A Touched By An Angel story

By: Yvette Jessen

I can't believe that I'm here again this year, Andrew thought to himself. Tess and Monica were nowhere to be found, and even Adam had wisely chosen to make himself scarce. Last year, he had met Kate, and both of them had been in for a scare when the entire assignment had been a mistake. Well, not really a mistake, because Kate found her way back to God and inadvertently saved the real assignment's life. The woman he was supposed to have had dinner with was Beth.

He sighed deeply as he stood around waiting and hoping that he wouldn't have to endure the same events of the year before. "Please Father, don't let them find me again this year," he muttered to himself as he sat down on a couch and looked around the large lobby of what appeared to be a fancy hotel. There was nothing more humiliating than having to stand up in front of a crowd of women and be called 'Andy'. He hated being called 'Andy' almost as much as he hated Halloween, which was quite a lot.

"Doctor Friend?" a voice brought him back down from his reverie, and he turned and looked into the eyes of a young woman. She was standing near him nervously, her head somewhat bowed as though she was afraid to even make eye contact with him. The first thing he noticed about her was how she seemed to not be one of the typical people in the room. She was tall, slender, with short auburn hair and glasses and rather than being dressed in a business suit, she wore a simple skirt and blouse. She looked around nervously and he guessed that she couldn't have been older than thirty.

Somehow she had recognized him, and he guessed that she had been at the 'Books and Bachelor's Luncheon' the year before. She must have recognized him from the humiliation he had endured the year before. How could he forget this event, he was standing on a stage in front of at least 100 women, and feeling about the size of an insect.

He smiled at her, "please, call me Andrew," his voice emerged almost as though he was sighing.

"OK," she said and smiled weakly. "I hope you don't think I'm being forward, but is there any chance that I could talk to you for a few minutes? I saw you last year at this silly benefit, but after the bidding ended you disappeared and I didn't get a chance to even say 'hello'." He nodded as she continued to speak. "As crazy as it sounds, I wanted to bid on you, so that I could just talk to you for five minutes or so, but they wouldn't even let me through the door."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I was inappropriately dressed, I couldn't have afforded six hundred dollars, and the other reason, I'm married," she said softly but offered him a shy smile.

"If you're married, then why would you want to come to this place?" He asked.

"I don't know, but believe me, I've been questioning this since I walked through the door five minutes ago. Besides, from looking at you, I don't think you were all that keen on hanging around here either," she said softly shrugging her shoulders.

"Actually, I'm not, but why would you want to talk to me?" He asked.

"How in the world could I tell someone that I felt as though they would understand me without them thinking that I was a complete lunatic as well as looser who was trying to cheat on my husband or something? The answer is, I don't know, but the last thing I want to do would be to hurt my husband."

He smiled, but when he saw Jackie Ceyss coming through the lobby, he took the young woman's hand and they practically made a beeline straight for the door leading outside. Once they were standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel, Andrew smiled somewhat shyly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Sorry, I just wasn't in the mood to auctioned off again this year."

"Why not, it's for a good cause?" she asked. "The institute does good work and you brought in a lot of money for them last year."

"Perhaps, but being auctioned off isn't really my thing, and it's kind of embarrassing," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess I didn't think of that part," she said softly. "I did a shadow auction once, it was about ten years ago and I was helping them raise money for something, and I only went for two dollars. You think you felt small?"

"Two dollars?" He asked and could see the sadness cross her face.

"Yeah," she tried to give him a brave smile, but instead, ended up looking away.

"What's your name?" He asked gently.

"Eva Jensen," she said softly and shook her head as though she had suddenly realized whom she was talking to. "Look, maybe this was a crazy idea, please excuse me." She started to walk away, her face flushing, and the embarrassment evident.

"No, I won't excuse you," he smiled as he reached out and took her arm gently. "You saved me from having to go through that again, so maybe it's not such a bad thing after all. But tell me, why can't you talk to your husband?"

"Oh please, don't get me wrong, my husband Michael is the greatest guy in the world, but right now I'm going through some tough times and I can't bring myself to unload all this on him," she shook her head. "I know this sounds so incredibly stupid, and it is absolutely ludicrous for a happily married woman to just want to talk to you. But, even married people need friends, you seem insightful, and I thought maybe you could help me figure some things out. Either that, or it's just wishful thinking."

"No, I don't think it sounds stupid at all," he said. "Come on, if I was going to be auctioned off, I'd want my date for the evening to be as open and honest with me as you're being. If you want a listening ear, Eva, than you've got one."

"You're just as nice as I thought you'd be," she said softly.

"Did you make a donation to the institute?" He asked trying to redirect their conversation.

"Yeah, ten bucks," she said somewhat ashamed. "That's all I could afford. I work over there at that restaurant. I'm a waitress there, the pay's not all that good, so the ten was all I could afford."

"OK, fine, then let's plan to have dinner, and we can talk about whatever you want," he smiled.

"Why?" Her voice emerged and it was clear to him that she was experiencing some kind of emotion somewhere between pain and confusion.

"Well, let's just say that you look like you could use a friend," he smiled gently.

"Thank you," she said weakly, and for a moment, he thought she was going to start to cry.

"I'll tell you what, I've got some things to do before tonight, so why don't we meet at this address, at seven?" He asked and handed her a slip of paper.

She nodded and smiled. "OK, but please don't tell me I have to dress fancy, I can't do fancy, I look like a peanut when I try to dress up for anything."

"Then come as you like," he said gently.

*****

"You did what?" Tess just about exploded when she looked at Andrew. They were standing at the place where the restaurant was to be and Andrew was trying unsuccessfully to explain to Tess and Monica what had transpired.

"I was sent back to that auction thing, Tess, and while I was there, I met Eva," Andrew said. "She's my new assignment."

"Am I going to have to cook pheasant again?" Tess asked. "Pheasant that only Mr. Delmonico and Adam ate because you and Kate had lamb."

"No, I don't think she expects anything too extravagant," Andrew said honestly. "In fact, I think anything more than chicken fried steak might make her feel a bit awkward."

"Good, so what do you have in mind?" Monica asked cheerfully.

Andrew looked around the room where he had stood the year before. It was still as awful as it had been back then, but this time, he felt somewhat calmer about the entire situation.

"And why are you so calm, Angel Boy?" Tess asked. "We have until tonight to get this place in order."

"Look, Tess," Andrew began. "I don't expect the Ritz and neither does Eva, but I could use some back-up. She's been through something, and hopefully, I can get her to talk about it tonight. That's why she stopped me at the hotel in the first place, I think she sensed something about me."

"So who is this girl we have to entertain?" Monica asked.

"Her name is Eva Jensen, she's married, and though she's happy with her husband, she seems to have other things on her mind besides entrees and fixed-menus," Andrew said. "She's also a very nice person."

"How on earth did you get auctioned off to a married woman?" Adam's voice piped up and Andrew sighed when he noticed that his friend and fellow Angel of Death had shown up. He looked at him with his exasperation evidently showing.

"She needed a friend," Andrew said, "and I wasn't auctioned off. She actually helped me escape from being called 'Andy' and undergoing that all over again. Besides, I thought this was your assignment. Where have you been?"

"Car accident," Adam said looking down at his watch. "It was a draw as to what would happen, so I had to stick around awhile. Good thing no one died, but it was getting pretty close there for awhile."

"Then you're going to be here tonight, Adam?" Monica asked.

He looked at Tess wondering all the while what was going to happen in the kitchen. Finally, he spoke. "As long as I don't have to end the life of a poor, defenseless turkey, I'll be here." He gave Tess his most winning smile.

Andrew sighed, "OK, then let's get this place in order. Eva will be here at 7."

*****

Eva shyly walked into the building where she was to meet Andrew. She had tears in her eyes as she made her way towards the elevators. She wore her favorite skirt and an off white blouse. She was never one to dress up and she had told Michael that she was meeting a friend for dinner, and that she would see him later. He was OK with that simply because he had some other things going on, and it just so happened that the couple normally did their own things on Friday nights.

Why had I agreed to this, why did I even go up to him and try to talk to him, she kept asking herself. She couldn't even begin to understand why it was that she was doing this, but suddenly, she had done it and she was surprised that Andrew didn't think she was total crackpot. Most guys would think either that, or that they could take advantage of the situation. He seemed not the type to do either.

She sighed deeply as the elevator reached the top floor and she stepped out of it and walked in the direction of a door that led into, what appeared to be a fancy restaurant. She ran her hand down the front of her clothing and sighed deeply as she looked around. I'm so underdressed; she thought to herself, he's going to think I'm totally pathetic.

With a new push of adrenaline, she eventually opened the door and went inside. As she came inside, she realized that he was standing there waiting for her as she came in, and it seemed almost as though he was used to these kinds of things. She smiled weakly. "Hi."

"Hello, Eva, how are you?"

She looked at him, he was dressed casually, and this made her immediately relax. Instead of a suit like she had seen him in at the hotel, he was wearing beige pants, with a white shirt and a matching darker beige jacket. Another woman with auburn colored hair approached them and led them to a table before leaving to go and retrieve the menus.

"Shall we sit down?" He offered her a chair and once she sat down, she had a chance to look around the restaurant. It was set in a country motive, the tables covered with red and white-checkered tablecloths and the windowsills decorated with white lilies and orchids. Next to the windows hung matching red and white-checkered curtains.

"I thought this was a fancier place when I was standing outside debating whether or not I should actually come in," she said shyly. "I guess I'm relieved. I'm not really dressed appropriately for fancy restaurants."

"You look nice," he said.

"Thank you," she said. "I don't know why it is that I even tried to bother you today…"

"You weren't bothering me, Eva," he smiled. "There's a reason for everything that happens and there's a reason why you were at the hotel today."

She nodded, but continued to take in her surroundings. "You know, it's funny, orchids are probably my favorite flowers and my grandmother used to raise them." After a few moments of silence, she looked back over at him. "You know, I really don't know what compelled me to do this and I guess you think I'm completely nuts for wanting to talk to you."

"No, just tell me," he said softly as Monica approached with the menus and handed them to them. As soon as they both held them, Monica left them alone.

"You look familiar is all. Like someone I once knew," she began. "I guess I couldn't have been more than five or six years old. It's strange and I know it sounds really weird for me to say so, but when I saw you last year, I immediately thought of that time in my life, and it brought back so many memories for me that I thought I was going crazy. I guess in retrospect the reason I didn't mention this to Michael or my family was because they would probably have sent me to the next psychiatric ward." She smiled in spite of her nervousness.

"That's pretty impressive that you were able to remember someone from that time in your life, most people don't remember that far back, and if they do, the memories are somewhat vague," Andrew said.

"You don't think I'm crazy?" She asked weakly.

"No, but I'm curious, what else do you remember about that time?" He asked.

"It was during the summer and my parents had sent me to spend the vacation with my grandparents. I used to be afraid of the basement at the house where my grandparents lived. The first summer, I slept alone in a small room near the kitchen. My four cousins and brother and sister slept downstairs. In the middle of the night, I had a terrible asthma attack and I don't even know how I managed to get anyone's attention, because, I remember only lying there in bed alone, and unable to breathe. I didn't know what was happening to me and I was so scared. I was lying there thinking that I was going to die and I wondered if I would ever see my parents again." She shook her head as she continued. "I was frightened, and on top of that, I thought my grandfather was one of those people who you can't show any emotion to. It was as though he was afraid of me showing the real person that I was, but I couldn't scream out and say 'Grandpa, I'm so afraid', all I could do was hide my tears away and hope that I wouldn't die."

Andrew nodded. "You really felt alone then?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Your grandparents didn't comfort you during this time?"

"My grandma may have," she said shaking her head. "All I remember was that my grandfather didn't seem the type and I guess in retrospect, I always knew that he didn't care about me. I had cried only once in front of him, and that was when I had seen a tornado at the age of nine. He told me to shut up and get under a blanket in the corner," she said. "Since my grandmother's death, I have made no effort to contact him."

"None?"

She shook her head. "Why should I? I mean, what do I say to someone who has never given me the time of day for most of my life and seems to completely resent me for reasons I never even knew?"

Andrew shook his head. "I don't know."

"Oh well, anyway I guess I haven't really explained any of this stuff, and how significant you are in all of this." She said as she wrung her hands together. "After I had the asthma attack, my grandparents took me to the hospital. The only thing I was able to remember was that I was lying frightened in a barren looking room, and how I had been given five shots, and how I was scared to death. I remember having to spend the night there, and I was so frightened and alone. Anyway, eventually, someone did come in and it was a man, but I didn't know him and he sat down next to me and when he spoke to me, he promised me that he would remain with me, that I had no reason to be afraid, that God would always be there for me if I needed Him," she shook her head. "Anyway, to make a long story short, when I saw you last year at that hotel, you somehow reminded me of this man. I suppose if there was any specific reason as to why I wanted to talk to you, that was it."

"Excuse me, but you're needed at the front," Monica's voice interrupted and Andrew stood up.

"I'll be right back, Eva," he said with a smile and left with Monica.

Eva was left seated in the dining room. She smiled weakly and stood up and walked over to the window and looked at the orchids that were decorating the windowsills. She reached out and touched one of the flowers, her fingertips brushing the soft petals.

*****

"So why are we doing this, Angel Boy?" Tess wanted to know as soon as Andrew came into the kitchen.

"She remembered an event in her life and when she saw me last year at that auction, it triggered something," Andrew said softly. "I suppose that was why I was sent back to this place, to meet her."

"From when in her life?" Monica asked as she came into the kitchen.

"I was with her when she was five years old. She had asthma and was very sick and in the hospital. She was afraid and I came and sat with her through the night. She told me that she never forgot what had happened that night," he said. "But, as strange as it sounds, I think there's something else going on with her."

"Maybe," Tess said. "I'd suggest you get back out there and see what you can find out from her."

Andrew nodded and turned away from the other two angels. As he came out into the dining room, he could see that Eva was standing near the window and looking at the flowers.

"I'm back," he offered.

She turned around and smiled weakly. "You know, when I was a little girl I used to sing for the flowers. My grandmother said that if I did, they would grow and blossom. I've been singing since I was a little girl, and it's the one thing that has been consistent in my whole life. When I was troubled I would break into song and when I was hurt, I found solace in music. I'd close myself in my room and just listen to music. It saved my life, because without it, I probably would have killed myself."

Andrew looked at her, she still had a look of sadness in her face, but he eventually spoke. "Simply because of the music?"

"Well, there were other things that kept me from killing myself, but music was the main thing that gave me joy," she said softly. "As a child, I could separate myself from my reality and go into that safe place and hide away from the pain. I know that sounds crazy, but it was my escape."

"It doesn't sound crazy, but weren't there other things you did that helped you?" He pressed gently.

"I was always told about the church, about God and religion, and I guess I believed in God as I was growing up. Today I do, there remains no question in my mind, but not what the church teaches," she looked at him. "You know, when I was a child, all I heard was that God was angry, that we all terrible sinners, and that we should repent before it's too late. I can't accept that, I don't know why, but I can't…" her voice trailed.

"What do you believe?" Andrew asked.

"That God doesn't give me anything He knows I can't handle," she said. "You know, I don't believe that God makes bad things happen, but I think that He gives us the tools to learn and maybe overcome those things in our lives that happen." She looked at him, her brown eyes shadowed with sadness. "What do you think?"

"I think you are a very smart young woman," Andrew said.

She blushed slightly. "Maybe, but don't you have any views about this? I mean, Andrew, you've been sitting here listening to me ramble on and on about all these different things, but surely you have ideas and perspectives about them, too."

"I believe that God loves all his children, so there is no reason to fear Him or to believe that He is angry," Andrew said simply as they went back to the table and sat down. "Do you believe that God loves you?"

"No, sometimes I don't, sometimes I feel as though I have to prove to Him as with everyone else, that I'm worthy of love," she said softly.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because as a child, I felt abandoned by Him," she said simply. "I felt like I wasn't worth His love, because I was left to endure something horrible alone."

"What happened?" Andrew reached across the table and took her hand gently in his. He could detect that she was trembling. "You can talk to me, Eva, you know that, and whatever it is, you know I would never judge or hurt you." He squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"I don't know," she said softly.

"Sometimes it helps to talk about it. You said that you wanted to talk to me earlier, so maybe you subconsciously realized that it would help."

"Yeah, that's why I've been in therapy for almost a half a year," she whispered more to herself than to him.

"You said that you remembered someone when you saw me at the hotel last year, right?"

"Yeah, but you're not him," she said softly shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" He asked but gave her a somewhat mysterious smile.

Something compelled her to begin speaking of her past and when she saw the compassion in his green eyes, she allowed herself to begin her story. "OK, the reason I feel this way, is because when I was a kid, my mother allowed a friend of hers to move into the house where we lived, and during that time, I went through hell on earth."

"What happened?"

"It never is easy to admit to someone that all the things that happened are coming back, and that the depression is still there, and sometimes it hurts like nothing else in the world. Sometimes, I would sit and look out the window and just think, my life is over, and then I would open my eyes again and somehow, I would suddenly realize that it's just beginning all over again."

"What happened to you when you were a child, Eva?" Andrew asked gently.

"I was sexually abused by my mother's friend," she replied, and it almost seemed as though the emotions were completely void in her eyes. As though she had practiced this line for the last hour and had perfected it so that it would emerge as unemotional as possible.

Andrew looked at her, some of the pieces coming together. Somehow she could probably sense who he was, because most strangers would not have said this to him at all. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"Since then?" She asked.

"Yes."

"I told my mother about it, and she didn't believe me," she looked at him. "It was hard to believe anything good in oneself when the parent doesn't even seem to care about what has happened. You feel alone and trapped and the worst thing is, you go to church and somehow you hear this stuff about being a terrible person, and you internalize it and then you suddenly believe that God is punishing you for being a horrible person, and that He really doesn't care."

"But He does care, Eva, He loves you," Andrew said gently. "You're His beautiful child."

"How do I know that? I endured everything that happened alone. The man I saw when I was five years old did not return to help me when I was enduring all this abuse," she said bitterly.

"What would you say to him if he was sitting right here in front of you?" Andrew asked gently.

"I don't know, I guess I would ask him why. Why wasn't he there to help me? Why did I have to go through all of this alone? Or was it that he also saw me as the horrible person that I saw in myself?" Eva asked, the questions tumbling one after the other. "There's a child in me, Andrew, and that child is crying and won't stop. The pain is almost unbearable." She removed her glasses and placed them on the table.

He got up from his place across from her and went over to her and got down on his knees and took her hand in his and smiled gently at her. "Eva, I'm going to tell you something, please don't ever forget." As he spoke the light began to encompass him and her eyes widened. "I'm an angel, Eva, and I was there with you."

"It's you," she whispered once she had recovered somewhat from the surprise of seeing him again. She could do nothing except to look down at her lap the shame enveloping her for having spoken so harshly only seconds before. "I wasn't mistaken."

"No, you weren't," he reached over and took her chin in his hand and gently tipped her face up so that she would be looking at him. "You were never alone, Eva. God was with you through everything that happened to you."

She could feel the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks and she tried to wipe her hand over her eyes. "But why weren't you with me like when I was five?" She asked, her voice filled with grief and he could see the loneliness in her words. "I needed you, and you weren't there. Every grown up I had known had abandoned me when I needed them."

Andrew sighed deeply as he felt the tears in his own eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, Eva, I didn't know."

She shook her head, "I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend," he said gently.

"I guess it stands to reason, I was too ashamed to tell anyone about it." As she stood up with the intention to leave, Andrew reached out and took her hand gently in his.

"Please don't go, Eva," he said softly.

"I can't stay, I'm too ashamed," she whispered.

"You have no reason to feel ashamed," he said gently, but before he could say anything further, she pulled her hand away and walked towards the door. He followed her and before she left, she turned around; her head was down.

"You know, my husband Michael didn't know very much about me until after we got married, and sometimes I wish I could just pretend it didn't happen." She looked at him.

"You can't pretend, I think you know that, just the same as you can't forget," Andrew said gently.

"Andrew, why did this happen to me?" She asked weakly.

"I don't know."

She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at him. "I prayed that God would protect me, that He would help me, but no one did, no one was there. I was alone. It hurts so much." Andrew watched as she sank to the floor, her pain beginning to show as she began to cry in earnest, her body shaking as she began to speak, her voice emerging in gasps as she began to plead with God for help. "Please God, help me."

The compassionate Angel of Death came over to her, got down on his knees beside her, took her in his arms, and held her tightly as she cried.

*****

Eva looked up some moments later to see that she was in his arms, and he was holding her. The internalized child in her hesitantly reached up and held tightly to him. Her face was still wet with the tears, and she buried her face against his chest. Feeling his hold on her tighten made her cry all the more, and the tears continued until she could not weep any longer.

When she looked up at him after some moments had passed, she could see that his eyes were filled with his concern for her. "Do you feel any better?" He asked her gently.

"I think so, but my eyes are burning," she said softly and tried to wipe her hand over her face, it was wet, and she smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know I was going to do that."

"You needed it," he said gently, "and for what it's worth, I'm glad I could be with you during it."

"You are?" she asked weakly as he handed her a handkerchief and she wiped it over her face.

"Mm-hum," he smiled and helped her up off the floor. "I know it is hard for someone to hold all those feelings inside."

She nodded. "I guess so, I've been doing it for over 14 years. It's not easy to tell people that I've lived through a nightmare, and now I'm doing OK, considering…"

"Considering?"

"Bouts of depression, self-recrimination," she shrugged her shoulders. "It's hard to see the beautiful child of God when one has heard their entire life that they're absolutely nothing, or that they're at fault for all the bad things that happen, or that they made people hate them. I've heard it all and to hear how you said that God loves me and that I'm never alone, well, that makes me feel kind of special."

"You are special," Andrew said gently as they sat back down at the table.

"What you did for me makes me feel special. It was something I was denied as a child, and something that my inner child has sought to find ever since, but until now, had never found," she said sadly. When he looked at her somewhat confused, she smiled. "You held and comforted me just now. You seemed to understand the pain I harbored far better than anyone else ever could. That means a lot to me, and it's a closure of sorts. I know that coming here was not a mistake, there was a reason."

"Yes, there was," he smiled. "But, Eva, there's something else you should know, it has to do with why I wasn't with you when you were a teenager but why I was there with you when you five."

"I think I know," she said smiling shyly. "You were there with me when I was little because I could have died."

"Yes," he nodded.

"You're an Angel of Death?" She asked softly.

He nodded.

"Will you be with me when I one day die?" She asked.

"Yes, I will," he said gently.

"Good, then I know that I have no reason to be afraid," she smiled weakly. "But, please don't tell me I'm going to die tonight in some freak accident."

He shook his head. "No, and you'll be glad to know that from what I understand, you should have a long and happy life with your husband."

"Now that I've had a chance to work through the past, I believe you one hundred percent," she smiled weakly. "The only thing is I hope you don't think I'm totally nuts."

"No, I don't," he said gently and smiled. "But, in all this, we still haven't had anything to eat." He opened the menu and looked down at it.

"I'm a pretty easy person to please, except for one thing, I hate mushrooms," she said, "and most dry wines give me heartburn."

"You're not one for fancy dinners are you?" He asked smiling.

"Not really, I grew up in the south, and my family didn't have a lot of money," she said. "My favorite thing to eat when I go out is chicken fried steak, and lots of gravy. I guess some things will never change."

"What do you like to drink?" He asked.

"They probably don't have it here, but I love apple wine from Germany," she said smiling.

Monica walked over to the table with a bottle in her hand. "Andrew, I think I found it."

Eva looked up and her mouth fell open when she saw the label for her favorite apple wine. "I get it now, this is like entertaining angels unaware, but a little bit reversed, right?" Monica smiled and left as Eva looked at Andrew. "Is there an angel in the kitchen working too?"

"Well, no, as far as I know, there are two, Adam and Tess," Andrew said. "Last year they made pheasant, this year, they should be making your favorite."

Eva smiled. "I think this will be an evening to remember. By the way, can you really dance the Rumba?"

Andrew smiled. "Maybe."

"If you can't then you're off the hook, because I can't dance to save my life, but I sure love to sing," she said. "Music has given me a great deal of comfort during the past years. I will always sing, until the day I die, probably even after."

"You and Tess would hit it off then, because she loves to sing as well," Andrew said. "Do you want to sing?"

"Now?" she whispered somewhat shyer than before. An angel who wants to hear me sing, her thoughts were completely out of control.

"Sure, why not?" He asked.

"OK, I'll do a song, acapella," she said and stood up. As she began to sing, she closed her eyes allowing herself to go into that secret place inside of her, but the words emerged, and drifted through the restaurant bringing Tess, Adam, and Monica out of the kitchen.

Our Father

Which art in Heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

On Earth as it is

In Heaven

Give us this day

Our daily bread

And forgive us our debts

As we forgive our debtors

And lead us not

Into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

And the power and the glory

Forever, Amen.

When she finished singing, she looked at Andrew and smiled. "Thank you for helping me see the truth. Thank you for your kindness, and thank you God, for all these gifts you have blessed my life with."

Andrew came over to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Thank you, that was beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, Andrew," she smiled. "But, it always makes a difference to me."

"As you make a difference to this world, Eva," he said. "You just don't know to what extent."

Upon hearing his words, the woman smiled. "For the first time in my life, I actually believe it."

After they had eaten dinner, Andrew watched as she put her jacket on and got ready to go home. She looked at him with a smile on her face. "Do you think my friends would believe that I actually had dinner with an Angel of Death?" She asked smiling impishly.

Andrew shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, but did you have fun?"

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time, but at the same time, I haven't felt this free," she said softly. "How can I explain this?"

"Maybe it's a good thing that you talked about all those things that were hurting you, and sometimes facing the truth does give you the sense of freedom that you never knew before," he said gently.

"You really don't think I'm crazy for having done it?" She asked.

"Actually, I'm touched that you entrusted a part of your inner feelings with me," he said with a smile.

She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she reached for her purse. "Andrew, when my day comes…"

"…We'll meet for dinner," he said and gave her a winning smile before she left.

As soon as she reached the door, she glanced back towards the window where the orchids were placed in the window. Would Michael believe this, she asked herself, but after a few moments, she shook her head.

Some things would remain a dream.

The End….Maybe.

Yes, in case you're wondering, Eva is really me, and I had fun writing my own fantasy story. It's too bad every woman who likes Andrew couldn't have such a nice experience. :-)  This is not intended to infringe on any previously held copyrights, and is an amateur story. The events that Eva described in this story were real events, I really did have Asthma as a child, and I really was sexually abused when I was 12.

Want to send feedback?  Direct it to fictionfeedback (at) onthisside.net.  Please put the story title in the subject line.  Thanks!

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