Once Within A Lifetime (5 page)

As
Thursday dawned she arose and dressed in comfortable jeans and shirt and sat by her window in her studio to recount her trip. She had been sitting here for some time recalling the wonderful memories of the trip and found it difficult to get herself moving. She looked out over her lovely garden and wondered how it would appeal to him.
Would he like it; think it too feminine? What about the pond, the swans and the
goldfish?
“Oh,” she sighed aloud, “He will be in New York the beginning of next week and here on Wednesday. After his Monday and Tuesday meetings in New York, he will be on his way to my home.” She had to get her head out of this lovely whirl it was in and get busy so she started downstairs to check on something for breakfast, though she was not one bit interested in eating at this point. 

A
light cereal with milk and fruit, some coffee and toast should carry her through the morning. Suddenly she was concerned about her eating and keeping in shape now with her new change of perspective on life. It was more important now because everything had taken on new meaning and significance, things taken for granted up to now. Another attitude and opinion had been considered here and she was amazed at how the trip started one way and ended up so totally different from anything she could ever have expected, yet it felt so natural and interesting.

She
finished breakfast, rinsed the dishes, and set them aside to drain and dry. The flowers beckoned her and she went to admire them again and decided to call him and thank him for them. The florist, no doubt, had called her cook, Nancy, to see about letting him in with the flowers. Triessa and Nancy had grown close to each other over the years, like regular family.

She
went back to her studio to get to work to capture some of her thoughts and ideas for the new material and fashion line. She began sketching and doodling, and automatically wrote Todd’s name all over her page. Maybe a new start on a fresh page would help, and she got back into the work mode and continued until it was time for lunch.

Needing
a break more than food, she went down to the kitchen and found some food Nancy had prepared and left for her. This made her happy to have an easy lunch to prepare so she could get back to her designs while they were still fresh.

On
her way back upstairs she stopped at her office to look at her mail, which took about an hour, then went back to her studio to start her work again. She wanted to get a lot done to show Todd when he arrived. She now wanted to share her thoughts and ideas with another person. That had not been a consideration up to now. Everything seemed so different. It was a little disorienting to say the least. How and why she did things would be new considerations now and she was interested in seeking out another’s opinion.
What do you think of this? How does this look?” Could this really be happening? Was she dreaming?
Not at all, this was all very real and wonderful. What would life be like from now on? Everything had changed so much.

She
stopped work early to take a stroll through her garden and watched the swans float gracefully in the lovely pond. She had loved these birds from a child and was happy to have her dream of having some of her own come true. They were such elegant and majestic fowls and glided smoothly about, a beautiful floating wonder.

Back
at the house she entered her kitchen and got some ideas for dinner. She had an excellent cook but gave her the time off while she was gone, plus the couple extra days before the weekend. She would arrive tomorrow and they would discuss Todd’s arrival next week and go over some of the special things she would like to have cooked for him as a reminder of their trip and meeting. Nancy would have no trouble duplicating the items; she was very good at French cooking.
I will take the list with me when I go into town and see if I can pick up any special
items we will need
, she told herself.

She
found that Nancy had made and frozen some lovely meals for her. She selected one to heat for dinner. Eating alone was no longer enjoyable and she hurried through the meal, cleaned up the kitchen, and went back to her office for a while and sat at her desk to make some plans.

I
want to plan a special wardrobe for his visit,
she thought.
I also need to prepare the guesthouse for my new visitor who may be showing up more and more. I will go down and check it out first thing in the
morning
.  The guest house was a medium-sized cottage fashioned after a lovely French cottage she had seen on one of her overseas trips. She had it built on the west side of the house and a rolling lawn sloped down toward a pond full of wild water lilies. It was beautiful and the smell from the lilies filled the whole cottage. She hoped he would not think they smelled too sweet. If she opened the doors and windows the air would circulate through the place and freshen it up a bit.

Each
day passed slowly, but finally it was the day of Todd’s arrival which found her extremely excited and unable to concentrate on things which she normally could spend hours doing previously. What a strange feeling to be so adrift. Perhaps it was just the planning and upset in her regular schedule. She got ready to go pick him up at the airport.

As
she reached the entrance to the terminal, she saw him standing with his back to her tipping the porter for retrieving his luggage. The very sight of him sent a tingle through her and she was surprised and unready for that.
Could this be love?
Is it too early to feel this way?
She was unsure of so many things these days, except that everything was different. She was not sure how to feel or act at this point. They had not really known each other very long at all but she had heard that such things do happen and must not rule it out. She pulled up and waited for him. Soon he turned around, saw her there, smiled and waved, and carried his luggage to stow in her car.
It looked like he had planned to stay for some time,
although, she thought, embarrassed at her expectations for his long visit,
he had been on a business trip and had to bring quite an amount of materials as well as clothing with him.

He
got into the car beside her and passed her a box, “Here is something for you. I hope you will like it.”

She
took the box, a little surprised, opened it, and exclaimed with delight, “It is exquisite. It’s matchless. Such a versatile piece of jewelry; it will go with anything. You have wonderful taste. I could not have done better myself. Oh, thank you, thank you.” She reached over and gently touched his arm.

He
informed her, “As I told you, I am a salesman for a jewelry company and will show you some of the designs I have dealt with on my recent trip if you like.”

“
I would love that,” she told him smiling. She started the car and began to move away from the terminal. As they drove toward her home, they talked.

“
How was your trip?”

“
It went very well; I was satisfied with all the transactions. I will have some good things to report to my company when I get back.”

As
she continued to drive, the scent of his aftershave floated in her direction and was nearly intoxicating. She had not been used to such an experience and found it exciting. She recalled it from their visit at the falls, which quickly flooded back memories of her trip there. She smiled and he knew she was having pleasant thoughts which made him feel more at ease. It felt so nice to be here but he was a little uncomfortable because it was new to him, as he knew it was for her. He was not sure what to expect, after all, they had known each other only a short time. He certainly wanted to do things properly and not be out of place in any way. He loosened and removed his tie putting it in his pocket.

“
I left right after my meeting and no time to change.”

She
liked his choice of ties. “I suppose ties are uncomfortable, but I really like them,” she replied. “It is one of the few things in a man’s attire which can stand out and be real special if chosen correctly. For women, it is jewelry.” She began to think about adding men’s ties to her designs.

They
soon came to the road leading to her house. “I bought quite a large acreage here and had a house built on a special spot to fulfill my dreams of a lovely and special home. I love the trees which so pleasantly surround it, especially the big birches, both the gold and the white. These are my favorites, though maples are also abundant to give a showy foliage in the fall. You will have to see it. My dad helped me a lot with the choice, purchase, and planning of my house. It was very enjoyable to work together on the project.”

She
drove up in front of the house, then took him around back to see the guest cottage. “I have prepared the guest cottage for you to stay in and you can stay as long as you like,” she told him, feeling a quick thump in her chest.

This
made him feel more comfortable. “I do believe you’ll find everything you need here. It is pretty well stocked, but if you need anything, please let me know so we can go to town and pick it up. I will let you get settled, then you can come back up to the house and I will show you around. You will eat your meals with me and Nancy, my cook. She will be happy to get our meals for us. She is an expert cook. She knows of your visit; we discussed many things about food and meals. I am sure you will be pleased with it all.”

“
Oh, great,” he replied. “You are so considerate and have made many plans for my comfort and I really appreciate it. You truly are a gracious lady. I am certainly impressed with your arrangements of the whole situation; you have done so well.” He glanced around on the way to his living quarters and said, “You have a lovely and wonderful country estate here. I know you love it because you have put so much into it.”

They
stepped inside the cottage and she showed him where to find things he would need. He glanced about the living quarters and was pleased with everything.

“
It is just fantastic; I will be very comfortable here. Thank you for all your efforts. I will change, then come up and let you show me around. I will get the rest of my luggage later.”

“
I will wait for you at the house,” she told him as she started back. “I will tell Nancy when we want to eat. See you soon.”

Very
shortly he returned to carry his luggage back to his quarters. He had changed into a more casual outfit. His dark blue slacks and light blue shirt, open at the neck, looked very nice on him, making his tan look very charming and appealing. He returned after taking the luggage back to the cottage and they began to walk through her garden. As they walked she explained the different kinds of flowers she had planted and how she worked out her plan for the garden. She was quite knowledgeable about flowers and plants. Soon they came upon a bench where they could sit down to look over the garden. Before them was a small pond with goldfish of different sizes and shades swimming about.

“
What a magnificent garden you have put together. It is a marvelous idea. How did you imagine such a grand scheme,” he exclaimed, shaking his head in wonder.

“
It seemed easy in a way. I have always loved flowers and tried to learn a lot about them. I collected pictures and ideas on gardens and chose some ideas, then added to them what I wanted. It has been a lot of fun and enjoyment.”

They
arose and continued the tour, and by the time they finished, it was nearly time for dinner so they started back toward the house to get ready to eat their first meal together here at her home.

“
I am so glad I came here,” he remarked, “I am going to have a wonderful visit with you.”

She
took him back to the south side of the house to a beautiful patio on the edge of a large oval swimming pool. An arbor covered with wisteria hung over the patio and they were in full bloom and beautiful. Some special lights hung like tiny chandeliers from the beams of the arbor.

“
How do you feel about having dinner out here? It is a glorious evening. It is as if it is celebrating our being together.”

“
That is a superb idea,” he replied, looking around at the beauty of the area. “It can be a most pleasant way to end the day, not that I want it to end.”

They
sat at the elegantly decorated table and soon Nancy appeared with the meal.

“
Nancy, this is Todd Noble, Todd, Nancy Collins, our cook.”

“
Hello, Nancy,” replied Todd. “I have heard some marvelous things about you. You have a lot to live up to, but I have no fear you will come through with flying colors.”

Todd
was surprised because the meal resembled the one they had on her patio back in Monaco. He was nearly at a loss for words but said to her, “What a marvelous idea, how lucky you are to have such a great cook.”  

“
It seemed like a good plan to have a meal resembling the one we had on the patio before I left, sort of like picking up where we left off. How difficult it was to leave and I missed you terribly, but now, here we are back together again. It is so pleasant and wonderful.”