The Cries of the Children
Chapter 5
Tess was putting away the breakfast dishes when Andrew strolled into the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt. "Morning, Tess," he greeted her.
"Good morning, Angel Boy. So where have you been all night?"
"Business. You have anything good to eat?" he asked.
"How does a nice stack of pancakes sound?"
"With butter and maple syrup?" he asked hopefully, sitting down at the table.
"Of course," Tess answered, busying herself at the stove. "So, what exactly were your assignments? If you don't mind me asking."
"No, I don't mind. The first one was a ninety-eight year old woman who was quite happy to come Home. After that I was sent to a young woman who'd been in an automobile accident. She'd fallen asleep at the wheel. Took the news of her death quite well, considering. As a final request she had me sing 'Amazing Grace' to her. The last one was an elderly man and that one lasted until just after sunrise when his family had the life support disconnected."
"Sounds to me like you had a busy night," Tess commented.
"I think it's the Father's way of keeping me from thinking about Chelsi and the other girls," Andrew replied.
"Does it?"
"When I'm on an assignment, I concentrate on the assignment. But when I'm not, I do think about them. So unless I'm continually on assignment," Andrew told her as he got up to get the orange juice out of the refrigerator.
"Remember Jamie who fell down the storm drain? You and I wanted so badly to rescue her. But instead we trusted the Father. No matter how hard it gets for you, Andrew, always trust the Father," Tess reminded him.
"I know, Tess. I know."
Monica stuck her head in the kitchen door, asking, "Is there a wee bit of coffee left?"
"Go check and see," Tess told her.
Monica moved over to the coffee pot. "Steven called and he wants Gloria to baby sit Abby again. We're thinking about taking her to the park. Want to come with us, Andrew?"
"As long as I get my pancakes," he replied.
"Steven said that he'd be here in about an hour," Monica said and sat down at the table.
"See, Angel Boy, you have plenty of time," Tess said as she buttered each pancake.
"Can we borrow the car if we decide to go to the park? But it's such a nice day, we might just walk," Monica said to Tess.
"Let me know what you decide," Tess answered, setting the pancakes in front of Andrew.
"You forgot the maple syrup," he pointed out. "Grab a fork full, Monica. Tess made plenty."
"I'll get it," Monica volunteered. Getting the jug, she sat it in front of Andrew.
He liberally doused the stack, tied a napkin around his neck and dug in.
Monica grabbed a bite of pancake ate it and frowned. "You use way too much syrup, Andrew," she complained.
"Excellent as usual, Tess," Andrew complimented her when he finally pushed away the empty plate, his hands and face sticky with syrup. Monica reached behind him to untie the napkin so he wouldn't get any of it in his hair.
"Go get cleaned up, Andrew. And I don't want to see any sticky fingerprints," Tess admonished him.
"Yes, ma'am," Andrew said, heading for the upstairs bathroom.
"It happens every time, doesn't it?" Monica said with a smile as she cleared away the dirty dishes.
"Yes. It's amazing how Angel Boy can be as messy as little kid," Tess replied chuckling.
"Monica, are we still planning on taking Abby to the park?" Gloria asked, joining the other angels in the kitchen.
"We are. In fact we could take a picnic lunch and spend the whole day there. I invited Andrew to come with us," Monica answered. "Now what to pack?" She went in search of a picnic basket.
"Not that cake of yours. I'll take care of it," Tess told her.
"Maybe I'd better fix the lunch," Gloria decided, opening the refrigerator door. "I know little kids like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
"Grape jelly. It always has to be grape jelly. That's what kids seem to prefer," Tess pointed out. "Speaking of kids."
Andrew returned to the kitchen, holding up both hands and asking, "Well, Tess, do I pass your inspection?"
She looked him over and pronounced, "No sign of syrup. Good job, Angel Boy, you can go play now."
Andrew rolled his eyes and asked, "What's going on now?"
Monica returned carrying a large wicker basket. "Found it."
"There's some ham salad for us to have sandwiches, and a large bag of animal crackers which I assume are for Abby. Now what else do we need?" Gloria wondered aloud as she made the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
"Drinks, fruit and some type of dessert," Monica told her. She looked out the window. "It's such a beautiful day that a walk would be just perfect."
"Yes, a walk would be nice," Andrew added.
"Yes, it's a beautiful day for a walk. Especially for you, Angel Boy," Tess said, pointing a finger at Andrew's midsection. You need to work off those pancakes."
Andrew affected a wounded expression in his green eyes. "Aww, come on, Tess. You know I keep this form in perfect condition," he complained.
The doorbell rang and Gloria hurried to answer it. On the porch was Steven with Abby. "I'm mighty grateful to you for watching her on such short notice. But I can't trust Liz to take care of her and I can't afford to miss any more work."
"Oh, we don't mind at all, do we Abby?" Gloria asked the little girl.
"I brought her stroller just in case you want to take her somewhere. There's extra clothing, her favorite toys, a few books and some money for any expenses," he said, handing over a Blues Clues backpack. "For a snack she likes animal crackers."
"I think we can find some animal crackers."
"Thanks again. I'll be back around 5:15 to pick her up," Steven said. "Be a good girl, Abby, and give Daddy a kiss."
"Okay, Daddy," she said and kissed his cheek. "I be good for Glory."
"That's my girl," Steven said, handing her over to Gloria. He quickly headed back to his car.
"Andy!" Abby happily exclaimed when she saw Andrew standing by the stairs.
"Hello, Abby. Ready to go to the park?" he asked.
"Yes!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
"Was that Steven?" Monica asked as she entered carrying a thick picnic blanket.
"Yes, he'll be back at 5:15 to pick her up," Gloria said as she settled Abby in her stroller.
"Here. Carry this," Monica said as she thrust the blanket into Andrew's arms. "And the picnic basket."
"Me
"Yes, you. Gloria has Abby and I need to talk with her about her plan. Besides, I have the backpack, Andy." Monica said sweetly "Only Abby gets to call me Andy because she can't say my name very well," Andrew stated. "All right. What else am I carrying?"
"Maybe a couple of lawn chairs," Monica said thoughtfully although she was barely suppressing a fit of giggles.
"Hold it!" Andrew declared and dropped the blanket on the floor. "You seem to be forgetting that I'm an angel and not a pack mule."
His loud voice could be heard all the way to Tess's office and she stepped out, demanding "What's going on now?"
"We were, uh, discussing what to take to the park," Andrew said, bending down to pick up the blanket and the picnic basket Monica had brought over to him.
"I can hear that. You might want to take an umbrella in case it gets hot. You can carry that, Monica since Andy seems to have his hands full."
Andrew shot her a glare at the use of his much despised nickname but keep his mouth shut. She clearly read the expression on his face and quickly discarded any notion of letting them use the car. The park wasn't that far away.
"Have fun, Babies," Tess called out as she watched them heading down the sidewalk with Andrew lagging behind.
