THREE ANGELS ON VACATION

BY DEYSE

I intended to write a short story, but it started to become bigger and bigger, and more ideas appeared, so I gave up on writing a short story, and wrote a regular one.

It’s something cheer uppy, with a wee bit of humour.

Let’s see what’s gonna happen when our three angels are on vacation together!

Here goes the first part (please forgive me if there are any English mistakes!).

I hope you enjoy it!

PART 1

"I’m almost finishing it!", Tess exclaimed, proudly looking at the purple woollen sweater she was crocheting and which was practically ready, with very little adjustments to be done. And her work was indeed skilfully and well done. The layout of the woollen threads was perfectly designed in a straight row, which went from one side to another, and the stitches were carefully interlocked, making the gown to look like as if it had been knitted by an expert.

"Oh Tess, it’s so beautiful! You have such a talent for crocheting!" Monica was enchanted with her friend and supervisor’s ability.

"I’m very pleased with it too, Angel Girl!", she replied, a little self assuredly. "But I’m also glad that the Father gave me an assignment who could teach me that!"

"Well, I’m glad too, because then you could teach me and now I can make this new sweater for Andrew!"

The Irish angel stood up from the couch and stretched the sweater she was knitting so that Tess could see it:

"I’ve made more than half of it, maybe I’ll finish it next week. What do you think, Tess? Am I doing it right?"

But the older angel had to choose the words carefully in order to give her opinion about her charge’s work: the rows were all irregular and tortuous, the layout of the chains was confusing and it was not possible to identify the pattern she intended to form. Not mentioning that the right sleeve was slightly lower than the left one, and the stitches were fairly loose. Besides this, the collar was also tortuous:

"Well baby... you know... I’m sure that Andrew will be very... very touched with what you’re doing for him... Actually, he’ll love your gesture even more than this... this small gift...", Tess said, hoping to have used the right words, which, in fact, she had, because Monica smiled pleased with that comment:

"I decided to make it green, to match with the colour of his eyes, you know."

"That’s a lovely idea, baby..."

"But I won’t show him until I finish it! Secretly, I took one of his sweaters to use as a model, so I won’t have problems with the seizing."

"Yes... I can see that..."

The supervisor stood up and carefully folded her sweater and left it, together with the crochet kit, on the comfortable armchair she had been sitting on for the last hour:

"Well, I need more thread to finish this and I’ve heard that there’s a town bigger than this one, some miles from here, so I’ll go there to buy some more, ‘cause I want to get this ready tomorrow. Besides, I’ve heard there are lots of shops in there and I want to check on them too. Wanna come with me, Angel Girl?"

"Oh no Tess, thank you, but I’ll stay here and finish this row. Besides, Andrew will arrive at any moment and I want to be here to welcome him. We rarely take our vacations together and I want to enjoy them as much as possible!"

"Alright, then, baby... Don’t wait for me for lunch, ‘cause I think I’ll take this last half of the morning and the entire afternoon to know the city!"

Tess grabbed the keys of her Cadillac and, when she opened the front door of the beach house, a little chubby puppy dog managed to bolt through the door and enter the house by passing between the angel’s legs faster than a lightning.

"But what the heck??!!..."

The little animal rushed towards Monica’s direction:

"Oh, look who is here! It’s my precious baby!"

Joy put her front feet on the couch (slanting black eyes and long ears framing her tiny face) and her puppy bark echoed inside the house, as if she was begging for the angel’s lap:

"Come here, sweetie!"

She scooped the animal and took her close to her face, immediately receiving lots of ‘kisses’.

"Oh, I love you too, sweetheart!"

Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest, not pleased at all with that scene:

"Monica, if there’s something impossible in this world it surely is this dog and that sweater sharing the same physical space!"

"Don’t worry Tess, Joy is a very polite wee dog and she knows how to behave like a lady is supposed to!"

"Monica!...", the look on Tess’ face was a stern one:

"It’s ok! I’ll take her outside, but I’ll go together with her, as I know how lonely she stays there..."

The Irish angel kept the sweater she was knitting inside a drawer and turned her attention to the dog:

"... you are missing your daddy, aren’t you dear? I miss him too, but don’t you worry, he’ll be here soon!"

Hearing that, Tess rolled her eyes with some (mock) distress:

"Oh Father... Please, help me!", she grumbled, leaving the house afterwards.

*

Monica took Joy to the backyard of the house and poured some dog food on a bowl:

"I’ll fix you some food, ok? You’re growing up and need to eat properly in order to become strong and a beautiful lady!"

The excited little puppy didn’t even wait for her to finish filling in the bowl, ferociously eating its content.

"Oh my! You are really hungry, aren’t you?!"

While the animal devoured her food, the angel looked at the beach and a smile appeared on her face when she saw a tall, handsome figure walking on the sand towards the house:

"Oh finally! He arrived!", she happily exclaimed, and turned to the little dog: "See wee one? Your daddy is here!..."

Realising that Joy would never interrupt her delicious meal, Monica decided to meet her dear friend alone:

"You stay here and eat all your food, ok? I’ll be back soon!"

In a hurry, she left the house and headed towards Andrew. The blond angel smiled and waved when he saw her and, a minute later, Monica wrapped her arms around his neck with a broad smile upon her face:

"Oh Andrew! I’m so glad you’re finally here, my friend!"

He tightened his hold on her and lifted his dear friend from the ground, feeling the wind blowing her hair against his face:

"It’s so good to hold you again, Angel Girl!", he said, grinning with pleasure when he heard her voice.

"It can’t be better than holding you! I have so many plans for our vacations! We’ll have so much fun!", she replied, still hugging him tightly. The blond angel placed her on the ground and pulled away just enough to look at her face:

"All I can say is that I’m already having fun!", he stated, gently stroking her cheek and looking at her with all the love in his heart evident in his eyes, "Wanna have a walk on the beach?"

"I’d love to! I left Joy in the house but she’s eating her breakfast now and I wouldn’t dream of interrupting her!"

She laced her fingers through his and her smile turned into a playful one:

"But she missed her daddy very much, you know..."

Laughing at that comment, Andrew wrapped his arms around Monica, bringing her closer to him again, and kissed the tip of her nose:

"Well, I missed my baby a lot too. But I missed her mother the most!"

She planted a loving kiss on his cheek and, hand in hand, the two angels started strolling along the beach, with a warm sun shining on their faces and a gentle breeze blowing from the deep blue sea.

*

One hour later, Andrew and Monica were back into the house they were staying in, and decided to go straight to the backyard, hoping to find little Joy running along the green grass:

"She seems to be starving in the morning, in the afternoon and at night! I don’t know how such a tiny little thing can have such a huge appetite, Andrew!"

"Well, remember how weak she was when she was born? Maybe she’s trying to compensate!", he replied. Both looked around but couldn’t find the dog:

"Joy! Come here, sweetheart!", Monica called. There was no reply. Andrew checked the bushes in the yard:

"Hey girl, where are you?!"

But the animal didn’t give any response to their callings, causing Monica to start worrying about her whereabouts:

"Oh Andrew, where can she be?..."

"Monica, stay calm, I’m sure she’s here somewhere!"

It was then that the Irish angel noticed something:

"The kitchen door is open, she might have...", a sudden thought came to her mind and her eyes grew wide, "Oh no!...", she exclaimed, and rushed through the door.

"What is it Monica?!", Andrew asked, following her and without understanding why she looked so scared.

They ran from the kitchen straight to the living room and there, Monica stopped abruptly, her hand on her mouth and brown eyes wider than before with the scene in front of her. Andrew arrived a second later and was equally impressed with what he saw: there was purple woollen thread spread all around the living room, as if a big purple cobweb had been formed on the floor. The thread passed by the coffee table, the couch, the armchair, the side table (this one had been thrown into the floor) and the bookshelf, and ended up in Joy’s mouth. The little dog had managed to undo the entire sweater that Tess had been working on for weeks in just an hour. Trapped in the thread itself, the animal barked repeatedly, both happy to see the two angels and eager for someone who could free her from the wool.

"Well... Seems like she’s been pretty busy spending all that energy she gets from the food you gave her, Angel Girl!", Andrew joked. But the look on Monica’s face was a desperate one:

"Oh my goodness!... That’s a tragedy! A real tragedy!..."

"C’mon Monica, it’s not a big deal. We can clean up this mess before Tess comes back, if that’s what you are afraid of!"

The Irish angel shook her head:

"No, Andrew, you don’t understand! All that wool... That is, I mean, that WAS Tess’ sweater, the sweater she has been knitting for weeks and which she was almost finishing..."

Hearing that, the blond angel frowned and ran his fingers through his short hair:

"Oh!... Then I have to agree with you... That is a real tragedy!"

PART 2

Monica walked over to Joy and freed her from the thread. The little dog ‘kissed’ the Irish angel’s hands and, after that, ran excitedly into Andrew’s direction, immediately pulling his shoelaces with her tiny teeth and undoing them, completely unaware of the total disaster that she had just caused.

"Andrew, what am I going to do now? Tess told me to keep Joy away from the sweater and... I just let that happen..."

Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes and she looked at him with despair:

"...She will tell me to send Joy back... She won’t let me stay with her anymore!..."

Andrew took a deep breath and, once again, ran his fingers through his hair: although their supervisor really liked the little dog and even played with her sometimes, once she saw what had been done with her sweater, she would be furious, that was for sure. Besides this, there was the fact that Tess had warned Monica to keep Joy away from the living room, which only worsened the situation. The return of the little animal to the ranch from where she had come was practically certain. He reached down and scooped the playful puppy:

"Well, young lady, seems you’ve got yourself into a big trouble!", he said, closely facing her. But, indifferent to the seriousness of the situation, Joy covered his face with tiny kisses:

"And don’t you try to buy me with sweet kisses! You’re gonna be outside, alone, to think about what you did!"

"Oh Andrew don’t be so hard on her, she’s just a baby and didn’t know what she was doing!"

"Monica, she has to learn!", he replied, as if they were talking about a real child. Sensing he was right, the Irish angel nodded, and Andrew took Joy to the backyard, closing the door behind him.

When he returned to the living room, he found his dearest friend with a sad look in her eyes and that image broke his heart:

"Hey sweetie, stay calm, ok? We’ll fix this out, I’ll help you!"

"I don’t want to be away from her, Andrew. I love her so much..."

He knew how much Monica adored all the animals in the world, and that little dog was even more special to her than any other. To separate them from each other would break the angel’s heart forever and that he wouldn’t bear to see. Besides, he too became very fond of Joy, and loved to play with and take care of her, as those were happy moments he shared with Monica.

Andrew gently stroked her cheek and lifted her head so that their eyes could meet:

"Joy isn’t going anywhere, ok? We’ll find a way to get this mess solved!"

"But how?"

"You said that Tess was knitting the sweater. Don’t you have a model, anything similar to it?"

Monica walked to the chest of drawers in the corner of the living room and opened one of the drawers, picking up the sweater she was knitting, and showed it to him:

"Tess taught me how to crochet and I was making this sweater for you... It was meant to be a surprise..."

Although Andrew loved every little gesture or word that she directed to him, it took him a lot of effort not to let his face show what he really thought about her knitting abilities:

"Oh... That’s... very... very nice of you, Monica, to make this for me..."

"It’s not finished yet, but I’ve made more than half of it. Did you like it?"

"Well, it’s... it’s unique! I bet no other angel in the entire Heaven will have one like this! And it doesn’t really matter if you made me a sweater or a handkerchief. The most important is that it was you who made it!"

She managed a slight smile, but was still confused:

"You know... Tess told me you’d say exactly this..."

The blond angel nodded his head, imagining why the supervisor had made such comment.

"Why did you want to know if there was a model?"

"Oh, I had an idea but let’s forget it, I don’t think it’ll work..."

"Which idea?"

"Well... I thought that, with the model, you could knit another sweater equal to hers, but that won’t be possible ‘cause... ‘cause it would take a lot of time and we don’t have much left..."

"Yes, that’s true.", she agreed, "Besides, I’m still learning, it’s not totally equal to hers, you know..."

"Yes, I know... I mean, I had another idea: we’ll go downtown, where there are lots of shops that sell these kind of clothes and maybe we’ll find another sweater, equal to Tess’, so we can replace it..."

Her eyes lit up:

"Do you really think we could find another one?!"

"We have to try!"

She nodded and, suddenly, wrapped her arms around his neck:

"Thank you...", the Irish angel whispered, placing a loving kiss on his cheek. He smiled and hugged her back:

"You’re more than welcome, Angel Girl!"

*

As soon as they arrived in town, the angels started to go from shop to shop, looking for a sweater equal to Tess’. Monica had even taken the one she was making for Andrew, although he had insisted that it wasn’t necessary:

"We’ll need it so we won’t confuse similar patterns.", she said.

But after walking for nearly two hours, they couldn’t find anything that borne any resemblance to the outfit the older angel had so carefully knitted.

"Oh Andrew, I think we’ve been to all the shops that sell crocheted clothes, but none of them has anything similar to Tess’ sweater!"

The blond angel nodded his head and was also losing his hope, when he suddenly saw, not far from where they were, a small shop, which sold not only crocheted clothes but also all sort of crocheting and knitting material. He took Monica’s hand:

"Take a look over there! We haven’t been to that one yet! Come with me!"

They entered the shop and found a middle aged woman sitting behind the counter. She was listening to the radio, as the shop was empty, and had a not so friendly expression on her face:

"Good morning madam...", the blond angel greeted.

"Yeah...", she replied, not minding their presence at all. Andrew and Monica looked at each other, not missing her bad humour, but he elected to ignore it:

"My friend and I have been to all shops that sell crocheted clothes but we couldn’t find what we were looking for..."

"So what?"

"Well, do you know if there’s another shop around here that sells this kind of clothes?"

"Do I look like a tourist guide?"

Again, they exchanged a look, but Monica decided to use her habitual kindness in order to speak to the woman:

"We’re sorry to bother you, madam, but, as a matter of fact, we have a big problem, and we would be very grateful if you could help us. You see, we are looking for a sweater for our dear friend Tess. There was an accident with hers and we want to replace it, but we couldn’t find any sweater equal to the one that was destroyed..."

The Irish angel reached inside her bag and picked up the outfit she was knitting for Andrew, and, despite his attempt to stop her, she showed it to the woman:

"The sweater was equal to this one. Do you think there’s anything similar to this around here?"

The woman looked at the sweater with disgust:

"Oh gosh! I’m sure there isn’t! Who would sell such a horrible thing like that?!"

"Excuse me?...", Monica said, totally taken aback by that comment.

"Monica I think we’d better go...", Andrew tried to avoid another tragedy, but there wasn’t time, as the woman kept on talking without mercy:

"A 3 year old would knit something better than this thing! Look at those stitches! They are all messed up! The rows are tortuous! One sleeve is lower than the other! And what kind of pattern is it anyway? Besides, look at this collar! Who would do something so stupid like that?!"

Those words were like a sharp pain straight to Monica’s heart:

"I... I didn’t know it was that bad...", she said, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Bad? It’s awful! Whoever made this would never touch a needle again! And I doubt whether anybody would be crazy or ridiculous enough to wear this thing! Forget it lady, there are no more shops around here, and even if there were, surely none of them would sell something so horrible!"

With a sad look, Monica put the sweater back in the bag:

"Excuse me...", she whispered, and left the shop afterwards. Without fully understanding the damage she had just caused, the woman looked at Andrew:

"Did I say anything wrong?"

The blond angel took a deep breath and looked around, trying to imagine how he would fix that second tragedy.

*

Monica was sitting on a bench, not far from the shop. Eyes lowered to the ground, hands resting on her lap and a sorrowful expression on her face. Andrew left the shop 5 minutes later, carrying another bag, and it didn’t take him so long to find her. Quietly, he went to sit beside his dearest friend:

"You don’t have to wear it, you know...", the Irish angel said, still staring at the ground, "I wouldn’t want you to look ridiculous..."

He looked at her with his eyes filled with love and put some strands of her long auburn hair behind her ear. Then, he cupped Monica’s chin and lifted her head so that their eyes could meet:

"Listen to me, Angel Girl: you will finish that sweater and I will wear it. And you know why? Because this outfit has something that woman wasn’t able to see: the love you put in it! And that, sweetie, is something we’ll never find in any shop in this entire world!"

She looked at his compassionate green eyes and, shedding some tears, hugged him tightly. Smiling, the blond angel stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head repeatedly.

"I just wanted to be able to do something right..."

"What are you saying Monica? You’re such a wonderful angel and do the Father’s work so beautifully!"

"I mean I would like to be able to do something else... I’d like to have some special ability, a talent...Tess, for example, has a beautiful voice..."

"Well, you have a beautiful accent!"

"But with her voice, she has a special way to please God..."

"You have a special way to please God by taking the truth to the ones who need it!"

"You two have a talent for cooking..."

"And you have a talent to prepare the best coffee in all Heaven!"

The Irish angel quietly reflected about his loving and reassuring words and, a minute later, she pulled away just enough to look at his face:

"Do you know what I really have? A wonderful friend who is always on my side, in the good and bad moments!"

He returned her tearful smile:

"That you will have for the rest of eternity; you can be sure of it!"

She stroked his hair and kissed his cheek:

"I love you!"

"I love you too, Angel Girl. And right now, we’re going back to the house, ‘cause we have a problem to solve and I have another idea to solve it!", he said, taking the bag he was carrying.

"What is it?", Monica’s eyes were already filled with curiosity.

"You’ll see; now c’mon!"

PART 3

By the end of the afternoon, Tess’s Cadillac was parked in front of the beach house and, carrying some shop bags and humming a happy tune, the supervisor opened the front door, immediately seeing her two charges sitting on the couch, in the living room:

"Hi babies! I’m glad you’re here, Angel Boy!"

"Hey Tess!...", he greeted, with a uncomfortable expression on his face, as well as on Monica’s, who remained in silence, nervously holding his hand. But, busy with so many bags, Tess didn’t notice their concern at first.

"I’m sorry I took so long to come back, but there were so many things to see in the neighbour town, and I was also so busy looking for some material to finish the new sweater I’m making that I lost track of time!"

At the mention of the word ‘sweater’, the two angels looked at each other, guilt evident in their eyes. Only then, Tess realised that there was something wrong:

"What is it? Why are you staring at me with such a haunted look?", she asked, placing her bags on the floor. Once again, Monica and Andrew exchanged a worried glance, without knowing how to start:

"C’mon, did the cat... or, in your case, the dog eat your tongues?! I made a question, I want an answer!"

Monica cleared her throat, taking every bit of courage inside herself:

"Well Tess... Andrew and I have something to tell you...", the Irish angel began. "That’s why we’ve been waiting for you..."

"Well, I’m here, so c’mon, start talking!"

"Wouldn’t you like to sit, Tess?", the blond angel offered, standing up and trying to lead her to her armchair, "You’ve been walking around the town all day long, you must be tired and..."

"I am not tired, Mr, but I think I’ll start getting nervous pretty soon if you two don’t explain why you are looking at me with those guilty faces!", she sternly replied, wriggling away from his light grip and crossing her arms in front of her chest. Taking a deep breath, Monica stood up and spoke the first words:

"Well, Tess... While you were away, in the other town, I stayed here, waiting for Andrew. And Joy was starving, so I set her breakfast, because she’s a baby, you know, and needs a lot of vitamins to grow up strong..."

"Cut to the chase, Miss Wings!", the supervisor interrupted, even more displeased. Monica looked at Andrew nervously, and he nodded his head, encouraging her to go on:

"Well... In this meantime there was an accident involving your sweater..."

Tess’ face was blank with shock when she heard that piece of news:

"What?!", she stormed, in an angry tone. Monica gulped:

"What I mean is that... well...", she looked at the blond angel, who tried to help her:

"What Monica would like to say, Tess, is that there was an accident involving your sweater and Joy..."

"What are you talking about? Where’s my sweater?!", the supervisor looked at her armchair and noticed that the outfit wasn’t where she had left. The Irish angel bit her lip nervously:

"That is the problem, Tess... Your sweater... it isn’t a sweater... anymore..."

The supervisor put her hands on her hips and came closer to her two charges:

"What the heck are you two saying?!"

"We are saying that... well... I took Joy outside, as I said I would, and, by accident, I left the kitchen door half open. And... Joy came in and... found your sweater... So, she started to play with it...", Monica explained, "She pulled a thread here and... another thread there and... well... she ended up undoing the entire outfit... And the sweater became... five reels of wool again..."

Tess narrowed her eyes:

"You are telling me that that dog destroyed my sweater?! The sweater I took weeks to make and that was going to be ready tomorrow?! The sweater no angel in the entire Heaven has except me?!"

The oldest angel was more than angry, in fact, she was furious. Seeing the panic in Monica’s eyes, Andrew tried to speak:

"Tess, calm down, it was an accident and..."

"You keep quiet and don’t try to protect Monica if you know what’s good for you, Mr!", she looked at him with her eyebrows raised, "I still have my doubts about how that dog escaped from a ranch house and appeared inside my car out of the blue!!"

The blond angel lowered his head and elected not to go into that subject, for his own sake. Monica, for herself, was completely scared at the angry tone in the supervisor’s voice:

"Tess, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I never meant for this to happen! Please, forgive me; I promise I’ll be more careful with Joy from now on!"

"From now on?!", Tess repeated, on the verge of irritation. Some tears formed in the corner of Monica’s eyes, and, a second later, rolled down her cheeks:

"I know what you’re thinking, but please, I ask you, don’t send Joy away! Don’t send her back to the ranch!... I... I love her so much... you can punish me by any other way, I deserve it, but, please Tess, don’t take wee Joy from me!..."

Andrew frowned with concern and sorrow for his dearest friend, feeling the great sadness that flowed from her heart:

"She’s right Tess, you can’t send Joy away, it would be too cruel with Monica!", she stated, standing right beside the weeping angel. But Tess’ face was sterner than never:

"I can’t believe in what I’m listening! Besides getting into a big trouble, are you two now telling me what I should do?!"

They exchanged a final look, expecting for the so feared verdict. But, before they could say anything, Tess kept on talking:

"Of course I’m not gonna send Joy away, she’s my baby too!"

Hearing that, Monica’s face lit up with a broad, tearful and also grateful smile:

"You’re... you’re not?"

"Of course not! And if there’s anybody here who deserves a good punishment it certainly isn’t my little Joy!

The Irish angel wasted no more time and held her supervisor tightly:

"Oh Tess, I love you so much! Thank you! Thank you very, very much!", she exclaimed, being watched by her (equally happy) dearest friend.

"Hold it there, Miss Wings! You’d better stop hugging me ‘cause you’re not gonna buy me with sweet words!", she stormed, still with an angry tone. Although she was more relieved, Monica decided to back away from the supervisor, but she and Andrew couldn’t hide their happiness and the smile that insisted on appearing on their faces:

"What happened here was very serious and requires a proper punishment! So you two had better get yourselves ready, ‘cause I’m not gonna be sorry for anybody!"

"Oh Tess you can punish me; Andrew had nothing to do with it, it was all my fault!", Monica pleaded. But Tess stared at the blond angel:

"Oh, I’m sure that, indirectly, he did have something to do with it!"

Once again trying to avoid the subject, Andrew cleared his throat:

"Monica..."

His best friend nodded and walked over to the bookshelf where there was a beautiful round present box. She picked it up and gave it to the supervisor:

"This is for you... You know, when Andrew and I saw what had happened to your sweater we decided to do something to compensate you, so we went to the town and looked for a similar outfit to give you, but we couldn’t find any. I even thought about making a new one myself, but...", she sighed with a small trace of sadness still visible in her brown eyes, "Well... this bad humoured lady at the shop told me what she really thought about my knitting abilities when I showed her the sweater I’m making for Andrew..."

Hearing that, Tess’ expression softened and some of her irritation subsided, as the oldest angel could imagine what kind of comment Monica had heard; and she felt really sorry for her charge.

"Now I know I would never be able to make something so beautiful... But Andrew had an idea and we agreed that I could still make something for you. I know it won’t replace your sweater and all the work you did, but I’d be very happy if you accepted it, as an apology..."

The supervisor opened the box and saw, wrapped in thin paper, a purple woollen hat, entirely hand crocheted by Monica. It was simple and relatively easy to make, but, truth to be told, it was also beautiful and had small and delicate flowers adding a special charm to it:

"Andrew bought the manual and, as I already knew the basic crocheting stitches, because you had taught me, I managed to make it in this afternoon... I know it’s not the most beautiful hat in the world, but it was made with much love...", Monica completed.

Try as she might, the oldest angel could not keep the stern face any longer, as that small gift caused tears of emotion to appear in her eyes:

"Oh, come here, Angel Girl!", she uttered, hugging Monica tightly and trying to hold back the tears, as she was really touched by her charge’s gesture, "It’s lovely, I loved it!"

Monica smiled again, happy to hear that:

"I know how much you like hats; you look so beautiful wearing them!"

"Thank you, baby!... And... I’m sorry I yelled at you..."

"And I’m sorry about your sweater!..."

The two started to cry in each other’s arms, which caused Andrew to laugh and hold them in a big hug:

"You know something? Vacations with you two can be anything but monotonous! That’s why I love you both so much!", he exclaimed, kissing the top of their heads as they circled their arms around his waist, the three angels sharing the same embrace.

*

On the following morning:

"Be sure to clean the tires too! I want this baby shining like a star!", Tess commanded.

Sitting on a comfortable beach chair, placed in the porch, wearing her new hat and drinking a glass of cold lemonade, the supervisor watched as her two charges cleaned her red Cadillac. Joy was lazily spread on her lap and also observed her ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ doing their work.

"And make it faster ‘cause I want somebody to drive me to the town this evening, there will be a festival there!", the oldest angel completed, and Joy barked 3 times, as if confirming that order.

Under the hot sun, Andrew was patiently cleaning the vehicle. Barefoot, wearing bermudas and a white T-shirt, and sweating, the blond angel took more wax with the help of a sponge and was going to polish the other side of the car. But, at that moment, Monica, who was sitting on the hood and, until then, had limited herself to watch him, pointed:

"Andrew you forgot to wax near the headlight... I can see there’s a part missing."

Exhausted, he frowned and ran his fingers through his short blond hair, looking at his surroundings: Tess continued to sit in her comfortable chair, drinking her juice; Joy was lazily lying on the supervisor’s lap; and Monica remained sitting on the car, straightening her ponytail and enjoying the soft breeze that blew from the sea.

"Why am I under the impression that there’s something rather unfair happening around here?!", he said, with some annoyance.

"Oh Andrew, you shouldn’t say that. I think Tess was very generous in giving us only one punishment day.", she took a handkerchief and gently wiped his red face: "Besides, we’re almost finishing. You’ve already made the breakfast and the lunch, prepared Tess’ lemonade, cleaned the kitchen and the yard, made the beds... The only things that are missing are Tess’ car and dinner...", she said, tenderly running her fingers thorough his hair.

"And what did you do?"

"Well I gave Joy her food and I’m helping you out here. Tess’ car is really difficult to clean. But... I could make the dinner if you want..."

"No!", he quickly replied, and, after realising his exasperated tone of voice, the blond angel tried to keep it back to normal, "No, it’s ok; I’ll make it!"

She smiled and placed a tender kiss on his cheek:

"You’re so wonderful for helping me to do all these tasks! I wouldn’t be able to take care of them without you!"

The Irish angel held him tightly and continued to stroke his hair, with all the love in her heart evident in her eyes. Although he was tired, the blond angel smiled, secretly enjoying those caresses:

"I love you, you know...", she whispered in his ear. He turned his face and kissed the tip of her nose:

"I love you too, Angel Girl..."

But, at that moment, the two were surprised by a sudden spray of water right on their faces, which caused them to cry as it was very cold:

"Hey! What on Earth is that?!...", Andrew stormed. But it didn’t take them more than a second to find out what had caused that: Joy was looking at them, with the hose in her mouth and her tail wagging from one side to another. Realising that she had got her ‘parents’ attention, she let go of the hose and barked. From the porch, they heard Tess’ voice:

"Well done, baby! Grandma is proud of you!", she said, looking at the puppy. Andrew and Monica looked at each other equally surprised:

"Tess! You shouldn’t encourage her to do such things!", the Irish angel complained. Tess looked at them sternly:

"And you two should finish cleaning my baby, ‘cause I didn’t sit here to watch this sugary performance of yours!"

Joy barked again, as if, once more, she was confirming the oldest angel’s words. Andrew and Monica looked at the outrageous little dog:

"This young lady needs a lesson...", the blond angel said, grabbing the hose that Joy had thrown in the grass, "What do you think, Monica?"

"Well... I think that, as parents, we should teach her to behave like a lady is supposed to..."

Long ears raised and black slanting eyes wide open, Joy looked suspiciously at the two angels and, when they came closer to her, the black fur ball barked one last time and ran away from them, who went after her with the hose, spraying the little animal and, eventually, themselves. In the porch, Tess shook her head in disapproval and hopelessly rolled her eyes to the blue sky.

PART 4

Monica, Andrew and Tess were sitting on the top of the porch steps, at the beach house, watching resignedly as the rain poured down. Joy was lazily sleeping on Monica’s lap, while she gently stroked the little dog’s soft black fur, and the three angels had an expression of disappointment on their faces:

"Yeah, I guess that ruins with our plans for a day on the beach!", Andrew stated, sitting between the supervisor and his best friend.

"Look at all this rain!", Tess exclaimed, completely distressed, "I think all that water that was reserved for the entire month is falling down today!"

"Yes, that isn’t appropriate for vacations. I like rain, though. When it falls down it seems like the Earth itself is being washed and any sadness or deceptions we might have inside our hearts are going away with the water, so that a brand new day can start, full of great expectations, bringing a new chance for everyone!", the Irish angel said, leaning her head on Andrew’s shoulder. He nodded, thoroughly agreeing with her beautiful words. But Tess was not pleased at all with her charge’s philosophic mood:

"You say that because you don’t have trouble making a new perm in your hair every time it rains!", she grumbled, causing the other two angels to exchange a common gaze, their eyes filled with amusement.

"Besides, your make up and your clothes are all gone in a matter of minutes!"

She watched as the rain continued to fall incessantly and, suddenly, made a decision:

"You know what? I refuse to stay inside this house! We came here to have fun and enjoy our vacation, and that’s what we’ll do!"

"So... What do you have in mind, Tess?"

"Well, there are a lot of places to go in town, Angel Girl. All we have to do is to choose one!"

"Are you sure you wanna go downtown? I had a hard day yesterday cleaning the house, I’m tired...", the blond angel complained.

An idea crossed Monica’s mind and her face lit up:

"How about the movies?!", she suggested, "Oh, please Tess! It’s been some time since Andrew took me to the movies and, after that, we never had time to come back!"

The supervisor was thoughtful, and, after a brief moment, she nodded:

"The movies... Yes, that’s not a bad idea... Ok, Angel Girl, we’ll go to the movies! Go get yourselves ready, we’ll leave in an hour!"

Monica stood up and happily entered the house, carrying Joy in her arms and with Tess right behind her. Andrew, for himself, remained on the same place, and rolled his eyes, not showing any enthusiasm about the outing.

*

Although he didn’t want to go out at all, Andrew was the first one to get ready. While Tess and Monica were in their rooms, deciding what to wear in that ‘very important occasion’, he sat on the couch, with a bored expression on his face. At that moment, Joy entered the living room, happily wagging her tail back and forth, and, when she saw the blond angel, the playful puppy wasted no time in pulling Andrew’s shoelaces, undoing them in a matter of seconds. He looked at her and smiled:

"Hey little one! Looks like you’ve found yourself a hobby, huh?"

He reached down and held the chubby dog in his hands, placing her against his chest:

"And I’ll tell you a secret: you are really lucky! You’re gonna stay here, hanging out, with nothing to do. I wish I could stay here too, doing the same thing but I can’t."

Joy barked twice, staring at him with wide big black eyes and long ears falling over her tiny face; and he continued to talk:

"Why? Because your mom and your grandma had the ‘brilliant’ idea to go out, even with all this rain outside!"

The dog barked for the third time:

"Me? Well, I’ll just have to go with the two; although I’m very tired, as I worked all day long yesterday, because of what you did to Tess’ sweater, by the way!", he lowered his voice, "But you know what? I’m not in the mood for going out!"

Joy reached up and covered his face with small ‘kisses’, causing the blond angel to laugh:

"Thanks, sweetie! I know you’re sorry for your dad and that you would like me to stay here with you, but you know how your mom and your grandma are: it’s impossible to say ‘no’ to them!"

It was then that Monica entered the living room, and the Irish angel opened a broad smile when she saw her ‘baby’ and her dearest friend:

"You two together are so sweet!", she exclaimed, sitting next to Andrew, "She loves you very much, Andrew!"

"Yeah, I know she does. I’m her dad after all!"

Monica came closer to him:

"She’s not the only one, you know?", she said, half whispered. The smile on his face became larger:

"So, if there’s ‘anyone’ else who loves me that much, wouldn’t this ‘anyone’ like to stay home and spare the movies for anther day?"

"Oh no! We’ll have so much fun, I’m sure we will! Please Andrew, let’s go all together! Please?"

He looked at her pleading face and after to Joy:

"See what I told you? It’s impossible to say ‘no’ to this mother of yours!", the blond angel stated, "Ok, Angel Girl!"

Happily, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug:

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Tess entered the living room at that moment:

"Ok babies, it’s time to go!", she announced. Both of them stood up; Andrew carrying Joy in his arms:

"I’ll put Joy in her bed...", he said, but the supervisor interrupted him:

"No way! I’ll put my baby in bed.", she took the puppy form his hands, "You go and take the car out of the garage. And today you’ll drive ‘cause I don’t like driving in the rain; it makes me depressed."

Hearing that, Andrew rolled his eyes, even more displeased:

"You’re not the only one...", he mumbled under his breath.

*

The three angels arrived at the movie theatre one hour later, finding a huge queue outside, with lots of very talkative children and teenagers:

"The tickets for this session are already sold out.", Andrew informed, returning to where his friends were, at the end of the queue.

"Do you think we can get tickets for the next session?"

"It’s highly unlikely, Monica. There must be two hundred people before us."

"Babies, I’ll tell you what’s highly unlikely: this old angel here inside four walls together with all these noisy little creatures!"

Monica sighed with disappointment:

"Oh it’s really a pity!... I really wanted to see this movie, I like cartoons so much!"

"Well there’s another movie theatre in the other street, we could go there...", Andrew suggested, not really wanting to go there, but not wanting to disappoint his dearest friend.

But when they arrived at the other movie theatre, it was Tess who protested:

"Friday 13^th, part 30?!!! You don’t really expect me to get in there to watch such thing!"

"I’m afraid Tess is right... I don’t like horror movies either. They are too... scary. I may have nightmares...", Monica agreed. Andrew sighed deeply, hoping that the two would finally decide to come back home, as he too, detested this kind of movies. But the supervisor had another idea:

"I guess we’ll have to change our plans, babies!"

"Where are we going, Tess?"

"We’re going to play bowling, Angel Girl!"

The blond angel rolled his eyes and, with some dissatisfaction, walked over to the car:

"Fine..."

PART 5

Arriving at the Bowling Alley, the three angels took their respective pair of shoes and went to the alley. Tess quickly grabbed the most beautiful ball:

"This is what I call fun, babies! No noisy little creatures running around you or screaming in your ears!", she said, getting ready to throw the ball.

"It was really a pity that we couldn’t see the film. I like bowling, though. In fact, it’s the second chance that it gives you that I admire most in this game.", Monica stated, with a smile.

"Well, then I warn you, Miss Wings, you will need lots and lots of second chances to beat Tess!", the supervisor had a pretentious tone in her voice. Andrew tugged his hands into his pockets and remained in silence, sighing with some boredom while the two were planning their strategies.

"Now, babies, watch me and learn how to play!"

She got a firm hold on the ball and was ready to throw it when, suddenly, the lights in the Bowling Alley were gone, and everything was in a total darkness.

"Andrew?!...", Monica immediately called.

"I’m right here.", he moved in her direction and took her hand. The Irish angel wrapped her arms into his.

"But what the heck happened this time?!", Tess grumbled.

"There must have been a blackout in the whole neighbourhood; take a look outside: the streets are all in the darkness to.", the blond angel observed.

"I hope it doesn’t take too long to fix it...", Monica said, not pleased at all with her surroundings.

"Let’s wait here for some minutes, ok?", Andrew replied, still holding his friend’s hand.

Some time later, with the help of flashlights, the administrator of the establishment, together with some employees, came to see the customers:

"I’m really sorry, guys, but it seems there has been a blackout in three blocks, including this one, and it’ll take sometime to fix it. I’m sorry but we’ll have to close it."

"Well... I guess this little incident puts an end on our night outing...", Andrew said, not being able to hide how pleased he was.

*

The three angels got in the Cadillac and drove off, back to the beach house. But, on their way home, Monica saw a video rental shop and had another idea:

"Oh, Andrew, stop the car, please! I already know what we can do! We couldn’t enter the movie theatre but I still want to see a film, so I figured out we could rent one!"

"Rent a movie... Yes, I agree with you, Angel Girl. Andrew stop the car over there, ok?", Tess commanded. A little impatient, but relieved with the fact that they would go home anyway, the blond angel parked the car a few metres ahead and they entered the shop:

"May I help you?", the attendant asked.

"Yes, we would like to rent a movie, please.", Monica politely replied.

"And do you have any title in mind?"

"Well, not really. In fact, we are in a bit of an indecision here."

"I think I can help you out. What kind of movies do you like?"

"A romance!"

"A comedy!"

"An epic!"

Monica, Andrew and Tess answered, respectively, and at the same time. The shop attendant looked at them a little confused, while the three stared at one another; a new argument about to come.

*

Finally back at the beach house, the three angels turned the TV and the DVD on (both had appeared miraculously in the room) and placed ‘Titanic’ in the DVD compartment. Tess took a sit on her comfortable armchair, while Andrew and Monica sat on the couch (with Joy lying on the Irish angel’s lap); each one holding a bowl of popcorn:

"Well, at least now we’re gonna have some fun!", the oldest angel stated.

"And I’m glad that we could find a film we three can enjoy together!", Monica said, with a smile.

"I don’t see ‘comedy’ written on it!", Andrew complained, taking a look at the DVD box.

"Oh Andrew, there wasn’t a film which was a comedy, an epic and a romance at the same time... I’m sorry.", the Irish angel replied, as kindly as possible, "But we can go to the movies another day and watch a comedy!"

He nodded his head, resignedly.

"Hush! The film is going to start!", Tess protested.

"Am I wrong or this movie lasts 3 hours?!", the blond angel asked, still reading the information on the box.

"Yes, isn’t it wonderful?!", his friend answered, with enthusiasm. He sighed with boredom.

*

One hour later:

"Andrew! You are snoring!", Monica complained, and the blond angel quickly opened his eyes:

"I am not snoring! I am... just clearing my throat!", he replied, causing Monica to narrow her eyes and stare at him in total disbelief. He decided to ignore her and pay attention to the story.

Half an hour later:

"Andrew! You are snoring and using my shoulder as a pillow!", Monica shook him, as, this time, her dearest friend’s head came to rest on her right shoulder, while he snored. He opened his tired green eyes and straightened his body:

"I guess there’s a problem with this couch..."

"Shh you two! I wanna see the film!", Tess scolded them for the second time.

With a exhausted expression on his face, Andrew looked around him and saw Joy peacefully sleeping on Monica’s lap. Then, an idea came to his mind: he took the little dog in his arms and lay on the couch, using his friend’s lap as a pillow:

"Andrew if you lie down you’ll sleep and won’t see the film!"

"No, I will, Angel Girl. I’m just looking for better accommodations!...", he replied, comfortably resting his head on her leg and holding the little chubby dog (who never woke up).

*

Three hours later, while ‘My heart will go on’ was playing together with the credits of the film, Monica and Tess were practically bawling their eyes out, each one holding a paper handkerchief:

"Oh Tess, it was so beautiful!..."

"Yes, it really was, Angel Girl!... What a lovely young couple!... What a lovely ending!"

"Yes, I agree! I’ve never seen such a beautiful love story!"

"Neither have I, baby!"

"I’ll never forget that! It was wonderful! Don’t you think so, Andrew?"

But the only answer to Monica’s crying question was a loud snore. Sobbing, the Irish angel looked disapprovingly at her best friend, who continued to sleep peacefully, resting his head on her leg:

"Male angels!... Huhm! How can they be so insensitive about such a beautiful love story like this?!"

Tess shook her head, also with disapproval:

"Don’t mind that, baby. Now, if you excuse me, I’ll go to bed and finish my crying there! I wasn’t prepared for such a strong dose of emotion!", the oldest angel said, standing up and leaving the living room.

Monica wiped the tears on her face and blew her nose, trying to recompose herself:

"Andrew, wake up! How could you sleep during the whole film?!"

In reply, she heard nothing but another loud snore. Sensing that he would never wake up, the Irish angel took a cushion and, holding his head carefully, so that she could stand up, placed it exactly where her leg was. Then, she left the living room for a few minutes, coming back again; this time carrying a blanket, which she used to cover his sleeping form.

At that moment, Joy, who was comfortably lying in his arms, moved and, even sleeping, the little dog placed some tiny ‘kisses’ on the blond angel’s chin:

"... I love you too, Angel Girl...", he murmured, without opening his eyes, causing Monica to giggle at that scene. Gently, she ran her fingers through his short hair and whispered softly into his ear:

"I love you very, very much too...", and brushed a loving kiss on his temple, "Good night, my friend..."

The Irish angel stood up from the couch and turned off the lights, and, after checking on the twosome once more, she went to her bedroom. But what she never noticed was the smile of contentment that appeared on Andrew’s handsome sleeping face.

PART 6

The rain continued to fall down in that somewhat chilly morning, causing that to be an unusual summer Saturday. At the beach house, Tess and Monica were still sleeping, as they had gone to bed very late on the previous night.

The Irish angel was comfortably resting underneath a warm blanket and lots of pillows, and her bedroom door had been left ajar. Suddenly, a chubby little dog poked her head in and stepped inside the room, running towards the bed. Joy barked several times, but was unable to draw Monica’s attention. As it was very high for her to jump on the bed, the playful puppy soon found a way to wake her ‘mom’ up: she started to pull the angel’s blanket, which was hanging from the bed. On the following minute, the quilt was on the floor, and Monica was awake.

"Looks like you’re ready for another day, aren’t you, wee one?", she said, looking at the dog with sleepy eyes. Joy barked again, as if agreeing with that, and then, pleased to have achieved her goal, the puppy ran to another bedroom.

Five minutes later, it was possible to hear Tess’ voice echoing loud and clear throughout the beach house:

"Who had the courage to wake this dog up so early???!!!", she grumbled, as Joy practically flew away from her bedroom; now going straight to the kitchen, where Andrew was, preparing breakfast. The blond angel had already taken a shower and was wearing the green sweater Monica (with Tess’ help) had knitted for him, blue jeans and black shoes. When Joy entered the kitchen, he looked at her with a mischievous smile:

"Is the assignment fulfilled?"

He received a bark as a reply.

"Very good job, little one! Here goes your reward!"

He placed a bowl full of dog food right in front of her, which she attacked with no mercy.

Thirty minutes later, Monica and Tess were changed and sitting at the kitchen table, the three angels having their breakfast.

"So, what are we going to do today?", the Irish angel asked, while savouring a double mocha late specially prepared for her by her dearest friend and still half sleeping.

"I can’t even think properly, as I’m still shocked by the way I was woken up this morning!", Tess mumbled, eating a piece of cheese.

"Well, it’s almost 11 o’clock, you two shouldn’t have slept so late yesterday night! I woke up hours ago!", Andrew stated, teasingly.

"It’s because you didn’t watch the film; you simply snored away on my shoulder and on my lap all the time!", Monica replied, in disapproval. The blond angel shot her a loving smile:

"I’ve never had a better accommodation in all my existence!", he said, winking at her. She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but smiling too.

"And concerning what we’re gonna do today, don’t worry you two, ‘cause I’ve already got a plan!"

"Oh, I don’t feel like going out, yesterday night was too tiring!", the supervisor protested.

"I agree with Tess, Andrew. Maybe we could go out tomorrow..."

"You don’t even know where I intend to go!"

"Well... wouldn’t it be to the movies?"

"Guess again!"

"Don’t you tell me you wanna go to the beach with all this rain pouring down outside!", the oldest angel said.

"Nope.", he replied, keeping the suspense.

"So... Where to, Andrew?"

"To a cyber café, Angel Girl!"

Hearing that, Monica’s eyes lit up and a broad smile appeared on her face:

"Oh that’s a lovely idea! I’ve already noticed there’s one in town, it’s not far from here, we can arrive there in 10 minutes!"

"Why am I not surprised that this kind of information is provided by you, Miss Wings?!"

"Oh Tess, please! It’ll be fun, I’m sure it will!"

The supervisor stood up:

"No way! This old angel here is coming back to bed right now..."

"This is definitely what you will not do, Tess! I’ve been walking around with you two, going everywhere you want to, and now it’s my turn! You owe me this!", Andrew interrupted, and the tone in his voice gave no opportunity for any more protests.

"Oh, alright then!", the oldest angel finally agreed, with some (mock) annoyance. Monica stood up too and gave her a big hug:

"Thanks Tess! It wouldn’t be fun without you! In fact, it is only fun when I have the two of you right on my side, so that I can always have an opportunity to say how much I love you!"

If there still was any nuisance in the air, it vanished completely at those loving words, and Andrew also stood up from his chair, joining the embrace:

"And how could we go on existing without our loving, affectionate, adorable and sweet Angel Girl, huh Tess?!", he said, kissing the top of Monica’s head. The supervisor nodded:

"I don’t believe I can even imagine this, Angel Boy!", both angels causing Monica to blush deeply.

*

Arriving at the cyber café, each angel went to sit in front of a computer, side by side, with Monica also holding a cup of coffee with her.

"So, would you recommend any web site, Andrew?", she asked, staring at the computer screen, without knowing where to start.

"Is there anything about music?", Tess wanted to know.

Sitting between the two, the blond angel smiled, as he already knew exactly what he was going to do:

"Ease you two! I know a great web site, and I’m sure you’ll like it too!"

"And what ‘wonderful’ web site can it be, Angel Boy?"

"What is it about, Andrew?"

"Just type: www.touched.com!"

They did as he said and their eyes widened in surprise as the page was loaded:

"It’s us!", Monica exclaimed.

"And whoever designed it certainly has good taste, look at my picture! I’m gorgeous!", Tess stated, in a self assuredly way, causing the other two to exchange an amused glance.

"Alright you two, now do what I do!"

Then, he clicked on ‘message board’ and, after, on ‘fan fiction’:

"What is it, Andrew?"

"All these titles are stories about us, Angel Girl; written by our fans from all over the world!"

Monica’s eyes grew wide:

"Oh really?!"

"I didn’t know there was such thing!", Tess was as surprised as her charge.

"yes, there is! And there are many kinds of stories here, funny, dramatic, short, long; everything you can imagine."

"My goodness! What a lovely idea!", the Irish angel said.

"So, what are we waiting for?! Let’s read them now!", the supervisor anxiously commanded.

"That’s why I brought you two here!"

PART 7

Some time later:

"This is really funny!", Tess’ laugher echoed throughout the shop.

"What are you reading, Tess?", Monica asked, with curiosity.

"All these humorous stories I found in here! They’re simply hilarious!", the supervisor explained, "You should try and read them too!"

Her two charges followed her advice and, some minutes later, the three angels were staring at the computer screen and laughing incessantly:

"Oh, dear Father! I wish we had more assignments like these!", Monica exclaimed. Andrew nodded his head:

"Yeah, that wouldn’t be a bad idea! What do you think, Tess?"

"Well, I think you two may be right. After all, angels too have the right to have some fun and enjoy themselves sometimes!", she agreed.

*

Nearly one hour later, Andrew and Tess noticed that Monica was sniffing continuously and looked at her with worried faces:

"Angel Girl, are you alright?"

"Oh, yes, Tess...", she answered, with her eyes filled with tears.

"So... Why are you crying?", Andrew asked, giving her a handkerchief.

"Well... I’ve been reading some of these stories..."

They opened the same page she was reading and the Irish angel kept on talking:

"They are so sad and have so much pain and suffering...", she sniffed again, "But all are so beautifully written and have such a beautiful message of faith and hope; so many valuable lessons about trusting in the Father’s words, that they had an effect on my emotions and now... I cannot keep them inside!...", she explained, wiping some tears from her face. Andrew and Tess exchanged a look that was a mix of concern and amusement:

"Monica, they are ‘fan fiction’. That means that they are invented stories...", the blond angel said. She looked at him slightly indignant:

"But they could perfectly be true! Just take a look at them you two and you’ll see that I’m right!"

Curious about the stories (and not wanting to disagree with her), they decided to read them.

Some time later:

"Hey Monica, you were right! These stories are absolutely great!", Andrew said, really impressed with what he had read. Sniffing just like her charge, Tess nodded her head:

"Yes, Angel Girl, you were totally right about them, they are so very beautiful!...", she stated, with some tears rolling down her cheeks.

Sitting between the Irish angel and the supervisor, Andrew looked at his two weeping friends sympathetically and passed his arms around their shoulders, bringing them closer to him.

*

About half an hour later:

"Wow, that’s something I’d call curious!", the blond angel said, with a playful tone on his voice.

"What is it, Andrew?", Monica wanted to know, peeping at the screen of his computer. He smiled mischievously:

"We are dating, honey!", he teasingly answered. Tess grimaced at what she had heard, while Monica’s eyes widened in surprise:

"You’re what?!!"

"Really?!"

They both exclaimed, at the same time. Laughing, Andrew let them see the page he was reading:

"Yes, that’s it! Take a look!"

The other two opened the same page and started to read:

"Oh, that is so cute!", Monica tenderly stated. But distress never abandoned Tess’ face:

" ’Cute’??!! You two are angels, Miss Wings! We all are, for Heaven’s sake!"

Andrew and Monica looked at each other, trying to hold their laugher:

"We know that, Tess! But I love you two so much, you know, that, if we were humans, we three would be a real family!"

"Yeah, I agree with Monica! A family with babies and all!", the blond angel agreed, still teasing the supervisor and causing the Irish angel to shoot him a loving look. But Tess kept on with a stern face:

"Oh Father, I can’t believe I’m hearing such thing!... I think you two have been exposed to computers and to caffeine too much for one single day!"

"Oh, c’mon Tess! Just imagine: besides Joy, there would be a lot more babies for you to take care of and spoil everyday!", Andrew playfully remarked. Monica agreed with him:

"Yes, Tess. Wouldn’t you like to be a grandmother twice, maybe three times?!"

And, surprisingly, at that moment, Tess’ face became a pensive one, as if she was seriously taking that possibility into consideration.

Noticing that, Monica playfully nudged her dear friend on the ribs and they exchanged an amused glance. But, when she realised that her two charges were attentively watching her (and unsuccessfully trying to keep a serious face), the oldest angel scolded them once more:

"What are you two looking at, huh?!", she mumbled.

"Oh... Nothing, Tess...", Monica shrugged her shoulders. But, seconds later, Tess surrendered herself:

"Alright! I admit it! Of course we would ALSO be a family if we were humans! I have no doubts about that!"

The younger angels smiled and held her tightly:

"You know something, Tess? We love you!"

"And of course I know that, too, Angel Boy. I also love you two. But now, let’s go back home, ‘cause it’s enough of computers and coffee for the both of you!"

And, after spending that entire rainy day at the cyber café, the three angels returned to the beach house.

*

Late at night, while Andrew and Monica were fast asleep, Tess got up from her bed and, secretly, tiptoed over to the kitchen, where she found a laptop that had miraculously appeared on the table:

"... Now let’s see if there are new chapters posted tonight...", the supervisor whispered, turning the laptop on and connecting it to the web. She opened the page that she and her friends had been reading all day long and smiled with satisfaction:

"That’s it!", she exclaimed, and started to read.

PART 8

It was still early in the morning and, after two days of heavy and continuous rain, the sun was shining brightly again and, together with the calm waves of the ocean and the blue sky, formed a beautiful scenario.

At the beach house, Andrew was the first one to wake up. He changed into a white T-shirt, blue bermudas and a comfortable pair of sandals, and, as soon as he entered the kitchen, the blond angel was excitedly and warmly greeted by Joy:

"Hey little one! Looks like the two of us are the early birds around here - no offence!"

The playful puppy barked softly, wagging her tail as he stroked her black soft fur.

"As you were the very first to wake up, you’re gonna be the first one to have breakfast too, ok?"

After placing a bowl full of dog food in front of the animal, which devoured eagerly, he prepared breakfast for him and for his two dearest friends.

Table set, Andrew walked over to Monica’s bedroom and slightly knocked on the door. Some seconds later, the Irish angel came to open it:

"Good morning, Angel Girl!"

"Good morning, Andrew!", she answered, with a smile upon her sleepy face. He looked deep inside her brown eyes and joked:

"Do you still wanna come or should I just turn around and let you continue to sleep peacefully in your comfortable bed?"

She smiled even more:

"No! I’m coming! I just need some minutes to change myself."

"You take your time. I’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen!"

Some time later, the Irish angel appeared at the kitchen wearing a one piece blue bathing suit, a white wrap around her waist and a pair of flip flops. When she saw her ‘mom’, Joy clumsily ran towards her and Monica scooped the chubby little dog, holding her close and receiving lots of ‘kisses’:

"Hullo, wee one! Did you have a good sleep, huh?"

"Actually, she was the first one to get up in this house!", Andrew said, sitting at the table and pouring her and himself some coffee. Monica came closer to him and kissed the top of his head, taking a seat afterwards:

"I guess she’s enjoying these vacations as much as we are!"

"I have no doubt about that!", the blond angel joked.

She placed the little puppy on the floor and took her mug, eagerly sipping her favourite drink:

"It’s such a beautiful day! I can hardly believe the sun is shining again after these two rainy days!"

"Yeah, if there’s a good day to swim in the ocean, it’s today!"

"How did you know the weather would be better?"

The blond angel smiled and looked through the window at the bluest of the skies:

"Well, I had some help..."

"Oh...", she smiled and nodded her head understandingly.

They finished their breakfast and Andrew took her hand:

"Let’s go?"

"Yes!"

The two angels left the house and headed towards the beach. Hand in hand, they walked in the sand enjoying the warm sun and the breeze that blew form the sea:

"Early in the morning is the best time to swim; the water is calm and with almost no waves.", Andrew explained.

"I only hope it’s not so cold...", Monica said, staring at the sea with a thoughtful look.

"Well... it may be a little cold, but, after a while, you’ll get used to it."

The Irish angel nodded her head and sighed, still with her eyes focused on the ocean.

"Are you ready?!", her dearest friend asked, with a loving smile on his face. Only then, she looked at him, returning his smile:

"I am ready!"

Monica took off her wrap and her flip flops and took his proffered hand; both angels entering the sea afterwards.

"Oh my goodness! You didn’t tell me it would be so cold, Andrew!", the angel squealed, with water up to her waist.

"Oh, c’mon, it’s not that cold, Monica!"

With a mischievous smile, he started to splash water on her, causing Monica to scream even more:

"Andrew! Don’t do that! Please, stop it!"

"You gotta get used to the temperature of the water, Miss Wings!"

"But not this way!"

"You know what? You’re right. The best way is to dive in the water straight away!"

Saying that, the blond angel dived in the sea, right before her surprised brown eyes, and reappeared some metres ahead:

"C’mon, Monica! It’s no fun to stand still in the same place!"

"I don’t believe I could do such thing!", she replied, with her eyebrows raised.

"Of course you can!"

The Irish angel considered that for a few seconds and took a deep breath, diving in the cold water and emerging beside him seconds later. Andrew chuckled at that brave act:

"That’s it, Miss Wings! You did it!"

"Yes, but the water is still cold!", she complained, her lower lip slightly trembling.

"That’s why you have to swim! C’mon, we cannot stay here, let’s go until that point over there!", he indicated a spot that stood about 20 metres from where they were. But Monica looked at him with indecision evident on her face: she wasn’t afraid of the water anymore, but that didn’t mean that she was an expert in swimming.

"Are you sure it’s safe?"

"Yes, I’m definitely sure!"

After some hesitation, she nodded:

"Ok, but... Do you promise to stay on my side all the time?"

Andrew chuckled at that question, as it wasn’t necessary to ask such thing:

"Of course I promise, Monica. I won’t let my Angel Girl float away into the ocean!"

Both relieved and pleased with that statement, she smiled again, and they started to swim.

*

The initial apprehension Monica felt about water quickly subsided, and after one hour of swimming, she had forgotten about its coldness and was having a great time with Andrew; even setting a competition to see who managed to swim faster.

The two angels completely lost track of time and didn’t even realise that the sun grew hotter, the beach started to become crowded (specially with many tourists) and big waves started to form in the ocean, crashing upon the sand.

"I think the sea is becoming a wee bit rough!", the Irish angel said, with the water up to her shoulders and almost being carried away by a wave if it wasn’t for Andrew’s tight grip in her arm.

"But, as I said before, I got a firm hold on my swimming Angel Girl and I won’t let her go!"

"I know that!", she replied, with a smile and not really afraid of the rhythm of the ocean. It was then that, from where they were, they saw Tess and little Joy walking in the sand:

"Hey, take a look over there, Monica!", the blond angel pointed.

"It’s Tess! I think she’s looking for us... Hey Tess! We’re here!", Monica said, in a loud voice and waving her hand so that the supervisor could see them. But Tess didn’t see them nor hear her calling, as she was trying to spot her two charges along the sand:

"Where in Heaven can these parents of yours be, baby?...", she said, with little Joy chasing her. The small animal, on the other hand, had an accurate ear and would recognise her mom’s voice anywhere. As soon as the puppy heard Monica’s calling, she wasted no time in rushing towards the sea, straight to where the angels were. And she was so fast that Tess didn’t even realise her sudden escape:

"Come with grandma, baby, let’s look for them in another..."

When she turned around, all the supervisor could see was the small black fur ball moving quickly in the direction of the water and an enormous wave about to crash on the tiny creature:

"Oh no! Joy, come back here!!!"

From the sea, Monica’s and Andrew’s eyes grew wide in shock and despair when they saw the frightening scene:

"Oh my God! It’s Joy, Andrew!! She’ll be hit by that wave!!!", the Irish angel cried, letting go of his hand and desperately trying to get to the animal. But impulsive attitude only increased Andrew’s worry:

"Monica wait!!! Don’t go now, you’re gonna be..."

He couldn’t finish his sentence, as it was too late: near the sand, the chubby female dog abruptly stopped running when she saw an enormous shadow surrounding her and a huge mass of water rising right in front of her. Joy gave one feeble bark and was hit by the wave that crashed violently on the sand. Monica, for herself, was trying to reach her and was also hit by another wave, which was formed right behind her.

Both angel and dog were carried away by the water, but, fortunately, were delivered right on the sand, practically on Tess’ feet:

"Oh dear Father! What was that, babies?!", the supervisor exclaimed, taking Joy in her arms and helping Monica to stand up. Andrew arrived one second later, and ran towards his friends:

"Monica, are you alright?", he asked, taking some strands of her hair off her face. Despite the horrible moment, the two were fine; just a little shaken up by the incident.

"I think I swallowed some sand and some water...", the Irish angel replied, coughing, "...and I have a salty taste in my mouth too..."

"You shouldn’t have let go off my hand, honey; I was going to drag you with me!", Andrew said, still a little concerned about his dearest friend.

"I know, it’s just that, when I saw that big wave and my wee baby being carried away I was so desperate that I forgot about everything..."

Tess turned to the dog she was holding with a equally worried but also stern face:

"Did you hear that?! You should have never gotten away from me, you stubborn little fur ball!", she scolded, as if dealing with a two-year-old. But the dripping animal shook her head in order to get rid of the wetness in her long ears and reached up, covering her face with tiny kisses:

"Is it my impression or are you trying to buy me with sweet kisses?!"

But, try as she might, the supervisor couldn’t hold her ‘upset’ tone with such a cute and sweet attitude:

"... Ok... I know you’re sorry... and I’m glad you’re fine, baby. You had your grandma and your parents worried sick about you!", she said, soothing the animal’s wet fur and giving her to Monica afterwards.

The Irish angel stroked the little animal and was also greeted by lots of tiny (and wet) kisses:

"Oh, wee one... I was so scared when I saw that big wave carrying you...", she kissed her head and held her tightly. Andrew let go a sigh of relief:

"Well, thank God, nothing serious happened, and you two are alright."

"Yes, but probably my wee baby will have a trauma of water forever!"

The Irish angel placed the animal on the sand so that she could put on her flip flops and the wrap around her waist. But, at the moment Joy faced the sea, she started to bark repeatedly and (somewhat) ferociously at the water, which surprised the three angels:

"I don’t think she’s really afraid, Monica...", Andrew said, a smile forming on his handsome face, "...In fact, I’d say she’s really mad at the water!"

"I think you’re right...", his dearest friend agreed, rather shocked by that unexpected attitude, "... She seems to be reprimanding the sea for hitting her!... And... I would even say that she’s... she’s a wee bit grouchy..."

"I wonder after whom she has taken that...", the blond angel said; he and Monica turned to face Tess, who crossed her arms in front of her chest, with a stern expression on her face:

"What?!..."

The two angels exchanged an amused glance, as the small puppy continued to, angrily, ‘yell’ at the sea:

"Well, she’s been through a bad experience and she’s not pleased with it! What did you want? She has the right to be mad!"

That time, Monica had to cover her mouth not to let a small giggle escape, while Andrew lowered his eyes to the sand, chuckling at that incredible discovery.

"Well, everything is fine and nobody got hurt after all, so I gotta go!"

"Where are you going, Tess?"

"I wanted to make some desert but I have to buy the ingredients. As animals are not allowed in supermarkets, I had to drop my little baby here, with you two."

"That’s ok, I don’t think there will be more swimming lessons for today.", Andrew said, winking at his dearest friend, who nodded vehemently:

"Andrew is right; maybe we could have a walk on the beach and drink some juice, ‘cause I still have a taste of sand mixed with salty water in my mouth."

PART 9

Andrew and Monica gathered their belongings and started to stroll along the seashore, with the Irish angel holding her precious baby in her arms. They stopped at a small restaurant in front of the beach, so that the blond angel could buy them some orange juice, and they sat down at the table (placed in the sand) to enjoy the view:

"Although I have to admit that the swimming lesson was a wee bit troubled, the ocean is so beautiful to look at, specially on a lovely day like this!", Monica said, with little Joy moving around their feet. Andrew let go of his glass and took his friend’s hand:

"I hope I didn’t ruin your day..."

She shot him a kind a loving smile:

"My day would never be ruined if I’m spending it with someone I love so much!"

He returned her smile:

"Yes, but I think that swimming lesson didn’t help very much..."

"Well, I may not be the ‘angel of swimming’, but that irrational fear of water is something of the past now."

Andrew held her hand in both of his and kissed it:

"I’m glad to hear that, Monica."

"And we can try again tomorrow!", she said, with a wink. The Irish angel finished her juice and sighed:

"Do you think they serve coffee?"

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that question:

"I don’t think so..."

But seeing a trace of disappointment starting to form in her brown eyes, he had an idea:

"Well... I’m not really sure, so I’ll go and check it out, ok?"

She nodded her head and her smile came back to her face:

"Thanks!"

The blond angel stood up and went to the counter, while she remained sitting at the table.

A second later, an old couple, wearing flowered and colourful tourist clothes, came closer to her:

"Excuse us, young lady...", the old woman said, with a friendly tone in her voice and a kind smile. The Irish angel looked at them and returned their smile:

"Yes?"

"George and I are visiting this town, we arrived yesterday but, as it was raining, we only had the opportunity to come to the beach today. But... we have a little problem and we were wondering if you could help us..."

"Oh, yes, of course I can!", Monica replied, pleased with the possibility of helping someone, as it was something that she was always ready for.

"Well, we were taking a walk, the view was so beautiful that we weren’t paying attention to where we were going and... now we’re lost!..."

"We bought this guide on the way but we forgot our glasses at the hotel so it’s not helping very much...", the man explained, showing her a leaflet. His wife kept on talking:

"I wanted to go shopping after visiting the beach, so if you could tell us where the shops are, specially the ones that sell crocheted clothes and knitting material..."

"No, you don’t wanna go shopping now, Clara! I’m tired, I wanna go back to the hotel...", the old man objected. But the woman looked at him sternly:

"But George, I told you I wanted to go shopping! I can’t believe you came all the way here to stay locked up inside a hotel room..."

"And you can’t seem to stop shopping for a minute!"

Monica stood up and tried to stop the argument between that friendly but rather clumsily couple:

"Oh, please, don’t argue, I think I can help both of you...", her soothing voice seemed to calm them, because they stopped talking and looked at her a little ashamed of themselves:

"I’m sorry, young lady...", the old man said, apologetically.

"My name is Monica and I’m visiting the city too, with my friends, and I’ve had the opportunity to go round town these days, so I can teach ya the way to go to the hotel and to the shops..."

The Irish angel patiently gave them instructions of where to go, which took some time, as they not only had difficulties in seeing but also in listening.

In this meantime, Joy remained quietly sitting near her mom’s chair, resting from her first ‘dive’ in the ocean. But, all of a sudden, the playful puppy spotted, not far away from her, a yellow cat. Joy immediately stood up and started to snarl at the other animal, which also faced her with an unfriendly expression. That rivalry stare lasted about 10 seconds, and, after that, the black fur ball rushed towards the cat, which wasted no time in running away from her pursuer. And Monica was so busy trying to help the old couple that she didn’t notice the puppy moving away from her and disappearing among the other people at the beach.

*

Some minutes later, Monica finally managed to finish her explanation and made the twosome realise that they were not so far from the hotel:

"... follow my instructions and, when you see the gas station, you just have to go straight and turn left."

"Thank you very much, Monica!"

"Yes, you’re really an angel for being so attentive!", the old woman said. Hearing that, her smile widened:

"It was a pleasure. But can I ask you something? Please don’t argue about sightseeing; you told me you’re going to stay here for 3 weeks, and there’s plenty of time to visit the entire city and the other towns. Besides, it’s almost lunch time and, in this meantime, many shops are closed. So, if you accept my suggestion, go back to the hotel and leave the shopping for the afternoon."

They smiled at each other and, after, at her:

"Ok, dear, we’ll do as you say. I hadn’t thought about that and, to be honest, I’m hungry too!", the lady admitted. Her husband agreed:

"Yes, and we can do the shopping in the afternoon!"

"Goodbye, Monica! And thank you again, dear!"

"Goodbye!"

She watched as they moved away and it was then that Andrew came back:

"Looks like you’ve made new friends!"

"They were a wee bit lost and I gave them some information about the town and helped them to find their way back to the hotel!", she happily announced. Andrew gazed at her and smiled, not missing the great contentment she felt for helping someone. The Irish angel gazed back at him and, at that moment, he remembered something:

"Oh, I’m sorry, Monica. I talked to the manager and they don’t serve coffee, just juices..."

Her eyes widened in surprise:

"Andrew, you didn’t have to talk to the manager!", she said, taking his hand. Slightly blushed, the blond angel lowered his head for a few seconds:

"Well... I guess I wanted to compensate you for your unexpected dive...Did I exaggerate?"

Giggling, she raised herself up on the tip of her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek:

"Well, I’d say you’re a very a devoted friend, and I’m happy for that... Now, let’s go back home ‘cause Tess must be finishing to cook lunch and I’m hungry!"

"Alright, then. I’ll brew some coffee for you afterwards, when Tess takes her nap..."

"That’s a lovely idea...", she approved, returning his mischievous smile, and turned to look near the chair she was sitting on:

"Let’s go, wee one, you can rest when we get..."

But, at that moment, her eyes were filled with shock and panic when she realised that Joy had disappeared:

"Oh no!... Andrew, she’s not here!..."

"Are you sure?...", he said, checking under the table and not finding anything, "Let’s take a look around! She can’t be that far!"

They looked around the restaurant, but couldn’t find any trace of the small puppy:

"Oh, Father... What are we going to do now?", the Irish angel was already desperate. Andrew sighed deeply, and ran his fingers through his blond hair:

"Hey, calm down, Monica, we’re gonna find her, ok?", he said, "And that young lady will be literally and metaphorically in the dog house when we find her!", the blond angel stated, with some annoyance but also with concern, and they started to walk along the beach in search of the little puppy.

*

Joy chased the cat until it disappeared through the crowd, as the velocity with which the feline ran away was too much for the small (and rather heavy) dog. Only then, Joy stopped running and realised something: her ‘parents’ weren’t there anymore, and there was no trace of them nearby. The playful puppy looked around her and, after noticing that she was alone, she started to wander along the sand; her head lowered and a sad expression in her tiny black eyes.

The animal walked for some time when she saw, sitting on the sand, in a desert part of the beach, a little boy, of about 4 or 5 years old. He had his knees drawn up to his chest and was covering his face with his hands. Joy came closer to him and barked softly in order to draw his attention. He raised his head and looked at her, sadness evident in his eyes:

"I don’t have anything to give you...", he said. But the small animal kept on staring at him:

"...and I don’t wanna play either. I got lost from my mom...", his voice was a crying one. Joy came closer to him and, after ‘kissing’ his face, sat down right beside the boy, also with a weeping physiognomy.

"Hey... what’s the matter? You got lost from you mom too?"

A feeble bark was a reply to that question. Sensing that he was not the only one with a big problem, the little boy turned his full attention to the dog:

"Don’t be sad... She’ll come after you, I’m sure she will!", he said, stroking Joy’s soft black fur. Then, he showed her the baseball ball he had in his hand:

"Don’t you wanna play?"

Immediately, the little dog stood up, excitedly wagging her tail and with her eyes wide open. That was enough to make the boy smile broadly:

"Great!"

And the child and the young animal started to play along the sand, completely forgetting about their previous worries.

*

Andrew and Monica walked around the beach for nearly half an hour, asking everybody if they had seen a chubby black spaniel puppy. The two angels even split up in order to cover a bigger area, but couldn’t find any trace of Joy:

"She seems to have completely vanished, Andrew!", Monica was about to cry, terrified with the possibility of losing her precious baby.

"She must be here somewhere, Monica! I’m sure she is!"

"What if she entered the water again?"

"I doubt whether she did this! Besides, she only entered the water because she heard your voice!"

"And if she goes to the streets, Andrew? There are cars passing by!..."

Andrew placed his hands on her shoulders:

"Monica, she didn’t go to the streets, she must be looking for us here, on the beach!"

"And if anybody finds her and takes her away from me?!"

"Nobody’s gonna take her away from you, Angel Girl! I’m sure Joy would never agree to have another mother!"

The blond angel wiped some tears away from her face and grabbed her hand:

"C’mon, let’s keep looking!"

PART 10

On the beach, Joy and her new friend were entertained in an exciting game, with the boy throwing the baseball ball and the dog fetching it and giving it back to him. But, all of a sudden, the child stopped playing and stared at the sea:

"Hey... I think it’s my mom over there!...", he said, looking at a woman who was swimming far from where the waves crashed:

"Mom?!", he called, not really sure if it was really his mother he was seeing, as the distance was considerable:

"I’ll go there!", the boy started to walk towards the water, but, before he could give more than 3 steps, Joy quickly ran and placed herself in front of him, barking loudly and repeatedly:

"I’ll be back, don’t worry...", he said, but the animal kept on barking:

"You don’t want me to go there?... But I can swim... a little..."

Somehow realising the boy’s insistence, the dog suddenly bit the hem of his bermudas and dragged him away from the water; and she pulled them so abruptly that his buttocks were almost shown:

"Hey! Alright, then, I’ll stay here!", he finally gave in, straightening his outfit. The little puppy barked once more, and the child raised his eyebrows:

"Boy! You’re really cranky sometimes!"

*

Monica and Andrew walked around for some more time:

"We’ve already looked everywhere, Andrew! What are we going to do?!", Monica’s voice was a crying one.

"We’ll keep on looking until we find her!"

"I think we’ve lost her..."

"Don’t say that, Monica, Joy must be..."

He stopped talking when they heard an unmistakable bark not far away from them, and, a second later, they spotted the missing puppy happily playing with her new friend. Monica’s heart started to pound loudly in her chest and Andrew heaved a sigh of relief at that image:

"Oh Father, thank you!", the Irish angel whispered, and ran towards the animal:

"Joy!"

The little chubby fur ball stopped playing when she heard her mom’s voice calling her and clumsily ran into Monica’s direction, and was soon in her arms, covering the angel’s face with lots of tiny kisses:

"Oh little one, I can hardly believe I’ve found you!... I’m happy to see you too, sweetheart! You have no idea of how worried we were!"

Andrew joined them and stared at the animal:

"Yes, and you have no idea of the trouble you’re in this time, miss!", he sternly said. The little boy who was playing with Joy came closer to the angels:

"Excuse me lady, is she yours?", he asked. Monica smiled for the first time since that ‘nightmare’ had started and looked at Andrew:

"She’s ours; her name is Joy. We were desperate looking for her, she got lost from us."

"Yeah, I know, she told me.", the boy said. The angels exchanged a look of curiosity:

"She ‘told you’?!", Andrew asked.

"Yes. And I was lost too, so we decided that we could stay together."

"You’re lost?", the Irish angel was already worried about the child.

"Yes, I don’t know where my mom is."

Again, Andrew and Monica looked at each other:

"So we’re gonna help you find her, ok?", he said, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

"Ok. There was a lady in the water and she looked like mom, but she was too distant, I couldn’t see it very well."

"You mean you don’t know if it was really her?", the blond angel was looking at the sea, trying to spot the woman.

"Yes. I was going to enter the water to go to her."

The angels’ eyes widened in surprise:

"Oh, but the sea is too dangerous now, the waves are huge already and you could’ve been dragged!"

"No, I can swim, miss!...", the boy replied, with confidence.

"You may know how to swim, dear, but it’s dangerous anyway, even for an adult!"

"Well, yeah... I guess so... But I couldn’t get into the water anyway. Joy didn’t let me. She even gave me a hard time when I tried to go in there and pulled me back to the sand."

Hearing that, the two angels exchanged a third look, now a surprised one: a great tragedy had just been avoided by the little puppy dog. That part of the beach was a desert one, as the waves there were a lot bigger than in the rest of the shore. Very few people used to go there and they were in a considerable distance from the child and the animal. If the little boy entered the water, he surely would have been carried away by the waves and it would take some time until somebody realised that he was drowning, if anybody realised that at all.

Due to this totally unexpected piece of news, Andrew’s previous annoyance with the little puppy vanished completely, and he stroked her soft black fur:

"Looks like she managed to redeem herself! Now we have a little hero here!", he said. Monica nodded her head:

"I guess you’re right, Andrew!"

The boy looked at Joy:

"I like her a lot, you know, but she’s quite grouchy sometimes!"

The angels laughed at that comment:

"Well, she is, sometimes...", the blond angel agreed, "...But I guess she was right after all. And now that Joy has found her mom, what about you finding yours, little buddy?"

"Ok. I’m tired."

Andrew took the boy’s hand, as Monica was holding Joy close to her and would never put her down again, and the trio started to walk along the beach.

*

Sometime later:

"Jimmy?!"

"Hey, mom!"

A woman with tears in her eyes and a worried expression on her face rushed towards the group and held the boy tightly in her arms:

"Oh, thank God you’re safe! I was desperate trying to find you!"

"It’s ok mom, I’m fine!", he said, resting his head on her shoulder, rather exhausted from his little adventure.

"Where have you been?"

"It seems that your son and our wee one here have both got lost and made each other some company in this meantime!", Monica said. Only then, the woman turned her attention to the angels:

"I’m not surprised with this. Jimmy loves dogs!"

"Yeah, we noticed that. They were entertained in a good conversation and were getting along quite well when we found them!", Andrew joked.

"Thank you so much for bringing him back!", the woman said, with a grateful expression on her face.

"Actually, it was Joy that found him!", Monica said. A smile of relief appeared on their faces and Andrew glanced at his watch:

"Monica, it’s time to go, Tess is waiting for us."

She nodded:

"Yes. And I’m sure that this wee one wants to say goodbye properly to her new friend!"

The angel placed Joy in the boy’s arms and the puppy covered his face with lots of kisses.

"Goodbye, Joy! It was cool playing with you too!", Jimmy kissed the puppy’s head, hardly holding the animal, as, although she was little, Joy was quite heavy for a five year old to carry. Andrew and Monica looked at each other with their hearts practically melting at that scene. The boy gave Joy back to the Irish angel:

"Goodbye, Jimmy!", she said.

"Goodbye, Monica!"

"And don’t try to swim in the sea without your mom, ok, buddy?"

"Ok Andrew!"

*

The angels headed back to the beach house, now with a mix of happiness and relief on their faces:

"Andrew, have you noticed something?"

"What is it?"

"When Joy stopped Jimmy from entering the sea, she actually accomplished her first assignment!", Monica said, still holding the dog close to her. The blond angel chuckled at that conclusion:

"Her ‘first assignment’?... Yeah, I agree with you, Angel Girl!", he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and stroked Joy’s head, "It’s true that there were some accidents in the way, and a lot of trouble too. But I think that saving a life was not bad for a beginner!"

Joy licked Andrew’s hand, happily wagging her tail, and causing Monica to grin proudly:

"Isn’t she adorable?"

The blond angel smiled too:

"Yes, of course she is. She got it from her mother!"

Slightly blushed, Monica returned his loving smile:

"Well, I think that being adorable is a quality that she inherited from her father!", she said, causing him to blush this time. She kept on talking:

"As well as being cute!"

"Monica!", he replied, with some annoyance, as he had an idea of how red his face was. Giggling, and also pleased to make him blush, the Irish angel looked down at Joy:

"She is the cutest puppy I have ever seen in my whole existence!"

"And also the dirtiest!", Andrew added, as, in fact, the dog had sand beach spread all over her fur. Laughing, his dearest friend agreed:

"Yes, I think you’re right! She has sand even inside her ears! I’m gonna give her a good bath when we arrive home!"

At that moment, Joy barked twice, as if demanding to be cleaned immediately, once all that dirt was starting to bother her:

"I guess this wee baby is quite authoritarian too!", Monica said, finding her annoyance rather funny.

"And I think she’s spending too much time with her grandmother!", Andrew concluded.

PART 11

The first rays of the sun started to shine in the sky and through the windows of the beach house, lightening up its interior. Monica was the first one to wake up in that morning and smiled happily when she saw the blue sky and heard the birds singing. She got up and, still wearing her coffee cups pyjamas, went straight to the kitchen and brewed some of her favourite drink for herself.

After sipping it eagerly, the Irish angel brewed some more for her dear friends (and for herself again, as she would never be satisfied with only one cup!) and, when it was ready, she tiptoed over to Andrew’s bedroom, slowly opening the door. The blond angel was sound asleep among a mess of pillows disorderly spread on the bed and on the floor, together with his blanket.

Monica shook her head and smiled, gathering all the pillows and placing them on the bed, and covering him with the blanket:

"How can you make such a mess during your sleep, huh?", she whispered, gently running her fingers through his short disarrayed blond hair. A louder snore was his reply and, giggling, she leaned to place a tiny kiss on his cheek:

"You keep on sleeping, ok? I won’t bother you..."

She left his bedroom and went to check on Tess. The supervisor was sleeping peacefully in her shaded room; one of the curtains was half open, allowing some light to come in. Monica closed it completely, leaving the bedroom in a total dimness. Then, she walked over to the supervisor’s bed and straightened her blanket:

"And you sleep well too, Tess. You take such a good care of Andrew and me... and of wee Joy too! We all love you..."

She kissed the top of the supervisor’s head and left her bedroom with a pensive expression on her face.

The Irish angel returned to the kitchen and, arriving there, an idea crossed her mind:

"That’s it!...", she exclaimed. Joy showed up at that moment, and barked happily when she saw her ‘mom’:

"Shh! Not so loud, sweetheart!", she scooped the dog and held it close to her chest, "Andrew and Tess are still sleeping and you don’t want to wake your daddy and your grandma up so early, do you?"

She received lots of kisses in response:

"Good, ‘cause actually I don’t want them to wake up now either. You know why? Because, today, I will not only prepare their breakfast... I’ll cook too! I’ll make them a special lunch!"

*

Andrew and Tess woke up one hour later and the supervisor was entering the kitchen when she saw Monica standing in front of the counter, with some condiments and a lot of pans spread along it. The Irish angel didn’t notice her presence, as she was busy mixing something in a bowl, being attentively observed by Joy.

"I promise you, wee one, that I’ll cook a delicious lunch this time. Andrew and Tess will love this surprise and will be proud to see how much I’ve improved my culinary abilities, you’ll see!"

The little puppy dog barked twice, as if replying to her mother’s words.

"I only hope I’m doing it right...", she looked at the mixture she was blending, "It’s a mix of tomato cream and pepper, though I have to confess that had to add a wee bit of coffee to it!..."

Tess’s eyes grew wide and she frowned with concern as she heard that, and the Irish angel took a portion of the ‘cream’ she was mixing with a spoon:

"...If only someone could taste this..."

Hearing that, Joy turned around and ran away from the kitchen to her little wooden house, which stood in the laundry room, in a clumsily rush.

Also scared, the supervisor quietly gave a few steps back, before her charge noticed her presence, and returned to the living room with a very worried expression on her face. Andrew appeared at that moment, still with sleepy eyes and dishevelled hair:

"Good morning Tess!"

"Hi Angel Boy... How did you sleep?", she asked, still thinking about what she had just found out.

"Oh, so well that I think I overslept!", he glanced at his watch, "I’m starving!"

Hearing that, Tess turned her full attention to him:

"Oh, really baby?"

"Yeah, is breakfast ready?"

"Yes...", her answer was a thoughtful one, "...Angel Boy, I think Monica is looking for you..."

"Oh, she’s up already? Where’s she?"

"She’s in... in the kitchen..."

"Ok, I’ll go there, then."

The blond angel headed to the kitchen and when he opened the door, a mix of surprise and astonishment appeared on his handsome face. But, before he could say something, Monica smiled broadly at his presence:

"Oh Andrew, I’m so glad you’ve woken up!"

"Hey Monica... Can... Can I ask what’s happening here?", he said, already fearing the answer.

"I’m preparing today’s lunch for you and Tess!", she happily announced. He ran his fingers through his short hair, still not believing in what he was seeing:

"Really?... Why?..."

The Irish angel tilted her head:

"Well, because it’s the last day of our vacation and I felt like doing something special for you two, and, most importantly, because I love you very, very much!"

Despite that threatening scenario, his heart softened at those kind words, and he shot her a loving and tender smile:

"How could the Father create such an adorable angel like you, huh?", he gently stroked her blushing cheek. She took his hand into hers and kissed his palm:

"How could the Father give me such adorable friends like you two, huh?"

Smiling, the blond angel leaned to kiss her forehead and she kept on talking:

"I’ve always wanted to prepare a special lunch for you and Tess, you know. So, secretly, I’ve been trying to improve my culinary abilities whenever I have some free time!"

"Monica, honestly, you don’t have to..."

"Oh, but I do!", she kindly objected, "And I’ve been practising a lot, you know!"

The hope and enthusiasm in her eyes were so strong that the blond angel’s heart softened even more. With no other choice, he ended up agreeing with her:

"Alright then, Angel Girl... I’m sure you’ll do your very best!"

"I promise I will try! But... I need some help here..."

A mix of relief and happiness appeared on his face:

"Oh, sure! Just tell me what I have to do!"

Monica took the bowl with the mixture she was blending and took some of it with a spoon:

"Could you taste it for me?"

It took Andrew all his effort and strength not to show his panic at that request:

"You want me to taste it?..."

"Yes! I added the ingredients to the tomato chowder but I decided to make some changes to give it a special flavour! But I really would like a second opinion about it!"

"Oh..."

"Would you do that for me?"

The blond angel looked at the reddish mixture and gulped:

"Sure..."

Monica put the spoon in his mouth and he tasted it for some seconds, swallowing everything at a time:

"So?", the Irish angel anxiously asked.

He gave a clumsily smile:

"It’s... It’s different... I’ve... I’ve never tasted anything like this before..."

"Really?!", she was happier than before.

"Yes... Is it my impression or you put pepper in it?"

"Oh, yes, in fact, I did!"

"... And a little coffee too?"

She smiled sheepishly:

"Well, I have to confess that I added a wee bit of coffee..."

Andrew nodded his head, still feeling the taste of the mixture in his mouth.

"Is it good?"

He had to choose his words carefully to answer to that question:

"Well, I’d say it’s... quite different, honey. Believe me, it’s an original recipe... no other angel or human would have such idea..."

Monica happily planted a kiss on his cheek:

"Thank you, Andrew! Now that I know that I’m doing it right, I can’t waste any second!"

"Didn’t you say need my help?..."

"You’ve already helped me a lot!", she turned him around and gently led him to the kitchen door, "Now you and Tess can take a walk on the beach while I take care of everything around here, ok?"

The Irish angel winked at him and, without having any other choice, Andrew went to the front yard, where Tess was eating a delicious cheese sandwich:

"Tess, she’s cooking!", the blond angel said, with worry and disbelief.

"Yeah, I know..."

"I just had to taste a mix of tomato, pepper and coffee!"

Tess grimaced at the thought of it:

"And that was not nice! You owe me one!"

"Well you said that you were hungry..." The supervisor innocently replied. He gave her a stern look; which didn’t last for so long:

"What are we gonna do now?"

"Run away while there’s still time...", Tess said, half joking. He chuckled at that suggestion:

"We can’t do that, Tess. She’s doing it with so much love! You should have seen the look in her eyes..."

His own eyes were filled with love again at the memory of his dearest friend’s face. Tess nodded and smiled:

"Yes, I can imagine that. It’s the one that melts even the hardest of the hearts!"

He smiled with contentment:

"We are very blessed to have her!"

"And why do you think I lift my eyes to the sky everyday and thank the Father for sending that little angel into our existence, huh?"

Andrew nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, as she kept on talking:

"And today, besides thanking, I also asked for some help..."

"Really?! Is she going to cook better?"

Tess gave him a stern gaze:

"I said I asked for some help, not for a miracle!"

"Well, and what did He say?"

"He gave me an idea...", the supervisor smiled:

"Relax Angel Boy, I think the situation is not as bad as it seems to be..."

"Good, because I’m still hungry!", he replied, his eyes focused on her sandwich, and she moved away from him, trying to protect her precious meal.

PART 12

Monica was in the kitchen, carefully planning on what she would use to prepare the ‘special lunch’ for Andrew and Tess:

"It would be good if Andrew were here to taste this too...", she said, and was about to start preparing a chicken. But, before the angel could do it, Joy burst through the kitchen door and barked several times:

"Hey, sweetheart, what’s the problem?"

The dog moved away from her when she tried to come closer, and then the Irish angel understood what her precious ‘baby’ wanted:

"Joy I can’t play with you now, I have to cook. Why don’t you call Andrew or Tess?"

But the little dog continued to stare at her with pleading eyes. Monica opened one of the kitchen doors, which led to the living room, and looked around:

"Andrew?... Tess?... Are you in there?"

There was no reply. The Irish angel turned around and looked at the little animal:

"I’m sorry dear, but they must be at the beach now. Why don’t you stay here and watch me? I promise you that later we can play all day long."

The dog barked one last time and whirled around, getting out of the kitchen through the other door, which led to the yard. At that moment, a thought crossed Monica’s mind: what if the gate was open and the playful puppy managed to escape to the street? She remembered the incident on the beach some days ago and it was like remembering of an appalling nightmare. Immediately, she turned the stove off and left the kitchen, in search for her little ‘baby’:

"Joy, come back here!", she called, standing in the middle of the green yard. But the dog didn’t return her calling, having completely vanished.

Meanwhile, Andrew and Tess entered the house through the front door, and headed straight to the kitchen:

"We have to be fast, Angel Boy!", the supervisor commanded.

"Yeah, I know that. But I think it’ll take her a lot of time to find Joy!", the blond angel said.

They opened the cabinets:

"Take every pot of coffee or pepper or anything she can use as a weapon to kill the food!"

"What about the other ingredients? We have to leave them here so that she can cook!"

"Just leave exactly the right amount. That way, she won’t have the chance to ‘exaggerate’ on her imagination!"

"Right... And that mixture she, I mean, YOU made me taste about an hour ago?"

"She probably might have put it in the fridge; take it and replace it for another one, but without the pepper and the coffee."

The two angels worked fast and carefully not to make any noise. If Monica returned, not only their plan would be ruined, but also Monica’s heart would be hurt, as her inability to cook would be more evident than never.

Outside, in the front yard, the Irish angel checked the gate, and felt partially relieved to see it was locked. But Joy had disappeared and she was still worried, as the little animal was too small and young to defend herself.

"Joy! Please answer to me!", she called, looking in the bushes spread along the garden.

That search lasted about 20 minutes, when Monica finally had the idea look under Tess’ car, finding the little animal crouching with her roundish belly on the grass:

"Oh, finally! There you are, wee one! Thank you Father!", she exclaimed, as the puppy came straight to her arms, barking happily when the angel scooped her and kissed her little head:

"Don’t you ever do that again, young lady! You scared me!", Monica scolded her, as if she was talking to a naughty child.

She received lots of kisses as an apology for that unscheduled ‘hide and seek’, and returned to the kitchen, to continue her work. Fortunately, she found no trace of her dearest friends nor suspected that the cooking ingredients had been tampered with:

"Now you’ll stay right here, miss!", the angel said, placing Joy on the floor, "It’ll be your punishment for running away and scaring me like that! Besides, I was just about to start preparing my special lunch, and I won’t be interrupted anymore!"

*

3 hours later:

"Is the lunch ready yet?", Andrew asked, poking his head through the kitchen door with a curious look.

"Yes, it is. But it’ll be a surprise, so go away!", Monica gently shoved him and closed the kitchen door. Then, she turned around and checked the meal for the last time. In the living room, her two friends waited anxious to know the result of their plan:

"I’m starving, Tess! I hope this plan really works ‘cause we’ll have to taste more than a spoon this time!...", the blond angel whispered.

"It’ll work, Angel Boy, trust me!", the supervisor assured. Before they could say anything else, the kitchen door was opened and Monica came through it, carrying two bowls: one of salad, the other with rice. She placed them on the table, being attentively observed by the other angels:

"I’ll help you with this, Monica..."

"No way, Andrew! You two will stay right here!", she kindly insisted, returning to the kitchen afterwards.

Some seconds later, the Irish angel returned with the main dish: a large tray containing the chicken, covered with mushroom dressing and green beans. Everything set, Monica joined her friends with a smile upon her face:

"Well, I hope you like it. Like I’ve said before, I’ve been practising in my free time and I think I managed to improve a little. Although I must confess that I had some little problems while preparing it..."

"I’m sure it’s good, baby.", Tess said, enthusiastically, "Would you like to thank the Lord?"

"Yes..."

The three angels conjoined their hands and Monica started her prayer:

"Dear Father, I’m glad that you gave us this time to rest and enjoy the wonders of the world you’ve created with so much love. But I am specially grateful that you gave me these two dear friends. Without them, these vacations wouldn’t have been so wonderful, because they make my own existence special, bringing happiness and love to my heart. So thank you for these moments we’ve spent together and thank you for blessing me with Tess and Andrew, as I love them both very much."

Tears of joy formed in the corner of their eyes, as those loving words went straight to their hearts.

"We love you too, Angel Girl! Very, very much!", Tess squeezed her hand, looking at her charge also with love and happiness. Andrew reached out and took her other hand, kissing her palm:

"You’re a precious blessing to our own existence, honey!"

She shot them a grateful and loving look. After that, Tess changed the subject and took a fork and a knife:

"Now let’s eat, ‘cause I’m hungry and also curious to check how you’ve been improving your culinary abilities!"

PART 13 - FINALE

Lunch set and everything ready, the three angels served themselves and started to eat; Andrew and Tess were the first ones to taste the meal, being attentively observed by Monica:

"Is it good?...", she had an anxious and somewhat worried tone in her voice. Tess chewed the chicken with rice and smiled:

"That’s good... Very good, indeed, baby!"

Andrew had a pleased and rather surprised expression on his face:

"Tess is right... It’s really good!"

"Really?", Monica herself was surprised with their reaction.

"Yes.", the blond angel assured, "You added the ingredients in the right amount, it tastes really good."

"Believe me, baby, you did a very good job here!"

Pleased with those comments, the Irish angel started to eat her meal. But, then, her face became a serious one:

"I-I’m afraid it’s a wee bit... plain..."

The two angels looked at her:

"No, it’s not!", Andrew objected, "You did it right, Monica!"

Tess agreed with him:

"Yes, there’s nothing wrong about it!"

Monica tasted another portion and shook her head:

"No, there’s something... Better saying, there are many things missing here...", disappointment was evident on her face.

"I don’t think so!", the supervisor insisted.

"Yes, I can’t see what’s missing!"

"Tess, Andrew, I know you’re trying not to hurt my feelings, but I’m aware that I cannot cook as well as I thought I could..."

"And what on Earth is missing here?"

"Well, a wee bit of pepper and salt... Perhaps one or two spoons of coffee... And I’ve heard or read somewhere that you can even add some sugar to the chicken to make it tastier!"

Tess and Andrew exchanged a quick glance, inwardly relieved that they didn’t have to try that recipe.

"But I couldn’t find any of these ingredients in the kitchen; they have finished and we were so busy having fun that we simply forgot to buy some more!"

"Really baby? How could we let that happen?...", the oldest angel wondered, with the most innocent face in all Heaven.

"Well, anyway I’m sorry that it isn’t as good as I intended it to be."

The blond angel took her hand and squeezed it:

"Honey you don’t have anything to be sorry about; it’s delicious. Tess and I could eat a lunch like this everyday!"

Hearing that, Tess shot him a stern look; while Monica smiled hopefully:

"You would?"

Only then, he realised that he shouldn’t have spoken that much, but it was too late:

"W-well... Yes... I mean... If we were in human form everyday... you know..."

Contentment now evident on her face, she smiled broadly at them:

"Are you serious?"

"Yes!", he assured.

"Well... I’m flattered then!... Oh, I forgot to bring the orange juice, wait a minute!"

As soon as she disappeared through the kitchen door, the blond angel looked at the supervisor, who kept on staring at him:

"What’s the matter, Tess? The food isn’t anything sophisticated, but, in fact, it is good!"

"Yes, that’s true, it’s good, but the problem, Mr, is that you shouldn’t exaggerate on your compliments! We won’t have the opportunity to ‘arrange’ the kitchen the way we did every time she decides to cook! And that little angel has a lot of imagination and only God knows what sort of ideas can come up in her pretty head!"

It wasn’t possible for him to reply because, a second later, Monica came back, holding a jar of orange juice:

"Tess, Andrew, I was thinking and I’ve just had a wonderful idea, you know..."

The expression on Tess’ face was severer than never.

"What... What kind of idea, sweetie?", Andrew asked, fearing the answer, though.

"Well, I’ve decided that, as you really approved of the meal I prepared for you, though I think that it could have been much better if I had a wider set of ingredients, I’ll practice even more, you’ll see! And, every time we have a day off or another vacation, I’ll prepare you a special meal!"

Tess nearly dropped the fork in her hand, and Andrew was lost for words with that announcement:

"...Really?..."

The Irish angel nodded her head enthusiastically:

"Yes! What do you think about it? Isn’t it a lovely idea?!"

"Well...", Andrew started, though he wasn’t sure of what to say.

"We’ll talk about it later, baby.", Tess interrupted him, before he could make any ‘dangerous’ comment again, "Now let’s all eat, ‘cause the food is getting cold!", she stated, trying to conciliate a kind tone of voice towards Monica and a stern gaze towards Andrew.

*

It was a wonderful lunch and the following afternoon was a pleasant and lazy one. The angels got together in the porch, Tess sitting on her comfortable beach chair, with little Joy sleeping on her lap, and Andrew and Monica sharing a hammock, and chatted for hours and hours, feeling the soft breeze that blew from the ocean on their faces.

By 5 o’clock, they decided to go to the beach to watch the sunset, and Monica remembered to take a camera with her, as they wanted to have a souvenir of those wonderful (and sometimes troubled) days they had spent together. And their little puppy dog chased them all the way.

"Well, let’s organise this: I’ll stay in the middle and you two on my side!", Tess said.

"Oh, please Tess, let me stay in the middle, so that I can hold both of you!", Monica protested. The supervisor rolled her eyes to the sky:

"Fine, you stay in the middle, Miss Wings!"

But Andrew placed himself between the two angels:

"Hold on a second! I’ll be the one to stay in the middle!"

"And why?!", the Irish angel asked, with some dissatisfaction.

"Because... Well, because I’m the male angel here, so I’m the one who should be in command and organise this photo!"

"Hey, that’s not fair!"

"Yes, that’s pretty fair, Miss Wings!", he objected, secretly finding her annoyance lovely, "Besides, I am the one who can give you two a real big hug!"

"OK, so turn on that camera and let’s get that picture taken!", Tess ordered, with some impatience.

"Wait! We’re forgetting wee Joy! We can’t leave our baby out!"

Monica scooped the puppy, which was watching the angels with curious and excited little black eyes, and held her close to her chest. But it was Tess who protested this time:

"Oh no! This baby will stay with me!", she said, and took the animal from her charge’s hands.

"But, Tess, she’s my baby too; I’m her mother!"

"Well, I’m her grandmother; that makes me twice her mother!"

"Could you two make up your minds?!", now it was Andrew who was impatient. The Irish angel gave up arguing with the supervisor:

"Ok, she can stay with you, Tess..."

"Good! That’s the way it should be. Now can you turn that camera on, Angel Boy?"

Andrew placed the camera on a rock:

"Ok, it’s automatic. I’ll turn it on and, 10 seconds later, it will take our picture."

He joined the two and, while Monica and Tess were straightening their hair and standing in their position for the last time, a mischievous smile appeared on the blond angel’s face. Suddenly, he turned to the Irish angel and whispered into her ear:

"I think you’re too serious, Angel Girl!..."

Then, he started to tickle her without mercy; Monica let out a mix of a loud laugher and cry, which caused Joy to bark excitedly, finding the scene really funny, while Tess frowned with disapproval at her two charges:

"Hey, what the heck are you two doing?! Stop with that mess right now! It’s an order, I won’t be in a picture like this..."

But that was too late, the camera took their picture at that exact moment, recording a hilarious scene: Andrew tickling Monica, the Irish angel laughing broadly and helplessly, and Tess scolding both of them, holding an excited barking puppy dog.

In the background, the waves hit the shore and a white dove cooed and crossed the beautiful orange sky.

THE END