“I couldn’t have thought up a more perfect way to spend my birthday,” Victoria said to Rafael as they were being served their lunch.
When the waiter heard her say that it was her birthday, he told the rest of the waitstaff that they had a birthday girl in the group. When the dessert was served, hers had a lighted birthday candle in it, and the waitstaff all gathered around and sang “Happy Birthday” to her. The tour group joined in, too, and everyone clapped when the song was finished. Victoria blushed prettily and smiled until her cheeks hurt.
“Thank you, thank you all,” she said in what she hoped was a loud enough voice to be heard throughout the group. The smile she directed at Rafael made the whole place glow, he was certain. The happiness that he felt at being able to please his beloved was far greater, he was sure, than the happiness that he had given her.
The tour was over all too soon to suit Victoria, even though they had spent all morning at it. It was so much fun that the time seemed to fly. She made the experience last a little longer by browsing in the gift shop and purchasing a few souvenirs. But eventually, they had to leave.
On the way back to the car Rafael asked, “Would you like to go to the Gagosian Gallery for a while?”
“Sure, that would be great,” Victoria enthused. “I haven’t been there for years.”
They spent an hour and a half or so browsing the Gallery, until Rafael told her that they needed to leave in order to meet her mom and grandparents for dinner. From the Gallery, they drove over to the Thai Patio where they were to meet the family for dinner. Rafael had invited his mother to come, also, and she was there when they arrived. Lena and the Ericksens pulled into the parking lot just a minute or two behind them.
During their lovely meal served on the patio, Victoria animatedly told her mama and grandparents all about her day: the tour through Paramount Studios, and the art gallery, with Rafael adding pertinent comments and details along the way. When all had finished eating, Rafael told Victoria about her next surprise.
“How would you like to spend the evening at Griffith Observatory?” he asked casually.
“Are you serious?” she exclaimed. “Until after dark? And look through the telescopes? Can we?”
The others chuckled at her little-girl excitement.
“Yes, to everything,” Rafael said with a wide grin.
How he loved seeing her happy and so full of life again. She had lost her sparkle for a while after the kidnapping and rape, but she was pretty well back again, and he was so glad. She still had some fears to deal with, but she was doing very well. She hadn’t had any nightmares in weeks.
“Is everybody going?” she asked, looking around the table.
When they all nodded and said yes, she clapped her hands together in sheer joy. What a fabulous birthday this was.
“This is the best birthday I can ever remember having,” she said. “It’s at least on par with my fifth birthday when Daddy and Marian took me to Disneyland. I got to meet Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and all the rest, and I had my picture taken with Cinderella. That was cool, too.
“But this is cool on a whole new level. Not only have I gotten to do wonderful things today with more to come, I have a mama and grandparents for the first time in my life. And the most wonderful husband in the world. I am truly a blessed woman. Only Daddy is missing, but I’m so glad to have you all.”
“That you are, honey,” Lena said, patting her hand. “And we are all blessed to have you in our lives. Aren’t we?”
Victoria looked around the table to see four pairs of eyes looking at her with so much love, that it nearly brought tears of joy to her eyes.
“I love you all so much,” she said, trying not to choke up.
“Love you, too,” four voices echoed around the table.
When she regained her composure, Victoria pushed back from the table and said, “Well, let’s not just sit here, we’ve got telescopes to look through!”
They all laughed and got up from the table. Rafael took care of the bill and they all went to their cars and agreed to follow Rafael up to Griffith Park. They had a wonderful time walking around the grounds, checking out the gift shop, and seeing everything there was to see there, while killing time until dark.
They did use the telescopes some before dark to look at the city and its surroundings, which was fun, too. But the real thrill came after it was dark enough for the stars to shine. The family group all took turns using the telescope, and of course, they had to share with all the other visitors who were there that evening. But Victoria got her share, and was absolutely thrilled with the whole experience.
It was nearly ten o’clock that night when they finally left the park. Only then because the park closed at ten. Victoria would have been happy to sit up all night and look at the stars through the telescope.
“I know now what I’m getting when we come back from our vacation,” she said to Rafael as they walked to their car.
“What’s that?”
“My very own telescope,” she declared. “We can set it up on the patio and look at stars any time we want to.”
“Good idea, honey,” he said. “We’ll do that. That would be fun.”
“We can even spy on the neighbors and see what’s going on down at the park,” she teased.
“Yeah, right,” he laughed.
Neither one had a clue what they would one day see through the lens of their would-be telescope.
Chapter Fourteen
On the way home, Victoria had a thought.
“You were right this morning when you said we were going to see the stars,” she said. “And we saw both kinds. Real ones in the sky and movie stars.”
“Yep,” he said. “I try to deliver on my promises.”
They both wore very satisfied smiles on their faces, but for different reasons.
They arrived home ahead of Lena, but she wasn’t too far behind them. They could see her car come up the driveway and pull into her parents’ driveway to let them out. Then she came on up to the house. They all said good night and went to their separate rooms.
When Victoria stepped into the glassed-in shower, she beckoned seductively to Rafael to follow her. He didn’t need a second invitation. Some of their best intimate interludes had taken place in the shower, so he had high hopes that this would be one of those times. He was not disappointed.
As soon as he was inside with the door closed, Victoria wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to her.
“This has been the most fabulous day of my life, I do believe,” she murmured in his ear. “Let’s make it even more fabulous.”
Then she lifted her lips to his, and offered her body for him to possess. Their passion burned with an intensity they had seldom experienced, and then exploded into a million thrills that spread through their entire bodies, and left them gasping for breath. All they could do for a long moment was cling to each other as the warm water coursed over them.
No words could express the emotions each was feeling, but the smoldering looks told the story that each needed to hear. They slowly released one another and completed their cleansing, then turned off the water so they could dry.
They took turns drying one another’s body, and by the time they stepped out of the shower, they went straight to the bed where they were joined together as one again. Afterwards, they fell asleep entwined together. Hours later, they awoke, the fire within burning again, and they made love until the dawn broke and it was time to rise and begin a new day.
It was Thursday and time to get serious about being ready to leave on Saturday. However, there wasn’t much left to do. Their clothes were loaded in the motorhome, all the supplies were in, and their route was tentatively plotted. The only thing left was to buy the perishable foodstuffs that they wanted to start the trip with.
As they were getting dressed that morning and talking about what was left to do, Rafael spoke.
“Why don’t we just take off this morning? What do we have to wait un
til Saturday for? Everything is done. We can stop at a grocery store anywhere along the way to pick up a few things.”
“Well, you’re right. Why not?” Victoria agreed, turning to face him with eagerness. “I’ve been wondering what I would do all day today. I’m so antsy to go that I don’t think I can focus on anything here.”
“I feel the same way,” Rafael admitted. “You know, other than our honeymoon, and the flying trips we’ve made to do our inspections, I’ve barely been out of LA County. So I’m really excited about this trip and can’t wait to get going.”
“So why should we wait? We’re free moral agents, we can come and go as we please,” Victoria joked.
“We’re gone,” Rafael declared. “Right after breakfast. You have everything loaded other than what we have to buy?”
“Yeah, it’s all in there. Probably more than we need. And it I forgot anything, we’ll buy it along the road. All I need to put in there is the camera. I already have all the albums, the printer, and paper packed in there. That and my purse and me.”
“I’ll have to call Mickey and tell him that we’re leaving early, but it shouldn’t matter to him.”
“I want to stop and tell Grandma and Grandpa good bye on our way out.”
“No problem.”
As soon as they were dressed and ready, and Victoria had made the bed and tidied everything up, they headed downstairs to grab some breakfast and tell Lena of their spur-of-the-moment decision.’
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Lena said, laughing at their exuberance. “You two have been hot to leave all week, except for yesterday when you were too occupied to think about it. Go for it. We’ll all be fine here. Are you going to slow down long enough to eat some breakfast? I’ve got it almost ready.”
“Yeah, we’ll eat,” Rafael said. “I can’t drive on an empty stomach.”
Lena chuckled as she pushed the toaster handle down to make toast. She dished up hash browns and eggs while the bread toasted, and set the ketchup, butter, peanut butter, and jam on the table. The toast popped up and each one grabbed a hot slice and took it to the table to fix.
They all chattered away while they ate, with both Victoria and Rafael giving Lena last-minute instructions about the house, the park, and keeping in touch with them. She finally laughed and held up her hand.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the mama here,” she said. “I think I know how to take care of myself and the house. If I don’t by now, I need to be replaced.”
“We’re sorry, Mama,” Victoria said with an apologetic smile. “We’re just so keyed up, and a little nervous about leaving the park so soon after it’s opened. But we really want to take this trip, so we’ve tried to cover our butts in every aspect. We’ll be gone it a little bit and you can have some peace and quiet for weeks and weeks.”
“Yeah, sorry, Lena,” Rafael added. “Vic’s right; we’re just all wound up this morning. I’ve typed you out a list of stuff in case you need it—the pool man’s number, a lawn service that will take care of the lawn while we’re gone, the phone numbers of all three of the onsite managers down at the park, and a few others.”
He handed the paper to Lena who scanned it quickly and then burst out laughing. The very first number at the top of the page was 911.
“I think I knew that one,” she said, winking at Rafael.
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to make sure,” he teased.
After grabbing fresh water bottles and hugging Lena until she squealed, the two finally scooted out the door that led into the garage and got into the motorhome. Rafael raised the garage door with the clicker, put it into reverse, and rolled backwards out of the garage. At the foot of their driveway, he turned toward the Ericksens’ place so they could say goodbye to them. That took another ten minutes, but they were finally heading down the long drive toward the street.
After a quick stop at the nearest supermarket to get milk, bread, cheese, some fresh fruit, and a dozen eggs, they were finally ready to roll in earnest. The first day would take them up the California coast as far as they wanted to go. Which happened to be just north of Santa Rosa. They found an RV park and pulled in for the night.
Victoria fixed them some sandwiches and heated up a can of soup for their supper. Then they walked around the RV park a bit just to stretch their legs and get some exercise before turning in for the night.
The next morning they continued their journey up the California coastline. They stopped several places along the way, especially when they got into the Redwoods. When they spied Paul Bunyan and Babe, his giant blue ox along side the highway, they just had to stop and see just what the mystery was at Trees of Mystery.
They were up early Saturday morning and anxious to get all the way to Crater Lake National Park that day. After a quick breakfast of cold cereal, they were on the road again. It took them about four hours to go from Crescent City up to Crater Lake. When they first arrived in the park, they reserved an RV spot, and then drove on up to the rim.
The park was a busy place that day, but they eventually found a place big enough to park the motorhome. They got out and walked over to the edge of the caldera and what they saw took their breath away. At approximately 1,942 feet deep, it’s the deepest lake in the United States. The perfect clarity of the water renders its vivid blue color. Approximately six miles across at the widest point, the lake partially fills the caldera of an old volcano.
After Victoria got over her initial awe, she remembered her new camera and began snapping photo after photo, zooming in on Wizard Island, Phantom Ship, the far side of the caldera, and the intense blue-green water at the edge of the shoreline hundreds of feet below them.
They walked along the sidewalk that edged the rim seeing the lake from different places. They learned that they could drive all around the lake, so decided to do that. But first, Victoria had to check out the gift shop. Rafael was glad she did because he discovered a snack bar inside the Rim Gift Shop and he was hungry.
They bought sandwiches to eat there, and snacks to eat on the drive around the lake. Victoria bought postcards to mail to their moms and her grandparents, a t-shirt that she liked, and a beautiful sculpture of a cougar on a fallen log that she had shipped home. Rafael found a t-shirt that he liked, too.
Leaving the gift shop, they began the rim drive. There were numerous turnouts along the way where they stopped to take more photos and to be amazed at the beauty of the lake. Part way around the lake, they came to the only trail that the public is allowed to hike down to the lake on. The boat dock was at the bottom of the trail. They inquired at the ticket booth about getting a boat ride that afternoon. They had barely enough time to hike the 1.1 miles down to the lake and catch the last boat of the day. The man in the ticket booth radioed the boat captain to tell him that he had two stragglers on their way down and to wait for them.
Going down was pretty easy, even for out-of-shape people like Victoria. The trail was nice and wide, with large rocks along the way to sit and rest on. They were the last ones to board the boat, and as soon as they were life-jacketed and seated, the boat took off. The cruise around the lake was fabulous, and the boat’s captain entertained them with information and stories about the lake.
The hike back up the trail to the parking lot was a different story. They then understood the joke in the gift shop when one of the employees told them that it was 1.1 miles down and 11 miles back up. It may have been the same distance both ways, but it certainly felt farther climbing several hundred feet in elevation. The thin air of 6-7,000 feet in elevation left them winded in no time at all.
They finally made it back to the parking lot and collapsed in the motorhome, catching their breath for a couple of minutes before continuing on the rest of the rim drive. The circle drive ended at the national park’s visitor’s center, but it had just closed, so they drove back to the campground and parked the motorhome in their assigned spot.
They went for a walk and found a small convenience store and the Annie Creek
Restaurant and Gift Shop. More treasures beckoned Victoria to browse the store, while the wonderful aromas emanating from the restaurant side reminded Rafael that the strenuous hike had depleted his reserves of food. Before they walked back to the motorhome, they were both satisfied with full tummies and a bagful of souvenirs.
The next morning they headed out, again taking the rim drive part of the way to where taking a left fork in the road took them out of the park and onto a highway that would carry them north for a ways before they would need to branch off onto another highway going east. They made Mountain Home, Idaho, by nightfall, but it was a long day. There wasn’t much to see across eastern Oregon, but the novelty of seeing new places kept them interested all day.
On Monday, they crossed Idaho and got into Jackson, Wyoming, in time to rent a nice RV spot for the night. The following day would be the Fourth of July and their first wedding anniversary.
“Well, I guess we didn’t make it back to the Queen Mary for our first anniversary, like we had talked about a year ago,” Rafael said as they were getting ready for bed.
“No, but I’m having just as wonderful of a time, and we’re seeing new places,” Victoria said. “I’m not disappointed. Are you?”
“Not at all,” Rafael said. “I’m having a great time. What I could see of this town as we were driving in looks really cool. I’d like to check it out more in the morning before we drive on in to Yellowstone, if you’re good with that.”
“Sure! I thought it looked interesting, too,” Victoria replied. “Looks like a fun place to begin our first anniversary.”
At the crack of dawn, they both awakened almost at the same time. Victoria had to get up and go potty, which woke up Rafael. When she returned to bed, he pulled her close.
“Happy Anniversary, my love,” he said tenderly. “I love you even more today than I did a year ago.”
“Happy Anniversary to you,” Victoria returned. “I love you so much more, too. We’ve been through so much together already, but you’ve stuck by me through thick and thin.”
The Perfect Revenge: The Couplete Series Page 55