Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (21 page)

"You are grumpy and I need to feed you." He overlooked
her
statement because he knew
she
was
tired, hungry and emotional.

"
Mike I'm sorry I snapped at you,
t
hat
didn't come out the way I wanted."

"Honey, I didn't take it
that
way, and
it
's okay. I know you're tired and I appreciate your sacrifice going
with
me to the memorial. You could have stayed at the house and taken a nap.
Because
you
're
going
with
me I can focus on Frank's family instead of worrying about you being alone. Thank you for
that.
"

He chose just the right words to make
her
feel better. "Honey, you're welcome and I know I never told you last night or t
his
morning. Thank you for protecting me last night, and Mike?"

"Yes?" He answered but not paying attention, he
played
with
her
hands, trying to warm them.

"Mike? Look at me please."

"What babe?" He focused on
her
.

"I love you too!"

He looked in
her
eyes hoped
he
saw the
truth and he did, very much so.
His
heart leaped
with
joy. He got choked up and
said
. "Oh baby, I love you so much!"

"Mike one more thing."

"What?"

"Earlier you talked about telling me you loved me before you go to work, just in case you don't come home."

"Yes."

"I wanted to tell you I know you love your job, and I
would
never
change
that
. But I want you to remember as you go to work. I
'd
rather have three wonderful years
with
you than have a lifetime of nothing. I guess what I'm trying to say is, let's live everyday like it's our last,"
she
said getting all choked up
again
.
She
quickly changed the subject before
she
started to cry again and messed up
her
makeup.

About
that
time the waitress walked up to take their order. "I think I will try the southwest
chicken."

Mike ordered shrimp and fries.

They chatted about Cape Cod and how beautiful it
was
in the summer.
She
could only imagine the beauty of the towns
with
all the hustle and bustle of vacationers.

Mike smiled when he thought of the beach in the summer. "Some of the cute things of the summer are to see the children run across the sand when it's hot. They jump and holler trying to run to the water where it's cool. They look like Mexican jumping beans. It's nice to see an old person fall asleep on the beach on a sunny cool day. But on the other hand the winter's can be brutal. I live in Boston and some winters it can snow for several days."
His
eyes glowed just talking about living in the area.

She
glanced out the window and everything looked white. "We might want to consider heading to your house because it looks like it's snowing a little harder."

Mike's eyes pivoted to the window and he noticed the road looked like sheets of white. He also noticed the sky
was
noticeably darker.
The
dark
ness
made the
street lights came on
down the street
. "W
hat did you think about the food?" He pulled out
his
wallet and dug out
his
credit card while they waited on the check.

Lana
unknowing to Mike pulled out a ten.
She
held it in
her
lap, and
she
planned on
put
ting
it on the table when Mike
turned
his
head
. It
was
obvious the waitress needed a little extra money. Lana's mom had curvature of the spine and
she
knew how
her
mom suffered. Maybe t
his
little bit of extra money
could
help t
his
elderly waitress. "I loved it, but I loved being
with
you more,"
she
said
with
all honesty.

"Once we get through t
his
memorial we will have a great evening, and I have a surprise for you."

"I love surprises." Just anticipating the surprise made
her
clap
her
hands, just like a child.

Chapter 17

12:34 p.m.

Boston
could be considered one of the most beautiful cities on the eastern coast
. It's amazing how cities look different all over the country. Boston buildings had the old craftsman style look. Atlanta had the contemporary more
modern look. San Francisco had an
old world look and Houston had the straight line geometric look. You could definitely tell what part of the country you were in just by the designs of the skyscrapers.

Mike's house
was
in an older part of the city and it's not
too far from the John Jo
seph Moakley Courthouse
where he worked. They turned in a subdivision called Revere Estates. The homes looked like they were about one hundred years old. The neighborhood
appeared
well manicured and in the front yards grew huge oak trees. Some of them had pictures of family in the military hanging on them.
She
liked
that
better than yellow ribbons. He wound around several streets then turned on Cedar Cove.

When they pulled in the driveway
Lana
noticed
he had the
house painted
a
medium brown
with
white trim. It
was
a very old craftsman style look. The front porch, painted in white, wrapped around most of the front of the house. There were several big square wood pillars lined up
with
the front porch.
C
hains
swung
between the columns
and
Lana
imagined how Boston fern
hung
from th
em
in the spring and summer.

"Welcome to my Boston home," he said grinning. He couldn't wait to show off
his
masterpiece.

"Mike, your home is beautiful. How old is t
his
house?"

"It
was
built in the 1940 by newlyweds.
They lived in it until
1992 and the couple got so old they moved into a convalescent home. Their children rented it out until they died in 1997. Then they sold it to me. It
was
in horrible shape when I bought it and I tried to restore it to its original state. T
his
house is certainly a labor of love."

"
That
's an understatement. I can certainly see why you fell in love
with
t
his
house."

"Please come in and let me show you around my masterpiece." They walked along the rock path to the front porch
.
On the porch to the left were several rockers. There were several planters all over, some were wicker and some were iron.

He unlocked the door and turned off the alarm.
There
was
a small entrance
with
a living room to the left and a formal dining room to the right.
Lana
noticed the five inch Bellawood flooring throughout the three rooms. "Did you install the floor yourself?"

"Yes, it took me a month, only a few hours a day, but well worth it."
All
his
hard work showed, and he seemed proud of
his
ac
complishment.

"I
certainly
agree
with
that
. You know Mike I have not ever been crazy about leather furniture, but I have to admit t
his
is perfect in t
his
room." The couch
was
dark brown leather
with
a deep burgundy, tan, and black rug under it. He only had blinds in the living room, but in the dining room he had blinds
with
dark brown drapes matched the many dark brown colors on the rug under the table. The table
was
a dark stained oak
with
a matching hutch.

He gave
her
a sweet hug and
she
could tell he liked
her
enthusiasm and approval. "Thank you honey, but we're not finished."

He led
her
into the kitchen and
her
heart turned flip flops. Wow, custom mahogany cabinets filled the kitchen
with
custom craftsman style doors. In the middle of t
his
huge kitchen
was
an island
with
a small sink and gas cook top on it. The countertops were made of rich brown, tan, and black granite. Another larger sink
was
under the double window
that
faced the back. "Mike are these the original cabinets?"

"Yes, I just replaced the doors. I'm going to change into my suit, so you make yourself at home and check out the house."

Lana
walked around outside for a few seconds and
she
checked out the rest of the rooms downstairs. Knowing they
would
have to leave soon
she
ran upstairs to check out the bedrooms. All the bedrooms were upstairs and
she
ran into Mike at the top. "Baby you look so nice."
He looked ten feet tall
with
his
suit on, a Hart
Shaffner
& Marx Suit, black pin stripe herringbone classic.
She
thought if he held out
his
arm
she
could walk under
with
out touching the bottom of
his
arm.
She
knew
she
could if
she
didn't have on
her
boots. Compared to him
she
must look like a dwarf.

"Thank you," he said while giving
her
a hug. "Come on it's your turn to grab a dress. Is Penney's okay? It's only a few blocks from the church."

"
That
's great, and I can wear the dress out of the store."
She
loved
his
home and wanted to let him know. "You have a beautiful home. I didn't get to the bedrooms, but I will next time."

"I'm hoping it will be your home one day." He commented after kissing
her
hand.

"I
would
be very proud to share t
his
home
with
you."
She
envisioned cooking Thanksgiving dinner in
that
kitchen.

*****

After looking at several dresses,
she
picked out a knit Ralph Lauren casual dress
that
went to
her
knee
and it fit tighter than
she
would
have wanted, but
she
could blame
that
on
her
large bust. It
was
a cowl neck collar
with
long sleeves.
She
even bought a black jacket to wear
with
the dress. The coat was also
a Ralph Lauren.
Her
coat
,
a simple button up
that
also went to
her
knees.
She
couldn't walk in
to the church
wearing a blue jean jacket.