Once Within A Lifetime (6 page)

They
ate leisurely, and by the end of the meal it was beginning to get dark so they turned on the lights above the table, which gave everything a soft, romantic glow. Since it was a pleasant evening, they lingered over their dessert and coffee. The lights cast a fiery gleam over the pool. Fireflies glittered in the bushes like tiny neon lights flashing on and off.

She
looked at him and said, “Tomorrow I will give you a tour of the house. I think you will like the architectural design.”

“
That sounds great,” he exclaimed. “I have had a few wonderful hours since I arrived here. I am so grateful. I feel it is time to go back to the cottage and go to bed, for I am a little tired. It has been a long day. I will say goodnight for now and will see you tomorrow. Sleep well.”

“
All right. Goodnight, have a pleasant night. Maybe we can eat out here again in the morning if you wish. How does that appeal you?”

He
nodded his head as he arose to go. He left and walked slowly back to his quarters, admiring the view in the night with the moon shining down in full splendor. He felt happy and calm and very lucky.

She
watched him walk down the path to the cottage, then turned to go inside and got ready for bed. It had been a marvelous and glorious day and a lovely evening and she felt pleasantly tired. Once she got into bed she fell asleep right way. A gentle breeze swept over her bed cooling the air of the warm night, soothing her gently.

On
Thursday she arose, showered and dressed, and went down to tell Nancy they would like breakfast on the patio since it looked like a glorious day was in store. He arrived shortly and they went to the patio to sit and wait for breakfast. Nancy brought them coffee and a small pastry to begin their morning meal.

“
How did you sleep last night?” she asked. “I hope everything was fine in the cottage.”

“
I slept wonderfully well,” he sighed and stretched. “I feel very relaxed and ready to face the day.”

Nancy
arrived with three Cheese Crepes and Fruit Ambrosia made from fresh fruit. Coffee was already there and Triessa had passed him a cup. As soon as they finished eating they began the tour of the house. They entered through the front door, which was set in a small alcove decorated with lovely plants and blooms. Round wire frames and poles supported white and purple Clematis Vines on either side of the door. The door opened into a high, open room. Just inside the door was a wide semi-circular platform with two steps following the curve of the platform leading down to the main floor. Three large sky lights illuminated the area from above sending large sunbeams across the bright, shiny linoleum. A large library was at the left of the entrance which contained many books for she was an avid reader who loved to investigate various subjects.

On
one side of the room near a large window was a desk and chair. Some books were lying on the desk near a notebook. She’d been doing some research about men’s ties and clothing with an idea of working on some in the near future. Some sketches lay on the desk and he glanced at them as he walked past.

“
Do you mind if I look at them?” he questioned as he walked over to the desk.

“
Not at all, I was planning to ask your opinion of them. How do they look to you?”

“
They are just fine, but may I make a suggestion?”

“
Oh, please do, I really want to know all I can so I can make them the best choices. You can supply the ideas for the masculine touch.” As he made suggestions, she made notes on her drawing with a quick little sketch, which she called her fashion shorthand. “Thank you, this is a tremendous help.”

They
walked into a large living room at the opposite side of the entrance. It did definitely sport a woman’s touch, yet was not uncomfortable for a man. A grand piano stood in front of a large bay window which allowed rays of light to shine across the neatly arranged music on the keyboard.

He
stroked the keyboard, “Do you play the piano?”

“
Yes, I do, and I will play for you soon.”

At
the end of the entrance was a grand spiral staircase with a burgundy rug on it. Two curved, spiral stairs, one on either side, ascended magnificently to the semicircular balcony surrounding the large opening below. She greatly admired the design she had seen in an elegant home in Europe and had it copied for her home. The only change was the color of the rug, from red to mauve, which seemed to fit better with her surroundings. She’d adopted many features from other lands and areas of the country.

As
they arrived at the foot of the stairs, he saw his roses atop stands on either side of the stairs. He looked at her and smiled. They climbed the stairs to face three doors around the arc of the semicircle. He stood looking around and down at the area below.

“
What an elegant design. Where did you ever come up with such a grand idea? It is simply marvelous.”

“
I have collected pictures for years from many available sources, such as magazines, videos, trade journals, and the like. I combined many of them to produce what I wanted. Some ideas were my own. I decided where I wanted the rooms and how large I needed them for the use I had in mind. Then I planned my garden to be visible from the rooms. I had a picture in mind and worked with it, with help from my father and brother.”

Her
bedroom was on the right overlooking the pool and part of the garden, above the patio. Several large windows allowed the moonlight to flood in at night to shine over her bed and a large area of the room. This was a special part of her plan so she could enjoy lying there looking up at the moon and the stars when they were visible on a clear night through a large sky light above the bed. This helped her relax after a busy day. Being on an upper floor, there was no need for heavy drapes. She used lavender filmy curtains, blending beautifully with her pale yellow walls, adding a lovely touch and letting in more light which was very important to her.

The
door in the center led into her office, a medium sized room, tastefully adorned and well equipped to cover her needs. Correspondence was lying in neat piles on her desk, some being recent responses, stamped and ready to mail.

The
left door led into a large spare bedroom. It had the same window arrangement as her own bedroom with a view of the garden and bench near the goldfish pond.

“
The rooms look like they had been done by an interior designer.” He turned to her, “Who did the rooms for you? The design is beautiful.”

“
I did it myself. It was one of my hobbies. I have been interested in it even as a child. I love to do it. After all, most design principles are the same in all fields: lines, color, and patterns to fit one’s needs and put together with harmony and function. When you are interested in so many things, you just notice, absorb, and learn how to use them. It seems so natural and gives such enjoyment. The hard part was knowing when to stop and get on with other things. It is like a painter, when do you to stop and say enough? Time to add just the signature. The only thing that helped with this was to develop a plan and stay with it, using free time to absorb and learn ideas other than those which naturally came with the doing. Does this make sense to you at all?”

“
Yes, it does, and knowing you, makes it seem so right and natural because it is you. I am extremely proud of you. You truly are a very versatile woman with a full diversity of interests. I like that.”

As
they left the room she took him around to the other side of the semicircle and opened a beautifully decorated door which, as she opened it, revealed another set of stairs built in a spiral design with a landing midway up where one could look out of an ornate round window. She turned to him as they began to ascend.

“
This leads up to my most favorite room in the whole house, my studio, where I work, dream, and relax. Many times I sit in the window to think and remember and I did that when I returned from my recent trip. I relived our experience there.”

He
was pleased and reached out to take her hand in his for a moment, they looked at each other for a brief moment and began to climb the stairs again.  

“
It sounds wonderful, I am anxious to see this special room that means so much to you. I want it to become really special to me also. I want to learn all I can about you. You are such a remarkable person.”

The
studio was spacious allowing for all she did in her designing and planning, plus many other dreams that might occur along the way. On a large desk in the center of the room was a fully equipped computer she used a lot in her work. She began with design software and now had put some of her own designs in it with plans to sell some of them in the near future. She needed to develop the plan and set it up in her computer. There was a large window in the wall near the desk which let in a lot of natural light to assist in her work. The true colors showed up better in the daylight. Over the desk was a large Tiffany lamp that a very close friend did for her. She was extremely capable and knew how to design just the right effect for Triessa. She really knew her, and seemed to capture well the essence of everything. It worked like an umbrella, pushing the light down onto her work.

Cupboards
were built nearby to contain her materials, fabric, and notions. They had wide doors to expose large areas at a time making everything easily accessible while she worked. This was a big help to keep her ideas flowing once they started without having to get up to look elsewhere. Inspiration came as she looked at the material. She planned for the least distraction and delay.

Nearby,
in front of another large window, was a modern, thoroughly equipped computer-controlled sewing machine she used to try out some of her ideas as she captured them through her designs. Evidence of some recent work remained there waiting to be finished.

In
the wall directly opposite the door was her large curved window which overlooked her walk-through garden. This was the place where she sat to look, meditate, and dream. A well-padded window seat looked inviting and warm.

“
This is where I sit to think and dream,” she explained. “It is very inspiring as I look out over the garden to see the wild life.”

He
looked at her, then out at the garden, “I agree that it surely does lend to dreaming. It is a beautiful spot. It is tailor-made for your life.”

An
easel stood to one side with several large sheets of art paper ready to capture any ideas as soon as they came to mind. Multiple ideas kept making footprints on her mind. A pretty floral smock hung on a peg on the wall at the end of the window. Some inset shelves were at the right of the door where she kept some books on fashion design, some material, and sketch pads. There were also books on nature, for this was a perfect place to observe it when she sat here to look around. It helped her identify the birds and small animals that abounded in such natural surroundings. A book on butterflies had been removed out of the neat arrangement and lay open on her seat. She had been perusing it the last few days to study her abundant varieties of butterflies.

He
was awed by it all and exclaimed, “You have your whole world right here in this room. It is incredible. You truly amaze me.”

“
Most of it is here,” she admitted. “I am afraid I have taken it pretty much for granted, which is so easy to do, but your comments have made me see it more fully as a truly rich and wonderful thing. It has been good to bring someone into my world and learn how it really comes across to someone else. I am lucky and truly grateful.” She was thinking of him as the one thing that had been missing, and before they met, she did feel that she had it all. “I think there are a few more things I will need to add later.” She looked at him, smiled, and took his hand as they started to leave the room.

He
reached out and pulled her to him and held her for a few moments.

Then
he let her go and she turned and went to a couple of French doors that led onto a balcony she had planned where she could relax, eat, or just gaze at her world. It, too, had a view of her garden. She seated him and went inside to a small refrigerator where she kept snacks. She had a small kitchen area set up behind some louvered doors where she could make quick snacks when she was busy and did not want to go downstairs for a meal. She found some cold drinks, ice, and snack foods and took them to the table on the balcony. Then she returned to get some plates and glasses.

He
asked, “Can I help with anything?”

“
No, thank you, I have it all under control,” she told him as she returned with the utensils and placed them on the table. He helped spread the things out for them on the table. She smiled at him and was pleased to see his intent to help her.

“
You truly have a remarkable place here,” he commented. “Just when I think I have seen it all, you surprise me with something else. Your ability to plan and do things makes everything work together.”

“
Thank you, it is a lifetime dream come true, and sometimes I almost can’t believe it all myself. It is so rewarding to have an area where I can bring my dreams to life. I had a long time to plan and think about it growing up. My dad is an architect and helped me with many of the plans and building specifications. I told him my dreams and he showed me how it could be done. He was a truly inspiring influence and encouraged and led me with many ideas. It was a joy to have him work with me, something few people have the opportunity to enjoy. I am truly very thankful and grateful that we could do this together.”