Once Within A Lifetime (44 page)

The
following day was gorgeous. They got up to start their day and tried to decide what they’d like to do. Todd went to the hallway and brought in the coffee pot and croissants which were outside on the hallway table. They sat by the window and had some; he poured her coffee and then poured some for himself. The cream was on the tray, plus a small vase with a rose in it and a note which read, “Happy Honeymoon Young Lovers.” They were touched by this and looked at each other and smiled.

“
What will we do today?” asked Todd. “Do you have something special in mind or do you want to just wander about the place and pick up some new experiences?”

“
Yes, I would like that really and I do want to cover some of the things we did before when we were here. I would like to see the falls again where we went the first night we met. I definitely want to plan a trip to go to the place where you gave me my ring. That is a must. I brought the same dress with me so I can wear it again.”

“
Yes, we will have to make that one of the highlights of the trip,” replied Todd. “I, too, felt that but wanted to know that you, too, would like to do it. I knew you would want to. We will see when it will work into our plans. We must make it something very special, though nothing can come up to the first time and that is as it should be, don’t you think? This time will have special emotions and highlights of its own, as it should be.”

“
Oh, yes, I would not want to try to top that. It was a special and wonderful occasion that has a once in a lifetime feel. Let’s get showered and dressed and go somewhere for breakfast, then go from there with our day. Why don’t we be spontaneous today and then a plan may fall into place.”

“
That sounds good to me, my precious. You may shower first and I will check a few things while I am waiting. Go ahead.” He waved his arm toward the bathroom and she went in to shower and get ready.

He
followed the routine and soon they were ready to head out the door for the daily excursion. She was ready and waiting for him, standing by the window looking out at the fantastic view. He came up quietly behind her on the soft, noiseless rug and stood behind her with his arms around her waist

“
A penny for your thoughts,” he stated.   

She
turned, smiled and they hugged each other.

“
I was just thinking how marvelous and wonderful this all is and how very special you are. I know we will have a very special life together.”

“
We will if I have anything to say about it. I will try to do everything in my power to make it that way and I know you will. We have our wonderful families to add to it as well. Have you called Phylicia to let her know we are in town? Maybe you’d better do that and we can make a plan to meet with her before we get caught up in too many things.”

“
I will do that now,” she replied and went to the phone and dialed her number. Soon she answered and they began to talk. “I wanted to let you know we are in town and would like to get together with you sometime. What is your schedule like?”

She
replied, “Tomorrow I think I can schedule something around one o’clock. Will that work into your schedule? I am sure you do not want to hang around with someone else while you’re on your honeymoon. I know a real special place where we can meet for lunch. I will call you this evening and make arrangements after I make some calls. Oh, it will truly be so wonderful to see you. It has not been that long but it seems like a long time. When are you going home? Do you have any plan yet? Where is home now? Oh, well, we will talk about all that tomorrow. You two go and have a magical day. Love you both, goodbye.”

Triessa
said goodbye and hung up the phone, then they got ready to leave. It was time to eat some breakfast so they could face their day. So they got into the car which awaited them in front. While she was in the bath, he called to rent a car so they could go wherever they wished. It was a beautiful white convertible and it would be wonderful for this gorgeous day. She had a scarf in case she needed it anyway, so they were all set. They drove around a while and then they saw a special little country cottage restaurant.

“
Oh, look,” she sighed, “How lovely that looks; let’s go there and eat.” 

He
pulled up in front. They went in and a waiter took them to a lovely table in the back that looked out over the water so they could enjoy the wonderful view as they ate. They ordered and the waiter came right back bringing coffee for them to drink while they waited; it seems it is a universal custom. There was a plate of rolls and breakfast pastries to munch on as well. Soon he returned with their order and placed it on the table before them. They began eating and looked out at the view.

“
This is truly a beautiful country and I am so glad that of all the places we have traveled, we met here. It’s so special, always has been to me,” she said.

“
I, too, have always had a fondness for the place, but now it will be a special place because we met here. So, tomorrow we will meet Phylicia for lunch, is that right? She will no doubt make arrangements and we can meet her there. I will be certain to talk with her tonight when she calls so I can get the directions straight where the place is.” He looked at her and said, “We must try the Grand Palace in Monte Carlo to see some of the performers. They have the world’s greatest singers and ballet dancers performing there. You can wear your pretty blue dress I like so much and I will wear my blue tuxedo. It’s said that after you watch one of these grand performances, truly you will know Grand Palace is the right name for the place. You will be on a real high.”

They
finished breakfast, began driving and ended up at the falls he had taken her to earlier. It was lovely; the mist was just above the water, like a spray from the water as it fell down into the gorge. The thunder sounds were clear and loud and they stood there and recalled the time they were here when they first met. She remembered his after shave and he recalled her perfume. She was wearing it now since it was one of her recent creations; she had become rather fond of it for personal reasons. They stood and looked at the falls for some time. He had his arm around her waist and she leaned against him. It was so good to have a strong body to lean on and to know that this was for life. How fantastic it was.

“
Maybe we can get some things and come up here for a picnic before we leave,” suggested Todd. “Would you like that? Maybe we could do it for tomorrow evening if you’d like. We’ll have the rest of the evening left after we meet with Phylicia, unless she can take some more time to do some things with us. What did she say?”

“
She just said we would like to be alone, no doubt. She may already have a schedule; it did sound that way, but we can tell her tonight. It will be good to see her again. Are you sure you don’t mind her taking some of our time?”

“
No, of course not, don’t even think about that. We certainly do want to see her and it is a great opportunity to do so. It won’t make a lot of difference in our plans. We do not really have plans per se because we want to be a little more spontaneous and play it by ear. It will give us time to scout around and see what we missed before.”

“
Fine, then it is all settled. Let’s drive down into the city and look for some things, check out some of the shops and find some presents to take back home. This way we’ll be able to get something for Phylicia as well. Do you mind terribly going shopping?”

“
Certainly not, it is a great chance to pick up some gifts. We can relax and shop leisurely and be selective. Let’s get some shots of this area before we leave. It is so awesome. You go stand over there and let me get you in the picture.”

She
went over and he took several shots and then she took some of him. They got back in the car and drove down to the city and parked in the center of the area where they could walk both ways from here and enjoy the afternoon just strolling around.

She
had been carrying a small notepad with her, and as she saw things that appealed to her, she noted them. She could add them to her journal later. It had been a long time since she’d even let her mind think about designing. There had been so many other interests which had occupied her mind. It felt rather good to be back into the swing of it for a time. She pointed out certain features to him and told him why she noticed it and what it could mean to her. It was certainly good to keep up with the styles; they changed so often now. He enjoyed watching her busily checking things out and smiled with pleasure. He found some little items he wanted to get for her as a surprise and was glad she was busy and wouldn’t see him do it. He called her over and showed her a dress he would like to get for her and asked her what she thought of it.

“
I think it is just right for you,” he said.

It
was very feminine, a rare thing to find these days. She looked it over and decided she liked it. It was a pretty material, a pale background and floral colors blended throughout the material adding an extra touch of color. The style was very good for summer, with bare shoulders with spaghetti straps and a short bolero to cover her as a protection from the sun if need be. So he got it for her and they moved on to another shop to see what was in there to interest them. She was thrilled when she looked over to a special shop of new items and she saw some of her designs hanging there. She should be used to it by now, but it was still a joy and thrill.

He
asked her if she had ever worn any of her own designs.

She
looked at him and said, “No, I really haven’t except the ones I made when I came to meet you earlier. I just thought of them as designs for other people. They were part of my collection, part of my job, and I guess I mentally separated them. It might be good to see if there is anything here I would like to buy for myself.”

She
looked through the styles on the rack and actually saw a couple that she would take with her. One was for evening wear and the other was a day dress, very attractive and cool for summer. He agreed that they were very nice and he would like them on her, so she purchased them.

“
Let’s go find some men’s fashions. I have men in my life for whom I want to purchase some items.”

“
Let’s go,” he replied, and they went to a shop across the street to look around.

She
looked at the men’s suits and saw one she really liked. She wanted to get it for him with a shirt to match perfectly. Of course, he had many wonderful clothes but this was something that would look really special on him as well as a souvenir of this trip. Then she saw some casual things she got also.

She
looked around the corner and saw some really special ties and he heard her squeal with delight and knew she had found something important. He went over and saw some of her ties there on the rack. How interesting and pleasing this was to her.

Soon
they left the shop, and just down the street about a block was a very interesting little eating place. They decided to go in; it had been a while since they’d had breakfast. They saw the menu outside which looked very interesting, so they went in and found a table in the back of the place that was very attractive and private. They sat there and very soon a waitress came to take their order. She brought them wine to sip while waiting for their lunch. It soon arrived and they ate slowly while talking about the fun things they’d done so far, though they really had not planned anything special. It was just fun to wander around and explore.

“
Let’s find a card shop,” she suggested, and as they went out the door. they remembered one they had seen earlier.

They
looked around and found several cards to send to family and friends. They could get them ready and mail them tomorrow.

“
Let’s go back to the hotel and just hang around and do the cards and get some of the gifts ready to go so we can mail them all tomorrow. Then we can have dinner sent up to our room and eat by the window and look at the fantastic view. I think it must be the best in the whole area.”

“
I agree, that is a wonderful plan,” he replied. “I would like to sit around for a while. We have done a bit of walking around and it would be good to rest a bit. We have been moving about a lot the last few weeks and quiet time sounds very good right now.”

They
went back to the car, put their packages with the rest of their collection, drove back to the hotel and carried the packages inside. The clerk rang for a man to take them up. They went up to their room. It was good to be in for a relaxing afternoon and evening. Soon the packages arrived and they carried them into the bedroom and laid them on the bed to look at them again.

She
said, “Tomorrow when we meet Phylicia, I will wear the cute little dress you bought for me. She will love it I am sure. Why don’t you wear the casual outfit I bought for you?”

“
That settles my dilemma, I had wondered what to wear and now it is all settled. Let’s sit by the window and get the cards ready to go. They will be really pleased to hear from us.”

They
went and sat by the window. She had her address book and some stamps she got a few days back and could still use them here. She soon had them done and set them aside until tomorrow.