Once Within A Lifetime (43 page)

Soon
the meal arrived and they turned their attention to eating. They were quite hungry. It had been an exciting day and they ate lunch in the alpine village rather early. It had been a while since then. They ate slowly for they had no plans for the evening except making the calls and relaxing. It was dark by the time they finished eating and the lights had taken on a special brilliance against the dark background. It was truly a special sight and one they never tired of viewing.

Soon
they were finished, went up to their room and settled in for the night. They called their folks and related the wonderful things they were doing and tried to share some of the excitement. They compared notes on the weather and time of day. It was good to get together again if only by phone. It had been a while since they had talked. They promised to pass on the news to the rest and Todd and Triessa hung up to settle down for the evening. They sat and watched the lights out their window for a while and then decided to get ready for bed. They were tired from all the excitement and travel. Though it was very enjoyable, it was taxing.

They
got ready and into bed and held each other to appreciate being together. They knew that it was only the beginning; they had a whole lifetime ahead of them, and it could be so much better as time went on and they added to their love and experiences. They caressed each other and held each other, then fell asleep in each other’s arms and rested very well.

They
awoke early and remembered their boat cruise on the Danube when they had first arrived. If they got right out there, they would have time for one more ride before they left. This way they could take in all the sights in one trip and it would save trying to decide which one to pick. They quickly showered and dressed and went to the dining room for coffee and a quick bite so they could catch the boat. They should just about make it. Thankfully it was not far away.

Once
aboard the boat they settled back to see everything as the narrator pointed out the major sights. The baroque architecture was truly worth taking in again and stood out on the special buildings. They contrasted it with the alpine structure they had seen just yesterday. It was very opposite with the intricate design and curls in the baroque beauty.

Now
they could relive their last few days here by seeing these sights again, and it was a pleasant recap to their whole visit to this wonderful and exciting city, the music capital of all Europe.

They
returned to their departure point to get a cab back to the hotel. It was certainly time to check and make sure that everything was ready to go. Most of the luggage was packed previously so a last minute roundup and packing would be brief. They put in a lunch order at the hotel and went up to finish the luggage and checked out. The desk clerk would call for a cab to arrive in time to get them to the airport for their departure. With this all done, they could sit and eat lunch free of cares so they could be ready to get a cab to the airport. They got a seat near the window to have a last look at the beautiful blue Danube. The boats that were floating about. There was a breeze today and small whitecaps peaked here and there adding to the beauty of the water.

With
lunch over, they sat to look out at the river while awaiting departure time. Soon the clerk came over to tell them the cab had arrived, so they got up and went to the entrance. The driver was loading the luggage in the cab, so they said goodbye to the clerk and went got in the cab to depart for the next leg of their journey to their beloved Monaco.

The flight was smooth and quick and they arrived in the early evening. There was a light mist in the air. They took a cab to the hotel and signed in. They had previously ordered to have a meal sent up to their room upon their arrival, so as they stopped at the desk to pick up the key, the desk clerk told them it would arrive shortly after they got settled in.

The
room was on the top floor, number seven, so they took the elevator. The desk clerk would bring up the luggage. They went to the room, he opened the door, turned to her and told her he wanted to carry her across the threshold. He scooped her up in his arms. She smiled and lifted her arms to place them around him as he did so. Once he had her in his arms, he kissed her gently, then kissed her again, a little longer this time.

“
Welcome to another honeymoon adventure, Mrs. Noble.”

He
opened the door with his foot and they stepped inside. She looked around and gasped in amazement. As they looked straight ahead they saw a whole wall of windows, floor to ceiling, looking out over the fantastic scenery. The windows formed a curve, a quarter of a circle and outside the patio followed the design and curved around to take in a large area of the countryside. The patio table was in the center of the arc and had a large umbrella over it. A large plant was on the table; it looked like an Orchid. The city below was lit up now and the water curved in a large arc at the city’s edge while lights spanned the whole arc. They were a little hazy in the mist but still gorgeous. He took her over to the window, placed her feet on the floor and they stood and gazed at this awesome spectacle. They certainly felt close to heaven.

“
I am afraid I may be dreaming,” she sighed. “Can such exquisite things really exist? Oh, my darling, I am so glad we decided to get this room. I may never want to leave here.”

“
We can stay as long as you like, you know. Our schedule is very open for some time. Happy honeymoon, Mrs. Noble. Nothing is too good for my princess bride.”

She
turned around to take in the rest of the room. It was a large room with a beautiful and brilliant chandelier turned on to welcome them as they arrived.

On
the left side of the room was a semicircle-shaped bar and at the center was a large ice bucket with bottle of Champagne waiting for them. It was a huge bottle, the size of three ordinary ones. How nice. Two brilliant pieces of stemware sat beside the bucket on mauve napkins with their names embossed on them. The hotel manager remembered that mauve and pink were two of her favorite colors. On either side of the champagne was a huge bouquet of roses, one was pink and the other burgundy.

“
There must be five dozen in each bouquet,” she sighed. “They are just divine.”

“
Yes, that's just what is there. I remembered that we met on the fifth day of the month. I ordered these bouquets for our arrival.”

The
living room furniture was arranged to face the windows and made the view easily accessible. The furniture was white; the rug mauve and sheer pink curtains hung at the sides of each window. They were full enough to be pulled to cover the windows should one desire. It seemed very unlikely though. At one end of the arc of windows was a small, open kitchenette to take care of small needs.

“
They have thought of everything here one could ever need or desire. This truly must be the honeymoon suite,” she exclaimed. “I wonder if the previous guests were on their honeymoon?”

To
the back and a little to the right of the kitchenette was the bedroom door. They went in to look at it. The windows were set in the same pattern as those in the living room, truly a glass house. Sheer champagne-colored curtains hung on either side of the windows. A large queen-sized bed was in the center of the opposite wall to make the view from the windows available. The beautiful satin bedspread was champagne as well and in the center was a cluster of burgundy and pink roses embroidered on it. It was an exquisite sight. The mauve rug was very plush and soft, inviting her to bare her feet and walk on it.

On
the dressing table was a large bouquet of red and white roses, a bottle of champagne and a card. Now this even surprised Todd for he did not know about these.

He
picked up the card to read, “Happy honeymoon to you both. We are pleased you chose come to our hotel so we could add to your pleasure and comfort.” It was signed, Robert Mason, manager and staff. “What a lovely surprise,” he stated. “This was totally unexpected. It’s a first class act on their part.”

About
this time there was a knock on the door. He went to answer it and saw that the waiter had arrived with their meal. He wheeled the cart into the room and asked if they desired to eat on the patio or inside. A fine mist was still falling and they felt it best to eat inside. A table and two chairs were against the window in the center of the arc, and he laid out the meal and dishes there. He placed a vase with a single white rose in the center of the table and placed two candlesticks beside it with pink candles in them. He told them he would return with dessert and coffee in about a half hour. They thanked him and Todd held Triessa’s chair to seat her at the table, then went around and seated himself opposite her. The table was small and very intimate. He lighted the pink candles in the holder in the center of the table, opened and poured the champagne. They toasted to the beautiful surroundings and a wonderful visit here at this elegant resort.

They
sipped their Champagne slowly and spoke of the splendor they had experienced so far, amazed that things could change so utterly in a short period of time and how glad they were that it had. They had encountered a wide variety of architecture, sights and events.

They
began the meal with a fine salad with house dressing, which was a superb choice. The hotel kitchen made their own with all the fine tastes of local herbs. They lifted the cover off their plates to see a magnificent arrangement of the various items showing an artful color display. It was Beef Bourguignonne, baked Cheese Corn Custard, and Steamed Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce. They finished just as the waiter arrived with the dessert and coffee. It was an elegant choice, a three-tiered ice cream ring with three kinds of vanilla wafers. They sat a while before imbibing; they were very full. The coffee urn would stay warm for a while so they decided to wait a bit, yet needed to keep an eye on the ice cream.

The
waiter cleared the table of their dinner dishes. Todd and Triessa went out on the patio to stand by the edge near the railing with their arms around each other’s waists and looked out over the terrific view below.

“
How I wish everyone could experience such a wonderful situation,” sighed Triessa. “It cannot help but enrich our lives and give us a wonderful store of memories to work from. Let’s get some shots of all this with the video camera.”

“
Excellent idea,” he answered.

He
began shooting as he entered the patio area with her in the background. They would certainly get some more shots when the weather cleared.

“
Guess we must have a little rain sometime, love. I cannot do anything about that.”

It
does not matter if it rained now; they would prefer it so tomorrow would be clean and gorgeous.

They
went back inside after a while. He poured the coffee, seated her, and they began to eat the lovely dessert. The coffee really felt great after the coolness outside. The tastes were definitely planned by a gourmet. She might be able to acquire the recipe before she left. She would ask the waiter when he returned. They lingered over this delicacy, and after they finished, they went back outside for a while to see the lights. The boats were also lit up, for many people stayed on them while they were in the area . The mist had turned into a fine rain so they soon went back inside and sat on the couch to look out and see the view. The hills were dotted with lights from the cabins and homes all around. They snuggled together and sat there a while, just holding each other and enjoying the emotional high from all this charm and elegance.

Soon
they felt it was time to retire for the evening, turned out the lights and went into the gorgeous bedroom. The roses on the vanity were in front of a mirror so there was a double display there. They got ready for bed; she had her special peignoir set. It was the champagne one that fitted perfectly with the whole scheme, but she had no idea of this, of course, when she packed it. What a wonderful coincidence. It was a gorgeous outfit and Todd adored it.

The
windows were low in the bedroom, as in the living room, and they could see the lights and the countryside from the bed. They laid there a while in each other’s arms looking at the view. It was hard to get their fill of it. Then she turned toward him, putting her head on his shoulder, snuggling close and kissing his neck, his cheek. Then he turned and kissed her hard and full on the lips. Passion had been building since their arrival here and it had peaked to near fever pitch. They embraced strongly and making love was the ultimate, natural reaction. They clung to each other passionately. This was the strongest, most passionate relationship they had experienced and they were drained totally. They fell back on the bed beside each other, bodies touching, holding hands and heaving deep sighs.

At
this point they could do nothing but fall asleep to dream of their lovemaking. They would awake to turn and hold each other again and fall into another act of deep, passionate lovemaking. They were filling a deep, long hunger that had been smoldering under the surface because it had never been addressed to its fullest desire and strength. Now they realized they no longer had to stay with their long held restraint. It was okay to let go fully.