by Madyson Grey
“I love you, too, babe,” she replied. “I love you. And I finally did it.”
“I know. I knew you could sooner or later.”
“I know. I’m sorry I took so long. But I think I’m back now.”
“I think you are, too.”
He kissed her tenderly again, and then they got up and got ready for the day. Victoria put on her favorite white capris and a cute red tank top that had glittery stuff on it. It was her day, and she would wear her favorite summer outfit.
Lena had a special birthday breakfast waiting for Victoria when they came downstairs. It was the breakfast Victoria had always requested for her birthday as a child—waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, hot chocolate (even though it was summer), and an egg fried in the little heart-shaped mold that Lena used only on special occasions.
Grandma and Grandpa Ericksen were there, too, to join in the birthday breakfast of their granddaughter. Victoria greeted them with a happy smile and hug. This was going to be a wonderful birthday. The only really important person in her life that was missing was her dearly beloved daddy. She freely admitted to herself that she really didn’t miss Marian at all. At least not very often. She did have a few good memories of her mother, but not many.
There were three prettily wrapped packages on the table at Victoria’s place.
“Do I get to open them now?” she asked.
“Why not?” Rafael said. “Go for it.”
She opened the card from Rafael first, and then the package. It was a really nice digital camera with a couple of lenses, and small photo printer.
“To use on our vacation,” Rafael explained. “I thought it would be fun to take a lot of photos on our trip and actually print them out and put them in albums that we can look at any time we want to, instead of just having them stored on a flash drive somewhere.”
“I love it!” Victoria exclaimed. “I have wanted to learn to do really good photography for a long time, but I was always a little intimidated by fancy cameras. Now I’ll have to learn. Thank you so much, babe. I absolutely love it!”
She picked up the card from Lena next and read it. Tears came to her eyes when she pulled the card from the envelope and saw the words, “To My Beautiful Daughter, With Love” written on the front in a fancy script. This was the very first card she had received from Lena as her mama. When she finished reading the card, she hugged Lena and they both wept a little, but they were happy tears.
Lena’s gift to her was two beautiful photo albums that said “Our Vacation” on the front. Each one had a nameplate added to the front with “Rafael and Victoria” engraved on it. The inside of each album had a “Notes” page between every photo page on which to record the date, place, and other info about each photo.
“Oh, how cool!” Victoria said enthusiastically. “I love these. They will be so fun to have along. We can print each day’s photos as we go, and write down where we were, so we don’t forget anything. Thank you so much, Mama. These are just perfect. What cool birthday presents. You two must have been in cahoots on this.”
Lena’s eyes just twinkled, while Rafael winked at his mother-in-law.
The gift from her grandparents was last. She opened the card first, and got teary-eyed all over again at the words, “To Our Granddaughter, on her birthday.” To reword a very worn-out saying, this truly did feel like the first birthday of the rest of her life.
The gift, when she finally opened it after giving more hugs, was several packages of photo paper, and a package of really cool colored pens to go with the camera, printer, and photo albums. She now had everything she needed to take, print, store, and record info about the photos she would take on their vacation.
“Okay, it was all four of you that were in cahoots, huh?” Victoria said, looing at each one standing around the table with merriment in her eyes.
All four nodded and admitted their collaboration. “Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa, for rounding out this collection. And I love the pens! You may not know this about me, but I’m kind of a pen freak. I love a really great pen, and I especially love a variety of ink colors.”
“Your mama told us about that one,” Signe said. “She’s been around you a lot more than we have.”
“But that’s changed now, hasn’t it?” Victoria said, giving her grandma another hug.
“It sure has, and we’re so happy,” Signe told her.
Victoria took the camera out of the box, and after a couple of minutes of fiddling, got the regular lens on it, turned it on, and snapped a couple of pictures there in the kitchen just to try it out.
While Victoria was playing with her camera, Lena began dishing up the waffles that were being kept hot in the oven. She buttered them, then put the strawberries and whipped cream on each one and set them on the table. Victoria took a photo of her plate of food, and was pleased that it came out so good.
“I think I’ll get the hang of this pretty soon,” she said. “See how good this looks? Good enough to eat.”
“So let’s eat then, before it gets cold,” Rafael urged.
Victoria laughed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s more fun to play with my new toy. But I don’t want these yummy waffles to go to waste, either.”
After breakfast, Lena wouldn’t allow Victoria to help with clean up, insisting that she should do no work on her birthday. So Victoria played with her camera some more, snapping picture after picture of Lena cleaning off the table, of Rafael making funny faces for the camera, of her grandparents, and of anything else she happened to aim the camera at.
“The great thing about digital cameras as opposed to film cameras, is that you can take all the photos you want, and just delete the bad ones, or the ones you don’t want,” Lena commented, as she watched Victoria go crazy with snapping pictures.
“I know, it’s so cool,” Victoria said. “No worries about wasting film.”
She gathered up all her gifts and was about to take them into the family room for some serious examination when Rafael interrupted her.
“Get your camera together and let’s go somewhere,” he said.
Victoria looked up at him expectantly.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Victoria’s eyes sparkled as she got up from the sofa, put her camera in the carrying bag, and went to find her purse. How she loved surprises. Good ones, that is. While she was upstairs, Rafael had a whispered conversation with Lena.
“Now, you can get there all right, can’t you?” he asked.
“Of course. Don’t worry about me. Mom and Dad will be along, too, and Mom has a keen sense of direction. Besides, I have been there a couple of times before. I know it was a long time ago, but I can find it again.”
“Five o’clock at Thai Patio, right?”
“Right. Then we’ll still have plenty of daylight to get up to the observatory, but be there after dark, too.”
They heard Victoria coming down the stairs just then, so Rafael changed the subject.
“We’ll see you later, Lena. We’ll have lunch out, but see you for supper.”
“Okay. Have fun, you two,” Lena said as Victoria came into the family room.
“We will,” Rafael replied.
“Bye, Mama. Thanks for breakfast and everything,” Victoria said, giving her a hug.
They went out and got into the Ferrari. Rafael had put the top down because it was such a gorgeous day.
Once they had started down the driveway, Victoria asked, “So, where are we going?”
“Oh, I thought we go someplace fun, have lunch, and see the stars.”
“The stars? It’s a little early for that, isn’t it?” Victoria asked, puzzled.
“You’ll see,” was all Rafael would say, but there was a teasing smile on his lips.
She leaned back in the seat and let the wind blow through her hair that was beginning to grow out and look halfway decent for a change. She was just enjoying the scenery, which was only city, but driving anywhere th
rough the LA metro area can be interesting. She recognized the fact that they had entered Hollywood, which was always fascinating to her. But she gasped as they turned into Paramount Pictures.
“Here? Are we going here?” she queried incredulously.
“Would you like to?”
“I would love to,” she nearly shrieked with ecstasy. “Oh, wow! I can’t believe I actually get to go in here.”
They parked, crossed the street to the entrance, and then were directed to the place were the VIP tour would begin. At promptly nine-thirty the guided tour began. They were only two in a modest-sized group, but they were given plenty of opportunities to take photos along the way.
The tour took them through the archives and through the backlot production facilities. Seeing how movies and TV programs are made was so fascinating to both of them.
“I’ll never watch a movie the same again,” Victoria declared as they watched how easily a saloon chair broke over an actor’s head without hurting him.
The tour lasted for four and a half hours and included a gourmet lunch served at an exclusive location on the studio grounds. Victoria was totally excited when she caught a glimpse of Chris O’Donnell, star of NCIS Los Angeles, walking across the lot. NCIS LA was her favorite show. They spotted a few other well-know celebrities, as well as some lesser known ones.
“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 until 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?”