Once Within A Lifetime (15 page)

“
Oh, that is going to be a difficult decision,” she replied as she moved closer to him. “I think of Monaco where we met, yet wonder about going someplace we have not been. What do you think?”

“
You are right. This is going to be a hard one to call. I, too, thought of

Monaco.
We can go to more than one place. I would like to plan on being on our honeymoon for a month. Does that sound pleasing to you?”

“
Glorious,” she smiled with a squeal of delight. “I must put together quite a sizable trousseau. Of course, I can buy some things on the trip and have them as souvenirs. It will cut down on the luggage, at least one way.”

“
That is a great idea, Precious. I would love to buy some beautiful clothes for you. I want to dress you like a queen, no, better than a queen. You can wear most anything so beautifully. That will be a joy. You can also buy some fabric for future plans. Are there any places you’d like to go for some special new materials?”

“
Yes, there are a couple places I would like to go. We can plan that toward the end of our trip and spend most of it just loving each other, playing and building beautiful memories for the future. I want to keep a scrapbook as we go so we can relive the trip anytime we want to. We must take along a good video camera so we can show our children and grandchildren. Just imagine it, we have never discussed what we want to do about a family, but we have plenty of time. First, we must work on getting married.”

“
The more we talk and plan, the harder it gets to wait,” he remarked.

"Oh,
Yes, so much so, she replied. Let us not wait any longer than necessary to plan the date. We can make a tentative plan and talk to the families to see if it will work out for them.”

They
had time for a second glass of champagne and he asked her about her parents. He was so eager to meet them. Surely they were wonderful people because of all the great things they had done for her.

“
You will love them, I am so anxious for them to meet you and love you as I know they will. My dad is a tall man, about 6 feet 4 inches tall and is dark and handsome, in his mid-fifties. He is quite slender. My mother is about my size and has dark hair and blue eyes. We look very much alike; I think you will agree to that.”

She
looked at the clock. It was time to get ready to leave for dinner. He kissed her before leaving to go to the guest house to change. She watched him walk away and shook her head in utter amazement at the chance of meeting someone so perfectly wonderful. Oh, how she adored him. She turned to go up to her bedroom to shower and dress. She wore the necklace he got her with one of the dresses she made for her last trip. She wore her new perfume.

She
went downstairs to wait but not for long, for shortly he arrived wearing her favorite outfit and exclaimed how beautiful she looked.

“
I can just imagine how gorgeous you’ll look in your wedding dress. Oh, what a lucky man am I to have met and won you. We are going to be deliriously happy together. How are we going to wait to start our life together, my darling Triessa?”

“
It will definitely not be easy. I am so eager and I love you so,” she sighed.

“
And I love you in a way that is difficult to put into words. It would be impossible not to love you so.”

They
took each other’s hand and went to the car. They truly were not hungry. They were so full of love.

“
You drive, my sweet,” she suggested to him as they reached the car. “I just like to be with you and have you taking me wherever we go.” She sat next to him and they drove to the restaurant. It was a lovely, large sprawling building, a country club on the edge of a large golf course, beautifully landscaped. The drive was a semicircle in front of two large wooden doors. They drove up and a valet took their car to park it. Todd loved the whole area and they decided to come here one day to play golf. He asked her if she liked to play.

“
Oh yes, I played a lot with my folks. We all liked sports and outdoor activities. It will be just super to come here and play someday soon, if we should get time.”

They
were ushered into the restaurant, a spacious room with many large windows facing the course. The usher seated them at a table in a round area in the center where all the windows were, which gave them a spectacular view of the green. A few people were out playing golf.

The
waiter came and took their orders for drinks. He knew her and greeted her and she introduced him and Todd. They ordered Upper Haut-Sauterne Wine like they had at the fashion show in Monaco. It had a delightful flavor and exquisitely pleasant taste. Shortly the wine arrived and they sipped it for a while before the waiter returned to take their order for dinner. They ordered and continued sipping their wine as they waited. It was such a pleasant atmosphere with hanging plants over a large part of the room. They’d had marvelous care and were so lush and beautiful.

Their
order arrived and they began to eat. The experience of sharing such things with someone you dearly love made everything taste better than you could ever have imagined otherwise. They ate slowly and discussed plans for what to eat tomorrow when her folks arrived. Nancy knew her parents tastes and what their favorite foods were, so it would be wonderful.

They
finished their meal and ordered dessert, something light with decaf coffee. They finished and got up to leave. It had been dusk for some time and candles on the tables around the room had been lit and set a very pleasant ambiance, which set up a beckoning plea to linger and enjoy. Lights illuminating the golf course helped those who had not yet finished playing. It was too late for a movie, they must get back and get ready for bed so they could be really rested for tomorrow. He drove her home and parked the car in front of her house. He kissed her in ‘their’ alcove, remembering their very first kiss there, which was only a beginning to this tradition. A special meaning would always be attached to the ritual. He went in with her for a few minutes, then decided to go to the cottage to get ready for the night. They hugged and kissed at the door and he turned to leave, but returned for another goodnight kiss and held her for some time. When he left she watched him walk down the path to the cottage, then went up to her room and sat in the chair looking out over the yard to think for a while. Her mind was in such a whirl she could not sleep without doing a bit of unwinding, and she wanted her dinner to settle a bit before lying down.

She
thought about tomorrow when her parents would arrive to meet Todd. She was so excited for the meeting and their discussion about the wedding and knew that her parents would be very happy about it all.

The
moon was shining in on her and it was so delightful. Soon she stood up, got ready for bed, and lay down to watch the moon shining in a while before she fell asleep to dream of Todd and their future.

The
next day was bright and beautiful. Triessa was happy because she wanted to take her parents out to the garden to show them what they planned for their wedding. She wore the same outfit she wore last night and so did he. Nancy arrived early this morning so she had breakfast ready by the time they both arrived on the scene.

Triessa
told her, “My parents are coming for lunch today to meet Todd and will be spending the afternoon. You know their favorite foods and I know you will have a truly delightful meal. Todd’s parents will be coming the day after tomorrow and we will get back to you on that situation after we have discussed it. Let us know if you need us to get anything for you.”

Nancy
felt sure this was all in regard to their future plans, or else they would not be having his folks fly in from so far away. She looked at them, put her arm around Triessa’s shoulders and said to them both, “I know you are very much in love and I’m very happy for you both. I hope you will still plan to keep me around.”

“
Certainly, you are like family” Triessa reassured her. “How could we do without you?”

They
had breakfast on the patio so they could take advantage of the beautiful day. Coffee came first and they sipped it while Nancy went back for the rest of the meal. She brought fruit and a delightful omelet with home fries and toast. There were some pastries for after breakfast with coffee. They ate joyfully and displayed their eagerness and excitement.

The
time finally passed and her parents arrived about eleven o’clock. They drove up in front and Triessa rushed to greet, hug and kiss them.

She
had Todd in tow and introduced him to her parents, “Mom, Dad, this is Todd Noble. Todd, this is my mother, Sheila, and this is my dad, Lincoln. Todd and I met on my trip to Monaco. We have spent quite a bit of time together. Let’s go have lunch on the patio. Nancy has a special meal planned that you will love.” Nancy saw them coming and brought them some nice cold lemonade she had made earlier for them.

“
Thank you, Nancy,” said Triessa. “We will be able to refresh ourselves while we are waiting for the meal.” She turned to her parents laying her hand on her mother’s arm, “I am so glad you could come today and that Reese and Deanna will be here later. We really haven’t seen each other for quite some time. I have missed you greatly. What have you both been doing while I have been so busy and occupied? I trust you have both been very well. You look great.”

“
We have been well and happy,” replied her mother. “Reese and Deanna went on a trip and we had the children with us. It was such fun. They are big enough now to do things with and we enjoyed their visit immensely. After they went back home, your father and I began to plan a new garden and have done some new landscaping. You must come and see it all as soon as you can. We had a fountain put in, a lovely array of flowers nearby, a bench to sit on near the fountain, and a small gazebo in the back of the fountain. It is so enjoyable. We know you will love it. You will be busy now for a while, but when you get a chance, you and Todd can come over to see it and visit us.”

“
Yes, you will love it,” added her father. “It brought back memories of working with you on your place here, though it cannot begin to come up to this. You have a much larger area involved on a grander scale. But it is all we need for our lifestyle. We started a small vegetable garden to teach the children to grow things and have them see the miracle it is and to appreciate the fresh vegetables. They were excited about it, though they’ve not yet been involved. We will get them into it soon.”

“
Sounds super,” Triessa replied showing great interest. “I am really eager to get to see it. We will definitely let you know when we will be able to come over. Oh, here comes Nancy with our lovely meal. What a wonderful thing it is to have someone like her. She is worth more than her weight in gold. Here, Dad, you sit over here to my left and Mother, you sit at my right. Todd can sit across the table from me so we can look at each other.” They all sat down and after Nancy served the appetizer she went back for more. A rich Vichyssoise came first, when it was eaten and cleared away he meal followed. It was Roast Duck with Grapes, Fresh Asparagus with Cream Sauce, and Orange Rice. Some nice Claret wine was served in special wine glasses. The parents were overwhelmed; it was some of their favorite things.

“
We feel so spoiled,” Sheila cried excitedly. “Seems like a special occasion,” then she put her hand over her mouth and decided she may have stumbled onto something here and hoped the rest did not hear it that well.

Triessa
was having great difficulty waiting to get finished with the meal so they could take her parents to the garden. They finished at last and decided to wait on dessert until Reese and Deanna arrived and they could all have some together. The meal was delectable and they all felt so stuffed.

Triessa
said to her parents, “Let’s take a walk in the garden to help walk off some of this full feeling and have plenty of room for the lovely dessert I know is waiting for us.”

“
Sounds great,” agreed her dad. “We always anticipate the walk through your lovely garden.”

He
helped his wife up and Todd helped Triessa up from her chair. They started to walk around the house and in the direction of the garden. It was always a joy for everyone who went there. Her parents exclaimed about the lushness of the whole garden with special notice of the new plants and effects which had been added, while Triessa explained to them where they came from, many from overseas. Many new varieties of plants adorned the area of new growth. They passed the goldfish pond and admired the fish swimming around, went by the swans and watched them float a while in the gorgeous lilies. What a truly marvelous bird.

At
last they came to the Rose Garden, stood in the center of the open area and looked around at all the gorgeous blooms. “I have never seen it so lovely,” stated her mother. “The colors and blooms are spectacular this year. Have you done something special for them? Any new tricks to have added the beauty?”

“
No, not really,” replied Triessa. “We have had spectacular weather and my gardener cannot be matched.”