Once Within A Lifetime (48 page)

Morning arrived quickly. They got up, showered and dressed with plans to eat downstairs, so he got the luggage ready to go. He would put it in the car so they could leave right away after the show was over. They were getting anxious and excited to be at his place to check some things and make plans for the future. He loaded the luggage while she ordered breakfast, then went back in to eat. She had coffee poured for him. He thanked her and sat down to eat, a little sad about leaving but eager to get home again. They both were having mixed emotions. It had been some time since they were at his place; it was before the wedding.

Mixed
feelings caused such emotional upheavals. But they finished and said goodbye to the clerk and the waiter who had been so kind to them. They thanked them for the wine and all they had done. They expressed their delight for the flowers when they arrived.

“
It truly has been a very memorable stay, a splendid honeymoon one of the highlights. You are on our list of friends and shall remain so,” said Todd.

They
were off to the show and parked in the front and went to walk through the gardens which were beautiful with all kinds of colors and shapes and sizes of plants. They walked around for about an hour and sat occasionally on benches along the way. They decided to go inside to the dining room to meet Phylicia and her friend. He decided to come along to see what she did at the shows. It reminded Todd and Triessa of their beginning. What an interesting coincidence. He truly hoped it turned out as well for them. They got a table and soon lunch was brought; they ate and talked about all the things that had happened and how fast time had flown.

“
You definitely must come visit us one of these days and look at our shots, both the videos and the snapshots. We have some wonderful memories to keep forever. It has been a marvelous journey and we have one last stop to make at Todd’s place. Then we are back to take another look at the place where everything happened, the Rose Garden.”

“
Yes, I will plan to come to visit you sometime to see your lovely home. When I want to visit you I will have to see which place you will be. It would be closer for me here but I do so love to see all the wonderful sights you have at your place and I am sure there are many more.”

“
Well, it’s about time to go in to the show,” remarked Triessa. “Shall we go in and get seated so we can be all ready when it starts? We are leaving right after to go to Todd’s place for a while and then back to my home. We will have to work something out with all the time and distance between the two. A great deal depends on what the future holds.”

The
show began and the models paraded down the runway, turned and showed every side of the styles. They smiled when they saw Triessa for many of them knew her and knew she had not been here for a while. She smiled and waved lightly to them. She saw some really nice things and wanted to cover some after the show. They watched the rest; she saw a couple more and after it was over she talked to Phylicia to tell her which ones she was interested in buying for herself.

“
We can have them shipped to you or do you want some to take with you for the rest of the trip?”

“
I think I will take a couple with me.”

She
showed her which ones she wanted so they were packed for her. Todd put them in the car. She said goodbye and they promised to get together in the near future and would keep in touch to see what was happening and to keep up on fashion changes which were inevitable.

They
left and go to his house because they were eager to arrive now that it was time to be on the way. They drove and saw familiar sights along the way. Soon they knew they were getting closer and would be there shortly. They drove up front and the dogs were there very eager to greet them. What beautiful large animals they were.

They
went inside and the housekeeper had put up some decorations and ordered some flowers. The whole front entrance was beautifully adorned with blooms and streamers. A large banner said
HAPPY HONEYMOON
. They walked under it and kissed each other gently and long. Everybody clapped as they walked into the living room. There were flowers there also. Jeremy, the butler, brought in the luggage and her dresses and put them in the entrance.

Todd
told him he would take care of them from here. He took her dresses up to the bedroom first and then came back for the luggage. It was so nice this time to be in the same room and the upstairs bedroom she had before was less masculine than his room downstairs. This was the first time they had shared their room here at his place and he was really excited about that.

Marjolaine
told them dinner would be ready in the dining room in about an hour.

“
Good,” said Todd, “That will give us time to look at the grapevines to see what is happening out there. Are you ready, my precious, or do you need to change?”

“
No, I will be fine. We will just be walking around. It will be alright.”

They
went out back to the hill where the vines had been planted and  they looked as if they had always been there. They were very healthy and robust. How wonderful, they would be ready to bear next year and they could begin making some wine for themselves and the family. They needed to educate themselves on this subject for neither of them knew about it at all. But they had plenty of time and could gather up books, videos, and talk to some people who had been in the business a while. The gardener had some knowledge on the subject and could help them learn more. That would be a really exciting venture and such a nice experience to go through.

They
walked around the area, up and down the rows, and looked at them closely. They would be back out tomorrow when the gardener was at work and talk to him about it. They walked around the area that surrounded the house. There were some wonderful plants and flowers all around, and of course, she was really interested.

They
went in to dinner. The table was set with wine in a decanter so they poured some and began to sip it while the rest was brought in. The meal was very delicious and they ate too much so they had to wait for dessert and coffee. They decided to have it in the living room in about an hour. In the meantime they would go upstairs and see what they had to unpack for the night. The rest could wait until tomorrow. They would spend the day around the place and tomorrow night was the big night at the favorite restaurant for dinner on the first month anniversary. She was finding it so very hard to wait.

They
went downstairs just in time as Marjolaine was bringing the dessert and coffee into the living room for them. They sat in the wonderfully comfortable chairs. The food was placed on the table beside them. They tasted it and it was superb.

“
This is an Irish dessert,” Todd explained to her. “It was one of Marjolaine’s favorites and became one of ours as well. We all love it when she makes it.”

“
It is truly delightful,” agreed Triessa. “I am glad you have an Irish cook; I have always loved Irish things, especially the music.”

“
Let me play some for you,” said Todd. “I have some right here I can play.”

He
went over to the stereo to start the music. It was lovely and soft, such a lilting and wonderful melody, very pleasant and charming. It was so hard to sit still and made you wish you knew the Irish dances. She was very pleased with the selection and told him how much she liked it.

“
Sometime in the near future you will have to learn to do the dances that go with it. It is such fun. I was taught them as a child and it has always been a favorite with me.”

They
sat and listened long after they had finished their dessert until they decided to go up to bed and deal with other things outside tomorrow. They wouldn’t have to leave for dinner until about four-thirty.

After
they got into bed, Todd reached for her and pulled her close to him. “I remember the night you were here before we were married and I longed for you so much. I could hardly get you off my mind. Now I am about to make up for that with your permission.”

Her
response was a deep moan. He kissed her eyes, her cheeks, her lips, her neck and they got deeply, emotionally involved. He caressed her body and kissed her again and again. They quickly built up to a high pitch of emotion and made love, carrying them off to their magical place they had entered so many times now. It was filled with ecstasy, thrills, and joys beyond compare. They fell back and relaxed beside each other and lay there a while, then fell into a deep, restful sleep.

They
rested peacefully and came down the next day with plans to spend time in the garden with the gardener. They wanted to learn more about the grape vines and learn what they had to gather up to read or whatever. They found him in the garden near the house and he took them around to the vines explaining what he had done, He gave them a paper with the names and some information he had on the types that were here.

“
I had a few problems in the beginning, lost some and had to replant them, and was concerned about the rest of the crop. With help, we did manage to rescue most of the plants. We cleaned up the area and set in new plants.”

He
assured them they would have a wonderful crop when they began to bear the following year and would make superb wine. They would be able to hire some people to pick the grapes when they were ready. Then they could go from there.

They
stayed out until lunch time and went in to have lunch on the patio where they could look down across the hill and the vineyard. They were so proud of them.

Todd
took her hand and said, “I am glad the gardener caught the problem with them and got it under control before the whole crop was ruined. I need people like him to take care of things for me when I am gone. This will be a project we can do together and it will be fun.”

After
lunch they went to check on the rest of the luggage and she wanted to see if she had to do any preparation on the clothes before they had to dress. She decided they did need some pressing, so he told the housekeeper and she took them away to work on them.

“
Oh, I could do that if I just knew where to go,” smiled Triessa.

“
No, dear, let her do it; she loves to help. I want to ask you to not wear a necklace tonight; I want your neck bare.”

She
wondered why he said this. He had not mentioned such a thing before, but she agreed that she’d do as he wished.

“
Todd, don't you think you had better call your folks to let them know we’re here and plan to get together with them? I am also concerned to see how your mother is doing. I hope nothing is seriously wrong with her.”

He
agreed and said he would do it as soon as he finished laying out his clothes.

They
planned to spend the rest of the afternoon in preparation for the wonderful evening ahead. It would be spectacular but still second best to the first one. It would be good that this time they would not have to go to separate rooms afterward. It could be a night of celebration all the way.

By four o’clock they were ready and went down with the camera to have someone take pictures of them. They follow them to the car with the video camera as the staff threw rice on them. They took the camera with them when they left to take more shots there. They did not have pictures from the first time and it was very unfortunate. Everything was such a surprise and the moment was all they were thinking about. It was so overwhelming. They would have to keep it all locked in their minds; they were the only ones who could see those pictures. But they were the only ones who needed to.

They
arrived and drove up front.

He
went to her side of the car and said to her, “May I escort you inside my beautiful princess bride?”

She
smiled, nodded her head, took his arm and they walked in. The waiter led them to the same table and seated them. He went back and brought them the same kind of champagne they had on that wonderful night. But not the same glasses for they were theirs now. They were very excited. The musicians came and played the same songs and the meal was the same. It was exactly as it was that night, nearly as before, except for the lacking element of surprise. This had been planned. But the feeling nearly duplicated the previous one. He had called ahead and had it all set up. Once he explained to them what the situation was they recalled a lot of it for it was so spectacular and unusual. As they started the champagne they had the waiter take some shots of them which would be wonderful to have later. It was beautiful outside but they were occupied with all the wonderful things that took them back in time to another evening.

He
reached in his pocket and took out a box to pass to her. She looked surprised.
What can this be
, she thought. She then opened it to see an exquisite diamond necklace. He took it out and put it around her neck. She could not keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.