Once finished, he helped her up, and they went to the car to drive back to the hotel. He opened the door, let her in, and she kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch to relax before going to bed. She wanted to let her supper settle a little before lying down. He poured some of the wonderful wine that was left from the other night, gave her a glass and had one for himself. They sat a while and sipped it looking out the window.
“This is lovely. I could easily get used to such luxury and beauty. It will be hard to leave in one sense. But we have some wonderful times coming up and that will be great.”
“Yes, it is very nice here. I like it very much, too, and we can always return whenever we come back here in the future with our work. We could call ahead of time and reserve this very same suite. I am truly looking forward to our anniversary dinner at the special restaurant where we got engaged. I want to make that special in a very nice way for us.”
They finished the wine, got up and went to bed, knowing the next day would be another full day. Three more days and they would go to the show, then leave for the last leg of their journey. They got into bed and looked at the view as usual. They held each other as they lay there quietly and soon fell asleep; it had been a very active day.
They were a little disappointed the following day to see a light rain falling, but knew they could find something to do that would be fun. They got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.
He said to her, “I saw a nice movie advertised at the theater when we were downtown the other day. Would you like to go see it? I think it starts at one o‘clock. We can go after lunch, maybe we can go and find a nice little restaurant nearby.”
“I would like to see a movie; we have not done that for a long time. We can have some popcorn and everything. If it is sad, I know I shall cry.”
After they ate, they went out to drive around and see what they could find to do. It was fun driving in the rain. It wasn’t a heavy rain and not all that unpleasant. They drove by a portrait gallery and went in to get a photo of themselves. They did not have any official ones outside of the wedding pictures. They were dressed nicely and it would look good. They would have copies made for the family. They had several shots taken so they could choose which ones to distribute and which to keep. They looked around afterward for some nice frames to use. There were some really nice ones there.
Once that was done they went looking for a nice little restaurant where they could have lunch, then be ready for the movies. They found a nice cafe about a block from the theater and went in to order lunch. They only wanted something light and easy; they had been eating richly and were liable to gain a little extra weight and needed to be somewhat careful. It was necessary to stay well while here. They ordered a sandwich, iced tea and a small salad. This would be plenty to eat to hold them until they got ready for dinner.
After eating, they went to the movie theater and parked out front in the lot. They went inside, got their tickets and popcorn, and got seated near the back of the theater. They sat there for about a half hour before the show began and settled back and enjoyed the film. It was a beautiful love story which they thoroughly enjoyed. It was done by three o’clock, and when they went out, it had stopped raining. How clean everything looked and smelled after a rain. They went back to the hotel to change.
He suggested that they go out to the country club for dinner so she put on the dress he gave her the other day and took along the bolero to wear if she needed it later. She was wearing her special necklace, which was plenty of jewelry for it. The place was on a large acreage and many people were outside on the lawns walking about and talking. They ordered and went outside to walk around. They had about an hour’s wait. It would be nice to stroll outside and look around. They were very surprised to see Phylicia and her friend there. They walked over and said hello and she introduced them to her friend and they began to talk.
“How about if we all sit together for dinner?” suggested Todd. “We could talk and have a pleasant evening. How very nice to run into each other this way so we can spend more time together.
“That would be fine with us,” said Phylicia. “I never get to see enough of you two as it is. It would be perfect. I am glad we both decided to be here tonight.”
They sat on a bench and talked until it was time to go in. They found a nice table in the center of the room. There was a piano not too far away and the player was doing some lovely old songs. It was very charming and pleasant. They were not seated too long when the meal came and they began to eat. Todd poured the wine and they all agreed that it was very good. They made a note of its name so they could get some later. They were reminded of the wine at the hotel and must remember to check on it.
“We can have a variety for our collection at home,” he said.
They talked as they ate and caught up on the news.
Phylicia’s friend was someone she had met recently and they were really new acquaintances so they didn’t really know that much about each other.
Triessa joked, “You can get married in our Rose Garden as we did.”
“Don’t worry,” replied Phylicia, “I would certainly check it out if something serious happened in my life. It was a glorious scene and so lovely on such a grand day, I shall never forget that.”
“Nor will we,” laughed Triessa. “It was a spontaneous thing, came up as we were standing there talking. It turned out to be a truly lovely idea. A lot of work but well worth it.”
Back at the hotel they found a message to get in touch with the waiter who had been serving them.
“Oh,” said Todd, “This is, no doubt, about the wine. Let’s call down to see if we can reach him.”
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and when Todd answered it, he found the waiter there.
“I saw you come in and want to tell you about the wine. I talked with the manager and we can let you have a dozen cases. Can you take care of the shipping? We can prepare to have it shipped and we can add the cost to your bill. Is that all right? But when do you want it shipped? You won’t be back home for a while, will you? How about if we wait and ship it in about two weeks? It will take some time to reach you and by then you should be back home. If you wish we could space it out for you. It might be more convenient and less expensive than a large shipment at one time.”
“Could we split the shipment?” asked Todd. “I have a place near here and she has a place in New England. It would be great if we could send some to both places. And your idea of sending a little at a time sounds perfect.”
“That won’t be a problem, sir,” replied the waiter. “The amount to deliver close by could be done by ground travel, but the other would have to be shipped by air. We will take care of it; you can just leave both addresses at the front desk.”
“Wonderful, then it is all taken care of,” replied Todd. “We are so grateful to you for all this extra work and appreciate greatly being able to stock our supply at home with this marvelous creation. It adds such a wonderful enrichment to our lives and we want to share it with our families. Thank you and all the rest so very much for your gracious hospitality.”
He nodded and left and Todd and Triessa settled down for a quiet evening to make some more plans. Two more days before the show and then they would go to his place.
He looked at her and said, “Do you want to do any shopping for our homes while you’re here? Are there any things you want to pick up? If so, we could plan on that tomorrow.”
“I do not really know; actually I will have to spend some time in your place before I can make any final decisions. We’ll do it together. I don’t think there is any need to make any immediate changes. We can go out to look around to see if there is something we see that we both like and want to add somewhere. Something special for us, just for us. Do you understand what I am trying to say?” she asked.
“Yes, I know what you mean and guess I had been thinking the same way, which was why I asked you. It will be fun doing this and all the other things we wil
l do together. I really look forward to it. We both have a whole new experience ahead of us since we have done everything alone with a singular perspective.”
They sat on the couch to watch the lights come on outside. They sat there for some time and saw the moon come up flooding the whole area with its romantic light.
“It is splendid; how have we missed it all this time? It must have been coming up later. And, look, it is very full and brilliant.”
They sat and watched it for as long as they could, then went to bed to rest for the shopping day tomorrow.
The next day was beautiful and a little cooler which was a wonderful and a pleasant surprise. It would be good for the walking they would be doing with their shopping. So they got ready, ate and went to look around. They found a couple really good shops in town and began checking out the items for interest’s sake. They did not find anything by noon, so they stopped to eat and went back a little while before going to the second place. There they saw a couple of items that would really work well in her place and she found a couple items to help with her organization area in her studio. She was very happy with these and made plans to have them shipped to her place. It would be a month or more before they got there, so she would be back by then. They also found a small table and mirror for the hall at his place. It would really dress up the front entrance, and they found a couple of plant holders for some lovely plants on either side of it. Most other things would have to wait for their inspection and planning. They made arrangement for them to be shipped right away because they’d be there in a couple of days.
“It will be about a week before they will arrive, sir, is that all right?” asked the clerk.
“Yes, that will be just right for us. Thank you so much.”
They took care of all the arrangements and left.
It would be time for dinner in another hour so they looked for a nice little place here to eat. They could sit and wait for time to order. In no time they found just the place for their mood, went in and got seated. It was very pleasant inside and much larger than it looked from the outside. In the center of the room were some lovely plant arrangements in an island with light shining up through them.
“This is charming,” exclaimed Triessa. “Let’s sit over there where we can watch it. It looks like it’s arranged for lighting after it gets darker.”
So they got a close seat and settled down. They ordered a drink before dinner and sat there a while before the waiter came back to take their order.
They served dinner from six o’clock on and it was nearly that time now. They ordered and continued sipping their drink and reminiscing over their trip.
“I am so grateful for all our video shots and the photos which we can use for years to come to remember all this. The day after tomorrow we will meet with Phylicia and then go to your place. I do not mean it is not ours but it helps to designate between the two places. I am so eager to get there. While we are there let’s invite all your family over for a meal and spend some time together. I am sure they will be pleased to see us again as we will them. We can decide after we have arrived there; we have our special night out and then we can go on with other things. That will be our one major priority.”
“That is a great idea, sweets,” he replied. “I am also anticipating getting there so we can make some plans for our future there. We will have to make it our place and not just mine. I am willing to make changes so you can be happy there.”
As their dinner was served, the lights went on in the plant arrangement and it was simply magnificent.
“What a charming idea,” exclaimed Triessa. “It does give a lot of ambiance to the area having some indoor atmosphere to liven the place up tremendously. We truly have seen some fantastic things in our travels. I want to remember them all. Of course we have pictures of all of them and we must not leave this one out. It will be super. We can find someone to take some shots with our video camera and we can do some cool things in front of the garden area.”
“Yes, that will go well with our collection. Shall we do it now or later?”
“Let’s wait until later when it is a little darker and the lights will be doing a better job of illuminating the scene as they are planned to do. It will be far more effective. They may not show up as well if it is too light in here.”
So after they ate they spoke to someone to take the shots for them and thanked them very much. The waiter came with a dessert tray and they chose a light pastry and some coffee. It arrived shortly; they finished, prepared to go back to the hotel and relax for the rest of the evening.
They went out on the patio and sat to watch the evening lights in the distance and up on the hill. They sat there long enough to see the moon again. It was amazing how much light it sent down on them and the patio. It was glorious.
“You know we didn’t take that drive up on the hill yet. Let’s do that tomorrow and look down over the wonderful sights below,” suggested Todd. “It may be too late to call downstairs to have a picnic lunch prepared but we can do it in the morning. I am sure it will not take long to prepare.”
“Yes, I would really like that,” she answered.
They sat a while longer resisting the thought of leaving the gorgeous moonlight. But they would be able to see it from the bedroom with the window arrangement. How spectacular that would be.
The moon had stirred deep feelings within them and they were in each other’s arms as soon as they got in bed. They were very much in love and thrilled at the prospect of spending the rest of their lives together like this. They gently and slowly prepared to make love, arriving slowly to the peak moment, so when they made love, it would be an ultimate delight. The shimmering of their emotions and the thrill from their touches were exquisite and demanded further fulfillment, a magnificent crescendo of two together sharing the one thing that could make them one as if they were one heartbeat resounding loudly and strong.
“Yes, yes, this is for life!”
They slept a very pleasant and peaceful sleep after such emotional release and awoke the next day feeling great and ready to face the world so full of zest and energy. Todd called downstairs placed an order for a picnic lunch with a bottle of their fine wine and asked if they could have it ready by the time they finished breakfast. It was agreed that it would be ready and he ordered breakfast to come up to the patio in about forty-five minutes.
This would give them time to shower and dress. The shower was large so they decided to shower together and save time. They could wash each other’s backs and it would be fun. They got in and stood together so the water would hit them both. They lathered up the sponge and washed each other’s bodies slowly and carefully, and when they were done, they rinsed off together. She got out to dress and he followed her. They were laughing and having fun with their play. Playing was very good and would keep them in a young frame of mind which was what they wanted to do as long as they could. It would be just be a matter of acting young and having lots of fun.
They got set up on the patio and left the door open a crack for the waiter; he would soon be there. They smelled the fresh air and enjoyed the wonderful scene set there for them as if they were in paradise. The waiter arrived soon after they got seated, poured their coffee, set their breakfast in front of them and bowed. He asked if there was anything else they would like and they agreed that they were all set for now but would call if they needed something else. They ate slowly and planned to keep the day in a slow pace and enjoy every split second of it.
After they had eaten the waiter came back for the tray and cleaned up the table. They were ready to go on their drive to their picnic. They went down got their picnic lunch and headed out the door laughing and holding hands. It would be a grand experience. They began the drive and as they wound up the hill she took video footage to add to their memory collection. It was such a magnificent view and the light was perfect. As they got to the top of the hill they could see for miles in just about every direction. On the back side was a large lake snuggl
ed at the foot of the hills which wound through some of the valleys between the hills. The view was glorious. They found a nice area to sit down spread out the blanket and had an all-inclusive view from this spot.
“Many people come up here,” he told her, “But for now we have it all to ourselves and we’ll take advantage of it.”
They sat and looked around a while; it was too early to eat. They were still feeling the effects of a great breakfast. They got up walked around the area over the top of the hill and saw that it went for miles. It could be quite a hike if one were so prepared. They stopped at various places to take shots and by the time they got back to their lunch spot they were ready to eat. There was another couple a short distance away doing the same thing. They looked up Todd and Triessa waved at them and smiled then sat down to eat.
“It is a glorious experience,” she exclaimed, “I am so glad you knew and planned to do this. We would have missed so much. You’re more familiar with the area than I, which is good. I am glad so we can take it all in.”
They finished lunch packed the things back in the container and put it in the car. They decided to drive down the hill and maybe stop at some of the other scenic views along the way. They would pull off to get some more footage on the video. There were several spots that were appealing so they stopped took more shots and moved on. They arrived back at the hotel about three-thirty and it was a while before dinner. They must get some things packed so they could be ready to leave right after the show. They got out the luggage, began to put things inside, and had it all done by the time dinner was to be ready.
They went out on the patio and the waiter brought their food out there. They sat and enjoyed the long meal knowing this would be the last dinner they would have here for a while. It seemed a little sad to leave such wonderful surroundings, but it was time to move on. They would had a wonderful week here plus a few days and it had been grand.
Once Within A Lifetime Page 33