Once Within A Lifetime (25 page)

“
What day is it?” asked Leslie

“
It will be on July Twenty-first,” replied Triessa. “It would be too stressful for me to come to town and get anything done here. I would so appreciate it if you could. You would earn as much, maybe more, as your regular day at work.”

“
Let me check things out and get back to you, OK?” asked Leslie.

“
Certainly, I will be around here and should be able to talk with you. Thanks so much.”

She
hung up and called the store to let the lady know she was all set on her dress. She thanked her and wished her lots of happiness in her new life.

Todd
had been standing nearby, so he heard the conversation. He smiled at her and put his hands on top of hers.

“
I am sure it will work out just fine. She will do all she can to help you. It is a couple of weeks away. True, we should have gotten to her sooner, but we were overseas.”

“
Sure, I am not really worried,” smiled Triessa. “Let’s check with the family to see what the guest list situation is. It is really late to send invitations. Let’s go back out to the garden and speak with Dad and Reese. They may know what is going on. If not, I will call Mom and Deanna.”

They
went out to the garden. She saw her dad and went over to him to ask if he knew what had been done.

“
Well, I did hear your mother and Deanna talking about it one day at our place. They had a list and said they would take care of it so you would not have to worry about it. They knew you were going to be gone looking for your dress and accessories. Was that right for them to do? Maybe you would better call your mother to make sure what has been done.”

“
Yes, I will. It would be wonderful if it is all done. Thanks so much, Dad. Things are looking great here. Looks like everything will be done in plenty of time and maybe early. What do you think? I hope so and then we can all have some free time to unwind and get ready for the big day.”

“
Yes, it looks like we may get done early. That is what we hoped to do so we can do some other things with you two,” replied her dad.

“
Wonderful. It all looks so good, I can relax. I was a little uneasy until I got back home to see how it all was going. It is just the fact that you cannot see it with your own eyes so can’t realize it being done. I knew you would do a great job and it all looks so super. You’re a real treasure. I think I will go and call Mom. I am expecting a call from Leslie, but I do not know how soon she will get back to me. Please come up to the house before you leave, Dad.” 

“
I will, Dear. You go along and do what you have to do and please do not be concerned about this. We have it all under control.”

“Fine
, Dad,” she replied. She took Todd’s hand and they went back to the house to make the calls.

She
was getting ready to call her mother when the phone rang. She answered and it was Leslie.

“
I had two appointments on your wedding day. I have rescheduled them so it works out better for them and for me. I will keep the day free. What time do you want me to come over? What about eight o’clock in the morning? That is when I usually begin work. I will bring everything with me that we will need. I know what you need to have done and we can get right at it. We will begin with a facial and fix your hair and do a manicure. You will be the most beautiful bride ever. I am so happy to be doing this for you. Thanks for asking me.”

“
Oh, thank you, dear, dear Leslie,” replied Triessa gratefully. “I know it will be a glorious day. Things are coming together and I feel so relieved. I knew everyone would do a great job, but it’s only natural, I guess, to be a little concerned and jittery. I have heard many stories and it does get a little scary. I will see you then, thanks again.”

She
hung up and called her mother to see what had been done.

Her
Mom answered the phone and said, “Oh, Hi dear, so glad to hear from you. Deanna and I mailed out all the invitations for you, so it is all set. We invited the rest of the family members, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and the regular lot. I hope that is fine with you. We knew you would want immediate family and that we could not add a lot. I also included some of your close friends. Is that alright? How are things going with Esther? I have been quite concerned about that?”

“
Sure, that is great, Mom,” replied Triessa. “Esther seems to be fine now. I believe she got in touch with all of Todd’s family. I know you will do the right thing so am not a bit concerned about it. Thanks so much. It was a very thoughtful gesture and I really appreciate it a lot. I will go now and see what else I need to do. Oh, yes, I contacted Leslie and she can come for the whole day to take care of our cosmetic needs. Isn’t that wonderful? I can’t possibly go anywhere, time will be too tight. She will be here at eight o’clock and we will get started. I think we planned the ceremony to start at eleven o’clock and the reception at twelve-thirty, right? It should all be so perfect. I am getting so anxious. Thank God you are all here to help me with so many details. I got so nervous while I was gone because I could not see things and got all wound up. Thanks to Todd for his wonderful care. What a wonderful thing it is to have close family to step in where there is a need. Thank you, Mom, I love you so much. Please come by soon so we can talk.”

“
Yes,” replied her mother, “There is a lot to be done and I wish we could have done it all for you, but I knew you’d want to be involved. You could not relax without being involved and keeping an eye on all the progress. You need to know it will all be great for the wonderful day. Then you should have some time to rest before. You could not have done it yourself and did not need to. It has been such a pleasure for all of us, believe me.”

“
Yes, it is true,” replied Triessa, “I could not have a hands-off policy here and be able to relax at all. Even though it is hectic, I knew the situation. To me, it is worth the work we’ve had to do to get it ready. Nothing else could be so special.”

“
Yes, I know, dear, and I am thrilled to be able to help all I can. So is your dad and Reese. We love Todd and are so happy for you. How about if I come over tomorrow and we make some plans? I have not seen your dress. Can I see it tomorrow?”

“
That would be great.” 

“
Good, I will see you about nine-thirty in the morning.”  

Triessa
hung up and went to Todd, put her arms around him and he held her close for a while.

“
Let’s take a stroll down by the water near the cottage. It is a beautiful day and the blossoms are elegant and smell just wonderful.”

They
sat on the ground and looked at the water and the lilies. They just sat there for a while staring at it all. It was so wonderful and the coming events were like a dream at this point. It was hard to imagine it all coming to pass, yet they knew it would.

“
You know, I have really missed all these lovely things, haven’t you? It is pretty much a part of your life now.”

Yes,
but sometimes, with all that has been going on, it seems like another place, not the home I have been used to,” sighed Triessa.

“
You know we never did talk about the situation with your mother. What happened when the two of you talked?”

“
She said pretty much the same as she did before. She realized that she should be happy for me that I found my true love. She felt a little embarrassed especially when she was around you.”

“
Dirje talked to me while you two were talking. She had talked to your mother and helped convince her to accept it. It seemed your mother had an eye on a girl who liked you and planned to introduce you with hopes that everything would go well between you. How about that? Aren’t you a little bit curious?” she teased.

“
Certainly not,” he said looking a little upset. “I am glad that never happened for sure. She did not say anything to me about that. Probably felt too silly about it. I guess it is all over, but I know how much it upset you. You feared there would be a big delay or that something would go wrong between us, but that could not be. I cannot go on without you now and you should know that. “

“
I do and it is the same with me. Thank you for taking care of it all.”

“
You will soon be my beautiful bride and it will be so wonderful. You know we have not even considered where we’ll go on our honeymoon. I know it is difficult, but we must make some plans so we can call for reservations. What do you say about starting out in Vienna? We can glide up and down the Danube. Where would you like to go?”

“
I think Vienna will be wonderful. We can rent a suite at a hotel for however long we will stay there. A week there should give us time to see a lot, don’t you think? At the end before we come home, I would like to go to Monaco to the hotel that I stayed in and back to the place where you proposed. We could spend some time there and go on to your place before we come back. We won’t have to think about any meetings or anything for a while, will we? We can come back here to think about it and go from there. Is that how you feel also?”

“
That is wonderful, and I heartily agree, we should definitely take in Monaco and my place at the end. I think that will be super. We can cover all the spots we did while there and do it from a different perspective as married folk. It will be just grand. But what comes after Vienna? What about Paris? We could stay at a nice little place outside the city that I know about. I think you will love it; I know you will. There’s a nice lady there to take care of us and we will be able to see all the sights there in a week. At least, many of them. We can go back later sometime if you wish.”

“
Yes, Paris sounds wonderful to me. I would love to be outside the city rather than staying in all the hustle and bustle. Oh, my darling, it is all coming together and will be so wonderful. I want to take lots of pictures. We can relive it over and over.”

They
snuggled closer and sat looking at the flowers. They stayed there for some time. They knew that they must return soon so her dad could find her when he came to the house. Todd helped her up and held her close for a moment.

“
Just think, my sweetheart, very soon we will always be able to be together all the time. Won’t that be a marvelous thing!”

“
Oh, yes, my darling,” she sighed and they walked back to the house. Her dad was there when she got back. He said he had just got there himself and decided to wait for her so he could see her before he went home.

“
Mom is coming over tomorrow. We will cover a lot of things and she will see my dress. Would you like to see it, Dad?” she asked.

“
No,” he replied, “I will see it tomorrow with your mother, if that is fine with you. I really should start back now so I can have supper and not keep your mother waiting. Goodbye, my dear, we will see you tomorrow. So long, Todd , we will see you also. You two have a grand evening. It is a gorgeous night. I can show myself out, you two relax and enjoy yourselves.”

He
left and they decided they should eat on the patio this evening. It was such a delightful evening. She went in to inform Nancy and they went out to the patio and sat down to wait for dinner. They did not have to wait very long. They ate and sat there in the dusk watching the fireflies darting about in the trees and shrubs. They were marvelous critters. He had not seen them before and was spellbound at the remarkable display they were giving for free. They were so entertaining and spectacular and he wondered how they did it.

Around
nine-thirty he decided to go on to bed, and as he got up to leave, she stood up. They hugged and kissed gently, then parted. As he went to the cottage, she watched him, and then went inside and up to her bedroom where she sat a while to digest all this. She got ready for bed, then sat on her chair by the window to just recall and relive the last week and a half. Then she thought,
“How will this room be on our wedding night? Should I do some real special things to it so it will be different? Ours instead of mine with the old usual style.”
She would consider this and see what she could do. Time would be the big thing to consider. She may be able to hire someone to come in and do some things for her once she finally decided what to do. She knew she wouldn’t have a lot of extra time, none really. It really was not all that bad. At last, she felt tired. She looked up at the skylight above her and drifted off to sleep.

She
awoke to a gorgeous day and remembered that her mother was coming to see her wedding dress. There was just two weeks to wait now. How could she possibly wait? It seemed as unbearable as waiting to see him when they were apart. She stretched, rose, and got ready to face the day. She felt full of energy. She showered, dressed and went down to see if Todd had come to breakfast. When she got downstairs and went out on the patio, she found him sitting there having coffee. He arose, helped her get seated and poured coffee for her. They began to discuss their plans for the day.