“It will definitely not be easy. I am so eager and I love you so,” she sighed.
“And I love you in a way that is difficult to put into words. It would be impossible not to love you so.”
They took each other’s hand and went to the car. They truly were not hungry. They were so full of love.
“You drive, my sweet,” she suggested to him as they reached the car. “I just like to be with you and have you taking me wherever we go.” She sat next to him and they drove to the restaurant. It was a lovely, large sprawling building, a country club on the edge of a large golf course, beautifully landscaped. The drive was a semicircle in front of two large wooden doors. They drove up and a valet took their car to park it. Todd loved the whole area and they decided to come here one day to play golf. He asked her if she liked to play.
“Oh yes, I played a lot with my folks. We all liked sports and outdoor activities. It will be just super to come here and play someday soon, if we should get time.”
They were ushered into the restaurant, a spacious room with many large windows facing the course. The usher seated them at a table in a round area in the center where all the windows were, which gave them a spectacular view of the green. A few people were out playing golf.
The waiter came and took their orders for drinks. He knew her and greeted her and she introduced him and Todd. They ordered Upper Haut-Sauterne Wine like they had at the fashion show in Monaco. It had a delightful flavor and exquisitely pleasant taste. Shortly the wine arrived and they sipped it for a while before the waiter returned to take their order for dinner. They ordered and continued sipping their wine as they waited. It was such a pleasant atmosphere with hanging plants over a large part of the room. They’d had marvelous care and were so lush and beautiful.
Their order arrived and they began to eat. The experience of sharing such things with someone you dearly love made everything taste better than you could ever have imagined otherwise. They ate slowly and discussed plans for what to eat tomorrow when her folks arrived. Nancy knew her parents tastes and what their favorite foods were, so it would be wonderful.
They finished their meal and ordered dessert, something light with decaf coffee. They finished and got up to leave. It had been dusk for some time and candles on the tables around the room had been lit and set a very pleasant ambiance, which set up a beckoning plea to linger and enjoy. Lights illuminating the golf course helped those who had not yet finished playing. It was too late for a movie, they must get back and get ready for bed so they could be really rested for tomorrow. He drove her home and parked the car in front of her house. He kissed her in ‘their’ alcove, remembering their very first kiss there, which was only a beginning to this tradition. A special meaning would always be attached to the ritual. He went in with her for a few minutes, then decided to go to the cottage to get ready for the night. They hugged and kissed at the door and he turned to leave, but returned for another goodnight kiss and held her for some time. When he left she watched him walk down the path to the cottage, then went up to her room and sat in the chair looking out over the yard to think for a while. Her mind was in such a whirl she could not sleep without doing a bit of unwinding, and she wanted her dinner to settle a bit before lying down.
She thought about tomorrow when her parents would arrive to meet Todd. She was so excited for the meeting and their discussion about the wedding and knew that her parents would be very happy about it all.
The moon was shining in on her and it was so delightful. Soon she stood up, got ready for bed, and lay down to watch the moon shining in a while before she fell asleep to dream of Todd and their future.
The next day was bright and beautiful. Triessa was happy because she wanted to take her parents out to the garden to show them what they planned for their wedding. She wore the same outfit she wore last night and so did he. Nancy arrived early this morning so she had breakfast ready by the time they both arrived on the scene.
Triessa told her, “My parents are coming for lunch today to meet Todd and will be spending the afternoon. You know their favorite foods and I know you will have a truly delightful meal. Todd’s parents will be coming the day after tomorrow and we will get back to you on that situation after we have discussed it. Let us know if you need us to get anything for you.”
Nancy felt sure this was all in regard to their future plans, or else they would not be having his folks fly in from so far away. She looked at them, put her arm around Triessa’s shoulders and said to them both, “I know you are very much in love and I’m very happy for you both. I hope you will still plan to keep me around.”
“Certainly, you are like family” Triessa reassured her. “How could we do without you?”
They had breakfast on the patio so they could take advantage of the beautiful day. Coffee came first and they sipped it while Nancy went back for the rest of the meal. She brought fruit and a delightful omelet with home fries and toast. There were some pastries for after breakfast with coffee. They ate joyfully and displayed their eagerness and excitement.
The time finally passed and her parents arrived about eleven o’clock. They drove up in front and Triessa rushed to greet, hug and kiss them.
She had Todd in tow and introduced him to her parents, “Mom, Dad, this is Todd Noble. Todd, this is my mother, Sheila, and this is my dad, Lincoln. Todd and I met on my trip to Monaco. We have spent quite a bit of time together. Let’s go have lunch on the patio. Nancy has a special meal planned that you will love.” Nancy saw them coming and brought them some nice cold lemonade she had made earlier for them.
“Thank you, Nancy,” said Triessa. “We will be able to refresh ourselves while we are waiting for the meal.” She turned to her parents laying her hand on her mother’s arm, “I am so glad you could come today and that Reese and Deanna will be here later. We really haven’t seen each other for quite some time. I have missed you greatly. What have you both been doing while I have been so busy and occupied? I trust you have both been very well. You look great.”
“We have been well and happy,” replied her mother. “Reese and Deanna went on a trip and we had the children with us. It was such fun. They are big enough now to do things with and we enjoyed their visit immensely. After they went back home, your father and I began to plan a new garden and have done some new landscaping. You must come and see it all as soon as you can. We had a fountain put in, a lovely array of flowers nearby, a bench to sit on near the fountain, and a small gazebo in the back of the fountain. It is so enjoyable. We know you will love it. You will be busy now for a while, but when you get a chance, you and Todd can come over to see it and visit us.”
“Yes, you will love it,” added her father. “It brought back memories of working with you on your place here, though it cannot begin to come up to this. You have a much larger area involved on a grander scale. But it is all we need for our lifestyle. We started a small vegetable garden to teach the children to grow things and have them see the miracle it is and to appreciate the fresh vegetables. They were excited about it, though they’ve not yet been involved. We will get them into it soon.”
“Sounds super,” Triessa replied showing great interest. “I am really eager to get to see it. We will definitely let you know when we will be able to come over. Oh, here comes Nancy with our lovely meal. What a wonderful thing it is to have someone like her. She is worth more than her weight in gold. Here, Dad, you sit over here to my left and Mother, you sit at my right. Todd can sit across the table from me so we can look at each other.” They all sat down and after Nancy served the appetizer she went back for more. A rich Vichyssoise came first, when it was eaten and cleared away he meal followed. It was Roast Duck with Grapes, Fresh Asparagus with Cream Sauce, and Orange Rice. Some nice Claret wine was served in special wine glasses. The parents were overwhelmed; it was some of their favorite things.
“We feel so spoiled,” Sheila cried excitedly. “Seems like a special occasion,” then she put her hand over her mouth and decided sh
e may have stumbled onto something here and hoped the rest did not hear it that well.
Triessa was having great difficulty waiting to get finished with the meal so they could take her parents to the garden. They finished at last and decided to wait on dessert until Reese and Deanna arrived and they could all have some together. The meal was delectable and they all felt so stuffed.
Triessa said to her parents, “Let’s take a walk in the garden to help walk off some of this full feeling and have plenty of room for the lovely dessert I know is waiting for us.”
“Sounds great,” agreed her dad. “We always anticipate the walk through your lovely garden.”
He helped his wife up and Todd helped Triessa up from her chair. They started to walk around the house and in the direction of the garden. It was always a joy for everyone who went there. Her parents exclaimed about the lushness of the whole garden with special notice of the new plants and effects which had been added, while Triessa explained to them where they came from, many from overseas. Many new varieties of plants adorned the area of new growth. They passed the goldfish pond and admired the fish swimming around, went by the swans and watched them float a while in the gorgeous lilies. What a truly marvelous bird.
At last they came to the Rose Garden, stood in the center of the open area and looked around at all the gorgeous blooms. “I have never seen it so lovely,” stated her mother. “The colors and blooms are spectacular this year. Have you done something special for them? Any new tricks to have added the beauty?”
“No, not really,” replied Triessa. “We have had spectacular weather and my gardener cannot be matched.”
CHAPTER 8
She walked over and stood by the side of her sweetheart, held his hand and looked at her parents exclaiming in a happy voice, “Don’t you think this will be a glorious place for a wedding? This is where we have decided we want to marry, which is why we had you come over today to share this wonderful news with you and ask you to help us in our plans with ideas and thoughts. What do you say?”
They both rushed over and hugged them. “How simply marvelous,” they declared together. “What wonderful news. When will it be? What have you planned already? What can we do? When can we start?”
“Just a minute, slow down, one question at a time, please,” exclaimed Triessa. “We knew you would be happy for us and want you as involved as you want to be. We can talk about it. Take some time, not too much, and think about it and let us know what you would like to do.” They hugged each other again and tried to relate how very impressed they were with the way they chose to deliver the news.
“I just thought,” said Triessa, “This is the best year I have had in my garden for a long time and it is the year we plan to marry in it. I had not connected it before, but do you think there is a “special” connection? Some divine help, maybe? He knew before we did.”
Her mother smiled and said, “I would not be a bit surprised.”
Just as they were hugging, Reese and Deanna appeared. They had been told that everyone was in the garden so they came out and followed the voices.
“Hey, something is going on here,” remarked her brother. “You are celebrating something. Let us in on it.”
Triessa turned to her mother and nodded, “He always suspects something; it is hard to keep anything from him. Go ahead, Mother.”
She looked at Reese and Deanna and stated, “Reese, Deanna, this is Todd Noble. These two are planning to soon wed in this very Rose Garden. What do you think of that? That’s why they have called us here today so they could tell us.”
“Wow,” cried her brother, “Talk about surprises. We had no idea you had a beau, let alone a serious one. How tremendous.” He shook hands with Todd and welcomed him to the family. “When will it be? Where can we fit in? The rest of us are pros, you know, you two are amateurs.” He looked at his wife, smiled and held her hand, “We can tell them what to do, right?” She nodded her head and smiled. There was another round of hugs and they tried to imagine the area set up in wedding splendor.
“We have not yet set a date,” replied Triessa, “Though we are considering July twenty-first. It will be a Saturday. There is one frustrating thing that is holding us up. We need to find out when everyone can get together. We felt it would not be such a problem with all of you because of the close proximity but are waiting for his parents to come and discuss with them what they can do. They have to come from a distance away. They live in Geneva and we need to consider their schedule. I do not think it is going to be a problem at all. They will be here tomorrow in the early afternoon and we plan to have dinner together and tell them. On the following day we’d like it if you all could come over and meet them, and we can see if we can arrive at some time for the wedding. Of course, we are anxious to make it as soon as possible. We are so in love and want to be together always, beginning as soon as possible.”
Her parents, Reese and Deanna agreed that they could all be here to meet his folks and were really looking forward to it.
“We will get some ideas together and present them to you when we come on that day. How does that sound, dear?”
“That will work out fine,” said Triessa. “And please come up with a list of any special guests you may wish to include. We cannot have a terribly large wedding but reasonably so. We will have to get the children involved as well.
Matt has some in his family as well as ours here. Let’s all go back to the house for dessert and coffee and continue talking about it.”
As they began to walk back to the house Reese came up and walked beside Triessa putting his arm around her as they walked.
“Oh, Sis, I am so happy for you both. We had no idea; you certainly have kept this a secret.”
“We did not plan it to be so. We have just been trying to get to know one another and spending as much time together as we could. I am sure you remember how that is. We cannot bear to be apart. Now we want it to be so that we do not have to anymore.”
They got back to the patio, and after a few minutes, Nancy brought the dessert. It was a Strawberry and Cream Gateau, a French Stacked Cake, along with some coffee out to the patio table. It was quite small but they all squeezed in around it to eat. They sat around and talked longer watching as dusk began and the lights came on over the table. A bright moon was hanging in the sky just above waiting for full darkness so it could become a brilliant orb shining down on this happy group, passing on a warm “hello” to the excited family members. They were all very much in love and got the full effects of a bright, full moon.
Triessa asked if they could like to spend the night.
Reese and Deanna spoke, “We really must get back home and get some things done before the big day of coming over here to meet Todd’s parents. And the children are with friends. We need to pick them up.”
Her parents responded, “We really should get back home also to get a few things taken care of that we’d already started, but dropped to come here today. But we will surely be back the day after tomorrow.”
“You two can spend the time profitably together, I am sure,” teased her father.
They got up, hugged each other goodbye, and got ready to leave. It was nine-thirty and by the time they got home it would certainly be time for bed. After they left, Triessa and Todd sat a while longer on the patio and he told her what a wonderful time he’d had and how he liked her parents so very much.
“And I can tell they were favorably impressed with you. But, then, how could they feel otherwise? I am so anxious for your folks to arrive tomorrow so we can tell them. It will still be light for a while after we eat so we can show them the garden and tell them of our plans out there. Do you think it will work out that way? Do you think they will be pleased?”
“I think so, and we can make it all work out if we plan it that way. Then we should be able to get to a date. That is what I am waiting for. Once we get that done we can work all the other things in. It may be fast work but we can do it with everyone helping.”
She wanted to look her best tomorrow when his parents arrived. She must impress them the best way possible.
She fell asleep and slept well, awoke quite early, and decided to get up and get ready. She must go down to the patio to see if it was good weather to eat outside. When she got there she decided it would be grand out there, then went in to the kitchen to get some of the coffee Nancy made so marvelously well. It was made by a French method and was a true delight. It took her back to her visits at Monaco. She returned to the patio with the pot and some cups to await Todd so they could have coffee together as breakfast was being put together. She did not have to wait for long. When she got there he was already sitting there waiting for her. He smiled, got up, and took the pot from her hands and set it on the table.
“Another beautiful day. I am so glad my parents can see it to its best advantage. It will be a while before they get here. Is there anything you would like to do, my love?”
“Nothing special. We can sit and think about a good date and see if your parents can come and then check with mine tomorrow. What do you say if we plan on three weeks from now? We may have to rush on things, but if everyone brings a list tomorrow, then we can see how long it will take to get things together. I really believe we can do it, don’t you?”
“Yes, I think so, too. We would be willing to work hard for such a special occasion. We would need to see if anything needs to be ordered so it will get here on time. Do you think in light of all that is going on you will have time or should take the time to do your own dress? If you do, we may have to move the date back and we would not be able to spend much time together. Do you want to do that? It seems like a lot of work and it will take you away from the planning and carrying out stages. But, most of all, away from me,” he sighed. Maybe we should just think of some special place you would like to go? What do you have around here or is there some place special you would like to go? I, no doubt, will have to return home at some point to pick up some things. Maybe we could plan on doing something then. I can have my sister, Dirje, look up some places in the area where it would be good to shop. What do you say?”
Once Within A Lifetime Page 11