by Rikki Dyson
“Yes,” he said. “I most assuredly am.”
They talked and laughed all the way to Galveston. Lora told him about how her mom and dad had met and fell in love on the ship from England to Galveston. How they lived there a year, until a hurricane hit the city, and then they moved as far north as their money would take them. In Galveston, they took the scenic drive along the seawall, then a tour from the seawall to the strand and downtown. They visited the Moody gardens, a twelve story aquarium pyramid that displays thousands of specimens of marine life from the oceans of the south Atlantic, north and south Pacific as well as the Caribbean. Inside the pyramid are waterfalls and streams with thousands of exotic plants, fish and birds from the rainforest’s of Africa, Asia and South America. Also bugs, butterflies and frogs.
Lora and Richard had a snack on the white Palm Beach near a fresh water lagoon. That night they went for a cruise on a triple deck paddlewheel boat. They had dinner and danced in each other’s arms. Neither of them had, had romance in their lives for sometime. Back at the hotel, Richard made his move at Lora’s door after kissing her goodnight, he whispered, “I don’t want this night to end.”
Lora felt the same way. She unlocked her door, took his hand and led him in. Richard took her in his arms and kissed her. Making love was a revelation to both of them. Their bodies felt so in tuned to one another. Lora knew she was in love with this man. She knew Richard liked being with her and found her desirable, but that didn’t mean he was in love. She told herself; I’m not getting any younger, and if this is all there is, then I’ll enjoy it now and have no regrets later.”
After making love, they lay quietly in each other’s arms. They both were wondering what the other was thinking. Sex had been absent from both of their lives for some time. The silence between them was becoming stoic. Richard wanted to tell Lora he was in love with her, but if she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, it could be terribly embarrassing for both of them.
Finally, he asked, “Would you prefer if I went to my own room?”
Lora propped herself on her elbow and asked, “Is that what you wanna do? Have I disappointed you in your expectations?”
“Good lord no, woman, it’s I, who’s afraid of disappointing you. It has been some time for me...and well...I wasn’t sure how well...you know.”
Lora started laughing, and then she asked, “Did you go deaf Richard? Did you not hear my moans of ecstasy? I would think they were self-explanatory, or did you think they were for your benefit? If that’s the case, I’m not that good an actress, nor would I bother just to boost your ego.”
Richard, laid Lora back down, kissed her and said, “You are the most desirable woman I’ve ever met. You have set a fire in me I don’t know how to extinguish.”
Lora rubbed her hand from his chest around to his back and said, “We don’t want to extinguish it, just bank it down to smoldering embers. That way we can reignite it at our leisure.”
To Richards surprise and joy, they made love again. If possible, it was more stimulating than the first time. Perhaps because he wasn’t as nervous as before and a bit unsure of himself. This time he let, the waves of passion carry him as high as he could go and he took Lora along with him.
The next morning with the sun streaming in through the window, Richard awoke with Lora kissing him. He opened his eyes and found Lora sitting on the bed beside him. She smiled and said, “You are a sound sleeper. Do you plan to stay in bed all day or touring more of Texas?”
Richard took her hand, kissed it and said, “I’ll stay in bed, if you’ll stay with me.”
“That’s a tempting offer, but as you see I’m already dressed and hungry, however, I’ll take you up on the offer later.”
Chapter-20
Hearts in a Quandary
Richard took a quick shower and they went to breakfast. In the elevator on their way upstairs to collect their luggage, they were alone in the elevator. Richard took Lora in his arms and kissed her. When they reached her room, she knew they would not be leaving anytime soon. The flames of desire consumed them both. When they could breathe normal again, Lora said, “I guess I should’ve taken you up on your earlier offer”
Richard laughed and said, “Perhaps this way was better at our age, we need nourishment to sustain us.”
Lora smiled and said, “Well, if nourishment is what brought that on, then I’m gonna feed you often as we tour Texas.”
Richard raised up, looked into Lora’s eyes and said, “I’m looking at the only part of Texas that truly holds my interest.” Then he kissed her again. Lora could feel her insides melting. She knew love had found her again.
Lora and Richard lay in each other’s arms as if they were afraid to let go. Finally, Richard whispered to her, “Come back to England with me.”
Lora lay there, she wasn’t sure, if he had said it, or if her mind was playing tricks on her. She asked, “What did you say?”
“Come back to England with me,” he repeated.
“Why?” she asked.
“I want to show you London, Paris and Rome. Everything I’ve ever done before, I want to do again with you.”
Every fiber of her body was screaming, Yes, Yes, but she said nothing. Finally she asked, “May I think about it?”
“Of course,” he said. “I’m in no hurry take all the time you need.”
Lora wrapped her arms around him and said, “Right now, all I need is you.”
Richard could not believe how his body responded to this woman. He felt young and vigorous again. He warned himself; don’t push her. If she doesn’t want to disrupt her life here, then I’ll stay here, until she tells me to go.
Lora looked at her watch. It was one-fifteen p.m. She looked at Richard to see if he was asleep. When he smiled at her, she rubbed his arm and said, “I have to be back at work on Monday. We won’t have enough time to go to Padre Island.”
“That’s perfectly alright,” Richard said. “We’ll see it some other time. Shall we return to Houston?”
“Yes,” Lora said. “I think that might be best.”
When they entered Houston city limits, Lora asked, “Do you wanna go to your hotel or home with me?”
Richard smiled at her and said, “Which do you think?”
“Okay,” she said. “My place it is.”
They spent the weekend together. Nothing more was mentioned about England. Richard was still asleep when Lora left for work on Monday morning. Around noon she called her number, there was no answer. She called Richard’s room at the hotel, but there no answer there either. She asked the desk clerk, if Mr. Heath had checked out. She was told, No ma’am, he hasn’t. He was in earlier, however, was not there at present. Would she care to leave a message?
“No thank you,” she said, and hung up the phone.
Lora had not heard from Richard all day. When he wasn’t at her condo, she started thinking maybe he had changed his mind and decided to go back to England after all. She told herself; if that’s the way it is, you’re not gonna fall apart. You survived before; you’ll damn well survive this time too.
Lora was preparing herself for the worst when the phone rang. It was Richard. “Where’ve you been all day?”
“Putting a few things in order,” he said. “Will you meet me at the Tower room? I want to have a night of champagne and dancing. Will you meet me there, say around eight o’clock?”
“What’s this about, Richard?”
The phone went quiet for a few seconds, and then Richard said, “Just meet me Lora, please, I need to talk with you. I want tonight to be special.”
Lora held the phone for sometime after Richard’s call. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Well, she told herself, if this is it, I’ll face it and he’ll never know how I really feel. Lora went to her closet and found her light green chiffon gown. The right arm and shoulder were bare. The gown had tiny dark green silk flowers embroidered from the left shoulder to the bottom. She put her hair up and wore tiny diamond earrings and silver
high-heeled slippers. She looked very elegant. Lora knew the Tower room was a first class establishment. When she walked in many heads turned. Richard was at her side before she knew it. The Maitre’d showed them to their table. The champagne, Dom Perignon, was already chilling.
Richard sat staring at her. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “You’re a vision of loveliness. I can’t take my eyes off of you.”
Lora thought of a few cutting remarks, she thought might be in order, but decided to hold her tongue. After all, this was Richard’s little party. Let’s see where it take us.
Richard reached across the table, took her hand and said, “Lora, I want you to know I have spent the most fabulous week of my life with you.”
Lora took a deep breath, so here it was coming even before they ate. Richard reached into his pocket and took out a box that held a flawless diamond and said, “Lora, will you marry me?”
Lora sat stunned; this was the most beautiful diamond ring she had ever seen. This wasn’t what she was expecting. She said, “But I thought you were leaving.”
“Why did you think that?” he asked.
“Well, you didn’t say anymore about England.”
Richard frowned and said, “You told me to let you think about it. I was trying to do that, but I could not wait. I love you Lora. I don’t ever want to be without you again. If you don’t want to give up your career, I’ll move to Houston. We don’t have to live in England. Whatever you want my darling is fine with me. I know your family is all here.”
“Richard, will you stop talking long enough for me to answer you. Yes, yes of course, I’ll marry you, and yes, I’ll be happy to quit my job and go live in England with you. As Stacey told Shane, wherever you are that’s where I wanna be.”
Richard put the ring on her finger and said, “I was so afraid you were going to say no.”
“Well, now I’ve said yes, so can we have dinner and go home and make love?”
“We don’t have to eat.”
“Yes, we do,” Lora, said. “You promised me dining and dancing. Besides, remember we’re old. We need nourishment to sustain us.”
Richard chortled and said, “With you my darling, I feel anything, but old.”
When Lora woke, she lay there for a while remembering last night. A part of her asked, was it a dream or was it real? She looked beside her, and Richard was there sound asleep. She looked at her hand. The ring Richard had put on her finger was still there. Yes, she said to herself; it was all real, not a dream. Richard had asked her to marry him.
Lora propped on her elbow with her head on her palm. She looked at Richard with a smile on her face. She said to herself; oh yes, I could wake up looking at this man for the next hundred years. A bit of sadness clouded her eyes as she thought; we don’t have a hundred years. All we have is now and whatever years lay ahead. She told god, “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but why couldn’t you’ve sent this man to me a decade or so earlier when we could’ve still had a family?” No, Lora thought, I’m not gonna think that way. We have now, and now is surely better than nothing. I must remember to be thankful for what I have and not regret what I haven’t had.
Lora looked at her ring again and kissed it. She had a wedding ceremony to plan. She would need to go to the hospital, put in her resignation, and apply for her retirement, then to the castle to tell Brad and Jackie that she and Richard are getting married. She must call Jessie and tell her. A thousand things were going through her mind at once. She told herself; just settle down and take this one thing at a time. There’s no great hurry, Richard is right here with you. When Lora came from the shower, Richard was awake smiling at her. She sat on the side of the bed and kissed him. He took her hand, kissed it and said, “This is the way I want to wake up for the rest of my life.”
Lora smiled and said, “From your lips to god’s ears,” and kissed him again. By the time Richard had showered and dressed, Lora had breakfast ready and on the table. As they ate, Richard asked, “What’s on the agenda for today?”
They made a list of what they needed to do. First, go to the hospital and resign, then go to the courthouse to get their marriage licenses. The day was busy and flew by. They went to the castle for supper and to break the news. Jackie and Bradley didn’t seem surprised. Bradley laughed and said, “Two of our nosey daughters have been calling and speculating.”
Lora smiled and asked, “Oh they have, have they? Were we that obvious, that they knew before we did?”
On Wednesday, Lora called Jessie to tell her about the coming marriage. After giving her and Sam’s heartfelt congratulations, Jessie said, “Stacey called last night to say, “Hello,” and asked about Sir Richard. They had called his number with no answer since Sunday. They were getting worried. His butler was no help. I told her he was still here and not to worry. May I tell her the good news?”
“No darling, I’ll call and tell her. She’ll wanna come back for the wedding. I’ll need to talk her out of it. She and Shane have waited so long to be together, I don’t want them parted because of us we’ll be in London in a matter of weeks. We’ll have plenty of time to be together and talk then.”
Richard looked at his watch and said, “It’s six ten in London, shall we call now?”
Stacey answered the phone. Lora talked for a bit then told her the news. Richard could hear Stacey’s enthusiastic reply from where he sat. Lora moved the phone from her ear and said to Richard, “Why must young people get so shrill with their excitement?”
Lora talked a while longer telling Stacey why she didn’t want her to fly all this way, when they would be in London in a matter of weeks.
Lora said, “Yes darlings, I’ll tell him.” Then Lora laughed and told her niece, “Young lady, you’d better mind your P’s and Q’s, you’re not too old for a spanking, you know. Yes, yes, I’ll tell him. We love you too. We’ll see you soon. Bye.”
When Lora hung up the phone, she told Richard, “Stacey and Shane send their congratulations and love to us. They are very excited and looking forward to our coming to London.”
“What was the spanking thing all about?” Richard asked.
Lora started laughing and said, “Would you believe that great niece of mine said, “If she hadn’t met Shane first, she would’ve set her sights on you.”
Richard threw his head back and had a hearty laugh. Lora sat down on Richard’s lap and said, “I can see I must keep an eye on that girl.” Now they both were chortling and kissing.
Chapter-21
Happiness at last
On Friday, June twentieth, Richard took Lora Beth Flemming along with Bradley and Jackie to celebrate her fifty-ninth birthday at one of Houston’s finer restaurants. The taboo of the month of June had finally been broken. Before they left the condominium, Richard gave Lora a beautiful velvet covered box. In it was a breath taking diamond and pearl bracelet. Lora was so happy she cried.
“Don’t cry darling. If you don’t like it, I’ll take it back,” Richard said.
Lora stopped crying and said, “You’ll have to fight me for it. I love it, I’m crying because I’m so damn happy.”
Richard took her in his arms and said, “Well, my darling, get ready to shed a multitude of tears. I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world.”
“I already am!” Lora said.
On Saturday, June twenty-eight, Sir Richard Bothwell Heath married Lora Beth Flemming at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. The whole tribe was there except for Stacey and Shane. The bride was dressed in a white silk suit that came just to her knees. White high heeled pumps, a jaunty little white hat with white netting just covering her eyes. She carried a bouquet of yellow rosebuds. Richard was dressed in his gray morning suit.
Bradley walked Lora down the aisle. Jessie was her matron of honor and Sam was Richard’s best man. Lora and Richard left for a two-week honeymoon. First a week in New York City and then a romantic week in Paris. Lora had a long talk with Brittany and Brandi, and
then gave them the keys to her condominium and her car. This would give them the freedom for which they had been longing.
On July, twelfth, Richard and Lora flew into Heathrow airport, and then took a taxi to Richard’s town house. As the taxi stopped in front of the town house, the butler came out to help with the luggage. Richard introduced him to Lora, as Lady Heath.
Lora put out her hand and said, “How do you do, Mr. Wilkes.”
Wilkes was a bit taken aback and said, “Quite well, thank you madam.”
The house was quite beautiful. Lora guessed Richard was well off, but now she suspected he was wealthy. Wilkes knocked on the door and asked, “Sir, would you care to take tea in the upstairs sitting room?”
“Yes, Wilkes, that will do nicely.”
Lora could tell Richard was accustomed to this catered life, but for her it was going to take some getting used to in deed. After tea, Richard showed Lora the house. He told her, he along with his older sister had been born and raised here. Lora sensed he had been lonely here. Well, she was here now and he would be lonely no longer and neither would she. After tea, Lora called Stacey and Shane. Stacey said, “Stay were you are, we’ll be right over.”
Richard smiled and said, “Your niece is certainly impulsive.”
Lora warned him, “You better get used to it, she doesn’t stand on formality.”
An hour later, Stacey and Shane arrived. Stacey hugged her aunt and Sir Richard. Shane kissed Aunt Lora’s cheek and shook hands with Richard. They congratulated them again and Stacey said, “Your wedding was so lovely.”
“How do you know?” Lora asked.
“Mom sent me a tape,” Stacey said.
“Oh, I’m so glad sweetheart. We wanted you both there, but we didn’t want you to travel all that way when we would be here in a matter of weeks.”
The way Stacey was smiling, Lora knew there was something her great niece was dying to tell her. Later, after tea was served, Lora asked Stacey and Shane, “Now what’ve you two been up to? I can always tell when Stacey has big news. So give.”
“Okay,” Stacey said. “Shane is going to Dallas in October. He can tell you why.”