Eternal Love (Bend to My Will #11) (5 page)

Chapter 5

The wonderful Christmas with the families ended, with New Year’s Eve quickly approaching, and Jacob had big plans. He wanted the occasion to be special, so included Vivienne in the decision on where to celebrate.

“New Year’s comes only once a year,” he said. “Other than New York, which we know is great, where’s the best place to be when the clock strikes midnight?”

Vivienne was into the game of it, and rubbed her temple, thinking hard. “I say London. I can imagine bringing in a new year to the chiming of Big Ben, with people crowded along the banks of the Thames with all the bridges lit up by the fireworks display.”

“That’s a good one,” Jacob said. “If you scoured the world, you’d find many impressive celebrations, from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro to Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate. There are epic fireworks, all-night parties, and all sorts of cultural traditions.”

“There is no best place.” Vivienne smiled. “We’ll have to go a different place every year.”

“Not a bad idea.” Jacob seemed to consider it. “There’s New Orleans with the fireworks show on the Mississippi, followed by music and parties on Bourbon Street.” He looked thoughtful. “Or what about the harbor event in Sydney, with rooftop parties?”

Vivienne saw the gleam in Jacob’s eyes. “You’ve given this some thought, I can tell,” she said. “So what will it be? I bet you’ve picked the spot.”

“Hong Kong.”

“Really?”

“Sure, why not?” Jacob grinned. “It has one of the most dramatic skylines.”

Vivienne knew him too well. “But there’s a reason you chose it, isn’t there?”

“Yes…I want to see the pyrotechnic dragon dancing across the sky as the finale to the fireworks on Victoria Harbor.”

Vivienne giggled over his boyish joy at the prospect of seeing the fiery dragon. “That’s one of the best reasons I can think of.”

Jacob had already made plans, and had arranged for them to leave right after they returned from Decatur. He’d already told his parents but had asked them to keep it a secret. Trace knew, so Lana did too. Vivienne called her parents to let them know she’d be away for a while, and they were very excited for her.

Hong Kong was over eight thousand miles from New York, so it was a long flight. Fortunately, the jet was as comfortable as flying got, and Vivienne was able to sleep on the trip. As they landed, she had a view of the city around the harbor.

It was like any city in some ways, only it wasn’t. The high rises looked narrow, and from the air they appeared to be built close together for space economy. The hills in the background and the clouds in the sky reminded Vivienne that the island still had some of its natural environment.

During the flight, Vivienne had read about Hong Kong and looked at pictures. She hadn’t been to Asia before. More than seven million city dwellers squeezed into a little over four hundred square miles. Hong Kong was a region of China, an autonomous territory on the southern coast at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea.

The city was composed of New Territories, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and over two hundred other islands. The most well-known locations of the region were by Victoria Harbor. The international airport was on Lantau, the largest outlying island, with a road connection to central Hong Kong.

They took the limo to the Four Seasons Hotel in the heart of the Central district, with spectacular views of the harbor, and the rolling hills of the island as a backdrop. There was also an infinity pool that seemed to blend with the aqua-blue water of the harbor. The city skyline looked so close Vivienne imagined that she could touch it.

It was winter there too, and the temperatures were below freezing. It was about ten degrees warmer than New York, but not a difference that Vivienne really noticed. Although English was one of the official languages, Jacob hired a guide who spoke Cantonese. The guide gave them an introduction to the city with some highlights of the culture and suggestions of sights to see during their stay.

They were in Central, so the first afternoon they went on the world’s longest escalator, called Mid-Levels. When Vivienne heard about it, she thought it was one massive escalator, but actually it had lots of landings where people could get off.

The guide said, “Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world.” He escorted them onto the escalator. “Each morning tens of thousands of residents avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic by commuting on this escalator, which snakes down from the island’s Mid-Level apartments to the offices in Central.”

“This is amazing,” Vivienne said, holding Jacob’s hand. The covered escalator was so long that she couldn’t see the end, with a choice of stairs or a moving walkway. The hilly journey had restaurants and shops on both sides. It was definitely a novel tourist attraction.

“This people mover is also a treat for visitors,” the guide said. “It travels uphill and down from midmorning until late evening, with a lot of stops along the way.”

The area was a huge mall, with the Four Seasons at one end and the financial district at the other, where many commuters ended their morning trip. The guide mentioned a bakery along the way, and they got off to have one of the delicious egg custard tarts, called Fei Pang. Then they retraced their steps and got back on the escalator. It had been a long day, so they went back to the hotel early that night.

The next day was New Year’s Eve, so Vivienne took the opportunity to luxuriate in the bathtub at the hotel room before getting dressed for the partying. The marble tub was right by the window, and the city was lit up for the evening. The buildings were illuminated in a variety of colors: green, orange, gold, blue, and red. At night, it looked like a rainbow city.

The evening started off right, when Jacob found her soaking in the tub and joined her. Against the backdrop of the sparkling city lights, he made love to her in the perfumed water. Her hands slipped over his hard body under the water, and he felt so good inside her. It was so sexy and very romantic. Before he got out, Jacob kissed her tenderly. “I love you,” he said.

Vivienne touched his cheek. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing you say that.”

Jacob mouthed the words again. “I love you.”

Vivienne wanted more of Jacob, and couldn’t wait until they got back to the room later. But it would be much later. It was a night for celebration, and Jacob intended to experience it fully. Since it was cold, they dressed warmly, and Vivienne wore her fur cape.

“I had the concierge fill me in,” Jacob said. “The Year of the Dragon is the new lunar year, and the city is really going all out. There’s the event tonight, and then a festival tomorrow.”

“Unbelievable,” Vivienne said, taking his hand. “I can’t wait.”

Jacob commandeered their guide to take them to the promenade at Avenue of the Stars along the waterfront. It offered stunning views of the skyline as well as Victoria Harbor. They ate a late dinner at a Cantonese restaurant, and lingered over coffee.

When the celebration drew near, they went out to the benches to wait. Water taxis and ferries from the nearby terminal made waves that rippled the reflection of Hong Kong’s night lights, so the water’s surface was a kaleidoscope of color. Several buildings had lights that moved or changed, so a skyscraper could be hot pink one minute, then change to blue or yellow.

The harbor was filled with boats, as many people watched from the water. Jacob had his arm around Vivienne when the show began. Hong Kong had a reputation as one of the world’s best New Year’s Eve celebrations, and that evening’s show confirmed it.

The event was kicked off in Hong Kong’s Times Square shopping mall, where a replica ball dropped in homage to the Times Square event in New York City. At the waterfront, a sparkling countdown lit up on the LED screen of the Two Financial Centre building, illuminated in the night sky above Victoria Harbor.

At the stroke of midnight, Jacob kissed Vivienne passionately, lingering before releasing her. “Happy New Year, baby.”

“Happy New Year, Jacob.”

The fireworks exploded and created pattern after pattern in a three-dimensional effect. Shooting lights and explosions appeared to radiate from the tops of the skyscrapers and from the sides of the financial building. As the sky burst into light from the shattering sparks of the fireworks, the crowd screamed and shouted.

Next was the mind-blowing finale: the dazzling glow of a brilliant dragon, appearing to dance across the sky. He was snakelike, his body undulating waves of bright red and orange, with blue and green around his eyes. The dragon had to be many blocks long, and was enormous, seeming to fill the harbor with his cheerful form that floated across the glimmering water.

Vivienne had read that in order to understand Hong Kong, you must look to the dragon. She remembered the passage:
The vital, flowing energies of the dragon inhabit the jungles of the imagination; the pyrotechnics awaken the good beast and usher in a new beginning
.

When the roar died down, and the dragon moved farther down the harbor, Jacob took Vivienne in his arms and kissed her deeply, holding her close. It meant so much, a true love found, and a new beginning. A brand new year stretched before them; the future was theirs.

*****

When the show in the harbor ended, Vivienne and Jacob visited a couple of the nightclubs to continue celebrating until the wee hours of the morning, along with everyone else. The next morning they slept in until after lunch, feeling decadent, then joined in the city’s festivities to celebrate New Year’s Day. In addition to the traditional dancing lions and dragons, there were eighty-eight dancers, dressed up as serpentine beasts, winding their way through Central, making quite the spectacle.

The following day, Jacob scheduled a helicopter tour, one of the best ways to see the area. Luckily, there were clear skies that day, so visibility was good. The flight took off from The Peninsula, an iconic hotel in Hong Kong.

At the preflight briefing in the lounge on the thirtieth floor, the pilot said, “If you thought Hong Kong was made up of only skyscrapers and densely populated areas, you will be amazed to see the beaches and the green hills. Most of the areas are preserved as country parks.”

The flight was smooth, and the vistas were mindboggling. The pilot pointed out all the beautiful areas they passed. Besides the beauty of nature, another sight left Vivienne spellbound. It was the rows of extremely tall apartment buildings that were crowded together.

Vivienne pointed at one such building, and Jacob nodded. It was a pink tower soaring so high into the skies above Hong Kong that it could almost be mistaken for a piece of abstract art.

Grids of apartment buildings had seemingly endless windows and balconies, with living spaces piled one on top of the other. It was clear that the city struggled to find space for its already cramped population. Many city blocks were covered by the soaring apartment structures, where the only way to build was up, so each structure was staggeringly tall.

Once they were back on the ground, the pilot suggested that they have lunch at Gaddi’s, famous for their traditional French cuisine. “They don’t make restaurants like that one anymore. You don’t want to miss it. It can’t be touched for glamour, or for the quality of the food.”

“In a recent travel publication, I saw it listed as the best gourmet restaurant in Hong Kong,” Jacob said.

“The décor represents old Hong Kong. The dining room has crystal and silver chandeliers from Paris, and Tai Ping carpets. I’m certain you’ll find it impressive.” With that, the pilot ushered them into a limo that drove them to the restaurant.

The establishment lived up to its reputation. Vivienne and Jacob sampled some of the famous dishes, including marinated foie gras, and twice-cooked pork belly with mustard risotto. It was all quite an experience.

*****

Hong Kong was busy and vibrant, with so many things to do. It was exhilarating, yet exhausting in a good way. The rest of the trip was filled with sights to see, and Vivienne was grateful that Jacob had hired a guide. Without one, it would have been overwhelming. He helped navigate the lively food scene. Some things Vivienne just wasn’t ready for. Eel was one such dish.

On several occasions, they savored Cantonese dim sum, steamed dumplings with various fillings, and a couple of times they attended extravagant high teas at one of the larger hotels. There was plenty of shopping, including the chaotic Temple Street Night Market, and although it was a tourist trap, it was a fun venue. The market was filled with souvenir shops and eateries.

There was even a fortune teller. “Shall we have our fortune told?” Vivienne said.

Jacob smiled. “I prefer to make my own future, instead of having it predicted by an elderly Chinese woman.”

“It’s just interesting; that’s all.” Vivienne was curious and tempted to pay for the fortune teller’s insight. But they went on by, and she was instantly engrossed in trinkets sold at another vendor’s stall. A jade necklace caught her eye, and after haggling a bit, she bought it.

Since it was the holidays, the buildings were decorated with all sorts of lights. Vivienne was enthralled with the culture, and endeared to the people she met. Often they spoke English, and she could converse. Or if not, the guide would translate.

Feeling brave one day, they went out on their own. They took the tram up to Victoria Peak, the highest point on the island, where Vivienne took lots of pictures. Then they went back down to Lan Kwai Fong, the historic district of narrow streets and alleys, lined with restaurants, nightclubs and bars.