Once Within A Lifetime

by Rose, Phyllis Georgina

  “Yes, my mother would love to have been here, I know,” sighed Triessa, “And I surely would have loved to have her here but it could not be so. She’ll love it all the same and will be able to help me when I get ready for the wedding. I could not have found such a one-of-a-kind dress anywhere else and she will truly understand and be happy for me. She will be as excited as I am when she sees them.”

  This made Esther feel a little sad and she began to feel sorry for the problem she had created at Triessa’s place. It made her particularly quiet. She still felt embarrassed about it.

  Triessa noted her sad look and was a little fearful still, but said, “And since you’re the mother of the man I love and plan to marry, it has been especially nice to have you join us in this special trip. Thank you so much, Esther.” She reached out and kissed her on the cheek. Esther smiled and seemed very pleased. She seemed to melt a little. This may have been just the thing to make some big changes come about. Triessa found it very hard to wait to tell Todd about this turn of events.

  They finished lunch and decided to go back to the Noble home after picking Todd up at the stores where they’d left him. He’d had lunch so he was ready to go. She and Todd could plan on going to his home to get the things he wanted there. She would tell him on the way about his mother’s reactions. He would be pleased as well. It might be good if they could check on plans to return to her place tomorrow if they could get a flight out. There certainly was a lot still left to do but the big issue was out of the way since they had done what they planned to do here with getting the dress. She felt a little sad he had to wait so long to see the dress and the nightie. Triessa said goodbye to Phylicia and asked her to get in touch and let her know when she could come to her place. She agreed to do so and they left to go back to his parent’s home.

  On the way back, Triessa asked Esther if she could talk to her about the situation that had happened back at her place because she needed to know how she felt about her and get it settled once and for all.

  “What was wrong? What hurt you so? We were very upset that it hurt you as it did.”

  “I guess the element of surprise threw me off balance. I realized that I could not change anything and I certainly do not want to upset my son or you and spoil your wedding. If this is what he chooses I will be happy for you both. I truly feel so embarrassed.”

  “Please don’t,” advised Triessa, “I can understand a little of what you felt and am sorry we did not think about it ahead of time but we were so in love and excited and thought the way we planned to tell everyone was a wonderful idea. Who knows how I would react in the same situation? So let’s put it behind us and go on now, agreed?” She reached out and patted Esther’s hand. Ester smiled and nodded in agreement.

  They arrived back home early afternoon, much better than Todd had expected with three ladies out on a shopping spree.

  “Maybe we can go to my place this afternoon and get my things, if you would like,” he said to Triessa. “What will you have to do to get ready?”

  “I will just change and be ready to go. I had been thinking along the same lines. Why don’t you call to see if we can get a flight tomorrow so we can get at things there. Do you think we can get a flight?”

  “I will be right back,” he said, as he gave her a hug.

  She soon returned and Todd told her he had called and they could get a flight later in the afternoon, if that was all right. She agreed that it was fine. They could spend a little more time with his folks. Then they left for his place which was not too far away.

  Soon they arrived and were greeted by his two large dogs, then went inside to begin getting things ready.

  “We can stay here overnight if you wish, Dear, and leave in the morning. We have plenty of time with an afternoon flight. It will give us time to look around here a bit to see what has been done while we were gone.”

  “That sounds great to me,” she replied. “And we can see your folks again before we go.” Then she told Todd about his mother’s change of heart while they were shopping and eating. “I think it especially pleased her because she found the dress we decided was just the one I needed. I am glad it turned out that way for her sake.”

  “Let’s go see what, if anything, has been done with the vineyards,” Todd suggested.

  While he was talking, he took her hand and began to lead her out back to look. They stood to look first and, from the back of the house, they could see that some vines had been put in and were blooming beautifully.

  “Oh, look,” he exclaimed, “They are there and doing so well. Let’s go down and have a closer look.”

  They went down and looked at the rows which were so even and nice. There was a good crop already planted. The gardener was working nearby and told them that he had them nearly all done. He just had a few more to finish on one row then they would be complete. He was planning to finish it up tomorrow.

  “Thank you so much,” said Todd. “We are so pleased to see them doing so well. When will they yield?”

  “They should bear some this year,” he replied, “Though much better next year. You have a real quality vineyard here now. These are superior plants.”

  “I need to call the airlines again to see if the flight still holds or if anything has changed,” stated Todd. “I will be right back.”

  He returned and told her they could not get the flight tomorrow, but would have to wait until the following noon. She was visibly disappointed but felt it would be for the best. She wanted to talk more with his folks regarding their plans.

  “Great,” replied Todd and patted the gardener on the shoulder. They went back to the house to get his things together. He found what would fill a suitcase, got it ready to go, and put it in the car so they would be loaded. They could leave tomorrow when they got ready.

  He went to tell Marjolaine, his cook, that they would be eating in the dining room this evening and asked if they could dine about six o’clock. It was fine with her, so he went back out to be with Triessa.

  “I want to tell Marjolaine about our plans to be wed. She will be happy about that,” Todd told her.

  “Let’s go outside and just walk around to look at everything. I have not been spending a lot of time here lately for some reason,” he said with a smile. He took her hand, and they went outside to walk around and see all the beautiful hills in the distance.

  “It does truly look majestic,” she sighed. “Todd, promise me you will talk to your mother, so we can be set free from the fear that she may not want the wedding to take place. Ask if we can keep the date we’ve planned on or if we must change it. It will make all the difference with our plans. I truly cannot fully relax until I know. I am still frightened. We must know before we go back, so we can know how to carry on. I talked with her on the way back to her place but want her to tell you as well. You can tell how she truly feels because you know her so well. I want to be sure she is not holding back on anything with me.”

  “I will call her this evening, or maybe I should talk with her personally tomorrow so I can see her expressions. It will be good to get the air cleared before we leave. Since we have more time maybe it would be good to stay with them tomorrow night. Would you be comfortable with that?”

  She agreed it might be a good thing for them to have more time together.

  He walked over and held her close.

  “Please do not worry. Things will be fine.”

  She smiled and they went back in to get ready for dinner. She went up to her room, freshened up, and he went to his room and did the same.

  They entered the dining room shortly before six o’clock and got seated for dinner. Soon Marjolaine brought in the salad and wine to get them started. They both were hungry. Next the main course arrived and they ate it heartily and waited for the dessert and coffee.

  “How about having a little fire after dinner?” Todd asked. “We can sit on the couch a while and talk about our future. I will ask Marjolaine to bring the coffee and dessert into the living r
oom.”

  They got settled on the couch before the fire and begin to talk about some of their plans.

  When she arrived with the coffee and dessert, Todd looked at her and said, “Marjolaine, I want you to know that Triessa and I plan to be wed in about three weeks at her place in New England in the United States. Can you attend?”

  She smiled and said, “I had a feeling you two were serious. I wish I would be able to attend but it is not possible. I do wish you all the best.”

  Todd looked at her and said, “We will have a video made and we can share it with you sometime. It will seem like you were there. How will that be?”

  “I will surely like that. Thank you so much,” she answered.

  “When we get back home we can see what my dad and Reese have done. I am sure they are getting things ready each day. How great it is to have a wonderful family to depend on. Now I will have two. I am doubly blessed.”

  “Me, too,” he replied. “You have had a chance now to meet the rest of my family and we all know each other. I am sure they are abuzz with excitement and plans right now. It is going to be the best wedding ever. How could it be otherwise? Hopefully my mother will get her feelings under control. I am so concerned about that. Oh, I am so restless for time to pass so we can truly be together as one forever. I will relax when it is done.”

  “So will I, my darling.” she sighed.

  “I feel my mother will be just fine. I know her very well and she is really a great and loving person. I will call her and tell her we will be by tomorrow and that we need to talk. You can visit with my dad and we will leave from there for the airport the next day. Maybe Dad will take us in and I can leave my car at his place. That would be nice.”

  He came back and told her that all was fine and that his dad would love to take them to the airport. He told them they would be there late at night.

  Triessa was so relieved and knew she would sleep better now.

  “We still have not gone into any plans yet on the honeymoon. That is going to be something. Deciding where to go will be very difficult but we must begin planning. If we decide on something even after we get back we can plan it in possibly. We can’t go everywhere and as long as we are together we can be anywhere and be happy.”

  “You are so right, my precious,” he agreed. “We may go someplace and look at some brochures. It may give us a better idea of where to go. We must decide what we want to do. Do we want a quiet place, a busy place or what? You know it will be much easier to focus once we get this other situation settled and our mind is free, don’t you agree?”

  She nodded.

  “We can always shop, but the main thing is to spend time with each other. Maybe a more secluded area will be good to start with for our personal privacy.”

  “You are right,” she exclaimed. “Something really quiet and special. It will be special anyway because it is our honeymoon.”

  Soon it was time to go to bed. He made sure the fire was all right, took her hand, walked with her to the stairs, and kissed her goodnight. She went up the stairs. Looking back, she waved at him. After she reached her door, he turned to go to his room and they got ready for a good night’s rest and more excitement tomorrow.

  She awoke eager and excited; they were going home very soon to get things ready for their wedding. She could hardly wait to get there to see what had been done and what was left to be done. She wished they did not have to wait so long for the flight. They simply must get it all together on time. She could not wait a single second longer than planned. She hoped all would go well. She was getting herself all nerved up and knew she must calm down. She showered, dressed, and went downstairs to find Todd. He was sitting in the living room on the couch where they had coffee last night. He saw her, stood up, and offered to get her some, but she told him to sit still. She would get some and join him. He sat back down while she got her coffee and she returned to the couch to sit beside him. They were both very eager, and she told him how she got thinking about it and made herself very nervous. He knew it was customary for women to get this way before major functions, especially their own wedding.

  “There, there, Honey, please take it easy, everything will go just fine. As soon as we eat we will go back to my folk’s place. Once things are settled you can relax more and get your things together so we can leave early enough the following day to get a good seat on the plane. You will feel better once I have talked to her and it is all settled.”

  Breakfast was served and they went over to the table and sat down to eat. She did not feel very hungry and he tried to encourage her to eat but she really could not hold that much today.

  “I will be fine, Darling, I can eat better for lunch I am sure. I am just anxious to go get things ready and am sure things are going fine at home, but I tend to be concerned until I can see it for myself. You understand, don’t you?”

  “Of course, I do,” he replied and patted her on the hand. “Wedding jitters,” he said with a smile. He, too, was losing his appetite in his concern for her.

  They soon finished, then got up to get ready for the trip back to his parent’s house. He already had his bags in the car, so they got in and left after saying goodbye to everyone. She gave a sigh of relief because she was, at least, moving toward her goal, home and the plan for the wedding. She knew she would calm down once she was able to do some things and see how much was left to do.

  They soon arrived, went in and his mother greeted them. She could tell that Triessa was very nervous and understood that her jitters were natural.

  “It will go well, dear, do not worry. Your dad and brother are very capable and understand your eagerness. You will see when you get there that much has been done and you can relax.”

  “Thank you for your concern and understanding. Surely, I am needlessly anxious but do not seem to be able to control it. I will be fine once we are on the way.”

  “Mother, can we take a stroll in the garden? I would like to seek your advice on some things.”

  “Certainly, Dear, let me get a sweater. I feel a little cool sometimes.”

  They went outside and began their walk; the garden was lovely.

  “Mom,” he said, “I would like to talk with you about your reaction to our engagement announcement. I want to truly know what your problem was and the real, deep down feeling now.”

  “I understand, my dear. I guess I was concerned because she was a new person. I wanted to be sure you were doing the right thing and wished you had told me sooner so I could talk to you about these things. Things seemed to be moving so fast. I knew you hadn’t known each other long at all. Mothers worry about things like that. How well did you really know each other and such things. I wondered why you did not like a girl from home. These are women’s normal feelings. I am your mother and guess I may feel a little possessive in the right way because you are my son and your whole happiness is very important to me. I wanted to come back home right away but knew that would not be the right thing to do. I feel better about it now, for I trust your judgment. Your dad and I had a long talk about it and he convinced me that I had a wrong attitude about it and should feel so happy for you. It embarrasses me sometimes to talk to Triessa after my episode. I had no idea I would react like that. It surprised me that I got so upset. That made it really hard to act as I should.”

  “I think she will forgive you. She, no doubt, already has. As long as she knows how you feel she will be all right. She still fears you are upset if you do not talk much. She fears that our wedding will have to be postponed. She is so eager for us to get married and never have to leave each other again. So many things would be hard, if not impossible, to change now. Surely you can understand that. I want to be sure you feel all right in your heart about this whole thing and that we can go on and know it is all right. I don’t want to start our relationship on a bad note. Triessa is very nervous about this and wants to know if it is fine so we can go ahead. I am very concerned for her, I love her very much. You must know we love each ot
her deeply. I fear she may get ill if she doesn’t calm down. We have been so happy and now this is a fright. We do plan to marry no matter what, but we want it to be agreeable to you and all the family. That will make us very happy. We are so eager to get on the way back to check things out, and as long as everything is fine, we can go ahead with our original plans. You really scared us. I feel bad about shocking you. I was really shocked and surprised that you would feel this way. I felt as if I did not know you. So, please tell me all is well with you and send us off with your blessings.”

  He put his arms around her and held her close for a few minutes and she began to cry.

  “We will be staying here with you tonight, if you agree. Our flight does not leave until tomorrow noon. It may be for the best that it happened this way. This will give us a chance to get things settled and be friendly with each other.”

  Meanwhile Dirje had arrived and she was talking to Triessa. Triessa asked her if she knew about her mother’s reaction.

  “Yes, I did, and I talked strongly to her about it. I could sense something was wrong and asked her what was happening and that she must tell me the truth. Mother did not ever say anything to Todd, but she had plans to discuss with him a girl who had been interested in him for some time. Mother and she had talked about it some. Mother liked her and really hoped she could get them together, so naturally, she was disappointed when she learned that the two of you were already engaged. The disappointment and the shock together really hit her hard. I am so sorry for you and Todd. I know you meant the surprise in the best way. Mother was embarrassed to have to tell this girl about you and Todd getting married. She knew she would be upset.”

  “That makes sense,” Triessa exclaimed, “And actually I wondered if it may be something like that. I did not know if Todd had a girlfriend before we met and I did not ask. I felt if there were someone, he would have told me. Here I come into his life, a total stranger; it was a little frightening, I am sure. I am so sorry it had to happen this way. We should have used a different approach but we felt it was such a wonderful idea. We were so excited we could not even imagine it being a problem in any way. But, I can understand now her strange and sudden upset. She was thrown off balance but she could not talk about it at the time. She is with Todd now. We need to get this cleared up so we can go on with our plans. We talked yesterday after getting my dress and she seemed fine, but I wanted Todd to talk with her, especially since it is his mother. We would not hurt her for the world. Do you think she will tell him about the girl?”