Once Within A Lifetime (46 page)

“
You are right, everyone should know that it is possible to be so very happy and in love.”

They
turned toward each other and put their arms around each other and kissed gently but long. It was so wonderful to be together at last with no more parting and waiting to be together again.

They
heard the buzzer and realized that they had been sitting there talking for some time and it was now time for their dinner. He opened the door while the waiter brought the food in and placed it on the table by the window. They sat down while he poured the wine for Todd to taste.

“
This is a new specialty and we want you to have it with our compliments for your honeymoon. How do you like it?”

Todd
tasted it and smiled broadly.

“
This is exquisite. A perfect blend. Please leave us the name of it and where we may get some. I definitely want to stock our wine cellar with some of this for our special occasions.”

He
passed the glass to Triessa and let her taste it.

She
smacked and nodded her head.

“
It is the ultimate. What a marvelous blend, as you said. How could it be so smooth and perfect? I wonder if we’ll be able to do something like this one day with our vines.”

“
This wine is Montrachet. It is a delightful wine. Alexander Dumas said “it should be drunk kneeling with your head bowed.” There is no comparison.

It
is a balanced, sweet, natural wine with no spare sugar. We can stock you with some, if you’d like. I will check with the desk and see how much we can supply for you. It will get you started in your life and in the future we can keep up on it. It would be a great pleasure for us to help begin your new life with such a grace. Triessa has always been one of our favorite guests and we are happy she has found herself a wonderful husband. We wish you all the happiness in the world.”

“
That is really kind of you,” exclaimed Triessa. “We will be very grateful and pleased with such a wonderful service. You have a fine establishment here and your service has always been excellent. That is one of the reasons I come here as often as I do. I wanted my husband to experience this also. We thank you deeply; everyone has been kind to us.”

The
waiter nodded, left and they began to eat. Todd poured more wine for each of them and they drank to the future and a wonderful and love-filled life.

He
looked at her and said, “I want the richness of joy and pleasure to increase continually and enrich every area of our lives and our family. We will have a family when we decide the time is right and we can give them the fullness of our love and experience. When we are full, we will be anxious to share it. It will be so wonderful; it is really hard to grasp at this point because it is something we will have to live to understand fully. But we shall to the fullest.”

“
Yes, my precious, we will do that. I want to wait a while before we start a family so we can give all those things. We need to build and enrich our lives, so we can be a container full and ready to pour into their small lives the bliss we will have gathered together.”

They
ate and went out on the patio, sat at the table and enjoyed the wonderful evening air. They saw the glorious lights coming on all over the city as if by magic.

Soon
the waiter returned bringing the dessert out to the patio, set the coffee on the table, bowed and left. Todd poured the coffee, Triessa got the dessert ready to serve, and they sat there and spent a long time over the finishing touches of the meal and the day. It was a perfect temperature and the sky was now full of stars. The moon was big and bright and all was perfect.

After
a while they went in and looked at the clock and were surprised that it was already nine-thirty.

“
We should go to bed so we will be fresh tomorrow when we go shopping for your material. We will do a lot of walking if it is like the last time. One thing about it is we will not have to hurry. We can go back again if need be. I want you to take your time and get all the supplies you want so you will be ready when the urge strikes you, as I know it will inevitably.”

“
Yes, it is time for bed. I’m ready; I feel quite tired and need to rest.”

They
got ready for bed and lay there looking at the view, trying to fill their memories to the fullest so it would last them forever. As they lay there in each other’s arms, they fell asleep to dream of being back at the Rose Garden. It had not really been part of their thoughts until they began talking about it and now it beckoned them back to its glory and elegance.

The
next day was lovely. They got up and got ready to go to the city for her materials. They decided to eat downstairs in the dining room. They went in, ordered, and sat near a window to look out at the other side of the hotel. It showed the hills and the beautiful flowers in the back yard with a fountain in the center supporting a small statue on one end. They ate and went to the car to go to the shops. The last time they went in his little MG, but it would be easier to have the bigger car. They could park nearby and walk to the shops and place the packages in the trunk when they got a number of them. They left and spent the day as they did before but took more time to look around. She found some wonderful fabrics and was very excited. Some Chemise with Silk Blended Mousseline, embroidered Sari Fabrics, sumptuous Golden Mesh Jersey, Black Cotton Velvet with periwinkle blue flowers, and Shantung-Pure Silk with a subtle sheen, of a superb quality.

When
they returned at night, she was ecstatic with all her finds but knew that she would be thinking of designs. She must be careful to wait and not hasten the end of the honeymoon and set her mind back in the right gear. There will be plenty of time for work when this was all over. They went to a local restaurant for dinner, one they had seen the day they were shopping. They went in, were seated, and ordered their meal. The waiter returned quickly with their meal and wine so they could begin to eat. They were pleasantly tired and were ready to go back to the hotel and retire after the meal was done.

Once
finished, he helped her up, and they went to the car to drive back to the hotel. He opened the door, let her in, and she kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch to relax before going to bed. She wanted to let her supper settle a little before lying down. He poured some of the wonderful wine that was left from the other night, gave her a glass and had one for himself. They sat a while and sipped it looking out the window.

“
This is lovely. I could easily get used to such luxury and beauty. It will be hard to leave in one sense. But we have some wonderful times coming up and that will be great.”

“
Yes, it is very nice here. I like it very much, too, and we can always return whenever we come back here in the future with our work. We could call ahead of time and reserve this very same suite. I am truly looking forward to our anniversary dinner at the special restaurant where we got engaged. I want to make that special in a very nice way for us.”

They
finished the wine, got up and went to bed, knowing the next day would be another full day. Three more days and they would go to the show, then leave for the last leg of their journey. They got into bed and looked at the view as usual. They held each other as they lay there quietly and soon fell asleep; it had been a very active day.

They
were a little disappointed the following day to see a light rain falling, but knew they could find something to do that would be fun. They got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.

He
said to her, “I saw a nice movie advertised at the theater when we were downtown the other day. Would you like to go see it? I think it starts at one o‘clock. We can go after lunch, maybe we can go and find a nice little restaurant nearby.”

“
I would like to see a movie; we have not done that for a long time. We can have some popcorn and everything. If it is sad, I know I shall cry.”

After
they ate, they went out to drive around and see what they could find to do. It was fun driving in the rain. It wasn’t a heavy rain and not all that unpleasant. They drove by a portrait gallery and went in to get a photo of themselves. They did not have any official ones outside of the wedding pictures. They were dressed nicely and it would look good. They would have copies made for the family. They had several shots taken so they could choose which ones to distribute and which to keep. They looked around afterward for some nice frames to use. There were some really nice ones there.

Once
that was done they went looking for a nice little restaurant where they could have lunch, then be ready for the movies. They found a nice cafe about a block from the theater and went in to order lunch. They only wanted something light and easy; they had been eating richly and were liable to gain a little extra weight and needed to be somewhat careful. It was necessary to stay well while here. They ordered a sandwich, iced tea and a small salad. This would be plenty to eat to hold them until they got ready for dinner.

After
eating, they went to the movie theater and parked out front in the lot. They went inside, got their tickets and popcorn, and got seated near the back of the theater. They sat there for about a half hour before the show began and settled back and enjoyed the film. It was a beautiful love story which they thoroughly enjoyed. It was done by  three o’clock, and when they went out, it had stopped raining. How clean everything looked and smelled after a rain. They went back to the hotel to change.

He
suggested that they go out to the country club for dinner so she put on the dress he gave her the other day and took along the bolero to wear if she needed it later. She was wearing her special necklace, which was plenty of jewelry for it. The place was on a large acreage and many people were outside on the lawns walking about and talking. They ordered and went outside to walk around. They had about an hour’s wait. It would be nice to stroll outside and look around. They were very surprised to see Phylicia and her friend there. They walked over and said hello and she introduced them to her friend and they began to talk.

“
How about if we all sit together for dinner?” suggested Todd. “We could talk and have a pleasant evening. How very nice to run into each other this way so we can spend more time together. 

“
That would be fine with us,” said Phylicia. “I never get to see enough of you two as it is. It would be perfect. I am glad we both decided to be here tonight.”

They
sat on a bench and talked until it was time to go in. They found a nice table in the center of the room. There was a piano not too far away and the player was doing some lovely old songs. It was very charming and pleasant. They were not seated too long when the meal came and they began to eat. Todd poured the wine and they all agreed that it was very good. They made a note of its name so they could get some later. They were reminded of the wine at the hotel and must remember to check on it.

“
We can have a variety for our collection at home,” he said.

They
talked as they ate and caught up on the news.

Phylicia
’s friend was someone she had met recently and they were really new acquaintances so they didn’t really know that much about each other.

Triessa
joked, “You can get married in our Rose Garden as we did.”

“
Don’t worry,” replied Phylicia, “I would certainly check it out if something serious happened in my life. It was a glorious scene and so lovely on such a grand day, I shall never forget that.”

“
Nor will we,” laughed Triessa. “It was a spontaneous thing, came up as we were standing there talking. It turned out to be a truly lovely idea. A lot of work but well worth it.”

Back
at the hotel they found a message to get in touch with the waiter who had been serving them.

“
Oh,” said Todd, “This is, no doubt, about the wine. Let’s call down to see if we can reach him.”

Suddenly
there was a knock at the door and when Todd answered it, he found the waiter there.

“
I saw you come in and want to tell you about the wine. I talked with the manager and we can let you have a dozen cases. Can you take care of the shipping? We can prepare to have it shipped and we can add the cost to your bill. Is that all right? But when do you want it shipped? You won’t be back home for a while, will you? How about if we wait and ship it in about two weeks? It will take some time to reach you and by then you should be back home. If you wish we could space it out for you. It might be more convenient and less expensive than a large shipment at one time.”

“
Could we split the shipment?” asked Todd. “I have a place near here and she has a place in New England. It would be great if we could send some to both places. And your idea of sending a little at a time sounds perfect.”

“
That won’t be a problem, sir,” replied the waiter. “The amount to deliver close by could be done by ground travel, but the other would have to be shipped by air. We will take care of it; you can just leave both addresses at the front desk.”