Wearing a lovely hat that Tess had carefully chosen for her, Monica took the Cadillac's passenger seat and, with a slight smile, she admired her surroundings along her short trip but remained quiet most of the time. Her unusual silence left Tess and Andrew slightly worried even though they knew their sensitive friend was a sensitive creature who had been under a traumatic experience and whose character was not used to spending so much time "trapped" in a hospital room.
Tess parked her car in front of the cabin and Andrew was the first to get off the vehicle so that he could open the door for his dearest friend. She smiled at him – the sweet smile he could never bother gazing at for the rest of his eternity.
"Thank you, mister!" She said, taking his proffered hand.
"You're very welcome!" He replied, gently guiding her up to the front stairs.
"I guess I've never felt so happy to be here!" Tess exclaimed, looking at the cosy little house surrounding by trees and flowers with joy and visible emotion.
Monica also turned her eyes to the wooden construction and blinked with slight confusion. "This is funny... I feel like I've been here not too long ago..."
Andrew's heart nearly jumped at her words and Tess could feel his tension. Both angels looked at each other with some expectation, but on the following moment, the little angel shook her head.
"I might be still a wee bit confused..."
Resigned, Andrew gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It's alright, angel."
The three angels entered the house and Monica looked at her surroundings for a few moments and then through the window viewing the backyard. "It's such a lovely day." She said, and turned to her two dear friends, eyeing them with a slight smile and a certain little girl's demureness. "Don't you think it's a very good opportunity for a walk in the woods?"
With a stern expression on her face, Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Not for little angels in human form who have just been released from hospital and who are still under medical care!"
Monica's smile faded away and she turned to Andrew with hopeful eyes. But much to her surprise, the blond angel raised his eyebrows and shook his head, also with a mock serious expression on his face. "Sorry, angel..."
Her adorable pout followed, showing her discontentment and leaving them slight amused.
"I'll take a look at the kitchen and plan on today's lunch. It's gotta be a special one!" Tess spoke, receiving a grateful smile from her dear charge before she headed off the room. Andrew, however, remained by Monica's side, just watching as her doe-like eyes travelled across the garden, into the woods and finally up to the blue sky.
"It won't take much longer, angel. I'm sure that sooner than you expect, you'll be out there working on a new assignment or just free to enjoy the Father's creations." He said, placing a supportive hand over her shoulder.
And before he knew it, the Irish angel he loved so much looked up at him and gave a step forward, leaning against his chest and sighing softly as he wrapped his both arms around her small form. It felt warm, comforting and it filled her spirit with great peace.
"Being here is already a gift, and I'll offer my prayers of thanks tonight." She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the steady beats of his human heart. "But I have to thank you too. You've been by my side throughout this journey, restless. Don't you think that your anguish, dedication and care went by unnoticed. All the time I would wake up in that hospital bed, it was you who I reached for."
Breathing in the sweet flower perfume that exhaled from her long auburn hair, Andrew dared to raise one hand and caress her reddish strands. "How could I not keep that vigilant considering you're so precious to me?"
