Once Within A Lifetime

by Rose, Phyllis Georgina

  A few sketches were worked out before lunch, then she came back and worked some more after eating a snack. She was glad to be back into her work and it did seem to make time pass faster. In a few days she would have her wardrobe all designed and planned. She decided to try her hand at making them herself. A sewing machine was in the corner, although she had not used it for some time, and she went over to uncover it and get it ready to use. Of course, it would need oiling, so she looked for the oil can, but could not remember just where she had put it when she had last used it. There was a shelf in the pattern closet with a basket on it, so she took it down to look inside. There she found the oil can and set about to do the job. She wondered if Todd was handy with machines, some men are as was her dad, but some are not. Then she wiped off the machine and began to sew on a piece of cloth to clean the oil from the needle and machine. She set up her cutting board to cut out one of the patterns for her dress using a lovely print from the shops she and Todd visited and shopped in together, and she knew he would remember it. It would be just right for the pattern she had designed; in fact, she had the idea in mind when she saw the fabric. This happened often after she had been in the business a while and it was a tremendous help in cutting down on the struggle to think up new ideas. Soon she got back into the hang of sewing and the job proceeded well and quickly and her progress pleased her.

  She pressed and hung the dress up once it was finished. Pressing was a very important step when sewing and she worked through all the steps she had learned along the way. A jacket made from one of the pastels would blend perfectly with the dress. It was back to the cutting board to cut it out and she selected a lovely pale print for the lining. All went well and she soon had it sewn, pressed, and hung up with the dress by early evening. The rest she would do tomorrow, for now that she was back in the groove, things would go a lot faster. Prior preparations like these today wouldn’t be necessary.

  She got everything readied to work on tomorrow, then left her studio to go down to the living room to play one of her tapes on fashion to relax herself before she went to bed. Watching the parade of lovely models wearing gorgeous styles, some of her own and some of others were relaxing and reassuring. These definitely made her feel she would be able to continue tomorrow and get everything ready. She had a special goal now. Once she finished the tape, she was off to bed to relax and rest and possibly dream of Todd and their upcoming meeting.

  The next day she awoke and was eager to get started on her new clothes. She began with the second dress made with one of the pretty colors she had selected in the last shop on her trip. When it was finished she hung it up with the other items; things were looking better all the time. Next she did a pair of slacks with a pastel top to blend with them. Then the second pair was attempted, done, and they, too, joined the collection. Everything was looking really good. Todd would be very proud of her.

  Tomorrow was a week away from the trip date. By staying busy the time had seemed to go much more quickly and it was easier to do the projects when she thought of pleasing him as she wore them. She had done a wonderful selection of ties to take to him when she went. She got her portfolio ready to take with her and set it aside. She had a few more days yet before she had to leave to meet him.

  An idea to try to design some fabric herself came to mind and quickly she went to her easel and began to make some strokes over the pad, then sketched some flowers and patterns here and there. She was doodling to find some ideas. At last one of the patterns seemed to stick in her mind and she began on a fresh page to work with it making various prints of the flower. It began to show some promise but would need a little more work. She worked on a few more pages to take with her and had several different patterns and ideas done after a while. She would try to find someone to look at them while she was there to see if she could sell them and see if there needed to be any changes made. She could hardly wait to tell Todd about this and show him her ideas. It was difficult to believe all the ideas she was coming up with.

  The time had come down to two more days before leaving and she planned to take the time to recheck everything to be sure she had it all together as she wanted it. The telephone rang; it was Todd calling with final plans on where they would stay and telling her that he would be waiting at the airport to pick her up. She told him what she had been doing and that she had a present for him that he would really like. He sounded excited about her ideas and projects and was so eager to see them. She didn’t tell him about the ties she had made for him; it would be more interesting to see what he thought of them when he actually saw them.

  “You will be arriving here at about three o’clock in the afternoon and we will have a little time before dinner. You can check into your hotel, change, and freshen up first if you wish. Then I know a great place we can dine later. This will be day after tomorrow. I can hardly wait.”

  “Oh, me too,” she exclaimed, “and talking with you now makes me want to get right on the plane and get there as fast as it can go. I have been able to get some things done and am quite pleased with the results. I am sure you will be also. I will spend tomorrow getting things wrapped up and ready to go early on the next day. Oh, is it really here? We will soon be together again. I cannot take too many of these separations.”

  “Neither can I, we will have to see what we can do about that when you get here,” he replied eagerly. Her heart thumped at the thought of being with him and especially about planning for the future.

  She spent much of the day in her garden the following day. It had been a while since she had done so and she had missed it. She had been so eager to get her clothes made for her trip that she could not stop once she started. But she liked to check on things in the garden even though she had an excellent gardener. She especially liked to sit and enjoy her garden where the roses were. Wherever she went she looked for a new variety to take home and add to her wonderful collection. She wondered if she should bring more roses into the space, but Todd liked having the space in the middle. She would have to think about it a while before she did it. She certainly would talk to him about it first.

  After some time in the garden she spent the rest of the time getting her things ready for the trip. She wanted to have it all done ahead of time so she would be free on the day of her trip. She would have more luggage this time but could manage it. He would be there to help her on the other end.

  She was so pleased with her new wardrobe and Todd’s ties and was ecstatic that it was finally time to go. It would certainly be a long night waiting. She had located a perfect container to carry her new fabric patterns; she wanted to keep them protected for sure.

  Finally the day dawned and it was time to go. Her heart was fluttering wildly. She breakfasted on the patio, then dressed and prepared her luggage for the car. She drove up to the front door so she could load her luggage and her portfolios, then began the drive to the airport, arriving at a time where she did not have to wait too long before boarding for she could not endure it. It was very early and quiet. It was not an easy thing to wait here, especially today for she was so very eager to be on her way to see Todd again after two long, hard weeks. He’d sent her flowers and gifts which had helped a lot. It seemed a little like he was present with them.

  She boarded and took her seat by the window to watch the gorgeous scenery as much as she could. It was a glorious day and the visibility was endless it seemed. The flight seemed endless also. Were planes going slower these days? It was unlikely, but it appeared so to her. She knew, of course, it was her eagerness that created the terribly painful impatience.

  Finally the pilot said, “Fasten your seat belts for the descent to the Geneva airport. We are only fifteen miles from touchdown and the skies are clear, the temperature is a balmy 82° with a gentle breeze blowing. I am sure you will have a lovely day here if you are leaving us.”

  “Oh, will we ever,” she thought.

  The plane landed and everyone got up to deplane. She was a little past halfway down the aisle an
d the line was moving ever so slowly. She knew it was the slowest line she had ever been in. He kept watching for her and his heart skipped a beat for fear something had come up and she might not be there. His arms were aching to hold her again and she was so eager to rush into them. He was beginning to get a little tense. At last she got off and headed for the luggage pickup area. He walked up beside her and put his arms around her and she nearly fainted with joy and excitement. They stopped, kissed and held each other close, reluctant to let go for a second, for fear it would not be real. They both established the fact that it was indeed real and moved on to gather her luggage. She had carried her new pattern ideas with her to keep them safe.

  He reached for them to carry them for her. “Are these your new ideas and plans?”

  She nodded and he put an arm around her as they walked along.

  In the car he looked at her and said, “We will go to the hotel first so you can drop off your luggage, settle in, and freshen up. Maybe you will want to change for dinner and we can spend some time together. I am here at the same hotel. I have a room up on the next floor. We won’t be out late because I know you have had a long trip. Tomorrow I want to drive you around to see some of the sights that I really like here. We do not have time for it now.”

  “That sounds great, I do not have to be anywhere until the day after tomorrow for a show. I am eager to show you my new creations.”

  He looked at her and smiled, “I would rather wait and see them at the showing if you don’t mind, dear.”

  “Surely, whatever you wish,” she replied as she pulled some boxes out of her luggage and passed him three of them. Each held one of her ties with a tie tack on it. “I made these for you and you will be wearing my first new ones in this line. I hope you will like them.” She had great hopes and felt quite sure he would.

  As he opened them, he gave a shout of delight. “These are wonderful. You surely can do anything you want to do, can’t you? I have something for you later,” he told her, hoping that she would not get too curious or question him to spoil his surprise.

  “I will go change for dinner because by the time we get to a restaurant, it will be time to eat. Do you want to wait or do you need to do something in your room?”

  “I do have to go back up to my room for something, but I will be back by the time you are ready. Please do it as soon as you can, only because I do not want to wait any longer than necessary for us to be together.”

  “Alright, I will hurry, my darling,” and she started into the bedroom. She took out her blue dress with the blue embroidery on it. It was street length with a fairly full skirt so would be perfect for dinner. It had a heart-shaped neckline and had narrow, jeweled straps. A short bolero jacket went with it including a stylish little stand up color which fastened with a jeweled clasp in the front. It was a good material and the packing did not distress it too much. It looked nice. She fixed her hair and put a small jewel clip in one side and reapplied her makeup so she’d look as fresh as possible for her sweetheart.

  She was ready by the time he came back. As he stepped in and looked at her he caught his breath for a moment before he could exclaim, “You are absolutely, exquisitely beautiful, like a rare and precious jewel. The color of your dress is perfect for you, especially at night. You will look simply radiant in the candlelight. I can hardly wait to show you off but I will hang onto you real tight. Oh, to think I may not have met you scares me a great deal.” He found it very difficult to wait to give her the gift he had for her but wanted it to be so special and he had it already planned.

  She smiled with delight, took his arm and they left for dinner. He helped her into the car, her favorite red MG, and they drove off toward the water to an enchanting spot. It was dusky and the lights were beginning to come on across the water surrounding it like a string of diamonds on dark blue velvet. He pulled up in front of an elegant European-style restaurant. The lights were on and it looked very enchanting sitting so close to the water. It was a lovely night. As they got out of the car, he led her down toward the water to a special lookout spot for people to enjoy the marvelous scenery. They stood there for a while, looked at the water, and watched more lights come on across on the other shore. A breeze carried her perfume scent toward him and it reminded him of the falls where she had worn it, and he held her and kissed her as he had wanted to do then. They never wanted this evening to end. They had waited so long to be together again and it was so special.

  “I never dreamed such an exquisite place could exist,” she sighed as she reached out with her hand and swept it in a circle before her, taking in the lighted shores and the boats in the water. “Is this real, or am I dreaming? And you look perfectly wonderful in your handsome suit and tie. I am glad you decided to wear one of the ties I gave you.”

  “It is real for sure. You will realize it even more before the night is over. Shall we go in now and get ready to eat?”

  I am certainly ready." She took his arm and they walked inside.

  CHAPTER 5

  As they entered the restaurant, a waiter greeted them and led them to a wonderful table by a window where they could see all the view they had just seen outside.

  “I have a special table ready for you and your lady, Monsieur.”

  Todd had called earlier to get it all set up for them. They were in a secluded little spot with a glass top table delightfully set with the fine white china place settings with jewel-like, sparkling gold rims. They seated themselves with him helping seat her and then seating himself. They looked out at the gorgeous view. She unfastened her jacket at the neck which exposed his necklace. She told him she wore it all the time.

  Earlier he ordered a special, rich champagne, the finest they could find, instructing the waiter to bring it immediately once they were seated. He could not wait any longer for one of the most special event in their lives. The waiter arrived at their table with two very special glasses which gleamed like diamonds in the candle light. They had a gold rim around the top. On the side were two intertwined hearts in a red lace-look outlined in gold. He poured the champagne into the glasses and put the bottle back in the ice bucket to keep it cool. They each took a sip of the champagne, luxuriating in its exquisite flavor and smoothness.

  Todd reached into his pocket and brought out a mauve-colored box with jewels on it which glittered in the candle light.

  “I can wait no longer,” he told her. He passed it to her and saw her eyes get very large and her mouth opened in utter amazement. The box was so beautiful that, before she opened it, she was greatly impressed. She lifted the lid and inside was the most exquisite piece of jewelry she could ever have imagined possible. An exquisite diamond in the center with ruby and emerald stones flanking it on either side. There were ruby and pink stones shaped like roses, her favorite flower, with emerald leaf shaped stones on the sides of them. She was breathless and speechless and tears spilled over from her eyes.

  “I designed this special for you, my precious princess. The roses are a reminder of your lovely rose garden. It meant so much to both of us when we were there together. Jewelry is my job and I have had this in mind for you for some time. May I place it on your finger, precious?”

  “Oh, please do.” She passed him the ring and held out her hand to him with tears of joy and astonishment still streaming down her face.

  He began to place it on her finger and as he did, he looked her in the eyes sparkling through her tears and spoke barely above a whisper, “Separation is so painful. What do you say if we begin to end all separations, starting here and now, and be together to become the world’s greatest example of true love? Triessa, please say you will become my beautiful princess bride!”

  Tears of utter joy spilled from her eyes and flowed down her hot cheeks. She had a feverish feeling from all the excitement and ecstasy! She was spellbound and speechless and touched her breast with her hand as if to calm the wild fluttering of her heart. Finally, after looking at her exquisite, sparkling token of love and receiving
a gentle kiss, she spoke lowly and emotionally, “That will make me the happiest woman to ever have lived now and forever. I do not want to spend another minute of my life without having you in it. I could not possibly. I am no good alone anymore. You are like my very breath and lifeblood and, if you should go, my life would drain out of me, more with each departing footstep until I was no more. I never dreamed love could be so fast, intense and deeply wonderful. I cannot possibly find words to do justice to my feelings. It is as if we are sharing the same heartbeat which keeps us both alive as long as we are together.”

  He smiled and continued to hold her hand, kissed it, and took it in both of his and looked at her with love etched deeply on his face, “I know no man has ever been happier or ever will be. I am thrilled to make you so happy, if that is the true word to describe your emotions. It does not seem like just the correct word. It may be hard to set a date now, but let’s make it as soon as we possibly can.”

  “Oh, yes, my darling, yes, yes! How I wish it could be this very minute. Will I ever calm down again after this? I just cannot imagine it ever happening.”

  At this time the musicians came over to the table with their instruments and began to play a beautiful love song. It was a beautiful song he had written just for her and their love. He got up, took both her hands in his, and knelt before her on one knee and sang the words to her in a beautifully deep baritone voice. She was truly entranced. She felt like she might faint from all the emotional outpouring. She stared feeling like she was in a dream or a fantasy world. How often do things like this happen? How could I have been one of the very few to be so fortunate! This would definitely live in her mind as the most happy moment ever in her entire life. How can I ever sleep tonight? When will we marry? Where? Thoughts were twirling around in her head like windmills. This, as well as many other details they would have to discuss and would begin to cover some of it as soon as the serenade was over. It felt as if their two hearts were beating as one in total unison and rhythm and would go on doing so forever and ever.