Once Within A Lifetime (13 page)

At
dinner they talked of the days ahead knowing that it would soon be time to part again. They had one more day together before she’d leave. They tried to imagine being married and always together.

“
We must plan on our shows, how many we will have and plan to wait on most until after the wedding,” he said to her. “We want to have plenty free time for our wedding and honeymoon so we can go wherever we want and stay as long as we wish.”

She
smiled and looked at him, “We will have to spend some time together to finalize plans and get everything together.”

“
I know and I think we should do it at your home and set a date to do that. Now that we plan to wed, I can see no reason to delay it any longer than necessary. But there are a number of things to settle, dates, wedding plans, where to live, guest list, honeymoon plans, and plans for work in the future. Whatever we do will be for both of us. I know that any timely separation will be very painful, if not definitely impossible. In the future, maybe we can plan our trips so we can always be together. Oh, what a delight life is going to be.”

It
was time once more for her to return to her hotel. She went in after the parting goodnight kiss and sat down to think for a while. There would be times she would need for her personal side of life, but they certainly could plan an area where they could work together. He would have to plan his work area with all its needs. They may have to decide to live in both places for a time, her home and his. She decided to go to bed and try to get to sleep.

Tomorrow he arrived early to take her to see his home. She had never been there and he had not talked about it all that much. She was dressed and waiting when he arrived and they started on the trip. It was not too far. They drove halfway up a large hill through winding roads and he pulled into a large estate with a beautiful wrought-iron fence around it. It was not too close, but left lots of space around the house. The view of the whole valley was spectacular and a river wound around through it and behind a fairly large hill ahead. The gate had a large area in the center with his initial ‘N’ in it. She was impressed. The building was very large with a second story. Every window had a beautiful wrought-iron balcony which she loved. His brother designed them for him as a present when he bought the place.

As
they drove to the front of the building, two large Great Danes bounded around the corner to meet him. It was obvious they knew his car and had missed him a great deal. Their names were Prince and Major. They were a gift from his sister, Dirje.

Jeremy,
his butler, met them at the door. Triessa was delighted with his British accent; it had always been one of her favorites, the other being Irish. She was delighted to learn that his charming middle-aged cook, Marjolaine McDunphy, was Irish and straight from Dublin. She loved her accent. Triessa had Irish ancestors and loved Irish music and dancing. She met the housekeeper, Elana, who was French and found her delightful as well.

“
You have a real international staff here, how remarkable and fantastic.”

“
It is not all that unusual for this part of the world.”

His
place was definitely planned by a masculine hand as hers was by a feminine one. It was still very pleasant and she did love it. In the back was a large lawn that led down into the slope of a hill. It was very well landscaped with beautiful trees full of gorgeous blossoms. In the center stood a huge fountain, and he told her it had colored lights which beamed up at night into the waterfall.

“
I am eager to see it. Oh, what a truly enchanting place.”

He
looked at her and smiled, “Would you like to spend the night here? When does your plane leave tomorrow?”

“
It leaves at two o’clock in the afternoon.”

To
which he replied, “Great, wait here and I will be right back.” He ran into the house and was gone for fifteen to twenty minutes, but she did not notice the time. She was so engrossed with looking around the place. It was so wonderful. He rushed back out, went to her side, picked her up and swung her around in a circle. “Guess what,” he exclaimed with great excitement. “I got two seats together on the plane and I will be flying back with you. We will spend some time making plans at your place. It may be the one place where we can find some peace and quiet to do it.”

Well,
she was just overjoyed and held both his hands and jumped up and down with squeals of delight. “How wonderful of you to think of that. I could not bear the thought of leaving you again after coming up here. That surely makes things much easier.”

“
Tonight I will pack and get ready,” he said gleefully. He, too, was thrilled at the thought that they didn’t have to part tomorrow. It seemed like such a hopeless and devastating thing to have to do. Especially under present circumstances. It would be pure torture.

Marjolaine
called and told them lunch was ready and they decided to eat on the back patio, so they walked to the house and got seated for lunch. She brought out the first course for a start, went back and returned with wine and two gold-colored goblets.

“
I designed these and had them done after I met you. I wanted them to be here when you came to see the place with me.”

She
was stunned at the great beauty and detail and each one had their name on it and the date and place they had met, their beloved Monaco.

“
You never cease to amaze me. What a delightful mind you have to think of so many nice things to do.”

After
lunch they walked around the grounds some more and looked out over the hill. He told her, “I own a large area there and plan to see if I can have some grapevines planted on the slope. It will be a great area for them to grow and they will look so natural there.”

“
What a wonderful idea,” she agreed, “Do you have a particular type in mind?”

“
I am in a discussion on it now and it is down to a choice between two types. I just may decide to try them both. One can produce a white wine and the other a medium red.”

“
That sounds delightful to me,” she exclaimed, “We can have both to use.”

“
Then it is decided. I will call the gardeners tomorrow so they can get right on it while I am gone. Why hesitate?”

“
Wonderful, how long will it take for them to grow?”

“
They will be transplanted as full grown plants and bear some grapes the first year, but the harvest will be better the next year.”

“
How wonderful things are working out so well,” she replied. “Life is truly splendid and beautiful.”

He
took her inside to see the house. “We will dine inside this evening in the dining room,” he said as they passed through. “It is a delightful room, medium-size and pleasant. It gets lots of light in the day. The living room is right off the dining room and quite large. You might want to lighten it up some later on.” She smiled and thought that there was plenty of time to consider that. A large fireplace was on the side of the house that faced the back yard and looked down over the hill, their future vineyard.

His
bedroom was on the ground floor and at the further end was a master bath. Everything had been done in masculine taste pleasing to him, not at all unlike what she would have imagined.

“
Upstairs there are three bedrooms,” he told her, “and my workroom.” The stairs were wide and went up part way, had a level to the right, and more stairs going up to the landing at the top. First they looked at his workroom. It had tools she had never seen before and he began to explain them to her. “Though,” he said, “you may not fully grasp it until you can see them at work.” He had a large cupboard on one side of the room with a glass door. It held his gemstones from which he made his designs. What a fascinating world this place was. Life was taking on an unexpected fullness and richness that humbled them as they began to realize what their combined lives could entail. Right now everything was in a whirl and it would take some time to adjust to everything.

They
quickly looked in at the bedrooms, and went downstairs for it was nearly time for dinner. She wished she had brought a change of clothes, but he told her she looked just fine.

“
I will bring you a robe,” he said. “We will leave early tomorrow because you have some packing yet to do before we leave.”

They
washed up and came back to the dining room just as Marjolaine was setting the table. Beside each plate stood the special gold goblets for their wine. As soon as they sat down, Marjolaine brought in the salad and some delightful Potato Leek Soup with Cheese. This was one of Triessa’s favorites which she had whenever she saw it on a menu. How could Marjolaine have guessed it was her favorite? She hadn’t said anything to anyone about it. It had a special taste which she had not encountered previously and was delightful. It may have been the pure Irish influence. After these were eaten she brought the dinner, Venison with a special rich, dark gravy, vegetables, Broccoli Malange, Pommes Novelle, and Sauce. What a truly appetizing delight. They sat a few minutes before dessert, Bavarian Cream with Raspberries, served with a very special imported blend of coffee. The smell was heavenly and she quickly took a sip, closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

“
Exquisite,” she proclaimed.

After
dinner they sat before the fireplace. Though it was not cold, a fire was very pleasant, cheerful, delightful and romantic. He had some special wood that burned in several colors and was aromatic and purely delightful to watch. They sat on the sofa with her head on his shoulder, his arm around her shoulders, watching the fire for a while. There was no need to talk, their joy was fuller than they could ever have imagined could exist and words would just be a useless attempt to describe it at this point. It could only be felt between them and it surrounded them like a bow tying them together. It was a time to be quiet and absorb all the joy and the thrill of the moment while it was here. It was amazing how different everything became, what they had enjoyed before to a degree now seemed many times more wonderful as they planned to share it and put it to a different purpose. A whole new world had opened up before them and it had become almost too much to contain. They felt as if they should go to the top of the highest hill and expel some of it to the world with wild, ecstatic shouts so they could stay in control.

After
some time in silence he asked, “Are you tired? Do you want to go to bed?”

She
replied, “No I would like to wait a while if you don’t mind.”

“
I agree. I am glad, for I want our evening to last longer. We still need to make plans for tomorrow regarding our departure. I will pack tonight and we can leave about nine o’clock in the morning after an early breakfast to go to your hotel so you can finish packing.”

“
That will work out fine. Please be sure to pack the slacks and shirt which I especially like on you, which you had with you before at my place.”

“
I most certainly will, for they are my favorites as well. I take them on just about every trip. I want you to wear one of the pretty dresses tomorrow that you made before coming here.”

He
looked at his watch and saw that it was time to retire.

“
Where has the time gone?” he remarked in amazement. He had better let her get to bed and get his packing done so they could be ready to leave early tomorrow. He got up and helped her up, then showed her where she would sleep and said goodnight. After a gentle kiss and hug, he left and went to his room downstairs and did some more packing. It was a regular thing because of his travels so he quickly got it done and took along some things to do when she might be busy.

She
showered and put on a nightie that he gave her which belonged to his sister. She left things behind for her visits. She went to bed and quickly fell asleep. It had been a tiring though thoroughly wonderful day.

The
next day they got up and met in the dining room where breakfast was already started. A coffee urn was on the buffet with two cups and saucers. He poured one and held it out to her. She took it, poured in some cream and took a gentle sip. She closed her eyes and sighed as was her habit with delightful tastes. They had a Danish with their coffee and sat at the table waiting for Marjolaine to bring the course for the meal. She served delightful Cheese Crepes with a French flair and heavenly syrup oozing down around them, making them look like tiny islands.

Breakfast
over, they felt they should be under way so he loaded his things in the car and drove to her hotel. He went in with her to offer any assistance he could and they soon got it all together. They still had two hours before the plane left, so they decided to drive to the airport, get the luggage checked in, carry her portfolios with them, and have a lunch there while they waited. They had just enough time to eat and get back to the boarding area so they could be ready to board. They were ushered through the gate to board the plane, found their seats and he offered her the inside seat. She entered and sat down, he followed sitting next to her and they fastened their seat belts. At last the plane was filled and began to taxi onto the runway and line up for take-off. The ascent was smooth and when the turn began, he pointed out the window as they got mid-turn to look below. She saw his estate spread out and it looked so large and elegant.