Authors: Ralph Smith
David walked off leaving Rebecca
and Aurora standing alone together. Aurora watched Rebecca seeing her gazing at David sadly.
Rebecca said in a faraway voice “I’m so happy for you. David’s such a wonderful man.”
Aurora smiled at her, and said, “thank you. I never thought I’d meet him, and I never thought I’d find love. I’m sorry.”
Rebecca asked slightly surprised “sorry for what?”
Aurora said in a kind voice “I spent most of the past 10 years of my life alone, and even when I was with people, I felt alone. I don’t know anything about men or marriage, but since I met David now I know what love is. I’m sorry because I can see that you love him, and he’s marrying me.”
Rebecca stood frozen, staring at Aurora until another tear ran down her cheek. She reached up
, and wiped it away, and asked “is it that obvious?”
“
I don’t know. I just saw a reflection of what I feel when I’m around him in your eyes. I can tell you that David sees something special in you too and if he can, then someone else will. I wouldn’t have thought that before I met him, but now I’m sure of it.”
Rebecca
asked a little choked up “do you truly think so?”
“
Yes I do.”
“
Thank you.”
Just then David returned
, and gave Rebecca a big hug. “We have to get going. If I don’t see you at the wedding, I’ll see you a week from Saturday. I’m going to stop by the bank this afternoon, and make sure you have enough in the account to carry through.”
David let go of Rebecca
, and turned to Aurora, taking her arm. Rebecca said, “good bye. I hope you have a good time.”
“Goodbye Rebecca. It was very nice meeting you.”
They walked out into the bright sun and went straight to the car. Once inside David turned to Aurora, and asked, “did Rebecca say anything? She didn’t quite seem herself. I hope she’s all right.”
“
She will be.”
David looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face
and asked, “What do you mean?”
Aurora looked back at the building then turned
, and said, “let’s go, and I’ll tell you.”
David started the car
, and they pulled out onto the street. Once the building was out of view Aurora turned to him, and said, “Rebecca loves you.”
“
I love her too. She’s a wonderful person. She’s so giving. She works tirelessly helping all those people.”
“
I don’t think you understand. She’s in love with you. I don’t know much about having a relationship, but I could see it in the way she looks at you.”
“
I think you must be mistaken, I’ve known her since we went to school together. We’re just friends.”
“
Just be sensitive to her, that’s all I ask.”
“
I will. So what did you think about the mission?”
“
I feel more foolish now. I’ve seen time and time again how generous you are, and how you put the needs of others ahead of yours. I was just overwhelmed by everything this morning, and didn’t feel as if I deserved it.”
“
You’re not being foolish, and don’t get carried away now. I’m not that special, it’s just if I can help someone I do. The Lord has given me everything I have, so I need to honor him with what I do with it. You and Rebecca are the only people who know that I help with the mission because I don’t want praise for His generosity. But that’s not why I brought you there. Were the ladies at the boutique kind to you today?”
“
Oh yes very.”
“Well the money we spent there today will help to feed their families. Just as much as the money I put into the mission helps the families there too. If I ho
arded the wealth I’ve been blessed with, what good would that do? By the same token, if I squandered it or gave it all away I would not be able to make sure that the good work that Rebecca does can continue.” David said, “to put it another way. I have been blessed with the ability to earn money, and Rebecca has been given the gift to help change or even save those people’s lives. So by growing my wealth I can do more good through people like Rebecca than I can myself.”
“I didn’t realize you were so wise too. How did you learn all these things?”
David laughed, and said, “by making a lot of mistakes, and by reading the Bible, although I don’t feel all that wise most of the time.”
“Where are we going now?”
"Lunch," David said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
“Me too. The food at the mission smelled
delicious.”
“We
could’ve eaten there, but I wanted us to have some privacy. I thought we could go to a place I know on the river. The view is pretty, and the food is good.”
"Privacy sounds good
."
David made his way through
, what felt to Aurora like a maze of streets between buildings that seemed impossibly tall. It was beyond her how anyone could build something so high, and yet there was one after another. She watched the people walking the streets, completely unaffected by the grandeur of the place. Before she realized it, David was pulling the car up underneath one of the tallest buildings she had seen yet.
She looked at the massive stone columns holding the building up above their heads
, and as large as they were they seemed too small. She felt a little nervous contemplating what was above them. David maneuvered between rows of cars, and up ramps until he found an opening. He pulled the car in and shut it off.
“Here we go. There’s a restaurant on the top floor that will give us a
magnificent view.”
“How long will it take to climb to the top?” Aurora asked
, looking a little dismayed.
“Don’t worry. There’s an elevator that will c
arry us to the top.”
Aurora gave him an ‘if you say so” look that made him chuckle a little. He walked around
and helped her from the car then locked the doors. They walked across a row of cars holding hands until they came to a glass wall that made a small room. When they went inside he walked over to the wall, and pushed the button, then he stepped back taking her hand again.
“These are the express elevators. We can take them all
the way to the top.”
They heard a ding
and then the doors on the right opened. David led Aurora to the elevator, and she inspected the jamb to see where the doors went. When they used the elevators at the nursing facility she was too distracted by what was going on to pay much attention to them, but today was different. She was so absorbed that it took her a moment to realize the back of the elevator was glass, and they could see out onto the river.
She
was a little surprised, and said, “Oh look out there. I can see the river.”
David reached over
, and hit the button for the top floor, and said, “I know. Wait until you see it from the top.”
The doors slid shut
, and the elevator started to rise. Aurora quickly stepped back from the glass wall, and bumped into David, who put an arm around her to keep her from tripping.
“Are we going to be able to see all the way up to the top?”
“Yes, I thought you’d like to get a good look at everything.”
She leaned forward to look out
and down as they moved quickly up the side of the building, but stayed back from the edge. “I feel as if I could fall off.”
“I remember the first time I went up in this elevator. I was scared to death. I held onto my father’s leg as if my life depended on it.”
By the time they got to the top Aurora had backed him up almost to the door. When the doors opened, and they stepped out into the lobby, he could feel her muscles relax. They walked towards the opposite end of the lobby where a man stood behind a wooden podium. Aurora was admiring the polished stone floors of deep green, and the smooth wood walls with decorative trim. Past the man at the podium, she could see into a large room, and at the far end light was coming in from a tremendous window that she imagined looked out over the city.
When they reached the man he
said, “Welcome to the Rooftop. Lunch for two?”
“
Yes, please.”
The man
asked, “Would you like a seat by the window?”
David looked to Aurora
, who gave a slight shake of the head, and then he replied, “No, I think we’d prefer something away from the window today. Something quiet, where we can talk, would be nice.”
The man
said, “very good. Then come this way please.”
Aurora gave David a slight squeeze to say thank you. She wasn’t sure she could sit through an entire meal looking out the window from this high up. They stepped through the archway of the lobby into a huge room with people sitting at tables all around the perimeter. They were all very nicely dressed. Some were talking quietly
, and others were laughing, and joking. The atmosphere was relaxed, and Aurora didn’t see one person carrying a weapon.
“
Is this table acceptable sir?” The man asked.
The table was close enough to the window to see off in the distance
, but far enough back to feel as though they were on steady ground. David looked to Aurora, and she nodded her approval.
“Yes th
at'll be fine, thank you.”
“Very
good. Your server will be along shortly.” The man said as he walked off.
Almost immediately a young man showed up with a pitcher
, and asked “would you like some water?”
“
Yes please.”
“And you sir?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’ll be right back with some bread.”
David said, “Thank you” As he hurried off.
David was just about to say something when a young woman came up to the table
, and said, “Hello I’m Darlene, and I’ll be taking care of you today. May I get you something to drink?”
“
Hello Darlene. Aurora would you like something else to drink besides water? They have tea, coffee, juices, milk, and what we call soft drinks, which are sweet.”
“
I’d like some tea if it isn’t too much trouble.”
Darlene said
, “No, that isn’t any trouble.”
“
I’ll have some tea too, please. Do you have any specials today?”
“Yes
sir. We have 2 soups today, French onion and vegetable beef, we have broiled cod fish with a lemon butter sauce served over rice, a bacon bleu cheese burger, and shrimp with tomato basil served over angel hair.”
“Aurora would you like some soup while we
’re deciding on our meal?”
“That sounds good, I like onion soup.”
“Darlene, could we have 2 cups of the French onion soup while we look over the menu?”
“I’ll get them right away.”
“Thank you.”
As Darlene walked off Aurora leaned in to David
, and said, “I really don’t know what those other dishes she said were.”
“
I didn’t expect you to. That’s why I thought soup might be good. This way we can look at the menu together.” Then David stood up.
Aurora looked up questioningly as he grabbed a chair
, and pulled it around next to her. The table was too narrow for them to sit side by side, so David sat caddy corner, and leaned in picking up the menu. David held the menu up, and opened it for them to look at together.
Aurora smiled at him
, and said, “I like this better.” Then she put her arm on his back and rested her head against his should.
“Hmm I like it better too.” David
said, “so what are you in the mood to eat. They have fish, beef, chicken, pasta, and salads… “
"I don't know,"
She said in a husky voice “why don’t you tell me what sounds good?” Then she slid her hand up his neck running her fingers under his hair.
“Uh… Ok
.”
Then Aurora turned
and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Her lips felt full and warm, and lingered on his skin. David turned to look at her, and then leaned in as she closed her eyes. She felt his skin brush against her cheek, and he whispered in her ear “you realize we’re surrounded by people don’t you.”
At those words
, Aurora sat bolt upright, and said, her face flush “I forgot, I just well … “
David said with a smile “I didn’t mind at all
, but I’m afraid if I kiss you I won’t be able to stop.”
Aurora gave him a pleased smile
, and said, “I hope so.”
“Excuse me
, but I have your soup.” Darlene said, standing there looking at them with a little smirk of her own.
Aurora, completely red in the face
, said, “Oh I’m sorry.”
“
Don’t be. Most of the people who come in here are too stiff.”