Once Within A Lifetime (18 page)

Triessa
was pleased to have this part of it done, “Great, shall we go back inside for dessert and coffee? Do you drink coffee? Maybe we could have it on the patio. It is a warm and so lovely out there and we can sit there and talk a while.”

They
went back to the house and Triessa went in to tell Nancy they were back and asked if she would bring the dessert out to the patio with some coffee. They went out and sat to wait for the coffee. Soon Nancy brought out the dessert, Mini Cream Puffs with Mint Ice Cream and some delightful coffee. They enjoyed it very much and at dusk the lights decorating the arbor came on making the scene very romantic and pleasant.

After
a while Todd took them down to see his cottage where he was staying. They loved it and were pleased that he had his own place to stay. After being shown around they went back to the house. Before they went inside, after his dad had already gone in, he looked at his mother and asked if everything was all right.

“
You appear to be a little upset about something. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“
No, Dear,” she replied, “I guess I am just tired after the long trip.”

“
I really want you to like Triessa,” he pleaded.

Spencer
came back to the door and asked if they were coming in.

“
Yes, Dad, we are on the way,” replied Todd.

They
talked a while longer, then Esther said firmly, “I really would like to go on up to bed now and see some more of the sights tomorrow.”

“
Yes, Dear,” replied Spencer, “I, too, am tired and would like to go up and go to bed. We can see you both tomorrow. Please sit still we can find our way. Goodnight and sleep well both of you.”

After
they got up to the bedroom Spencer turned to his wife and asked, “What is it, my Dear? You seem a little upset or different since the garden tour. I know you and something is bothering you. Are you not happy about the situation?”

“
I just think it is a little too fast,” she answered, “We did not even have a chance to know about them being together until today. And then to be told they want to be married. I would rather have been told sooner so I could have gotten used to it. This is too sudden and shocking. I’m sorry, I am quite disturbed over this. This is not the way a mother likes to be told about such things. I wonder why such a hurry?”

He
went over to her and held her a while and she began to cry. They sat down on the side of the bed and he kept his arm around her shoulders.

“
What do you mean by that remark?” he asked. “Surely you cannot mean what it sounds like? They are very much in love and want to be together.”

“
I should have realized something was going on the way we were called here so suddenly. I wish I had waited and come later after I could adjust to it, but I had no idea of such a thing occurring. It is awkward and will be for a while for me. A mother likes to be involved and help in such things.

“
But, my Dear, he does want our help,” said Spencer to his wife.

“
I know, but it is not the same for a mother. I wonder if her mother knew before?”

“
I don’t know, Dear, but let’s go to bed and you may feel better tomorrow once you have had time to accept the idea. We need to be happy for them and support them now.” They got into bed and he held her close until she went to sleep. He was concerned about her.

Later,
Todd decided it was time to go to bed as well and kissed Triessa goodnight and held her close for a while with a secret fear in his heart, then went to his cottage and she went inside to go to bed. He dared not stay longer for fear his feelings would show to her and he did not want to upset her.

On
the way to the cottage, Todd was a little concerned about his mother. He had not remembered seeing her like this and feared she might not like his bride-to-be. This really upset him though he would not let Triessa know about it if it were not necessary. He was not sure what to expect.

The
next morning Triessa awoke fairly early and rose to get ready for the rest when they arrived downstairs. After all, she was the hostess. She got ready, went downstairs and out to the patio to see if coffee was there. It was and Todd was sitting there having some. As she came out, he rose, poured her a cup, and helped seat her so they could drink their coffee together.

“
Good morning, my Darling, did you sleep well?” she asked him.

“
Yes, very well but awoke early. Guess it was all the excitement of seeing my parents and telling them of our plans.”

Soon
his father came out on the patio, greeted them, and Todd asked about his mother.

“
Your mother will be down in a little bit. She did not rest well and wants to stay in bed a while. Guess she got overtired. I am sure she will be fine after a while. She asked us not to wait for her but to go ahead with breakfast.”

Todd
looked a bit surprised and said, “I hope she will be all right. Should I go up and see her and take her some coffee?”

“
Oh, no, dear, just leave her alone for a while, I think she would rather be alone right now. This whole thing was quite a big surprise for her. I will keep an eye on her.”

Todd
and Triessa looked quickly at each other and fear settled in the pit of their stomachs. Todd had not seen his mother like this for some time and knew she was upset about something. He reached over and held Triessa’s hand and squeezed it.

“
She will be fine later on. So let’s eat breakfast, what do you say?”

His
dad agreed and Todd poured each of them some coffee and they sat down to eat. Soon Nancy arrived with a rich Granola Cereal with Strawberries and Cream and Cheese Quiche for breakfast.

“
Is the Misses not coming to breakfast? Should I save some for her?”

“
We will deal with it later, she is tired still,” replied Spencer. “Thank you for your concern.”

After
they had finished breakfast and sat a while on the patio, Spencer said he would go up and check on Esther and see how she was feeling. He would try to get her to come downstairs to eat something or at least have some coffee.

He
came back down and told them she would be dressed and down in a little while and said to give all her apologies.

About
a half hour later Esther came downstairs slowly and went to the patio. The fresh air felt very good to her.

“
Such wonderfully clean and fresh air,” she sighed as she took some deep breaths and stretched a bit. “I am so sorry, I do hope I did not cause you delay with your breakfast.”

“
No problem,” replied Todd, “We just want you to do whatever helps make you feel better. Here, sit here and let me get you some fresh, hot coffee. I will have some with you. Dad and Triessa are down looking at the pond in front of my cottage. May I tell Nancy to bring you some breakfast now?”

“
I think that will be fine,” she replied and sat back and drank some of the coffee and sighed. Nancy brought her some granola with strawberries and fresh cream and some cheese quiche.

“
Can I bring you anything else?” she queried. “I do hope that you are rested and feeling much better,” she added as she nodded and walked back to the kitchen.

Triessa
and Spencer came back to the patio and she felt uncomfortable and didn’t know what to say.

“
Good morning, Esther. Good to see you up and having breakfast. I hope you rested well.”

“
Yes, my dear, I did sleep well, thank you,” she replied coolly.

“
My folks and my brother and family are planning to come over today to meet you. Do you think you will feel up to it or should I ask them to come later? It will be great to get you all together here. They planned to be here right after lunch,” informed Triessa.

Esther
thought a moment and did not want to ruin their plans and she did not want them to know how she felt right now.

“
Yes, I think I will be all right then,” she replied, nodding her head. “But I think I will sit here a while. You go ahead and do whatever you had planned on. I just want to get back on my feet here first.”

Spencer
spoke up and asked, “Can we go back out to the garden? It’s such a delightful place. I would like to look at the Rose Garden again to see what we can do with the area.” He kissed Esther and told her he would be back real soon and that she should rest a while. So they went back out to look the area over to see what they would need to plan on doing.

“
I have not seen her for a while, Dad. Do you think she feels well?” asked Todd. “I hope she is not coming down with something. We truly want you both to enjoy yourself while you are here.”

“
I am sure she will be fine in a little while,” replied his dad and they walked on. “She is been involved with getting a lot of large groups together in her area for different occasions and has some idea of what needs to be done and how much they can do with the area,” said Spencer and was already feeling better as he looked ahead to her involvement in their plans. Just give her some time to come up with something.

Triessa
told him she was pleased with all the help and opinions she would be able to provide when she felt up to it and would leave it up to her to get involved as she desired.

They
heard someone, looked up and were glad to see Esther coming into the garden. Spencer went to her, took her arm and helped her over to the area where they had been standing and talking.

She
looked over the area and decided where would be a good place for them to stand for the ceremony, but did not say anything yet. There was one side where the blooms were very plentiful and the colors were gorgeous and bright. She asked Triessa what she was planning to wear for a dress.

She
thought,
These days tradition is changing and everyone goes along with his or her own desire, which is a good idea. Today people create their own tradition,
but thought better of saying it to Esther at this point and instead said, “I will be wearing a light pink dress. I am thinking of going with a color rather than the traditional white. I had planned to make it but with the rush in time and everything I think it might be a better idea to buy one. But what and where is the big question. I called a friend of mine in Monaco who’s up-to-date on the current styles and locations to buy the best so she’ll help all she can. I had planned to ask if you knew of anything also. We felt it might be good to go back with you when you go to possibly pick out something. Maybe I can find the one I really want.”

“
But maybe you would rather take a little more time to make your dress and get married at the end of summer or early fall,” remarked Esther coolly as she looked questionably at Triessa.

Triessa
couldn’t believe her ears, gasped and ran back to the house. Todd stared at his mother but didn’t say anything. Instead he followed Triessa back to the house. He held her as she cried.

“
I cannot believe this, are our plans going haywire? What’s wrong? Doesn't she like me? This is not at all what I expected,” she cried some more.

“
Nor I,” replied Todd. “I am truly bewildered. I am sure she likes you but is a little surprised with all of this. It seems we approached it all wrong and upset her more than I had imagined.”

“
I am so sorry; what will happen now? What about when my parents and family get here? Will we all be ready for company this afternoon? Maybe we had better postpone the afternoon plans if it isn’t too late. Reese and Deanna are, no doubt, already on the way.”

“
I cannot believe this. Everything has been going so well up to this point and now I am beginning to fear something will go wrong with our wedding plans. Oh, what shall we do? Hold me and tell me everything will be all right that this is just a bad dream,” she cried.

“
It will be fine, Dear,” he said, “I am sure my mother will come around soon. Let’s go back to the garden and talk with her about it.”

She
dried her eyes but feared to go talk with Esther now. She was not sure how to feel about her at this point. Esther turned out so different from what she had expected.

When
they got back to the garden, Spencer and Esther had been talking so she was a little calmer and apologized to Triessa.

“
I am sorry. I did not mean what I said in the way it sounded to you. I had not thought of it before I spoke. Then, after you left, I realized you both said you were eager to get married soon. I was considering the fact that more time might make things easier to handle.” Then she was quiet for a while.

Triessa
began the conversation with Esther, “I do have some ideas in mind for my dress. I have some pictures I’ve saved over the years. Would you like to see them? I can find them quite readily. I already showed them to Todd, and we discussed it some this morning. I will go get them now so we can look through them to get some ideas together. It will be a head start when we arrive at the place to look for something.”