew said.

"You are the woman from the shop!", Monica exclaimed, with shock.

"And you and this boyfriend of yours are the ones who dared to go to my shop carrying a piece of rag and ask me if I had anything similar to that!", with disgust, she looked at the little dog, who, so far, had limited herself to watch all the argument without letting go of the package of cookies: "I’m not surprised that this horrible creature belongs to you!"

"Hey, wait a minute! Watch your mouth there! If there’s a horrible creature right here in this park it surely isn’t my little baby!", Tess fumed, glaring at the woman, who backed away a few steps:

"Officer, that dog is a criminal! An outlaw who has the evidence of her crime right in her mouth and who shouldn’t be here, outside, exposing every innocent people who crosses her way to all sorts of danger!!! Like me, many others can be violently attacked by that monster!"

"Oh, she’s lying, officer!"

"That’s absurd!"

"I’m gonna teach that lady a lesson right now!", Monica, Andrew and Tess respectively said, at the same time, and that discussion was quickly spread over the crowd that surrounded them.

"Everybody shut up!!!", the police officer shouted, and everybody became quiet, "Obviously we have a controversy here, which needs to be solved immediately!"

"I do completely agree, officer. This woman needs a lesson on how to behave like a real human being!", the supervisor stated, causing the officer to stare at her with a stern look:

"Excuse me madam, but I’m the police officer here, and I know what my job is!", he spoke. Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest even more upset and the other woman stared back at her with some satisfaction on her bad humoured face. Then, the man turned to Monica:

"Lady, is this dog yours?"

"Yes, she is our baby!", the Irish angel responded, anguish never abandoned her face:

"And where is her license?"

"What?..."

"Her license. When a person has an animal he or she needs to have a license, a certificate stating who she belongs to. For what I can see, your ‘baby’ doesn’t even have a collar or a leach!"

Monica’s heart started to beat louder than before. She didn’t have any document to prove that the little dog belonged to the angels, as the only permission to have Joy had been a divine one, and explaining it to the police officer would be at least difficult at that moment:

"We... We don’t have a license...", was her feeble reply. The bad humoured woman put her hands on her hips and something similar to a smile appeared on her face:

"You three know what destiny dogs without a license have, don’t you?", she said.

Hearing that, panic crept all over Monica, and she covered her mouth with horror in her tearful eyes:

"Oh Father!..."

"Hey, nobody’s gonna do anything with Joy!", Andrew protested, feeling bad both for Monica and for the small animal.

"Andrew is right, nobody’s gonna touch my baby!", Tess stated, standing in front of Joy, in a protective way.

"I’m sorry, madam, but it’s the law: all animals need a license. And if this one doesn’t have one, she can’t stay outside anymore. I’ll have to do my job and take her with me!"

With some tears rolling down her cheeks, Monica grabbed Andrew’s hand and squeezed it, fear evident in her eyes, as well as in Andrew’s, as they were faced with the possibility of losing the little dog they loved so much forever.

PART 2

Monica was holding Andrew’s hand when the police officer walked over to Joy to take the little animal to a dog shelter, and, despite Tess’ stern look at him, she knew that the small dog would have to be taken anyway, as none of the angels had a license to prove she belonged to them. And, besides this, all the trouble Joy had caused in a matter of minutes only worsened the situation. The future of the spaniel puppy together with her ‘parents’ and ‘grandmother’ was in great danger.

"Excuse me, ma’am, but I have to do it!", the man said, facing a very angry Tess.

"There’s no chance I’ll get outta here as well as there’s no chance you’re gonna take my baby from me!"

"So arrest her too, officer! She’s disrespecting your orders and protecting a dangerous criminal!", the bad humoured lady said, eager to see the group’s misfortune. The supervisor glared at her:

"Lady, one day you and I will have a conversation and you’re gonna change this attitude of yours in a matter of seconds, I can assure you!!!"

"Ladies, arguing is not gonna solve anything! I’ll have to take the dog!"

"Oh, please mister, don’t!", Monica pleaded, "Don’t take her away from us!"

But, before anyone could say something else, another voice was heard coming from the crowd that watched the argument:

"Excuse me! Let me pass... Excuse me!"

A woman made her way to where the group was and, almost immediately they knew who she was:

"Sheriff Bale! I’m glad you’re here!", the policeman said, "We have an animal with no license and a woman who’s saying she was attacked by it!"

The sheriff looked at the bad humoured woman and, after, at Joy. And when she saw the little black spaniel puppy, she smiled broadly:

"But I know this little dog!"

"You do?", the police officer said. The sheriff came closer to Joy and confirmed:

"Of course I do! She saved my son’s life, a few months ago, on the beach!"

That revelation surprised everyone, including the angels. The sheriff looked at Monica and Andrew and soon recognised them too:

"And you two were the ones who brought my little Jimmy back to me! I would never forget your faces and what you did on that day!"

"I remember your little boy...", Andrew said; the day they had almost lost Joy forever on a crowded beach came back to both angel’s memory.

"Yes... Our wee Joy found your little boy lost on the beach and stopped him from going into the ocean...", Monica spoke, trying to control the tears that still rolled down on her cheeks.

"Hey, wait a moment! What the heck are you talking about?! That little creature is a threat to human beings! She is the criminal and I am the victim here!", the bad humoured woman protested, causing the sheriff’s smile to disappear from her face:

"I suggest you to watch your tongue to describe the most courageous little animal I’ve ever seen in my entire life!"

"What?!!!"

Now it was Tess who stared at the woman with satisfaction.

"And, from what I can see, you, madam, seem to be the one who’s threatening this poor animal and her owners!", the sheriff gave a few steps into the woman’s direction, "Did you know that animal abuse is a crime?"

"Oh... That’s absurd! I didn’t do anything to harm this disgusting little creature! She’s the one to be arrested here! She stole my dog’s food!"

"And I bet you were about to eat it all, weren’t you?", Tess spoke, with an ironic tone in her voice.

"It was all a misunderstanding, sheriff, I swear. Our wee Joy didn’t have any intention to steal, she thought the cookies had been abandoned...", Monica explained, still with an anguished voice.

"I know it was a misunderstanding and that this little one wouldn’t be able to do such thing!", the sheriff kneeled in front of Joy: "So, how about you giving the cookies back so that we can finish with this confusion, huh?"

The little dog looked at her ‘parents’ and at her ‘grandmother’ as if asking for their permission:

"It’s ok, baby, you can let it go.", Tess said.

"Yes, and I have lots of cookies here for you!", Andrew added. Still unsure, Joy looked at Monica:

"Give it back to the lady, sweetheart, it’s not yours."

Only then, the small puppy let go of the package of cookies and the sheriff gave it back to its owner:

"I believe we’ve finished this controversy!", she said, "Now, for your sake, I suggest you go away and leave this little dog alone before I change my mind and arrest you for animal abuse!"

Burning with anger, the woman looked around her and, after, at Monica, Andrew and Tess:

"C’mon, you heard the sheriff!", the oldest angel said. The bad humoured lady grabbed the package of cookies:

"I’ve never witnessed such an injustice!!!", she exclaimed, and walked away from them.

Smiling with relief, Monica took Joy in her arms and held her tightly:

"Thank you! Thank you very much, sheriff!"

"You’re more than welcome. It’s a pity my little Jimmy isn’t here to see this brave little one again!", the sheriff replied, soothing Joy’s black fur. The little animal looked at the sheriff and barked, causing everybody to laugh:

"I guess she’s sending her regards to Jimmy!", Andrew said.

"Well, you can be sure I’ll tell him about it! It was nice meeting you again, have a good day!"

"Thanks, the same to you!"

As the sheriff and the people who watched all the confusion went away, Monica looked at the sky with a grateful expression on her face and whispered:

"Thank you, Father…"

Tess turned to her two charges:

"Well, I would’ve straightened that woman out anyway!", she exclaimed. The Irish angel looked at her shyly:

"I’m so sorry about this confusion, Tess. I really am…"

"Oh, you don’t have to apologise, Angel Girl! Of course it wasn’t my little baby’s fault! Besides, that woman had what she deserved! I’ll make a mental note to take care of her someday…", the supervisor stated, really considering that a future assignment. Then, she looked back at her two charges: "Now let’s get going cause there are some other people here to be straightened out!"

Trying to suppress a smile, Monica took Andrew proffered hand and both followed the supervisor. Noticing that Tess took some distance ahead of them, as she was walking a little bit faster than they were, the Irish angel looked up at her dearest friend:

"Did you buy it?", she whispered, causing him to smile at her anxiety:

"Yes… Joy’s package of cookies and your package of coffee are here!", he also whispered, showing her the bag he was carrying. A broad smile appeared on her face:

"I love you!", standing on the tip of her toes, she placed a tiny kiss on his cheek.

*

Inside Tess’ Cadillac, the 3 angels analysed several travel agencies leaflets, about many different and beautiful places to visit during their days off:

"Look at this ski station! It would be a lot of fun to go skiing and ice skating in the mountains!", Andrew suggested, sitting on the back seat of the car, while Tess and Monica took the front seats. Joy was next to him, already devouring the package of cookies her ‘daddy’ had bought for her. Tess stared at the blond angel not all too pleased:

"It’s spring and you wanna get yourself in the middle of snow, in a place where temperatures go bellow zero?!", she stated, "I don’t think so!"

He rolled his eyes with some impatience:

"Well, the last time we went on vacations together we stayed at a house, on the beach, so I thought it would be good to try something new!"

"Let’s try not to be that radical, Mr!"

"What do you suggest, then?", he questioned. The supervisor scanned the many leaflets in her hands carefully:

"I thought about some historical cities, along some old and traditional region! It would be good to come back a couple of centuries in the past and make a revival of the good old days!", she responded, totally convinced that was the best suggestion. And, this time, it was Andrew who didn’t show much enthusiasm about it:

"… yeah… that could be… educational…", he said, and turned to Monica, who, so far, had been listening to them and thinking deeply about the topic in discussion:

"What do you think, Monica?"

Still with a rather thoughtful expression on her face, she sighed deeply:

"Well… I think your suggestions are wonderful; both of them. But, after reading all these leaflets I realised something…"

"And what is it, baby?"

"Well… All these tours and places are really beautiful, but we’ll spend most part of our time going from one place to another and doing many things and there wouldn’t be much time to share one another’s companies. I was thinking about it… The Father has given us some days to bond and to have some fun, so we should take this opportunity to really stay together, just the four of us, you know."

Hearing that, Andrew nodded his head emphatically and Tess considered those arguments seriously:

"You got a point there, Monica!"

"Yes, I agree with Angel Boy. Do you have anything in mind, Angel Girl?"

With a kind and warm smile upon her pretty face, she looked at her 2 beloved friends, the 2 angels she loved most in the entire Heaven:

"Well… Yes, I have an idea… why don’t we go camping?"

With her eyebrows raised, Tess stared at her:

"You mean you wanna go to the middle of the woods, with no electricity and cold water; bugs and all sorts of exotic animals surrounding you and trying to steal your food and your blood?!"

"Yes! Isn’t it wonderful?!", the Irish angel replied, with all enthusiasm in the world.

"I like it! Camping is exciting and you always have a lot to explore!", Andrew said, equally thrilled.

"All I can think about exploring in a forest is a trail to come back home!"

"Andrew is right, there’s so much we can do: find beautiful flowers, drink the purest water of the rivers, watch cute little birds humming their tunes and even visit waterfalls! I’m sure you’re gonna love it, Tess!"

"When I said I wanted to go back in time, I wasn’t referring to Pre-History…"

Seeing some of the initial happiness go away from his dearest friend’s face, Andrew leaned forward, standing closer to the supervisor:

"Well, it’s a pity cause if we went camping, we basically would buy all the food in advance and there wouldn’t be so many domestic tasks for us to do, such as cleaning the house, tidying up the rooms, cooking…"

Hearing the final part of his comment, the expression on Tess’ face immediately changed, turning into a pensive one:

"… in short, we would get rid of at least half of the things we had to do in our last vacation, cause everything would be basically ready, and then we could have plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the beauty of the woods together!…", after a short pause, the blond angel continued to talk, "… but if you’d rather do some other thing…"

"Well… you know what, Angel Boy?… I guess you might be right…", the supervisor said, and a spark of hope appeared in Monica’s eyes:

"He is?"

"I am?", he also exclaimed, but not as surprised as his dearest friend.

"Yes. On second thoughts, I guess taking some time to get in contact with nature isn’t that bad! And I agree, there’s a lot to do when we’re camping other than all these domestic stuff you’ve mentioned; we could pretty well do the basics: clean the small campsite, the tent and cook only simple meals…"

"So you mean you agree with us going camping?!", Monica asked, all her excitement and happiness now back again. Tess took her hand and smiled:

"Yes, baby. We will all go camping and I’m sure we’ll all spend some wonderful days together!", she replied, exchanging a quick glance with Andrew, who nodded his head satisfied. And the Irish angel wasted no time in hugging the supervisor tightly:

"Oh Tess, I love you so much!", she exclaimed, unaware of the silent conversation that had just happened between the two other angels.

"I love you too, Angel Girl!", she replied, also hugging Monica in a motherlish way. "But now we have to start buying all the stuff we need to go camping."

"Yeah, you’re right, Tess. There’s a big store in the city that sells everything we’ll need.", Andrew remembered, and took an empty package of cookies on the back seat of the car: "And we sure could buy some more cookies too, cause I’m afraid ‘someone’ has managed to eat the content of this package in just 10 minutes!"

He stared at Joy accusingly and the little dog remained staring at the 3 angels as if nothing had happened:

"Well, I’m not surprised! This baby spent all her energy running away from that horrible woman a few minutes ago!", Tess stated, "And now she needs to replace it!"

Monica took the animal in her arms:

"Maybe we should buy an ‘extra large’ package to cookies to our wee one!", the Irish angel said, immediately receiving lots of kisses. "You know something? Thinking about it, if we really decided to go on a tour, there could be a problem to our little baby…"

"Yeah, we would end up going to some places where dogs are not allowed.", Andrew agreed. Monica continued to talk:

"Which would be really unfair, considering that our wee one isn’t exactly a dog…"

That comment caused both Andrew and Tess to stare at her with surprised and rather puzzled faces:

"You mean Joy isn’t a dog?", he asked, trying to confirm what he had just heard. Smiling, the Irish angel shook her head:

"Well, not exactly…"

"I’m sure I’ll regret asking this, but… what kind of creature do you think she is exactly, Miss Wings?", Tess questioned, still not believing in what her charge was saying.

Monica stared at them, finding their confused faces really funny:

"Well… Andrew is her father, I’m her mother and you are her grandmother, and, considering that we 3 are angels and that she is a wee baby, we could say that Joy is an ‘angel puppy’!"

While Andrew burst into laugher at his dearest friend’s conclusion, distress covered Tess’ face and the supervisor started the car immediately:

"Let’s get outta here before I change my mind about this whole thing and get back to work!", she exclaimed, and the red Cadillac left the park afterwards.

PART 3

After driving along the huge green mountains for a few hours, Tess parked the red Cadillac in a small clearing, with a plain ground and surrounded by bushy trees, the ideal place for camping.

"So? What do you think?", Monica asked, as she had been the one in charge of choosing the perfect camp site for them to spend their days off.

"Well, I have to admit that you have good taste…", the supervisor said, looking around them, "It’s beautiful and it doesn’t bear any resemblance to a pre historic site! Good choice, Angel Girl!"

"Tess is right; it couldn’t be better, sweetie!", Andrew exclaimed, squeezing his dearest friend’s shoulder. The Irish angel smiled broadly:

"I knew you would like it! I used to come here once in a while, when I was in search and rescue, you know. I would spend hours walking around, barefoot, just listening to the birds and feeling the warm sun on my face! I’m glad I could bring you two here with me this time!"

Tess and Andrew exchanged a quick glance, not missing Monica’s happiness for being there, which caused them to be equally happy.

"Well, so let’s not lose any time, we have to pitch the tent and set the things out!", the oldest angel commanded. They got out of the car and started their job, which took nearly 2 hours. Andrew helped Monica to pitch the tent but, as soon as they finished it, the Irish angel gently shoved him outside because she insisted on decorating its interior and the blond angel had no other choice but to help Tess to organise the other camp objects. And little Joy had been running along the 3 angels’ feet all the time, attentively watching them to work.

*

Some time later:

"Tess, Andrew, I’ve finished!", Monica happily announced. The 2 angels, who had also concluded their tasks, went to see their friend’s ‘tent décor’:

"Angel Girl, you did a very good job here!", the supervisor exclaimed, really pleased with her charge’s work. Andrew crossed his arms in front of his chest:

"It’s girlish!", he protested, with some (mock) annoyance in the tone of his voice. The tent was all decorated with small flowers and there were some pink blankets and pillows neatly folded and placed on its fluffy white floor. Monica shrugged her shoulders and, standing side by side with Tess, she took little Joy in her arms:

"There are 3 girls here, Andrew!", she replied, somewhat defiantly.

"She’s right!", the supervisor agreed, "And I like it!"

Joy barked twice, as if she was also agreeing with her mom and grandma. Andrew rolled his eyes even more ‘upset’. Finding his annoyance really funny (and knowing pretty well it was totally fake), Monica pointed out:

"But you shouldn’t worry, Andrew. I didn’t forget you. I set your things over there…"

Right behind him, Andrew blue blanket and pillow were carefully arranged, together with his backpack:

"Yeah… At least they’re not pink!", he said, a little more resigned. Monica and Tess looked at each other with a mischievous glance and, placing Joy on the floor, the Irish angel grabbed Andrew’s hand:

"I remember there’s a waterfall near here and I can’t wait to visit it again!…"

Although he tried to hide it, a slight smile insisted on appearing on the blond angel’s face:

"I bet I can get there first than you!", he said, and left the tent in a rush, surprising his dearest friend:

"Hey! That’s not fair!", she protested, running after him. But, before the 2 angels and the little dog that chased them everywhere could disappear from the camp site, Tess took a whistle from inside her pocket and blew it loudly through the forest:

"Hold it there, you 3!!!"

They immediately stopped running and looked back at her, who stared at them with a serious expression on her face:

"In line, all of you!"

Andrew and Monica exchanged a rather amused glance with each other, finding the expression on the supervisor’s face hilarious, and both angels, together with little Joy, obeyed to that command, standing side by side, like soldiers in a troop:

"There will be rules in this camp site! As I said before, you’re not gonna do everything you want to, anytime you want to. I’ll be in command here, is it clear?"

"Yes, Tess.", the 2 angels replied, together with a puppy’s bark.

"I will organise the outings in the woods, because I didn’t come her to get dirty, tired or involuntarily wet!"

"Don’t you want to visit to the waterfall, Tess?", Monica asked, somewhat worried.

"Of course I do, Miss Wings!", the supervisor replied, "But I don’t have any intension of running around like a desperate angel! We will walk calmly to get there; there’s no reason to hurry!"

"We’ll do as you want, Tess.", the blond angel said.

"Now, where’s the map to get there?"

"Oh, there is no map, Tess.", Monica spoke, causing the oldest angel to frown with concern:

"What do you mean ‘there is no map’? How are we going to get there?"

"I will guide you!", the Irish angel responded, causing both Andrew and Tess to stare at her with worried faces:

"You will?!", they said, at the same time.

"Yes! As I’ve said before, I used to come here and I know this region very well! You just have to follow me!", and Monica happily walked ahead of them.

The blond angel and the supervisor exchanged another glance, full of concern, while little Joy moaned somewhat ‘tired in advance’, and, without any other choice, the group followed the Irish angel through the woods.

*

The angels and the little puppy walked for nearly 30 minutes following a small trail that lay amidst the vegetation and Monica couldn’t hide her excitement for being in such a beautiful place:

"Tomorrow we could go to the other side of the mountain, there are many flowered fields there, with all sorts of flowers and birds! It’s so beautiful, Tess!"

"I can imagine, baby…", the supervisor replied, though her attention was not totally focused on what her charge was saying. Much on the contrary: it was possible to see a trace of concern on Tess’ face as she looked around them and saw that they were each and every minute further away from the campsite.

"Er… Is this waterfall anywhere near here, Angel Girl?"

"Oh, yes, we’re almost there!"

Monica had hardly said that when the trail they were following split up in two, causing the Irish angel to stop walking and frown with concern:

"This is funny…", she said, a little intrigued.

"What’s funny?", Andrew wanted to know, as worried as Tess.

"I don’t remember this…"

"You don’t remember what?", the blond angel asked.

"This path splitting into 2 different trails… I guess things have changed a wee bit since the last time I’ve been here…"

"And … do you know which path we are supposed to follow?", her dearest friend asked, as kindly as he could. Monica placed her hand underneath her chin and sighed with a pensive expression on her face:

"Well… I think we should go to the left…", she looked to the other side and sighed again, "… or maybe to the right…"

As Tess and Andrew looked at each other again, Monica gave a few steps ahead and shook her head:

"No, it’s definitely to the left!"

"Are you sure about it?", the blond angel asked, but already fearing the answer.

"Yes… Well… I think I am…", the Irish angel responded, "But it’s been a long time since I’ve been here, I might be wrong… So, if you think it’s better to come back, I’ll understand…"

Tess was ready to agree with her, but it was Andrew who spoke first:

"Well, if you’ve been here so many times in the past you probably may be right…", he said, not wanting to mar her enthusiasm.

"Do you really think so?", Monica’s hope was renewed by those words of encouragement. Smiling, pleased to see that reaction, the blond angel held her hand an squeezed it:

"Yes. We trust you, don’t we, Tess?"

"… sure…", was her feeble reply. A broad smile appeared on Monica’s face and she also held her hand:

"I love you all so much, you know?"

Unable to resist to her sweetness, the blond angel squeezed her hand and smiled back at her:

"We love you too, sweetie."

"Yes, we do. But, please, be sure we’re going in the right direction, ok, baby?"

"Don’t worry Tess. I promise I’ll take you to the waterfall!"

*

Three hours and a half later:

"… oh… I guess my feet are starting to become numb!!!", Tess exclaimed under her breath, taking off her sneakers and moaning with pain. The angels and the little dog were surrounded by bushy trees and dense vegetation, and the supervisor’s face was filled with exhaustion. But, before she could say anything else, Monica’s eyes grew wider and she smiled:

"Listen! It’s the water! We’re close now!", the Irish angel exclaimed, going towards the noise and finally finding the waterfall.

"We arrived Tess! It’s here!", she happily announced. In fact, the place was beautiful and the water that fell from the rocks was crystalline. Joy ran desperately towards the banks of the nearby stream to drink some of it, and so did Tess and Andrew.

"Isn’t it gorgeous?"

"Yes…", they were so thirsty and tired that they didn’t stop drinking to look at their surroundings.

Only a few minutes later they could admire the lovely scenario that surrounded them:

"Well, you were right, Monica. The place is really amazing!", the blond angel exclaimed.

"Yes, you weren’t exaggerating when you said it was lovely!", Tess agreed, sill with a very tired expression on her face.

"It’s one of my favourite places here on Earth, and now with you three here, it’s complete!"

Pleased to see how happy his dearest friend was, Andrew took her hand and invited:

"Don’t you wanna swim?"

"Sure!", she immediately accepted, turning to Tess a second later:

"Aren’t you coming, Tess?"

"No way. You two can go ahead, Angel Girl.", she replied, sitting on a stone, "I have no intention of moving away from here in the next 2 hours at least!"

But, as soon as the supervisor had finished this sentence, the group heard the noise of a thunder echoing throughout the forest and, a second later, an intense summer rain started to fall:

"Oh, please, Father! Have mercy on me!", the oldest angel protested, distress all over her face. But, despite the fact that there were some sun rays still crossing the sky, the rain poured down incessantly, showing no sign of ceasing:

"Well, I guess that puts an end on our plans for swimming…", Monica said, a little disappointed.

"Yes, you’re right, sweetie. It’s dangerous to swim or to stay near waterfalls or rivers when it’s raining…", Andrew agreed, "I’m afraid we’ll have to come back!"

"You gotta be kidding me!", the oldest angel exclaimed, despair all over her face.

"Nope! We should get going by now, it’s a long way back!", Andrew replied, secretly finding the expression on her face really funny. Without any other option, the group had to set off back to the campsite. Little Joy wasted no time in running around Andrew’s feet and staring at him with pleading eyes:

"It’s ok, little one. Come here with me!", he said, taking the little chubby dog in his arms and receiving lots of kisses in reply.

*

Late at night, as the (now light) rain continued to fall down, the angels and Joy arranged themselves inside the tent, ready to sleep after a day of unscheduled tracking through the woods:

"Oh! I think I’ll sleep for 3 days!", Tess moaned, "I’m exhausted!"

"I’m so sorry, Tess. I was sure the distance to the waterfall was shorter…", the Irish angel said, with a guilty tone in her voice, "I feel so bad about it. Can you two forgive me?"

Monica was lying between Tess and Andrew and it took just a second to both angels hold her hands, as they weren’t upset with her slight weak sense of direction:

"It’s alright, Angel Girl…"

"Yeah. After all, we got to know all the area around us!", the blond angel agreed, placing a gentle kiss on her hand.

"And it was really beautiful; I liked it very much!", Tess completed. Monica smiled and squeezed their hands:

"Aren’t you upset?…"

"What nonsense! Of course not, Miss Wings!"

"Oh, then I’m so glad you liked it! In this case, we could arrange another outing for tomorrow! There’s a lot to explore yet; we haven’t seen half of this area!"

Fortunately, Monica couldn’t see the expression on her dearest friends’ faces and Tess was quick to reply to that invitation:

"I’m sure you’ve showed us the best half, Angel Girl! And let’s leave our plans for tomorrow, cause we’ll have plenty of time to arrange our outings. Now let’s all try to get some sleep, ok?"

"Ok!", they answered back.

"Good night, Angel Girl!"

"Good night, Tess!"

"Good night, Angel Boy!"

"Good night, Tess!"

"Good night, Andrew!"

"Good night, Monica!"

Some seconds later, they heard a puppy’s bark (somewhat similar to a protest) echoing inside the tent:

"Good night, Joy!", the angels said, at the same time, receiving another puppy’s bark in reply.

PART 4

The first sun rays in that morning announced that it would be a bright day, with blue skies and no trace of the rain that insisted on falling down on the previous afternoon and night, spoiling the angels outing in the forest.

Despite her exhaustion, Tess was the first one to wake up and was finishing to prepare breakfast when Andrew showed up:

"Good morning, Tess. Weren’t you tired? I thought you’d sleep until late today!", he said, stealing a piece of bacon the supervisor had just cooked:

"Well, yes, I intended to, Angel boy. But I thought about it carefully and decided to get up early and avoid having to eat a ‘special breakfast’, if you know what I mean!"

Chuckling, he nodded his head:

"I got it!… But fortunately it’s gonna be a beautiful day and there’ll be lots of things we can do! I’m sure that Monica will come up with a thousand of different ideas!"

"Hold it there, Mr! I am in command here, and I will be the one to give the orders!", the supervisor said, the memory of the previous day still alive in her mind (and in her human body too). Andrew tugged his hands in his pockets, not really wanting to talk about their journey until the waterfall, as he had been the one to encourage Monica to continue their tracking into the woods:

"Well, what do you have in mind, then?"

"We will all go fishing today! It will be a light activity, we will be catching our lunch and, most importantly: we won’t have to walk!", she announced. Despite her authoritarian tone of voice, Andrew was pleased with that suggestion:

"Ok. That’ll be fun anyway!"

*

Monica was sound asleep inside the tent, among some pillows and underneath a warm blanket when a chubby black puppy dog poked her head in and, as soon as she saw her mommy, she ran into her direction and started to sniff her in the neck and under arms, causing the Irish angel to wake up giggling incessantly:

"Joy!… You’re tickling me!… Stop it!… Please!!!"

But the little dog didn’t obey to that command; much on the contrary: happily wagging her tiny tail and pleased to have woken her mommy up, she continued to tickle her:

"… Joy, no!… Stop it!…"

A minute later, with her face completely red (and after several attempts), Monica finally managed to grab the playful chubby dog:

"Oh my!… Joy! You shouldn’t do this to your mommy! That is not nice!", she was still trying to catch some air, while Joy reached up and covered her face with lots of kisses, "Where did you learn that, after all?"

At that exact moment, Andrew entered the tent and Joy left her mom’s arms to run clumsily towards the blond angel, staring at him and barking twice, shamelessly giving him away. He looked at Monica and shrugged his shoulders:

"I have no idea what she’s talking about!"

The Irish angel stood up holding her pillow in her hands:

"You should be ashamed, Andrew!", she exclaimed, with a mock upset tone in her voice, and threw the pillow at him.

With a mischievous smile upon his face, he came closer to her:

"And you should be up hours ago, you sleepyhead Angel Girl!", he replied throwing the pillow back at her, who let out a squeal and quickly looked for another pillow to throw at him. The angels started a pillow fight inside the tent, with little Joy barking and wagging her tail excitedly running around their feet, as if she was also taking part of the mess.

All that noise immediately drew Tess’ attention and , frowning with concern, the supervisor entered the place:

"What the heck is going on here?!", she exclaimed, somewhat shocked with the chaos spread inside their temporary home. Andrew and Monica stopped the fight and Joy hid herself underneath her mom’s blanket.

"Look at the mess you two are doing!!!", the oldest angel spoke.

"I’m sorry Tess; Andrew and I will tidy it up, won’t we Andrew?", Monica replied, still with a smile upon her face.

"Sure, sure…", her dearest friend agreed, trying to hold his laugher.

"Of course you will!", she spoke, with a stern tone in her voice, "And after that, you’d better get yourselves ready to fish today’s lunch!"

The supervisor looked at the roundish form under Monica’s blanket:

"It’s ok, baby, you can come here with your grandma!"

Joy immediately got rid of the covers and ran towards her ‘grandmother’, who held her in her arms:

"Let me take you outta this mess!"

Receiving lots of tiny kisses from her ‘baby’, Tess smiled:

"Yes, I know, baby; this is not an appropriate environment for you!", then she became serious again and turned to her two charges, "And what are you two waiting for? Start tidying up this mess right now!"

Joy looked at her ‘parents’ and gave two barks, as if confirming her ‘grandma’s’ command.

*

There was a lake not far from where they were, with crystalline and placid waters and surrounded by beautiful flowers and green trees. A dock had been built the there some years ago, probably by visitors or tourists, and a small boat had been left nearby it. It took the 3 angels and the smart little puppy only 5 minutes to get there and, as soon as they arrived, Tess and Andrew started to arrange their fishing rods and the baits.

Monica, on the other hand, stared at the lake for a few seconds and, quietly, lowered her head. Some sad memories of a dark stormy night, nearly 2 moths ago, had come back to her mind and the Irish angel gave a short sigh. But, a moment later, she felt a gentle squeeze in her hand and a loving voice whispering in her ear:

"I bet you’ll catch more fishes than Tess and I together!", Andrew said, smiling warmly at his dearest friend and feeling in his heart an inch of sadness that flew from hers. Also with a tiny smile upon her pretty face, she raised her head and looked at him:

"I don’t think I could catch something. I’m not much of a ‘fishing angel’ myself, you know."

Looking deep inside her sparkling brown eyes, and decided to erase any sorrow that could still be in her heart, he stroked her cheek, his smile never disappearing from his face:

"I beg to differ. You caught me. Literally and metaphorically speaking!"

The smile on her face grew wider and Monica didn’t waste any time in wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

"… And that’s something I’ll be eternally grateful for!, the blond angel concluded, also holding her and kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

"I love you very much, you know.", she whispered, resting her head on his chest.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I had a slight suspicion about this…"

Giggling, the Irish angel stood on the tip of her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. And, not distant from them, they heard an unmistakeable voice echoing in the air:

"Oh dear Father, I wonder if there’s any angel here in these woods who would be kind enough to help me out with all this fishing stuff, cause the ones I brought with me decided to cuddle together and admire the view!"

Smiling at their supervisor’s fake bad humour, and letting go of their previous sadness, Monica held Andrew’s hand and they walked over to the oldest angel.

"I’ve just had an idea!"

"Which idea?", the blond angel asked.

"Well, if I can’t catch any fish, I can at least cook them for us! What do you think?"

Rather taken aback by their dearest friend’s suggestion, Andrew and Tess exchanged a look of surprise (and also fear). He gulped, without exactly knowing what to say:

"Well… I think… yes, I think…"

But his voice trailed off as soon as he saw the expression on Tess’ face: it was a really stern one:

"…. I think that… that you’ll catch a lot of fishes, Monica, as I’ve said before…"

"Yes, and I will be the one to cook here, Miss Wings! You don’t have to worry about it!", the oldest angel concluded. But Monica wasn’t all too convinced by her friends’ words:

"Well… it’s ok… but if I don’t fish anything, then I’ll be responsible for the cooking. I won’t be comfortable to watch you two working while I just sit and wait, you know. It’s the least I can do, especially now that I’ve finally learned how to cook and I know you two trust on my abilities!", she replied, hopefully and enthusiastically.

Tess and Andrew looked at each other again, now tensely, without really knowing what to do. But, a second later, Andrew tried to smile and nodded his head:

"It’s ok, then. You got a deal, Monica!"

"What?!"

"Really?!", Tess and Monica respectively exclaimed.

"I agree with Monica, let’s all sit here and wait to see who catches more fish, though I truly believe that you will be the winner, Angel Girl, and won’t have to worry about any cooking!"

Tess was about to protest at that ‘dangerous’ agreement, when Andrew gave her another look and she finally came to realise that he had something else in his mind. So, she nodded her head:

"Ok… I agree with Angel boy; if you don’t catch any fish, you can cook today’s lunch, Angel Girl!"

"Thank you, Tess!", the Irish angel replied, with a content smile. Andrew grabbed her hand:

"Now, c’mon, let’s take this fishing material to the dock!"

"Sure!"

As they walked ahead of her, Tess looked at the blue sky:

"Thank you Father for giving us faith and also creativity!…"

PART 5

Monica, Tess and Andrew were sitting sat at the edge of the old wooden dock, with their feet barely touching the water, splashing each other once in a while, and with little Joy quietly resting beside her daddy. The blond angel was patiently explaining Monica how to prepare the fishing rod:

"… Now you put the hook through the bait like this… Then you throw it behind you and, finally, with all your strength, you throw it in the water."

Monica nodded her head and followed his instructions and finally the hook and the jelly bait stuck in it touched the water.

"Is it correct?", she asked, sitting between the two angels.

"Yes! That’s exactly this!"

"I’m glad someone thought about inventing artificial baits, you know. I can’t stop thinking about wee Bob and his little brothers and sisters. I wouldn’t have courage to go fishing if we had to use those tiny cute creatures!"

"… and only now she says that…", Tess mumbled under her breath, without letting the 2 angels hearing her. Andrew couldn’t help but chuckle at the Irish angel’s words:

"You see? There are good people in this world, who worry about all those ones in the same situation as wee Bob!", he said, with a serious tone in his voice, and turned to look to the water, "Now we just have to wait."

"Ok. Aren’t you going to throw yours too?"

Tess and Andrew looked at each other and after, at her:

"Yes, of course we will, Angel Girl!"

"Do you think you’re gonna catch all those fishes alone?", they respectively said.

"Tess, give me your fishing rod. And Monica, don’t take our eyes from yours; as soon as you feel it’s moving, you have to pull it outside the water."

"Oh, yes!"

And due to the fact that she was so concentrated on what she was doing, Monica didn’t notice that, when her two beloved friends threw their hooks in the water, there was no bait attached to them.

*

30 minutes later, Monica’s hook started to move, as if there was something pulling it:

"Oh my! I think I got something!", she cried, excitedly.

"Very good job, baby!"

"Yeah, now pull it out of the water, Monica!", her friends anxiously said. Even little Joy stood up, her long ears raised and her tiny black eyes wide open to see what her mommy had just fished.

The Irish angel did as Andrew said, but, despite her efforts, the only thing she got out of the water was an empty hook:

"… it escaped… and stole my bait!", Monica spoke, and a little shocked. But Andrew and Tess were there to encourage her:

"Well, it happens sometimes.", the blond angel said.

"Yes. That’s why fishing is an exercise of patience!", Tess agreed. The blond angel placed another bait in the hook:

"Try it again, honey. I bet this time you’ll get a big fish!"

"Ok!"

*

One hour and a half later:

"Oh! There goes another one!", Monica said, she and her friends, noticing that another bait had been stolen. Tess looked at the pot containing the remaining baits with a worried expression on her face:

"Well, one thing is sure: these fishes are really hungry; cause they’ve already eaten half of our baits!"

"You’re right, Tess. And they’ve eaten yours and Andrew’s too!", the Irish angel innocently replied. The supervisor and the blond angel looked at each other with rather guilty faces and Tess decided to change the subject:

"You know, I just had an idea!…", she said, and stood up, "I guess there are almost no fishes around this dock, they probably must be further from us, in the middle of the lake…"

"Do you think so?", Monica asked.

"Yes! And I’ll tell you what to do: let’s take that boat and row up to the middle and I’m sure we’ll catch lots of fishes!"

A content smile appeared on Monica’s face:

"That’s such a wonderful idea, Tess!", and she stood up, following the supervisor. Andrew, on the other hand, ran his fingers through his blond hair rather worried:

"Humm… Are… Are you sure this is absolutely necessary, Tess?… I mean, we could stay here and wait a bit longer…"

"Yes, that’s absolutely necessary, Mr, cause my stomach is not in the mood for waiting! Now move on! You’re gonna row this boat!"

Without any other option, the blond angel stood up and headed to the small wooden boat that was tied nearby the dock with a rope and undid the knot. Monica and Tess came on board and the youngest angel turned to Joy, who was watching the angels with questioning tiny black eyes:

"Come here with your mommy, wee one!", she said. But, after surveying the boat where her parents and her grandma were, the little chubby dog gave a low bark and a step back, away from them, as if she was refusing to join them in that ‘adventure’:

"What’s the matter, sweetie?… I guess she doesn’t want to come with us…"

"I wonder why…", Andrew said, still frowning with concern.

"Well, I think it’s ok to leave her here. She’s a very well behaved girl and will be here waiting for us, won’t you baby?"

A (relieved) puppy bark was the answer to Tess’ question:

"And we’ll be watching her from the boat.", she completed. Monica smiled:

"Alright then, you stay here and watch us, ok wee one? Daddy, grandma and I will come back soon with lots of fishes!"

Joy gave another bark and watched as the small boat moved away from the dock.

Some minutes later:

"I guess we can stay here…", the supervisor commanded, "You can stop the boat, Angel boy."

Still rather worried, Andrew stopped rowing and looked around:

"Alright. Here are your fishing rods…", he said, handing the objects to his angelic friends. At that moment, Monica moved to the middle of the small boat and it shook a little, causing him to frown with concern for the third time:

"Ok… Let’s try to move the least we can, so that the fishes won’t notice our presence here…"

"That’s a very good idea, Andrew!", Monica agreed, "Can you help me out here, please?"

"Sure."

The blond angel placed the jelly bait on the hook and she threw it into the water. Then, after reminding her to keep her eyes firmly focused on it, he and Tess threw the other 2 hooks, with no bait attached to them, and praying that, at least this time, their beloved friend could finally catch something.

*

Another half hour went by and not a single fish seemed to fall on that trap. The baits, on the other hand, went on disappearing one by one:

"I wonder what’s happening with all those fishes!", the Irish angel exclaimed, with an impatient tone in her voice.

"And so does my stomach!", Tess said, with an expression of despair on her face, and looking at the pot containing just a few baits, "In fact, I’m starting to imagine what those baits taste like…"

Although he was also starving, Andrew decided to make one last try:

"Since we’re already here, in the middle of this lake and there are some baits left, let’s try it again…"

"Do you think we still could catch something?", Monica asked, as she herself wasn’t as enthusiastic as she was a couple of hours before. But a kind smile appeared on his handsome face:

"Sure! Besides, someone I love very much taught me to never quit before all the possibilities are over…", seeing her smiling broadly , he kept on talking, "That’s one of the reasons why I love her so much. But of course there are many others!"

Monica moved to the right to place a tiny kiss on his cheek and that movement caused the boat to shake once again:

"Oh, please, not in front of the fishes!", Tess mumbled, with a mock upset tone in her voice.

"I’ll tell you what, Tess: this time, I bet one of us will manage to catch a big fish! And I’m sure it’ll be you, Angel Girl!"

This time, he took Monica’s fishing rod and threw the hook in the water. And the blond angel’s prediction was confirmed on the following minute: the line of the fishing rod started to move:

"Oh my goodness! I got it, Andrew! I think I finally caught something, Tess!", she exclaimed excitedly.

"Don’t let it go, Monica! Pull it out of the water!", Andrew said.

"I’m trying! But it must be big!", she spoke, and, in fact, the animal was pulling the line with all its strength, causing it to be very difficult for Monica to pull it out of the water.

"Use all the strength you can, baby!"

"I’m trying, Tess!…"

At the dock, Joy, who had been lazily lying and observing the angels’ unsuccessful fishing attempts, stood up as soon as she saw all that movement and, with ears raised and eyes wide open, she started to bark, as if encouraging her mom.

Both desperate to eat something and fearing that Monica could let the fish escape again, Tess grabbed the fishing rod:

"I’ll help you, Angel Girl!", she said. But the 2 angels’ movement trying to pull the fish out of the water caused the small wooden boat to shake violently and, this time, the inevitable happened: the boat turned and the 3 angels fell into the placid waters of the lake.

Seeing that rather funny scene, Joy gave a low bark and covered her eyes with her small paw.

*

Later:

"…Tess these cheese sandwiches are delicious!", Andrew said, eagerly devouring a pile of sandwiches together with his two angelic friends, back in the campsite.

"At 3 o’clock in the afternoon anything can taste delicious!", the supervisor replied, not all too pleased with her unscheduled swimming.

"I agree with Andrew, Tess. You cook so well that it doesn’t matter what food it is; it’s always delicious!", Monica spoke, causing the oldest angel’s bad mood to diminish.

"Well… I know that, but thank you, Miss Wings. I’m glad you like it.", she replied, in a rather self assured way. Monica and Andrew didn’t miss her slight contentment with that compliment.

"And don’t be upset about the fishing, Tess.", the Irish angel went on talking, "It was a beautiful sunny and warm day and we had the opportunity to swim in the lake, after all. Besides, if the Father wanted us to catch any fish, we would have. I think it was better to leave those poor animals swimming in the lake in peace. To be honest, I’m glad we’ve managed to feed them, as we bought so many baits and it would be a pity to throw them all away!"

Andrew was trying his best not to laugh both at his dearest friend’s words and at the perplex look on Tess’ face.

"Besides, it’s not only the sandwiches you prepare that are delicious, Tess. The coffee is wonderful too!", Monica said, sipping the fourth of fifth cup f her favourite drink:

"… And I almost regret I made it, cause I think you’ve already drunk too much…", the supervisor replied, still not believing in what she was listening. Monica ignored that comment and continued to talk:

"You know, I have to confess something: if you two had managed to catch many fishes and I hadn’t caught anything, I wouldn’t have courage to cook them, as much as I would like to. You’re much better cooks than I am, that’s the truth. And here, in this campsite, only someone with great cooking ability would be able to prepare a good lunch and dinner! Though I‘ve improved a lot, I’m still learning and my abilities are considerably diminished here."

Hearing that, Tess and Andrew stared at each other: a look of astonishment and surprise evident on their faces:

"You mean you wouldn’t cook?"

"No, I wouldn’t. I’m sorry, Tess. I know how you and Andrew like to encourage me, but I wouldn’t cook here. I could do something wrong, you know."

"I need to rest!…", the oldest angel stood up and headed to the tent. Monica looked at Andrew with a questioning face:

"What’s the matter with her, Andrew?"

"Well… I think she’s just tired, that’s all. Don’t worry, Angel Girl, a nap will do wonders for her.", he handed her the bottle of coffee, "Here, have some more coffee…"

Extremely pleased, she grabbed the bottle with a broad smile on her face and placed a loving kiss on his cheek:

"Thank you!"

PART 6

The first sun rays started to cross the blue sky announcing the beginning of a new day, waking up the birds and the other creatures that inhabited the ever green woods.

Andrew finished to prepare breakfast and divided it in two parts: one half he placed inside a picnic basket. The other, he left on a folding table, carefully packing it to avoid the ants attack. Then, he looked at the ground and saw that Joy had already eaten an entire bowl of dog food and was staring at him with anxious black eyes and happily wagging her tiny tail.

"Wow, that was fast, huh? You were really hungry, weren’t you, little one?"

A double bark was a reply to his question, and he smiled:

"… yeah, I know: you’re always hungry!", the blond angel grabbed the basket containing the breakfast and checked his surroundings for the last time, "Well, I guess it’s all set: when Tess wakes up her breakfast will be ready and everything is clean. Now, let’s go find your mom?"

Joy barked again and both left to the woods.

*

Monica was not far from the campsite. The Irish angel had found a small clearing and was kneeling on the ground, with her hands open. In them, there were some crumbs of bread, which were being eagerly devoured by lots of little birds that had come down the trees and perched on the angel’s arms, hands and shoulders, with not a single sign of fear. Monica had a content smile on her meek face and anyone could tell how happy she was to be in that place:

"I’m glad you like breakfast…", she spoke, "I just wish I’d known you were so many! The population increased a lot since the last time I’ve been here!"

But that peaceful moment was interrupted by a loud and rather angry puppy bark: Joy suddenly showed up and rushed towards her mommy, scaring the birds that were eating in her hands and causing them to immediately fly away form that place. Monica stared at the little dog with a perplex look on her face:

"Joy! Why did you do that?!", she exclaimed, with surprise. But the little animal went on barking, now at the trees, as a warning to the birds not to come back. Only when she was sure nobody would dare to return, the grouchy puppy dog turned to the Irish angel: wagging her tiny tail as if nothing had happened. Monica took her in her arms:

"Hey, what’s going on with you, huh?"

"She’s jealous of her mom!", Andrew said, coming closer to his dearest friend and offering her his hand. Monica stood up and stared at her precious baby even more surprised:

"Jealous? Do you really think so?"

"Yes, she is, for sure, Monica!", he answered, finding the dog’s annoyance really funny. "She practically shoved the birds from here and even warned them not to come back!"

Equally amused, the Irish angel looked at the puppy and stroked her soft black fur:

"But doesn’t she know how much I love her and that I would never change her for anything in this entire world?"

"Yes, but she doesn’t want to run any risk! Besides, this little one doesn’t want to share you with anybody else other than Tess and me!", a pensive expression appeared on his face, "And you know something? I think we should do something about it… I mean, we are her parents and, consequently we are responsible for her education!"

Giggling, the Irish angel patted Joy on the head:

"Well, I guess it’s just a phase, and it’ll be over when she gets older… despite the fact that she’ll be a puppy forever…"

"But we have to agree that she can be really temperamental sometimes."

"Well… yes, we can’t deny that our wee one has a strong personality. But she’s also kind and warm; just look how she manages to conquer everybody’s heart! Even Sam likes her! And remember how long he had to stay with her?"

Knowing exactly what she meant, Andrew laughed:

"Yeah, you’re right. And I have to recognise that my little one here is also a brave girl! She even saved a life in her first assignment!

"You know what? Our precious baby is just adorable!", Monica concluded, holding Joy tightly in her arms and kissing her little head, receiving lots of kisses in reply. Finding that scene really cute, Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulder:

"Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

They left the clearing and started to follow a small trail:

"You know something, Monica?"

"What?"

"I don’t blame this little one. After all, I too like to have close to me all the time!"

Immediately blushing with his kind words, she smiled:

"Even with me being a wee bit clumsily sometimes?"

He stared at her as if he had just heard the most absurd thing:

"I wouldn’t say something like this, honey!"

She stopped walking with a slight surprised and amused look in her eyes:

"Oh no?!"

Andrew also stopped and stroked her cheek:

"I’d rather say you’re a very active and creative Angel Girl! And you know what? I don’t like monotony!"

He bent down and placed a tiny kiss on her giggling angel’s nose.

*

Some time later, in a flowered field, under the shade of a huge tree:

"Yes, you were right again, Monica. This place is amazing!", Andrew said, lying on the short green grass. Monica was lying next to him, with her hands resting on her stomach and using his left arm as a pillow; and little Joy was trotting around the 2 angels. They had just finished to have their breakfast and a gentle breeze was blowing on their faces. The towel with a big bottle of coffee (now empty) and some remaining pieces of cake, bread and pancakes was still on the ground, near them.

"I told you it was. And having the opportunity to admire such a wonderful gift from the Father is always a blessing!"

"Yes. It makes us feel grateful and, most importantly, it makes us want to give thanks for everything that surrounds us.", the blond angel agreed.

Monica looked at him with sparkling brown eyes:

"That’s how I’m feeling now. I’m grateful for being here and, most importantly, I’m grateful for being here with the ones I love most in this entire world!"

With a warm smile upon his handsome face, he leaned to his left and stroked her hair, placing some strands behind her ear.

"I just hope I can bring Tess here too some other day, you know. I think she’s a wee bit tired right now and it takes some walk to get here… It’s funny, I didn’t think it was that far! I guess I’ve spent way too much time without coming here and now I’m a wee bit confused about time and directions!"

Trying his best not to laugh at the seriousness of her words and also not to show what he was thinking about them, Andrew nodded his head:

"Yes… I think we’d better leave Tess resting for today…"

At that moment, Monica stood up and, after getting rid of some green leaves attached to her clothes and hair, she offered her hand to him:

"C’mon, let’s go for a walk?"

"Ok… But I have to confess that these shoes are killing me!", he said, also standing up.

"Why don’t you take them off? I can assure you it feels wonderful!"

Pondering about the distance he had already walked in that morning and also about the distance he would still have to walk during the rest of the day, he decided to follow her advice.

"So?", she asked, curiously. Andrew smiled a little surprised:

"You know what? You were right, Angel Girl! It does feel great!"

"See? I told you! You’re gonna love walking around barefoot! I bet you won’t want to put these shoes on anymore while we’re here!"

"Well… At least now I wouldn’t mind getting rid of them!"

Monica took his hand:

"C’mon, we have to pick some more flowers to put in our temporary home; the ones I’ve put there are already fading!"

He rolled his eyes playfully and teased her:

"It’s such a girlish tent!"

"It’s a very beautiful tent!", she replied back, in a mock stubborn way.

And little Joy, who had been attentively paying attention to her parent’s conversation, followed them happily wagging her tiny tail.

*

One hour later, after walking around the vast flowered area, Andrew and Monica were coming back to the place where they had left their belongings. The Irish angel had managed to pick many different species of flowers and, although he continued to tease her, Andrew ended up helping his dearest friend:

"Andrew, be careful…!", Monica warned, looking at the top of a high tree slightly worried. The blond angel walked over to one of the highest branches and finally took a beautiful yellow flower:

"I guess now you can complete your collection!", he said, and got down the tree a minute later; giving her the flower:

"It’s beautiful!", Monica exclaimed, taking it in her hands and smelling its sweet perfume, "Thank you!", she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hold:

"But I didn’t take it for you to decorate that girlish tent! That’s for you!"

Giggling, she placed a kiss on his cheek:

"Ok. But I’m afraid I’ll have to put it inside our temporary room anyway!"

Seeing him roll his green eyes in a mock upset way, she went on talking:

"But it’ll be the most beautiful flower in the tent! And also my favourite one!"

"Well, it’s reasonable!…", he laced his fingers with hers, "Now let’s go back, Tess must be waiting for us!"

"Yes.", the expression of happiness on Monica’s face was immediately replaced by one of worry when she looked around them and noticed something:

"Where’s Joy?!"

But Andrew was quick in putting her heart at ease:

"Joy is up ahead of us. I saw when she started to run back to that big tree where we left our things.

Relief quickly filled the Irish angel’s heart:

"Oh my! For a moment I thought she had disappeared!"

Although Andrew had seen Joy from the top of the tree, the 2 angels decided to walk faster, as they knew from past experiences that the little puppy shouldn’t be left alone for a long time (and sometimes, not even for a short time). But when they arrived at the tree, they found no trace of the small dog:

"Joy? Where are you? Answer to me!" the Irish angel called, worry immediately back on her face and in her heart.

"C’mon little one, we have to go now, it’s lunch time!…", Andrew said, "I don’t think you wanna miss this!"

With her heart already filled with anguish, Monica placed the bouquet with lots of different flowers that she had picked in the basket and started to walk around, looking for the missing puppy:

"Joy! Answer to me! Don’t do this to us! Where are you?!"

Again, there was no reply to her calling, causing her to be twice scared:

"Joy! Please, answer to me!… Oh Andrew, what happened to her?"

Seeing her despair, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder:

"Monica, try to stay calm. She can’t be that far, I saw her from the top of the tree, she hadn’t even arrived here yet. Besides, I think…"

The blond angel stopped talking when he looked at their belongings spread on the grass and noticed that there was something missing:

"I can’t believe it!"

"What is it?", Monica asked, with worry evident in her voice. With a slight upset expression on his face, Andrew crossed his arms in front of his chest:

"My shoes have disappeared!"

PART 7

In the flowered field, surrounded by green trees and small streams, Monica and Andrew continued in search of their little chubby dog, which seemed to have vanished in the air; this time together with her daddy’s shoes:

"Joy, please, come back! We’re worried about you!", the Irish angel called, looking behind some bushes. Not far from her, Andrew also checked their surroundings:

"C’mon Joy, show up! Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be along in a place like this?!", he ran his fingers through his blond hair, "Why did she do that?"

"Well, remember when you said that your shoes were killing you and that you would get rid of them?"

"But I didn’t mean it literally!"

"Oh Andrew, our wee one is still a baby, she didn’t know that…", although he nodded his head, knowing it was true, the blond angel sighed with a little impatience:

"C’mon, let’s keep looking!"

Monica took his hand and they left the field and started to look for Joy in the woods.

*

One hour later:

"…Joy, please, answer to us!", Monica pleaded, distress all over her face, "… Don’t be afraid, sweetheart, we’re not upset with you!"…"

"Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that!…", Andrew mumbled, causing his dearest friend to stare at him:

"Andrew! She might be listening!"

"I hope so, cause she has to know that she got herself into a big trouble!", his voice was purposefully louder.

"Oh, please, don’t be mad at her… She’s still so little…"

"Yes, but some work on her attitude wouldn’t do any harm!"

"Well… I think… maybe you’re right, but, if we stop to think, in a way, she has good intentions…"

"Good intentions?"

"Yes. She thinks your shoes were hurting you and, well, by taking them away, she would be doing you a favour… Her intentions are good. The problem is that… she is a wee bit clumsily sometimes…"

Immediately, Andrew felt his annoyance diminish, as he knew those words were completely true, and, most importantly, he also knew pretty well from whom the little puppy had ‘inherited’ that remarkable characteristic in her personality.

"You have to believe that, Andrew. She’s not doing this to annoy us; she would never do anything to upset us on purpose…"

"I know that… But we have to find her as soon as possible, before she goes too far…"

Suddenly, a puppy bark, still distant from them, echoed through the trees, bringing some relief to both angels:

"Oh Father, it’s Joy!", Monica exclaimed, as Andrew took her hand:

"C’mon, it’s coming from that way!"

As they ran through the vegetation, the barks became louder and, minutes later, the angels arrived at a swampy area. Their feet were immediately covered with mud as they walked and Monica’s heart was pounding loudly in her chest:

"Oh, Andrew, look around us! She must be in great danger! What if she fell in the water?!"

"She’s barking, she can’t have fallen in the water!"

"Well, her barking could be a cry for help!"

"But at least it’ll take us to where she is!"

Suddenly, after moving away some bushes on their way, the 2 angels found a small lagoon, with dark and still waters. And, right in the middle of it, standing on the only rock that existed in the place, was Joy.

The little chubby dog had managed to reach the stone by using an old tree trunk that had fallen over the shallow water as a bridge. But now, she seemed to be afraid of coming back by crossing the trunk again, as it was a bit narrow and she, a bit heavy. If she missed one step, Joy would certainly fall on the muddy dark water.

"There she is, Andrew!", Monica conjoined her hands gratefully, "Oh, thank you, Father!"

Also relived, Andrew rubbed her back:

"See? I told you we would find her!"

"She seems to be stuck in there…", the Irish angel’s voice was still full of concern.

"Come with me, let’s try to come closer."

They reached the bank of the lagoon and, although the little puppy continued to bark incessantly, they could see that, fortunately, she was not hurt:

"Stay calm, Monica. She’s just a little scared."

"She seems to be terrified, Andrew!"

"Yes, but she’s alright…", the blond angel stopped talking and frowned a little upset when he noticed something else floating near the impatient puppy dog, "… But I can’t say the same about my shoes!"

Using all her strength, Joy had dragged Andrew’s shoes with her all the way up to that place and then she had thrown them in the dirty dark water, near the rock she was now standing on. Little by little, his shoes were submerging in the mud and now, they were practically disappearing. Noticing his annoyance with the small dog’s attitude, as well as Joy’s impatience to be rescued, Monica rubbed her hands nervously:

"Calm down, sweetheart, we will take you out of there in a minute!", she said, and turned to her dearest friend with pleading eyes: "Andrew, if… if you take your shoes out of the mud I can wash them for you…"

"Ok. We can come back later to take that little fur ball!"

Hearing that, the Irish angel’s eyes grew wide and she stared at him in shock:

"Andrew!"

He looked back at her and felt an inch of guilt for his words:

"… I’m joking!", was his reply, though it was possible to see that his mood wasn’t exactly a light one. The blond angel used the same tree trunk Joy had used to go the playful puppy. Monica remained on the bank of the lagoon, with her hands conjoined and praying for the ‘rescue mission’ to be over soon.

Carefully walking over the old wood, he managed to reach the stone where the small animal was standing on:

"When we get home you and I are gonna have a little talk, missy!", he spoke; his annoyance evident on his tone of voice. The little puppy tilted her head and looked at him questioningly as he grabbed her. Then, he bent down a second time and took his pair of shoes out of the mud; now they had turned from beige into dark brown and weighed 3 times more, due to the dirt that was inside of them. Andrew stared at the puppy again:

"How can something so little cause so much trouble?!"

A tiny, low and embarrassed bark was the reply to his comment. With distress over his face, Andrew stepped on the fallen tree trunk to come back to the bank of the lagoon. But now the blond angel was carrying 2 extra weights in his hands and balancing himself was not as easy as before:

"Slow down, Andrew…", Monica warned, nervously biting her lower lip, as she and anyone else could see what would happen if he missed one step.

"I can’t, Monica. I need to get outta here immediately!"

The blond angel had hardly said that when Joy suddenly sneezed and that was enough to cause him to lose his balance: the tree trunk moved and Andrew, Joy and the pair of shoes fell down into the dark mud.

The pond was really shallow – its waters were up to Andrew’s knees – but that sudden fall caused him and the little puppy to be covered with mud. And when they finally arrived at the bank of the lagoon, Monica was not only relieved but she also had to cover her mouth and do an extra effort not to laugh at the scene in front of her:

"Monica, this is not funny!", Andrew grumbled, mud was dripping from his face.

"Are you ok?…", she asked, hardly managing to control herself. That question caused him to be even more upset:

"Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I happen to have a little problem here…", he looked at Joy, "… I mean, TWO little problems!"

He placed the chubby (and very dirty) dog on the ground. And try as he might, Monica still couldn’t control her laugher:

"Well… I could hug and kiss you two but… I guess I’ll do it later, you know…"

But those words were not enough to make Andrew’s annoyance disappear:

"Well, concerning me, you’re gonna have to do it really later, because I have no doubt that it’ll take me hours to get rid of all this mud!", he exclaimed, still upset, and looked at Joy, "But concerning this young lady, I don’t think she deserves any kiss or hug, but a good punishment instead!"

"Andrew, don’t be so hard on her; our precious baby didn’t do it on purpose… I mean… she did it, but just because she thought she was doing you a favour…"

"Monica, has it ever occurred you that ‘your precious baby’ has to learn a lesson and that you are overprotecting her?!"

That comment caused the Irish angel to stop smiling and her mouth to drop open indignantly:

"Oh… So when she’s brave and saves a life she’s yours, but when she makes a tiny and totally excusable mistake she’s mine?"

Joy was standing between her mommy and daddy and, with her long ears raised and tiny black eyes wide open, she watched their argument attentively and with a rather worried expression on her face. Andrew took away some of the mud that was dripping from his chin:

"I won’t stay here discussing this with you because somehow I feel I won’t have much success in expressing my opinion here!"

"Well, has it ever occurred you that your opinion might be a little mistaken?"

"’Mistaken’? I give up! You know what? I’ll go and take away all this mud from me right now!", he turned to Joy, who was looking from one angel’s face to another, "And you should find someone to do the same for you other than me!"

"I’ll do it for her!", Monica replied, a little more upset.

"Why am I not surprised?!", he said, and started to walk away from them.

"Where are you going? The campsite is that way!", the Irish angel was pointing to the opposite direction he was going to.

"I’ll use the shorter way!", he spoke, causing her to be slightly offended:

"Fine! I’ll use my way!", she said, and both angels went into totally opposite directions. Little Joy, for herself, watched as her parents moved away and sat on the ground with a very sad expression on her tiny face.

PART 8

When Andrew arrived at the campsite, Tess’ reaction was something similar to Monica’s: the supervisor had to cover her mouth not to laugh at his appearance:

"Angel boy, what could possibly…?"

"Don’t even ask, Tess!", he grumbled, and went to look for some clean clothes.

"Where are Monica and Joy? I thought they were together with you…"

"Oh they’ll be here… in probably 2 hours! And you’d better prepare some dog soap and shampoo…"

In fact, nearly 2 hours later, Monica and the little chubby (and very) dirty puppy arrived at the campsite, and the Irish angel was quick in giving her baby a good bath. Besides her weak sense of direction, it took Monica some more time to return because she had to collect the basket of food Andrew had taken with him, as well as the flowers she had picked.

And, after cleaning the little dog, Monica was busy with some other things, such as tidying up the tent and setting the table for lunch. Andrew, on the other hand, helped Tess to prepare the food, and the supervisor noticed that, during the rest of the day, the 2 angels exchanged only one or two words.

"Oh, Father, you know I complain about all that sugar but… you don’t take it seriously, do you?", she spoke, watching her charges from a certain distance.

Joy, for herself, spent the rest of the day lying on the ground and barely touched her food; a thoughtful and miserable expression on her face.

But, suddenly, she raised her tiny head and, unseen to the angels, the small animal sneaked to the tent.

*

Later, at night, some dark clouds covered the sky and a light rain started to fall. The angels had already finished their lunch and the cold air and light rain shoved them to their temporary home:

"It seems that this night will be a wee bit chilly up here.", Monica said, standing up together with the supervisor.

"Yes, and I think it’s a good invitation to sleep!", Tess agreed, "Angel Girl, could you take care of the food for me?"

"Sure, Tess. I’ll do it for you; you can go to bed."

"Thank you, baby."

"I’ll take care of the rest, Tess.", Andrew also stood up and started to collect the other objects and to put out the fire.

"Thank you, Angel boy. Good night you two!"

"Good night, Tess."

When Monica and Andrew finished their tasks, they also entered the tent and the blond angel immediately noticed that it was all decorated with the flowers Monica had picked in that rather disastrous morning. A slight smile was about to appear on his lips but, as soon as Andrew lay his eyes on the floor, the expression on his face turned to an upset one:

"I can’t believe she did it again!", he exclaimed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Monica looked at the corner of the tent and, once again, the Irish angel had to control herself not to laugh at what she saw: Joy was sound asleep comfortably lying on Andrew’s pillow, which she was using as a mattress.

"I thought this fluffy floor would be enough for her, that’s why I didn’t bring a step pillow…"

"Well, apparently it isn’t, cause she stole my pillow!", he replied, dissatisfaction evident on his face. But Monica immediately understood what the little puppy was trying to do with that sweet attitude.

"She’s a wee baby, Andrew, she didn’t steal anything!", the Irish angel replied, with a slight smile upon her pretty face. He stared at her still with his arms crossed and a little upset:

"Oh no? And how do you call that?"

"She… She just borrowed your pillow…"

"And why does it always have to be me?! Why didn’t she ‘borrow’ Tess’ pillow?!"

"Would you take Tess’ pillow if you were a wee angel puppy?"

Knowing exactly the answer to that question, he continued to talk:

"Then why didn’t she take your pillow?!"

"Well… Maybe she likes your perfume!…", Monica concluded, still doing an extra effort not to laugh at the whole situation, "And I think we’d better stop talking and go to bed because Tess is already sleeping and you don’t want to wake her up, do you?", she said, in a low voice.

Andrew rolled his eyes impatiently and had no other choice but to look for his backpack to use as a pillow and lie down. Then, he reduced the flame of the gas lamp that illuminated the tent to a very small one, as he knew that neither Monica nor Joy liked to sleep in total darkness, and there was silence in the place for about 10 minutes.

The small flame that was burning inside the gas lamp allowed Monica to watch as her dearest friend turned from one side to another, visibly annoyed with his accommodations, for 3 times.

"Andrew?"

"Yes?"

"I can see you’re not comfortable in there…"

"Well, in fact, I’m not, because ‘someone’ decided to ‘borrow’ my pillow and I didn’t bring a ‘step pillow’ with me…"

Trying to suppress a small giggle, Monica patted on her pillow:

"You know, my pillow is big and there’s much space here for two… We could share it if you want."

"You know what? I won’t sleep with my head on a backpack!", he said, still with an upset tone in his voice, and moved to join her. Secretly smiling and finding his annoyance adorable, the Irish angel made room for him and Andrew lay down right beside her.

"You see? Now everybody is comfortable…", she said, snuggling closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. And, try as he might, the blond angel was unable to resist to such sweet attitude and couldn’t hold his annoyance any longer:

"If… If we’re gonna share the pillow, we can also share the blanket and mine is warmer than yours…"

He lay his quilt over both of them and lay down again, now closer to her:

"Thank you…", the Irish angel whispered, almost drifting off to sleep. And finally a smile appeared on his lips:

"You’re welcome.", he whispered back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. A minute later, the blond angel spoke again:

"Monica?"

"Yes?…"

"I love you… Very much."

Although she was almost sleeping, Monica smiled meekly:

"I love you very much too."

Gently, Andrew stretched his arm and held the Irish angel, bringing her closer to him in a tight embrace, which she immediately returned. Then, he bent his head and placed a tender kiss on her forehead:

"Good night, Angel Girl. I love you very much again. Forever.", he whispered, running his fingers through her hair. The smile never disappeared from her face:

"Good night, Andrew. I love you very much too... again... forever… too…", she answered back, clearly enjoying his caress. Chucking at her wording, he bent down once more and placed another tiny kiss on her nose, and both cuddled together, in a warm embrace, falling asleep some minutes later.

With that, a certain chubby dog, who had been secretly observing the two angels from the corner of their temporary home, could finally sleep, now that she had managed to accomplish a very important assignment.

*

On the following morning, Andrew woke up with an extra weight right above his chest and a pair of tiny black eyes staring at him just a few inches from his face:

"Hey little one…", he whispered, and Joy wasted no time in covering her daddy’s face with lots of kisses:

"I guess this is not only a ‘good morning’ but also an ‘I’m sorry’, isn’t it?"

A tiny low bark was the reply to his question, and he patted her head:

"I know you’re sorry. I’m sorry too. Can you forgive me?"

He laughed as the puppy covered his face with a second round of kisses and his smile became wider when he looked at his left and saw that his dearest friend had abandoned her pillow completely and was sleeping peacefully with her head on his shoulder, with a loving embrace. Then, he looked back at the puppy with tired sleepy eyes:

"You wanna go outside, don’t you?"

He heard another tiny bark:

"Ok…"

The blond angel shook Monica as gently as he could:

"Hey, Monica…"

"Hum?…", was the only sound she could utter.

"Joy wants to go outside…"

"Ok…", the Irish angel replied. Then, still in deep sleep, she turned to the other side taking his part of the blanket together with her, without even opening her eyes, and continued to sleep. Chuckling, and somewhat perplexed with that, Andrew looked at the little puppy, who barked once more, impatiently staring at him, and had no other choice but to take the little animal himself:

"You know what? This mother of yours is a big sleepyhead!"

Joy tilted her head questioningly and he nodded:

"Ok, you’re right. I love her just the same!", the blond angel took a strand of hair off Monica’s face and leaned to place a loving kiss on her cheek. Then, he stood up and headed outside the tent with the little puppy in his arms:

"But you and I are going to have a little talk about your recent behaviour, missy!"

Hearing that, the small animal moaned and stared at him with a pleading look:

"And don’t you make that face to me! We’ll have a very serious talk about your attitude!"

PART 9

On that morning, as soon as she woke up, Monica looked around her and realised that Andrew and Tess weren’t inside the tent anymore, and neither was Joy. Then, she looked at her side and found out that a rose had been carefully left next to her.

Smiling, as she knew pretty well that that flower wasn’t together with the other ones she had picked on the day before, the Irish angel took it in her hands and touched the soft rose buds.

The first thing that she did when she left the tent was to look for her dearest friend and soon found him arranging a small backpack with a bottle of water, some sandwiches and a pack of dog cookies. Joy was standing next to him attentively observing his actions and, when she saw her mommy coming closer, the little dog ran towards her happily wagging her tiny tail and barking:

"Hello, sweetheart! Good morning to you too!", the Irish angel greeted, holding her precious baby tightly in her arms and kissing her head. Chuckling, Andrew finished to pack the things and walked over to Monica:

"Hey, good morning, Miss Wings! We were just waiting for you!", he said, with a gentle smile upon his handsome face. Also smiling, Monica placed Joy on the ground and, without saying a single word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly:

"… it’s not that I’m complaining; much on the contrary, I’m really enjoying it, but… What have I done to deserve such a warm good morning?", the blond angel asked, also holding her tightly. Monica pulled away just enough to look at his face:

"Remember when you rescued Joy from that lagoon in the swamp and I said that I would hug and kiss you both as soon as you got rid of all that mud? Well, I’ve already hugged and kissed our precious chubby baby; now it’s your turn!", she answered, kissing his cheek afterwards.

Lost for words with a sweet attitude (and with a terrible sensation of guilt and regret), he held her tightly for the next minute. Then, he pulled away just a few inches, gently caressing her cheek, and looked deep inside her eyes:

"Monica, about yesterday, I’m so sor…"

"I love the flower.", she interrupted him, placing her fingers upon his lips, still with a beautiful smile upon her face, "I put it together with the others. Our temporary home is more beautiful than never."

He took her hand and brushed a gentle kiss on her palm, and smiled mischievously:

"You what? I could dive in that big puddle of mud everyday just to receive such a warm good morning again!… Carrying our little one together with me, of course!"

Hearing that, Joy let out a (scared) bark and stared at her daddy with her ears raised and eyes wide open. Laughing at Andrew’s words and at the little dog’s reaction, Monica held him once more:

"Well, you don’t have to, because I happen to love you very much and I could greet you like this forever! But… I have to confess that you two looked quite cute with all that mud on you…"

A mock stern expression appeared on his face:

"Really? Well, and I think you look quite cute when you’re practically begging me to stop tickling you, with some tears rolling down your red cheeks and having a ‘laugh attack’!"

Now it was Monica who stared at him slightly scared (but still smiling). But, before the Irish angel could say something, they heard another voice from behind them:

"Nobody’s gonna tickle anybody now! We have a lot to do today!"

Seeing Tess coming closer, Joy let out another scared bark and ran clumsily towards her ‘grandmother’:

"Come here with your grandma, baby!", she said, holding the puppy in her arms, "Yes, I know. The sugar level around here is too high again!", the supervisor stared at her two charges accusingly.

"Where are we going today, Tess?", Monica asked, without letting go of her dearest friend’s hand.

"We’ll go on a hike over these mountains, Miss Wings!"

Hearing that, the Irish angel smiled excitedly:

"Oh, that’s a wonderful idea, Tess! I know lots of trails we could follow until…"

"Calm down, Miss Wings! I said I’m in command of this campsite and this time I’ll set our route!", the oldest angel stated, with a firm tone in her voice. But that didn’t diminish Monica’s enthusiasm:

"It’s ok! Once we’re all together, it’ll be fun anyway!"

"Yes, that’s it, Angel boy. Is everything ready?"

"Yes, ma’am! Food and water packed and camp stuff double checked!"

"So, what are we waiting for? Let’s move!"

Tess marched ahead of them, with an authoritarian (and rather funny) attitude, as if she were a general commanding a troop of soldiers (in that case, of angels) through the woods. While little Joy stuck together beside her, Andrew and Monica held each other’s hands and walked right behind her, trying hard to suppress their laugher.

*

When the angels returned to the campsite, the sun was setting behind the green mountains, and a full moon was already appearing in the sky. It had been a hot day and, considering the pleasant temperature, the night would also be a delightful one.

"That was a wonderful day, Tess! I was glad to see all this area again after so much time!," Monica exclaimed, enthusiastically, "I didn’t know you were so curious about it, though. We walked over all these mountains!"

"Neither did I, baby. I just wish I had known how confusing these trails could be!"

Andrew tried to suppress a smile as he had been the only one who noticed that the oldest angel had completely got lost in the woods.

"In fact, if we had got the narrow trail, we could’ve arrived faster and..."

"And who could assure you that trail was the right one?", she replied, slightly bothered with his teasing tone of voice, "And we are here anyway, aren’t we?"

"You two must be tired, I can feel that," the Irish angel said, looking at her two best friends with her eyes filled with love.

"Ok, I admit it, I’m tired!", Tess confirmed.

"I knew you would. That’s why I prepared a little surprise for you..."

Hearing that, the two angels exchanged a rather scared look:

"A ... Surprise?...", Andrew stammered.

"What... kind of surprise, Angel Girl?..."

At that very moment, they stepped into the campsite and saw, right in front of them, all the necessary settings for a fire place, and marshmallows ready to be cooked and eaten:

"Well... It wasn’t just me... I had ‘Someone’s’ help too, you know...", the little angel replied, looking at the sky, "I imagined you two would be tired to cook dinner and, secretly, I asked Him for a little gift to you both."

Tess and Andrew heaved a sigh of relief and looked at each other and after to Monica.

"You know something, Monica?", the blond angel wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him, "You should be included as the most important ‘item’ in any camp list!"

"I agree with that, angel boy!", the supervisor said.

*

The angels sat by the fire and had a delicious dinner, talking about past and happy assignments, their days off, the warm weather and the joy of being in one another’s company, some very precious moments that would be in their memories forever.

But they were also tired as the day had been a very busy one and Tess was the very first angel to surrender to sleep:

"That’s enough for me, babies. I’ll go and get a good night’s sleep, I guess I’m already sleeping here!"

Monica looked around them and, as the night was a very pleasant one and there were no traces of rain in the sky, the Irish angel had an idea:

"Why don’t we all sleep outside tonight? The sky is so beautiful and the night is so warm! Besides, the fire will illuminate everything around us!"

"That’s a great idea, Monica! We have sleeping bags inside the tent, we could bring them outside and sleep right here in front of the fire!", Andrew agreed. But the supervisor stared at them not at all enthusiastic about that idea:

"I’m not in the mood for night adventures! Besides, I don’t want to wake up with any strange animal staring at me in the middle of the night!"

"C’mon, Tess, there won’t be any animal around us, it’s not dangerous at all!"

"Absolutely not, Mr Halo! And it’s a lot warmer and cosier inside the tent, I won’t leave my comfortable bed to sleep outside!"

"You don’t have to worry about that, Tess.", Monica added, still trying to convince the supervisor, "Andrew is very comfortable and warm, you know. You can hold him in case you feel cold!", she said, holding her dearest friend’s arm.

Smiling and pleased to hear that, the blond angel nodded his head:

"You sure can, Tess!"

The oldest angel rolled her eyes and stared at them:

"Don’t count on me snuggling around your neck, Mr!"

*

Differently from Tess and little Joy, who were sound asleep inside the tent, Monica and Andrew were sharing a sleeping bag and the Irish angel was comfortably resting her head on his upper arm; both observing the starry sky:

"... and that is Cygnus, it has 61 stars and it shines so brightly in the summer it’s possible to see its main stars in a night like this one.", Andrew explained, softly running his fingers through her hair.

"It’s so beautiful... What about that one?"

"That is Cassiopeia. The familiar 'W' shape of Cassiopeia is made up from five stars: Segin, Ksora, Cih, Schedir and Caph. The central star, Cih, is the brightest of these."

"You know something?", she turned her head up so that her eyes could meet his:

"What Angel Girl?"

"You’re such a good teacher! I could spend hours here with you observing the sky!"

Chucking, he bent his head and kissed her forehead:

"I could stay here teaching you until there were no stars left in the galaxy for us to study!"

"That’s a lovely idea! Of course we can’t do it non stop, but... We could gather around once in a while to do it!"

"Yes, I guess we have a deal on that!", he had hardly said that when his dearest friend turned to the side and gave him a tight hug and a loving kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you..."

"You’re more than welcome.", he replied, placing some strands of hair behind her ear and not missing her sleepy eyes, "But right now, let’s have this class finished, as I can see there are some sleepyhead pupils around here!"

"Ok...", giggling, she looked at the sky one more time, "I guess the stars will be there so that we can continue this class later!"

At that moment, they saw as a bright star crossed the space:

"Look, there goes another one!," Monica exclaimed.

"Aren’t you going to make a wish, Angel Girl?", Andrew joked. The Irish angel snuggled close together with him, in a warm embrace, and rested her head on his chest, almost sleeping:

"What for?... I have all I wish right here with me already..."

With a feeling of happiness deep inside his heart, the blond angel smiled and lifted a silent prayer, grateful for those moments he had been sharing with his two angelic friends. Soon, it will be time for them to go back to work and, although there would be a few assignments where the angels would be working together, there would be times of separation too. He remained awake for some time after Monica had fallen asleep and, kissing the top of her head, he held her tightly, secretly wishing that there were more days like those.

PART 10

On that day, the angels decided to spend the morning near the campsite, as it was their last day off, and they didn’t want to do any intense physical activity (they had done a lot already!), but just to relax and enjoy their surroundings instead.

"Where’s Monica, Angel boy? It’s awfully quiet in here!…", Tess asked, as, in fact, the silence around the place was practically absolute without the Irish angel and the little puppy.

"She wanted to feed the birds and to make a new attempt to stop Joy’s jealousy concerning the other animals that come closer to her!", Andrew responded, remembering how funny the small dog had reacted when she saw her mommy feeding lots of birds some days before.

"It’s been some time since they left.", the supervisor glanced at her watch.

"Yes, you’re right. To tell you the truth, I already miss them! I’ll go find those two…"

But it didn’t take Andrew too long to find his dearest friend and the puppy dog: not far from the campsite, Monica was lying under the shade of a big green tree, sleeping peacefully with little Joy in her arms. As the chubby puppy was also asleep, there were some small birds perched on the angel’s body or on the ground, next to her.

Andrew’s heart practically melted at that image and, smiling with all the love in his heart evident in his eyes, he backed away from the place just a few steps so that he could call Tess:

"What is it, baby?", the oldest angel asked, with a worried expression on her face. He quickly silenced her:

"Shh… I just want you to take a look at this…"

Tess walked over to where Monica was and, seeing her dear charge sleeping peacefully like a little girl, she smiled.

"If you ask me, I’d say this is the best view of the whole trip!", Andrew said, in a low voice, wrapping his arm around Tess’ shoulder, "I didn’t have the heart to wake her up."

"Well, I wanted to serve lunch now but, considering what day it is and considering her unexpected nap, I guess we’ll have to go on with our plan! Come with me…"

And the 2 angels moved away from the place without making any sound.

*

"… But Tess, when she woke up the only thing she said was that she was sorry that today is our last day here. She didn’t mention anything about her ‘casework anniversary’… Are you sure she remembers it is today?", Andrew asked, as he and the supervisor walked along the green grass.

"Of course I’m sure! And knowing that little angel as I do, I know she doesn’t want to mention it because it’s also our last day and that’s enough to make it special!"

A gentle and warm smile appeared on the blond angel’s face:

"Remember the last time we went on vacation together and she… ‘prepared’ us a ‘special lunch’?"

The supervisor smiled too:

"Boy! How could I ever forget it?!", they exchanged a look of complicity and she concluded, "But this time, she’ll be the one who will have a big surprise!"

*

Monica and Joy slept for about 30 minutes more, when a small bird perched on the puppy’s head, waking her up. Joy opened her eyes slowly and, when she saw all the other birds surrounding them, she stood up immediately and, getting rid of her mommy’s loving embrace, the little dog started to bark at them angrily.

A second later, the birds had flown away to their nests and Monica was awake:

"Hey, wee one, what happened?", she asked, with sleepy eyes. But, seeing her ‘precious baby’ barking and looking at the tree tops, the Irish angel soon realised what the problem was:

"Oh Joy, you shouldn’t be so jealous, sweetheart! You know I love you, don’t you?"

Only then, Joy stopped barking and covered her mom’s face with lots of kisses:

"You are so temperamental sometimes! I wonder where you got it from…"

After hearing a tiny bark, Monica stood up holding the puppy in her arms:

"Let’s see what your grandma and your daddy are doing?"

*

Tess was serving herself with some of the food she had prepared when Monica returned to the campsite:

"Tess, I’m so sorry, I fell asleep under a tree and lost track of time…"

"It’s ok, baby, Andrew helped me out here and there wasn’t much to do. Sit down, I’ll serve you."

"Where’s Andrew?"

"Oh… He… already ate…"

The Irish angel frowned with concern hearing that:

"He did?"

"Yes…"

"I… I thought we would spend the day together…"

"Well, I asked him to take a look at my baby; I haven’t used it for days and I’d like to be sure everything’s alright with it when we leave…"

Although she was still disappointed with her dearest friend’s absence – Tess’ car was parked a bit far from the campsite – Monica accepted the supervisor’s explanation and they had lunch together.

Some time later, after they had finished eating:

"Tess, I was wondering if you would like to have a walk around here, I promise we won’t go far. It’s such a beautiful day!", the Irish angel invited, enthusiastically. But Tess’ face was one of indecision:

"Well… I think that won’t be possible, Angel Girl… You see… I have a lot to do here, in the campsite…"

"Oh, you don’t need to worry, Tess, I’ll clean it up later…"

"Yes, I know that baby, but it’s quite messy around here and I’ve already started to clean it… Maybe we can walk around later…"

The older angel watched with distress as Monica’s face fell and half of her enthusiasm disappeared.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You go ahead, baby, take the time to rest or maybe you could take little Joy here for a walk…"

Disappointment all over her face, Monica lowered her head:

"Ok… If you prefer…"

"Yes. Later we could light the fire and sit around it…"

A little sad about Tess’ refusal to her invitation, Monica went to look up for Andrew and found him finishing to clean Tess’ Cadillac:

"Andrew?", she greeted him, with a broad smile.

"Hey Monica!"

"Joy and I are going on a walk around here, we’re not going too far, just up to the lake."

"Oh… really?…"

"Yes, and I wanted you and Tess to come with us. It’s a pity she can’t, she’s tidying up the tent and the site…", she lowered her voice, "But, if you ask me, I think she’s a wee bit tired, you know."

"Well, Tess said she would be in command around here but I guess she didn’t have much success!…"

They couldn’t suppress their laugher remembering how ‘well’ the supervisor had ‘commanded’ the campsite:

"I guess she wants to make a last attempt!", the blond angel completed.

"Yes. I think you’re right!", smiling, Monica took his hand, "Come with me?"

A weak smile appeared on his face and it took him some time to reply to that sweet invitation:

"Well… I… I’d love to, Monica, but… you see… I… er… I promised Tess that I would put some gas in her car before we left and that’s… That’s what I’m gonna do right now, so that tomorrow, when we leave, it won’t be necessary to do it…", he explained, in a clumsy way.

"So you’re going to the city?!", she exclaimed, a bit surprised.

"Yes, that’s it."

"Ok, then I could come with you! We could walk around the town to visit some shops and even drink some coffee and I…"

"Monica… I’m afraid this isn’t such a good idea… I mean, it would be better if you stayed here instead…"

Hearing that, Monica’s face fell for the second time on that day, and she stared at him with a trace of hurt evident in her brown eyes:

"… you don’t want me to go with you?"

Seeing such reaction, Andrew mentally scolded himself for using the wrong words, and, for a moment, he felt like telling her what was really going on:

"No! of course I would like you to come with me, Monica! Of course I would… The problem is that… Well… I intended to go there and come back really fast and if we take the time to do things such as walking around the city and drinking coffee that won’t be possible…"

Andrew realised that his explanation was getting even worse at the moment Monica lowered her head and stared at the ground:

"Are you upset with me, Andrew?", she asked, her voice almost disappearing. That question not only shocked him but also made him feel terrible:

"Upset with you? No! Never!"

Quickly, the blond angel came closer to her and cupped her chin, lifting her face up so that their eyes could meet:

"Monica, you’re the most adorable creature I’ve ever met! Why in this world would I be upset with you?!", she said, holding one of her hands. But sadness never disappeared from her face:

"Well… I have to recognise that there have been some small incidents during our stay here and I guess I’ve been around in practically… all of them…"

With a warm smile upon his face, Andrew pulled her closer to him in a tight embrace and placed a kiss on the side of her head:

"You know what I ask the Father everyday? To keep you around in the next centuries and also in the ones after these!", he said, running his fingers through her hair. And relief filled his soul when the Irish angel looked back at him now with a shy smile:

"You do?"

"Yes... everyday of my existence."

"Well, I guess He won’t have any problem in answering to your prayers!"

He placed some strands of her hair behind her ears and grabbed her face with his both hands:

"I promise I’ll get back as fast as I can, ok? And when I get back, you, Tess and I can do whatever you want to… together, of course, with our little one!", the blond angel said, and both looked down at Joy, who had been sitting on the ground attentively watching her parent’s talk.

Feeling a little more relieved, though she was still sorry for not having her friends together with her for a couple of hours, Monica nodded her head:

"Ok. We’ll be waiting for you, won’t we, Joy?"

They heard a tiny puppy bark in reply and Andrew placed a kiss on her cheek:

"I’ll be back soon!"

After watching him leave, Monica took the little chubby dog in her arms and looked at her small face:

"Well… Would you like to take a walk with your mommy or are you busy too, huh?"

And Joy wasted no time in covering her mom’s face with lots of wet kisses.

PART 11

Monica and Joy wandered in the woods, with a warm sun on their faces and a fresh breeze blowing through the green trees and bushes and listening to the humming of the birds for over an hour, until the Irish angel realised they were going too far. Pondering that soon she would have difficulties in finding the way back to the campsite, and really missing her dearest friends’ company, she ran until she grabbed the roundish little animal in her arms.

"I really should bring you here more often, wee one. You’re a baby and it’s good for you to have contact with nature! But now it’s time to go back."

Joy immediately reached up and covered Monica’s face with lots of kisses.

"I’m sure your daddy and your grandma are missing you too!", she exclaimed, hugging the chubby dog tightly, "I just hope they have finished their tasks already!"

Saying that, the Irish angel made her way back to the campsite.

*

Carrying little Joy, Monica returned to the campsite with a content expression upon her face, certain to find her friends waiting for her and eager to spend the next few hours with the two other angels.

But the smile disappeared from her face as soon as she got there, as, although Tess’ car was parked nearby, neither the supervisor nor Andrew were anywhere around:

"Tess?… Andrew?…", the Irish angel called, but there was no reply. Sadness all over her face, she gave some steps towards the tent, trying to hold back some tears that were already forming in the corner of her eyes:

"… I guess they went to take a walk by themselves, you know…", she spoke to the little chubby dog who was following her, "… after all, they deserve a little peace and…"

Monica stopped walking abruptly before she could finish the sentence: right in front of the tent, on the folding table they had been using during their stay, there was a beautiful cake, all covered with coffee cream and with some candles on it. Next to it, there was a card, with the picture of a smiling angel (which bore some resemblance to her). Perplex and speechless, she walked over to the table and took the card in her hands: immediately recognising the 2 handwritings on it:

When she finished to read the content of the card, the tears in Monica’s eyes started to roll down on her cheeks, but now they were tears of happiness. It was then that Tess and Andrew came from behind her, each one with a smile on their faces:

"And you thought we would forget that today is your caseworker anniversary? Happy anniversary, baby!", the supervisor had hardly said that when Monica turned around and gave her a tight embrace:

"Oh Tess! You remembered! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Angel Girl!"

"We can’t forget anything about our Angel Girl, huh, Tess?", Andrew said, gently stroking Monica’s hair.

"I don’t think this is ever possible!"

Monica changed the oldest angel’s embrace for Andrew’s:

"I love you! Thank you so much!"

He kissed the top of her head:

"You’re more than welcome, Monica! But you know what? This was the hardest assignment I ever had!"

Monica pulled away just a few inches so that she could look at his face:

"Hardest assignment?", she spoke, with tears still falling from her eyes. He wiped them away with gentle hands and continued to talk:

"Yes! To go to town and take the cake and the card without letting you realise what was going on and having to refuse your company twice in a matter of 10 seconds was the most difficult thing any living creature could do!"

Some tiny barks interrupted their laugher and the 3 angels looked down at the ground:

"Come here you too, wee one!", Monica grabbed Joy and hugged the little puppy tight in her arms, immediately receiving lots of wet kisses:

"Of course you can compliment your mommy too, sweetheart!"

"Believe me, she was of great help to us!", Andrew exclaimed.

"Well, now that we already hugged and kissed our Angel Girl, let’s cut this cake cause I wanna see if these people at the bakery followed my instructions properly!!", Tess interrupted.

PART 12 - FINALE

One hour later, the 3 angels were sitting by the table, savouring the last pieces of the cake they had bought for Monica, and even little Joy could have a piece:

"It’s delicious!", the Irish angel exclaimed, with some coffee cream on her nose, cheeks and fingers.

"Yes, Monica is right! These people at the bakery really did their best!". Andrew agreed, secretly chuckling at his dearest friend’s appearance. But the supervisor wasn’t so enthusiastic:

"Let’s not exaggerate, you two! It’s good, but they still have a lot to learn! If only I had the necessary equipment, I would teach them how to prepare a real cake!", she spoke, with a firm voice.

Monica, who was sitting between the two other angels, swallowed the last piece of her cake and took Tess’ hand:

"I have no doubt that it would be a wonderful cake, Tess!"

"I agree with Monica!", Andrew added. A little self assured, the oldest angel smiled:

"Yes. I know that!", she replied, somewhat bothered with the cream that was now in her hands too. Monica went on talking:

"You know, the only disadvantage of going camping is exactly this: not having a wee bit of technology so that we can cook everything we want to!"

The Irish angel didn’t realise the quick glance Tess and Andrew exchanged:

"Well, in some cases, it could be a blessing too!", the supervisor said, causing her charge to smile:

"Yes. making everything simple gave us time to really be together, as we all wanted. Besides, there will always be a day off or other vacation!", Monica completed, causing her two friends to look at each other for the second time:

"Well… there was the cake, the card, but we have another present for you, don’t we, Tess?", Andrew said, changing the subject and with an enigmatic smile on his face:

"Oh yes, you bet!"

"Another present?", she asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah… and I’m sure you’ll like it a lot!", he said, now both angels looking at her with a mischievous expression on their faces:

"Oh, Andrew, Tess, you don’t have to give me anything else, I loved the card, the cake, it’s all wonderful…", she replied, innocently.

"But this extra present is gonna make this big smile on your face to grow wider than it already is!", the blond angel spoke, he and Tess getting closer to her. And only then, Monica realised what their intentions really were and her sparkling brown eyes grew wide with panic:

"Oh no!…", she exclaimed, quickly standing up in a desperate attempt to escape from them. But Andrew was faster and grabbed her about the waist, carefully knocking her down on his and Tess’ lap:

"No! Andrew! Tess! Please, don’t!", she screamed, laughing loudly and uncontrollably, as the supervisor tickled her under arms and Andrew ran his fingers on her stomach:

"See Tess? Didn’t I tell you how fun it is?!", he said, ignoring Monica’s pleas.

"Yes! You were right, Angel boy! It really makes you feel good!", the oldest angel agreed, clearly enjoying to hear her charge’s laugher and to see her cheeks turn red. And Joy watched everything barking excitedly, as if encouraging her ‘grandma’ and her ‘daddy’ to continue to tickle her ‘mommy’:

*

Late at night, the 3 angels gathered together in the back seat of Tess Cadillac to see the sky. It was all covered with lots of twinkling bright stars and a soft night breeze blew through the woods and on their faces:

"You were right, Angel Girl. Angel boy here is really cosy!", Tess said, snuggling close to Andrew to protect herself from the chilly night air. He was sitting between the supervisor and Monica and chuckled with some satisfaction on his face:

"I knew you wouldn’t resist for a long time, Tess!", he replied, causing Monica to smile:

"I can assure you won’t find a warmer and more comfortable place to stay, Tess!", the Irish angel spoke, also snuggling up to him and resting her head on his shoulder. Little Joy was peacefully sleeping on her lap and wrapped in a warm blanket, specially bought for her.

"Well, having you two, I mean, you three around is enough to make anyone feel a lot warm.", he said, passing his arms around their shoulders in a big embrace. All of a sudden, a star crossed the sky, drawing the angel’s attention:

"It’s such a beautiful night and the sky is so clear that it’s possible to see Ursa Minor.", Monica explained, "The most famous star in Ursa Minor is Polaris, known as the North Star. This is the star that is nearest to the North Celestial Pole. If you can spot Polaris in the sky, you can always tell which way is north. And the angle of Polaris above the horizon tells you your latitude on the Earth. Because of this, Polaris was the most important star for navigating at sea."

"I can see you’ve been studying more, Angel Girl!", Tess said, smiling surprised with her dear charge’s knowledge. Monica smiled a little sheepishly:

"Oh, yes, in fact I have. And I also have a very good teacher, you know!", the Irish angel replied, looking at her dearest friend, who blushed immediately. Finding his embarrassment really cute, Monica kept on talking, "But I’m still learning. The universe is so vast and wonderful and there are billions of different stars yet to be explored. I only know a few."

"But you’re an excellent student!", Andrew praised her, gently running his fingers through her hair. She looked at him with a grateful and loving smile and then, back at the sky:

"You know what is so wonderful about studying the sky, Tess?"

"What is it, Angel Girl?"

"There’s always something new to explore! A new galaxy, a new planet or even a tiny little star, like that one, for example.", she pointed to a shinning star which had appeared in the north, "I don’t know its name, or even if it was there yesterday night! And gathering information about it is like a new challenge!"

At that moment, Andrew turned to her with a (mock) surprised expression on his face:

"Don’t you know the name of that star?!", the blond angel asked, causing his dearest friend to be twice worried for ignoring that fact:

"No… Should… Should I know it?"

"Of course you should!", he insisted, secretly finding her worry rather funny.

"Well, I don’t know the name of that star either, Mr, and I haven’t been dismissed from my job for ignoring this information!", Tess replied, slightly bothered by his conceited words. But he went on teasing the two angels:

"You should know that too, Tess!"

That reply caused the supervisor to be twice upset:

"Well, since you are so smart, ‘Professor Angel Boy’, would you be kind enough to share all this brilliant knowledge of yours and tell us, poor angels, the name of that star?!", she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and staring at him in a stern way. Monica also looked at him with anxious eyes:

"Yes, I’m curious now! Which star is that, Andrew?"

After a certain suspense, he smiled mischievously and pointed at the sky:

"That is Monica!"

Hearing that, Tess rolled her eyes to the sky with some impatience:

"Oh, please, for Heaven’s sake!", the oldest angel grumbled, while Monica smiled and shook her head in disbelief:

"There is no such star!", she kindly objected.

"Of course there is!", he insisted, really enjoying that moment.

"Angel Girl is right, there isn’t such a star!", the supervisor spoke. But Andrew went on with his conclusions:

"Yes, there is and I can prove it to you!"

"How?"

"Yes, Mr, how?", Monica and Tess respectively asked. Calmly, and still with a boastful tone of voice, he pointed out:

"Can you see those 3 other stars close together with ‘Monica’?"

"Yes…", they said.

"Those are Tess, Andrew and that little one is Joy!", came his simple answer, "They form the ‘angels constellation’!"

Smiling, Monica wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck and covering his face with lots of kisses, while Tess rolled her eyes to the sky for the second time:

"Oh, please, give me a break!", she said, and while her two charges shared a big embrace, the supervisor started to analyse the new born constellation carefully:

"You know what, Angel boy? I think you may be right… I mean, take a look at that big star…"

"Which one?", he asked.

"The brightest one. That can only be ‘Tess’!", she finally replied, causing Andrew and Monica to exchange an amused glance. Smiling, the Irish angel nodded her head:

"I totally agree. It shines so brightly and intensely, like a guiding star! It could only be Tess!", she spoke, looking at the supervisor with the same love a daughter would have for her mother. Also smiling, Andrew wrapped his arms around his two dear friends and the 3 angels watched, with happiness evident on their faces, as a white dove cooed and crossed the starry sky.

THE END