Once Within A Lifetime

by Rose, Phyllis Georgina

  “Oh, I must make sure of that. I am afraid in the rush, I may have forgotten to ask her. I would feel terrible if she did not come. I may have asked her or just taken it for granted. I must call her, please excuse me a minute.”

  She went to the phone and dialed Leslie’s number. After a few rings she answered and Triessa said to her, “Oh, Leslie, my dear friend, I was just talking with my mother and could not remember if I invited you to my wedding. I know you are coming over, but I want you to be sure to plan on being there. I do not know that much about your personal life right now, but if you have a close friend, please feel free to bring him along.”

  “Oh, that is great,” replied Leslie. “I cannot remember whether or not you said anything to me by way of invitation, but I sort of expected to be there anyway. But thank you for a special invitation. And, yes, I do have a friend I would like to bring. We have been getting close lately and I know he would love to come. His name is Mitch. I will let him know so he can plan on it. What time should I tell him to come?”

  “Bring him over with you, if you would like, and he can spend some time with the men and dress here. Do you think he will feel comfortable doing that? You can dress here too.”

  “I will talk to him about it and get back to you.”

  “That’s fine. I know you are, no doubt, with a client and will let you get back to them. Talk to you later. Goodbye for now.”

  She hung up and returned to where her mother was. They put the things away to get ready to go down and be with the others. It was nearly noon and would soon be time for everyone to come in for lunch. They had better eat in the dining room where there would be plenty of room. They went downstairs and out to the garden area to round up the men for lunch. They took time to look at the work that was being done and could see that it would soon be finished. Just a few more days and it would be all ready. It would all come together at just the right time.

  They went to the house and into the dining room for lunch. They talked about what had yet to be done. She was so glad her dad was in charge of things and she knew he would do a great job, so she would not worry about a thing. Just as lunch was finished, the phone rang and she went to answer it. It was Todd’s mother. She beckoned him to come over to the phone to join in on the conversation.

  “Hi, my dears, I wanted to let you know about our plans and to make arrangements with you. We are planning to come over this coming weekend. That will give us a week to be there with you. How does that sound?”

  “That is great,” cried Triessa excitedly. “You know you can stay here in the room you had before. What about the rest of the family? Do you know anything about their plans? My parents have some room and I am sure we can work something out.”

  “I do not know for sure what their plans are, but I feel it will be close to the time we are coming. I will have them give you a call and let you know, so you can make plans.”

  Todd took the phone and talked to them a while. Triessa went to be with the rest of the folks at the table.

  She said, “Mom, Dad, I told Todd’s folks that you had some room at your place for some of the family. I will have Esther and Spencer stay here in my spare bedroom, and there is a bedroom in the cottage besides the one Todd is using. Maybe Matt and Chantelle can stay there with you, since they have the children. That leaves Dirje and Cord, who can stay with Todd in the cottage. We can figure out something for the children if they come. What do you think?”

  “Yes, dear, you know that is fine with us. We are willing to do all we can to help in any way,” said her dad. “Please keep in touch and let us know their plans.”

  “His parents are coming this weekend so they can have a week here with us before the wedding. She is not sure about the rest, but feels they will be here about the same time. They will call us to confirm the time so we can make timely arrangements. We will get back to you on it. Oh, everything is going to be just wonderful. I am getting so excited, though I was pretty fearful for a short time with Esther getting so upset.”

  She and Todd held hands and smiled at each other.

  The men went back to work and Triessa and her mother decided to go to town to get some gifts for the family. She got some for the wedding party when she was buying her dress but had a few more to find. It would be fun for the two of them to go out together; they had not spent much time alone together since she met Todd. It would be nice. And maybe she could stop to see Leslie while she was there. They had not seen each other for some time, and Leslie did not know anything about her hair length or anything. It would be good to know what she would need to do to take care of it. Maybe they could get some ideas on some hairdos.

  So they went to Triessa’s car and left for town to check on some things and to see Leslie. They went first to the nice gift shop on Main Street. It had a lot of nice items. Many of them were new shipments, and she felt sure she could find some things she was looking for. They looked around and she found some really nice gifts, things she hadn’t expected to find. They found all they were looking for in about an hour, paid for them and got ready to leave. They put the gifts in the trunk and then started down to Leslie’s shop a few streets away. They drove up front, got out, and went in. Leslie was so happy to see her. They hugged each other and giggled. She told Triessa that she’d be finished with her last client in about fifteen minutes and then they could talk freely. She gave her some books to look at for some ideas and went back to her client. Triessa and her mother began to look at the books to get some ideas and found several that looked really interesting. They were so intent on what they were doing that they didn’t notice when the customer left. Leslie came over to where they were seated to join them. Triessa showed her some of the ideas they had selected and asked her opinion of them.

  “Well, first of all,” said Leslie, “How do you want your hair? Do you want it done up or long? That will be the first place to start.”

  “I think Todd will like my hair down. But I am sure he will like whatever I do with it. Then again, we have the veil to consider. How will it go with my new hairdo? Can you take a few minutes to come and look at it? Are you all done with your clients? Can you come over to my house and look at my veil, to get a much better picture?”

  “Well, it is now three o’clock and I have a date tonight with Mitch, but I can come over for a while and look. Shall we leave right away? We can take these books along with us and compare. Let me get my things and I will follow you over.”

  They left together and arrived shortly, because it was not far away. They went into the house and up to Triessa’s bedroom. She laid the dress and veil out on the bed. Leslie gasped in pure astonishment as she looked at them.

  “Oh, they are utterly priceless. You will be a truly fabulous bride, I am sure. Let’s look at the hairdos. Try on the veil so we can see what part of your head will be covered and how we can arrange your hair around it.”

  Triessa tried it on and Leslie moved her hair around, while they decided which one of the hairdos would look best with it.

  “This is great, now I can plan on what to bring and know what we can do. Why don't I just leave the book here? This is going to be the most fun I have had in a long time. I am so glad I am the one to help you with all this.”

  “So am I,” Triessa said. She gave her a hug. “I knew you would be able to help me and it will be just right. I do want to look just right, you know that.”

  “Oh, yes, I know you do and I know just what to do to bring it about. Don’t give it another thought, my dear. You will be gorgeous, trust me.”

  “I know you will do a great job. Thank you so much. It is going be a wonderful wedding and I am so glad you and Mitch can come. It will really add to it for me. I must introduce you to Todd. He is so special. I was so lucky to have found him. What a special day that was. Come, let us go to the garden. You can meet him and see where we are planning to get married. His folks are arriving this weekend.”

  “Do you have others in the party who will need their hair do
ne or anything? I can probably have time to do that, especially now that we have your plan all settled,” asked Leslie.

  “I do not know for sure, but I can ask and get back to you on it. There will be four or five ladies present. I don’t know what they will have already done.”

  Triessa took her by the hand and they got ready to go to the garden.

  “Sure, that will be fine.”

  They left the house and went to the Rose Garden. Leslie was amazed at the beauty of the area and the splendor of the blooms.

  “This will be the most wonderful place to get married,” she said to Triessa. “How splendid. I may take you up on it for my wedding, if it comes out that way,” she said without thinking.

  “That would be just fine with me,” Triessa said and smiled at her. “Many of the items that are being added now will remain here for some time. Oh, do please let me know. I would be so happy to let you use it. It would save renting a church and all the work that goes with it. We can help you here.”

  “That would be a grand idea. I do not know when it would be,” said Leslie.

  “We will be gone for about a month on our honeymoon and will be happy to help when we return. You could feel free to use it even if we are not back. My dad can help you with the arrangements as he has helped me, but I certainly would like to be here for the wedding if possible. I will wait to hear from you on it.”

  “Oh, yes, I will let you know. What a pleasant surprise. Thank you so much. I really should get back so I can be ready before Mitch comes for me.”

  “Come and meet Todd. Todd, this is my friend, Leslie Carleton, she is coming to fix my hair for the wedding. Leslie, this is my fiancé, Todd Noble.”

  “I am pleased to meet you, Todd. I am happy for you both and proud to have a part in it, though it will seem small.”

  They went back to the house. She and Leslie said goodbye. Leslie left and Triessa and her mother went back inside the house to look at some more things.

  “Did we put everything away upstairs?” asked Triessa. “I am so scatterbrained these days. Would you like to help me wrap the gifts?” she asked her mother.

  “Surely, I should enjoy that very much. Yes, we did put things back in the closet. They are fine, dear.”

  They got out the gifts, the paper, ribbon and scissors and began to work on getting the gifts ready. They soon had them wrapped and labeled.

  “It is close to time for dinner, can you and Dad stay? I will tell Nancy to plan on you both, if you can.”

  “I believe so, we do not have anything special going on right now. We would love to be able to sit and talk with you both. With just the four of us, we can really get things discussed and taken care of. It has been difficult for us all to be together and talk. We can make plans about the guests if you would like.”

  “Sounds like a fine idea. Let’s go tell Nancy, then let Dad know you are staying. It is almost time for them to stop work for the day. I guess Todd enjoys helping them, he has been out there about all day. I miss him but have enjoyed the time we have been able to have together, just the two of us. It has been way too long.”

  They went to the garden to let her dad know they were staying for dinner and asked if it was about time to quit for the day.

  “Just a few more minutes here, dear,” replied her dad, “And we can stop.”

  She and her mother walked back and stopped to look at the goldfish and lily pads where the swans were. She had not seen them for a while and they looked beautiful to her today. She saw all these things in a whole new light these days. She had not spent much time with them recently. Seeing how much others enjoyed everything made her see what she truly had.

  They went back to the house and sat in the living room to wait for the men to come back to the house. They arrived in a few minutes and Todd came over to hug and kiss her. Her dad and mom embraced also.

  Her dad asked her mom, “Well, did you girls have a fun day today?”

  “Oh, yes, we have had a grand time,” replied Sheila. “We enjoyed being together again by ourselves.”

  Triessa nodded.

  “Great,” Lincoln replied and Todd nodded his head in agreement.

  They went into the dining room and got seated to wait for Nancy, who soon came in with the salad. Then she brought the main course and the wine. They talked about the housing arrangements for the guests and agreed that Todd’s parents would stay here with them and maybe his brother, Matt, or his sister, Dirje, could stay in the cottage with him and the rest could go to her folks house. They were still expecting to hear from them and then they could finalize the plans.

  Her folks stayed for a while after dinner. They all sat in the living room to chat a while, until they decided it was time to leave. Triessa and Todd saw them to the car and waved goodbye as they left, then went inside to talk a while and catch up. They had been apart all day, the first time in ages. She told him of the things she and her mother did and how she and Leslie got some things figured out ahead of time. He was very pleased with all the progress that was being made with so many of the details.

  “Tomorrow is Monday and soon we shall be at the time for our wedding. Tomorrow we should check to see if everything will be all set for your family when they arrive.” About this time the phone rang. Triessa picked it up and it was Dirje calling to fill them in on their plans. “Mom and Dad are leaving on the weekend,” she said, “But we cannot leave until Tuesday. Cord has to finish up a job. Then he will be free for a while. So we should arrive there sometime on Tuesday evening sometime if that is all right.”

  “Wonderful,” replied Triessa. “We will be happy anytime you can come. What about Matt and his family? Do you know their plans?”

  “Not fully, they are planning to call you tomorrow evening. I would rather let them tell you for sure in case something has changed.”

  “That is fine,” replied Todd who was now talking to her. “We will make final arrangements when you get here. One couple can stay with me in the cottage and the other couple can stay with Triessa’s folks. We can decide that when you get here depending on the space you will need.”

  “That will not be a problem,” replied Dirje. “We will plan to see you, then on next Tuesday. I bet you two are getting anxious.”

  “You know we are,” replied Todd, “And suddenly time seems to drag. We just keep busy so it will seem to go faster. You will love the garden where we are planning to have the wedding. It is a dream. We are eager for you to see it, though you won’t know about the changes because they will already have been done by then. But that is fine. So long for now, we shall see you then and will meet you at the airport.”

  They hung up and held each other’s hands and then held each other for a while. They decided to part and go to bed to get some rest. It had been a busy day. They said goodnight and she watched him leave, then went up the stairs to her bedroom. As she went by the closet, she opened the door to look at her beautiful dress. It seemed so far away before she would be able to wear it and become a bride, his bride. It still seemed a little unreal to her, though she knew it would happen. She felt very glad they did not have to postpone anything. If it was so hard to wait now, how impossible it would be to have to wait longer. She closed the door and got ready for bed. She looked up through the sky light at the gorgeous array of stars and tried to calm down so she could get to sleep. Soon she did drift off and dreamed of getting the garden ready for Leslie and Mitch. A double treat, she had not expected that. She hoped to be back from the honeymoon for the wedding, yet she knew they did not want to wait once they set the date. She definitely understood how it was with her and Todd. She hoped it would work out to that end. Oh so soon, they would be wed.

  CHAPTER 14

  The following day a drizzly rain was falling. She felt sad, though in another way, it was good for everyone needed a break. They had been working so hard for her wedding and she was grateful. She dressed and went down to the dining room and found the coffee on the buffet with the usual two cups
. What a wonderful custom this was. She poured a cup and went into the living room to sit and drink it. Today would be a good day to have a fire in the fireplace. She would ask Todd about it when he arrived. She finished her cup of coffee and arose to get another when he came in.

  He came over to her and took her cup.

  “No, sit still, my love, please let me do that for you. I love to do things for you and want to do them for the rest of my life.”

  He took her cup, refilled it, got one for himself, and joined her. He sat in the chair beside her and saw her look at him and then glance over at the fireplace. He knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

  “Yes, my darling, we will have a fire. Do you want me to light it now?”

  “Oh, yes, please do.” She was full of excitement. “It will be nice, we can get some tables and have our breakfast here. Isn’t that a lovely idea?”

  “Oh, that is a grand idea. We can use the whole day to organize our plans unless you have some place you would like to go.”

  “No, I think most everything has been done. I have bought and wrapped all the gifts which are necessary to this point. It will be good to spend a day inside and do nothing but talk and plan. There are some details we should work on, if you are agreed. You know we have not been up in the studio for some time. I used to spend so much time up there. Isn’t it strange how you can get involved in things and change old habits or neglect them may sound more like it. What do you think about having lunch up there? It is really cozy there when it is raining. I tell let Nancy know when she brings our breakfast.”

  Shortly, Nancy came in and they told her of their plan to eat breakfast here in the living room before a cozy fire and then have lunch up in her studio. It had been a long time.