On the last full day of their vacation, Laura awoke to an
empty bed. She wasn’t sure if it was the sound of the front door closing that
woke her, but it was apparent her husband Roger was no longer in the room. The
bathroom was dark, and there was no sound, save the chirping of birds outside.
It was Valentine’s Day, and although Roger often dismissed
days like these as “Hallmark Holidays”, she was hoping for at least a little
special treatment, regardless.
“Maybe he is bringing
me breakfast in bed!” she thought to herself. So she waited, enjoying the
lack of urgency that was their day-to-day lives back home, and gave herself the
luxury of settling back on her pillow.
When she heard someone outside struggling with the lock, she
propped herself up, hoping for a tray of croissants and tropical fruit with
coffee and juice. Much do her dismay though, Roger came in fully dressed and
empty handed. He looked at her with surprise.
“You’re not up yet?” he asked. “Come on, we’re going to make
it an early beach day.”
Why?” she asked. “Aren’t we even going to have breakfast?"
“We’ll grab something at the beach or on our way,” he
replied. “I’m going golfing at two o’clock with those three people I was talking
to last night at dinner. They need one more for a foursome.”
She knew who he was talking about. Roger had left her alone
at their table in the restaurant to strike up a conversation with two men and a
woman standing outside. Laura had been pretty angry about him not bringing them
over to introduce her, but she didn’t want to make waves. It had been a
wonderful trip, and he had been very attentive…at least up until now.
She noticed there was no greeting card on the dresser, no
flowers, and no mention of this day at all as she quickly gathered their
belongings for a short beach stay.
Later on at the beach, Roger seemed distracted. He
frequently got up from his beach chair to make phone calls and never once asked
her if she needed anything as he wandered about, talking.
When they returned to the room, Laura decided to read by the
pool until her husband returned. Tiring of this after a couple of hours, she
returned to the room and took her time getting dressed up for a nice dinner
out.
Surely he is at least
going to take me someplace elegant, she pondered as she put on the dress
she had been saving for this particular evening. Should I remind him it’s Valentine’s Day, or just write it off to him
forgetting and enjoy our final night in paradise?
When the room phone rang, she began to worry. He should have
been back by now; it was approaching sunset.
“Honey, I’m pretty smashed,” her husband said on the phone
when she answered. “I got dropped off in Grand Case and I need you to drive me
and our car back to the room. I’m sending a taxi that should be there in a
minute."
She heard the honk of a horn outside and grabbed her purse,
now becoming furious. Not only did he
forget, he got drunk, and I’m going to have to sober him up instead of enjoying
a romantic dinner.
Instead of dropping her off, the driver parked and led her
by the hand out of the taxi.
Great! He can’t even
stand up long enough to meet me on the street.
They walked through the shallow hallway that led to the
beach restaurant. She looked here and there; searching for Roger’s inebriated
face in vain. He didn’t seem to be anywhere inside. When the deck of the
restaurant gave way to sandy beach, she halted and turned around, but the
driver beckoned her to keep walking. She reluctantly continued, struggling with
her heels in the sand as they ventured out across the beach.
Laura finally caught sight of Roger, wearing a white suit
with no shoes and not appearing to be drunk in the least. He was smiling
ear-to-ear as he took her hand and led her towards a trellis adorned with
tropical flowers. Under the trellis waited one of the men she had seen Roger
with the previous night, and the other man and woman were few feet in front.
Roger asked her to remove her shoes, and got down on one knee when she finished
this task.
“Laura,” he said. “I love you even more than the day I met
you. Even more than the day we married. If you would do me the honor of
marrying me all over again, that man under the trellis is waiting to officiate
over the renewal of our vows. Bertrand will walk you down the aisle, and our
wedding planner Elise will be our flower girl and photographer.”
Tears streamed down her face as she stood under the trellis
and listened to words of love from this man, regarding her with the same
affection she had seen from him some 25 years earlier.
“Thank you for remembering,” was all she could muster, she
was so caught up in the moment.
“This day is just another day to me,” Roger whispered in her
ear as the reverend recited the vows she was supposed to repeat. “But I know it
is special to you. Every single day I get to spend with you is a gift from
God.”
The reverend interrupted the couple by clearing his throat.
“Miss Laura, it is time to say I do.”
T. Stelma is the
author of Happy Bay, Cole Bay Band, and Sandy Ground; The Happy Bay Novel
Trilogy. Happy Bay Romance Novel Trilogy
No comments:
Post a Comment