Once Within A Lifetime (47 page)

“
Wonderful, then it is all taken care of,” replied Todd. “We are so grateful to you for all this extra work and appreciate greatly being able to stock our supply at home with this marvelous creation. It adds such a wonderful enrichment to our lives and we want to share it with our families. Thank you and all the rest so very much for your gracious hospitality.”

He
nodded and left and Todd and Triessa settled down for a quiet evening to make some more plans. Two more days before the show and then they would go to his place.

He
looked at her and said, “Do you want to do any shopping for our homes while you’re here? Are there any things you want to pick up? If so, we could plan on that tomorrow.”

“
I do not really know; actually I will have to spend some time in your place before I can make any final decisions. We’ll do it together. I don’t think there is any need to make any immediate changes. We can go out to look around to see if there is something we see that we both like and want to add somewhere. Something special for us, just for us. Do you understand what I am trying to say?” she asked.

“
Yes, I know what you mean and guess I had been thinking the same way, which was why I asked you. It will be fun doing this and all the other things we will do together. I really look forward to it. We both have a whole new experience ahead of us since we have done everything alone with a singular perspective.”

They
sat on the couch to watch the lights come on outside. They sat there for some time and saw the moon come up flooding the whole area with its romantic light.

“
It is splendid; how have we missed it all this time? It must have been coming up later. And, look, it is very full and brilliant.”

They
sat and watched it for as long as they could, then went to bed to rest for the shopping day tomorrow.

The next day was beautiful and a littl
e cooler which was a wonderful and a pleasant surprise. It would be good for the walking they would be doing with their shopping. So they got ready, ate and went to look around. They found a couple really good shops in town and began checking out the items for interest’s sake. They did not find anything by noon, so they stopped to eat and went back a little while before going to the second place. There they saw a couple of items that would really work well in her place and she found a couple items to help with her organization area in her studio. She was very happy with these and made plans to have them shipped to her place. It would be a month or more before they got there, so she would be back by then. They also found a small table and mirror for the hall at his place. It would really dress up the front entrance, and they found a couple of plant holders for some lovely plants on either side of it. Most other things would have to wait for their inspection and planning. They made arrangement for them to be shipped right away because they’d be there in a couple of days.

“
It will be about a week before they will arrive, sir, is that all right?” asked the clerk.

“
Yes, that will be just right for us. Thank you so much.”

They
took care of all the arrangements and left.

It
would be time for dinner in another hour so they looked for a nice little place here to eat. They could sit and wait for time to order. In no time they found just the place for their mood, went in and got seated. It was very pleasant inside and much larger than it looked from the outside. In the center of the room were some lovely plant arrangements in an island with light shining up through them.

“
This is charming,” exclaimed Triessa. “Let’s sit over there where we can watch it. It looks like it’s arranged for lighting after it gets darker.”

So
they got a close seat and settled down. They ordered a drink before dinner and sat there a while before the waiter came back to take their order.

They
served dinner from six o’clock on and it was nearly that time now. They ordered and continued sipping their drink and reminiscing over their trip.

“
I am so grateful for all our video shots and the photos which we can use for years to come to remember all this. The day after tomorrow we will meet  with Phylicia and then go to your place. I do not mean it is not ours but it helps to designate between the two places. I am so eager to get there. While we are there let’s invite all your family over for a meal and spend some time together. I am sure they will be pleased to see us again as we will them. We can decide after we have arrived there; we have our special night out and then we can go on with other things. That will be our one major priority.”

“
That is a great idea, sweets,” he replied. “I am also anticipating getting there so we can make some plans for our future there. We will have to make it our place and not just mine. I am willing to make changes so you can be happy there.”

As
their dinner was served, the lights went on in the plant arrangement and it was simply magnificent.

“
What a charming idea,” exclaimed Triessa. “It does give a lot of ambiance to the area having some indoor atmosphere to liven the place up tremendously. We truly have seen some fantastic things in our travels. I want to remember them all. Of course we have pictures of all of them and we must not leave this one out. It will be super. We can find someone to take some shots with our video camera and we can do some cool things in front of the garden area.”

“
Yes, that will go well with our collection. Shall we do it now or later?”

“
Let’s wait until later when it is a little darker and the lights will be doing a better job of illuminating the scene as they are planned to do. It will be far more effective. They may not show up as well if it is too light in here.”

So
after they ate they spoke to someone to take the shots for them and thanked them very much. The waiter came with a dessert tray and they chose a light pastry and some coffee. It arrived shortly; they finished, prepared to go back to the hotel and relax for the rest of the evening.

They
went out on the patio and sat to watch the evening lights in the distance and up on the hill. They sat there long enough to see the moon again. It was amazing how much light it sent down on them and the patio. It was glorious.

“
You know we didn’t take that drive up on the hill yet. Let’s do that tomorrow and look down over the wonderful sights below,” suggested Todd. “It may be too late to call downstairs to have a picnic lunch prepared but we can do it in the morning. I am sure it will not take long to prepare.”

“
Yes, I would really like that,” she answered.

They
sat a while longer resisting the thought of leaving the gorgeous moonlight. But they would be able to see it from the bedroom with the window arrangement. How spectacular that would be.

The
moon had stirred deep feelings within them and they were in each other’s arms as soon as they got in bed. They were very much in love and  thrilled at the prospect of spending the rest of their lives together like this. They gently and slowly prepared to make love, arriving slowly to the peak moment, so when they made love, it would be an ultimate delight. The shimmering of their emotions and the thrill from their touches were exquisite and demanded further fulfillment, a magnificent crescendo of two together sharing the one thing that could make them one as if they were one heartbeat resounding loudly and strong.

“
Yes, yes, this is for life!”

They
slept a very pleasant and peaceful sleep after such emotional release and awoke the next day feeling great and ready to face the world so full of zest and energy. Todd called downstairs placed an order for a picnic lunch with a bottle of their fine wine and asked if they could have it ready by the time they finished breakfast. It was agreed that it would be ready and he ordered breakfast to come up to the patio in about forty-five minutes.

This
would give them time to shower and dress. The shower was large so they decided to shower together and save time. They could wash each other’s backs and it would be fun. They got in and stood together so the water would hit them both. They lathered up the sponge and washed each other’s bodies slowly and carefully, and when they were done, they rinsed off together. She got out to dress and he followed her. They were laughing and having fun with their play. Playing was very good and would keep them in a young frame of mind which was what they wanted to do as long as they could. It would be just be a matter of acting young and having lots of fun.

They
got set up on the patio and left the door open a crack for the waiter; he would soon be there. They smelled the fresh air and enjoyed the wonderful scene set there for them as if they were in paradise. The waiter arrived soon after they got seated, poured their coffee, set their breakfast in front of them and bowed. He asked if there was anything else they would like and they agreed that they were all set for now but would call if they needed something else. They ate slowly and planned to keep the day in a slow pace and enjoy every split second of it.

After
they had eaten the waiter came back for the tray and cleaned up the table. They were ready to go on their drive to their picnic. They went down got their picnic lunch and headed out the door laughing and holding hands. It would be a grand experience. They began the drive and as they wound up the hill she took video footage to add to their memory collection. It was such a magnificent view and the light was perfect. As they got to the top of the hill they could see for miles in just about every direction. On the back side was a large lake snuggled at the foot of the hills which wound through some of the valleys between the hills. The view was glorious. They found a nice area to sit down spread out the blanket and had an all-inclusive view from this spot.

“
Many people come up here,” he told her, “But for now we have it all to ourselves and we’ll take advantage of it.”

They
sat and looked around a while; it was too early to eat. They were still feeling the effects of a great breakfast. They got up walked around the area over the top of the hill and saw that it went for miles. It could be quite a hike if one were so prepared. They stopped at various places to take shots and by the time they got back to their lunch spot they were ready to eat. There was another couple a short distance away doing the same thing. They looked up Todd and Triessa waved at them and smiled then sat down to eat.

“
It is a glorious experience,” she exclaimed, “I am so glad you knew and planned to do this. We would have missed so much. You’re more familiar with the area than I, which is good. I am glad so we can take it all in.”

They
finished lunch packed the things back in the container and put it in the car. They decided to drive down the hill and maybe stop at some of the other scenic views along the way. They would pull off to get some more footage on the video. There were several spots that were appealing so they stopped took more shots and moved on. They arrived back at the hotel about three-thirty and it was a while before dinner. They must get some things packed so they could be ready to leave right after the show. They got out the luggage, began to put things inside, and had it all done by the time dinner was to be ready.

They
went out on the patio and the waiter brought their food out there. They sat and enjoyed the long meal knowing this would be the last dinner they would have here for a while. It seemed a little sad to leave such wonderful surroundings, but it was time to move on. They would had a wonderful week here plus a few days and it had been grand.

“
We do meet at the same pavilion where we met, is that correct?” asked Todd.

She
nodded her head and told him, “We’ll be there for lunch as before and the show will begin at one o’clock. We should be out of there by three o’clock and on our way to your place. We’ll get there before dinner. We did not know each other before until we met at lunch. What a wonderful experience. Have you called to let them know we are arriving then? It might be a good idea to do so if you have not.”

“
I have not called but will do that right now so we can settle down for the rest of the evening and relax. Let’s go to bed early and get ready to head out by ten o'clock in the morning so we can have a little time to look over the grounds at the pavilion. I understand they are very nice and it will be pleasant and get us in a relaxed mood before the show. We didn’t have time for that before.”

He
picked up the phone to call home and the housekeeper answered. He told her they would be there for dinner tomorrow evening and would be there for a while before returning to Triessa’s home. She was pleased and would have everything ready for their arrival.

After
dinner they enjoyed their favorite spot on the couch for a while and then got ready for bed. They'd had a very active day and were ready for a rest. They got into bed and turned off the lights allowing the lights from the city to show up much better. The moon was up there in the sky again. They lay there in each other’s arms watched and were quiet. He soon heard her slow breathing and knew she had fallen asleep. He realized that a long time of traveling got to be tiring even though it was a splendid thing. He looked at her so peaceful and beautiful and felt very lucky indeed. He lay still so he would not disturb her and soon he, too, was fast asleep.