Dhampir Love (21 page)

     “Jennifer said if I be good she’ll take me into town someday with her to go shopping.”

     “You
are
being good, right?”

     “Some days are better than others, but, yes, I’m being good.”

     “Has Jason seen your room?”

     “He’s not allowed up here,” she pouted. 

     “Oh,” was all I said.

     Abigail was a blur coming out of the closet.  She sat on the edge of her bed and offered me a seat.

     “What are you and Tony going to do on your honeymoon?” she asked.

     “We’re going to visit some places I haven’t seen before.”

     “Oh.”

     “May I ask you a question
, Abigail?”

     “What question is that?”

     “Are you and Jason going to get married someday?”

     “Someday we are, I think.  He said we didn’t need to rush into it.  We had to get to know each other for a while and then we would talk about it again.”

     “He’s right you know.  Marriage isn’t something to be taken lightly.  Did you give the ring back or do you still have it?”

     Abigail darted over to her dresser, opened the top drawer and took out a blue box.  Opening it she said, “It’s not as pretty as yours.”

     The ring was a small diamond with a silver band.

     “It’s pretty
, Abigail.”

     “Yours is prettier.  Maybe Jason can get me one like it.”

     “I don’t think so.  There’s just this one.”

     “Why?” Abigail asked.

     “I designed it myself and Tony had it made for me.”

     “Oh.”

     “Hey, maybe you could design your own ring.”

     “How do I even start?”

     “Think of something you really like.  Draw it on paper and think of drawing it different ways until you come up with something nobody else has.”

     “I could do that when I’m having my alone time.”

     “That makes sense.”

     “I still have the clothes you left for me.  Do you want them back?”

     “I want you to keep them.”

     The elevator bell rang.  Abigail and I looked toward the hall.

     “Jess, you here,” Tony called from the living room.

     “I’m here,” I said.  “Be there in a minute.”

     “You have to go?” Abigail asked.

     “Yes, but remember to be good and get your doll back.”

     “I will, just for you, Jess.”

      I smiled at Abigail and left her room.  Tony was sitting in the chair when I entered the living room.  “It’s late and we leave early in the morning,” Tony told me.  He got up and walked to the elevator.

     “Hang on, let me say goodbye to Abigail?”

     I went back to Abigail’s room to find her sitting on her bed with a pen and paper.  “Abigail, I came to say goodbye.  I’ll see you when I get back.”

     She got up off the bed and in a split second she was hugging me.  I hugged her back.

    “I’ll see you later,” she said.  “Goodbye Jess and have fun.”

     “Goodbye Abigail.”

     Tony was in the elevator waiting for me. 

     Hurrying, I joined him and we went to the third floor.    

     “I’ve been i
n Abigail’s room all afternoon? It doesn’t seem like it.”

     “It doesn’t matter anyway.  She needed to visit you instead of trying to break you,” Tony laughed.

    I brushed my hand on his arm.  “Funny,” I said and went to take a shower.

     Bright and early in the morning, Jason had the limo waiting for us in front of the house to take us to a small airport Victor had purchased a few miles from the house.  Jason pulled up beside the airport hanger, and loaded our bags into the compartment of the three-seater airplane.  The pilot was in his seat checking the equipment as we took our seats.  Starting the tiny engine he headed to the runway.  Getting clearance from the tower, he revved the engine.  It wasn’t long before the plane lifted off the tarmac.  We were on our way to Italy.

Chapter Ten

      
Our plane landed in Bologna, Italy around six in the morning.  Happy it was a two hour ride instead of thirteen.  The stopover in London helped so I wasn’t as fatigued from Oregon to England.  Tony rented a car to drive us to Modena, arriving before noon.  Driving up a winding hill, I noticed thick foliage off to my right.  Along the road were several rock farm houses, orchards, and farming ground.  Several bicyclists were riding along the road and at times, I thought Tony was going to hit them with the car because the road was so narrow.  If two cars needed to pass each other, one had to pull over for the vehicle to be able to continue on the road. 

     The road forked with no sign indicating where the road would end up.  Tony, without looking at a map, took the right fork and the hotel, about two miles from
the fork, sat on top of a hill.  The roads being so narrow, I noticed every twenty feet a cut in the shoulder which allowed a vehicle to pull over for another vehicle to pass one at a time. Thankfully not one vehicle from the turn-off to the hotel needed to use the road to get back to the highway. 

     The
hotel sat at the edge of the hill with parking in the back and was surrounded with trees.  It felt it private and secluded, but very warm and friendly.

     Built from stone it resembled an ancient ruin you only see in movies.  Here I was standing in front admiring the beauty of the structure.  Entering the lobby
, I couldn’t believe it was decorated in medieval décor.  A knight in full armor stood in the corner.  A shield and two flails on either side hung on the wall above the knight.  Chairs in the middle of the room and a table were replicas of fifteenth century furniture.  It reminded of Jennifer’s furniture, but she had the real stuff.  Pictures on the walls of Modena as it were becoming a town.  Several artifacts were strewn about the lobby.

      After checking into the hotel, we decided to stay in the room and relax.  Our room wasn’t as fancy as the lobby just a double bed, table with two chairs, a dresser, a closet and se
veral pictures of vineyards on the walls. A night stand beside the bed held the phone and a lamp. The television hung on the wall above the dresser.

     Tomorrow we would go to the beach and swim. 

     Tony turned on the television and went through the channels to find a program to watch, while I stood at the window looking at the scenery. 

     Modena stood at the base of the hill and the city centered on rolling hills and green valleys.  Far off in the distance, several vineyards landscape
d the horizon.  A castle stood above the buildings.  It was something I would have to see.

     Tony turned off the television. 

     “What plans have you planned for us?” I asked.

     Tony got off the bed and came over to the window.  “No plans.  Let’s find some brochures and see what catches our interest.”

     “Sounds good to me,” I said.  “Let’s see what the lobby has to offer.”

     Tony and I went to the lobby. 

     The desk clerk watched as we gathered brochures from the small stand beside the front door.

       “May I offer you this handy travels/tour guide to Modena and surrounding cities?” The desk clerk
asked reaching under the counter.

     We walked over to the front desk as the desk clerk laid a book on the counter.  The guide book was a quarter inch thick full of information.  Tony was thumbing through it when a page caught my eye.

     “You can have it,” the desk clerk stated.

     “Thank you,” I said.  “This will be helpful.”

     Back in our room, we sat on the small sofa and started looking through the book.  A castle was highlighted as a huge tourist attraction.  Medieval relics, a stocked wine cellar, and a spectacular courtyard were advertised as a must to see.

     “I’d love to see the castle
, Tony.”

     “A castle you shall then, but tomorrow is the beach.  There is no rush to go back home.”

     “We can’t be gone forever.  You have the blood bank to run?”

     “When you slept on the plane, father and I discussed the blood bank and our honeymoon.  We can take as long as we like.  He wants us to enjoy ourselves and not rush back.”

     “Wow, that’s so nice of Victor.”

     “He said, ‘you only have one honeymoon’ and I agree with him.”

     We spent the afternoon looking over the brochures and the travel/tourist book until it was time to eat.  A train to Munich, Germany was offered along with information about several castles to visit that was sure to please tourists.  We planned on going to Munich, but that was for next week.

     Tony insisted on me wearing my dress, the blue one, I made for wearing after the wedding.  He packed it for me without me knowing and I was surprised.  Tony wore a navy blue suit. 

     Tony and I walked into the dining room.  Soft music was playing and the lights were dim.  In the center of the room, a table with a single candle was lit with yellow roses around the bottom of the candle holder.  The waiter stood beside the table waiting for us.  “Is that for us?” I asked Tony.

     “It sure is.”

     “How did he know?”

     “He didn’t.  I made prior arrangements.”  Tony smiled.  “Shall we?”

     Tony and I walked to the table.  The waiter pulled out my chair and I sat down.

“Congratulations on your marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mureaux.  My name is Ramón your personal server this evening.  May I offer you our house wine?” Ramón asked.

     “Yes, please.  Thank you,” Tony told Ramón.

     Ramón bowed and left.  Tony and I held hands intertwining our fingers across the table.

     “You don’t have to go all out for me Tony.”

     “I know I don’t, but I want to.  You’re the best thing in my life and I only want the best for you.  Of all the things we’ve been through together you didn’t run and you married me.  You stayed by my side through thick and thin.  We are going to be together forever and no one or nothing will ever come between us.  I love you with my whole heart.”

     “I love you,” I said with a smile on my face.

     I moved the candle and leaned over the table.  Tony leaned toward me.  We kissed, but the kiss was interrupted.  Ramón was back at our table with a bottle of Franciacorta, the finest and rarest wine of Italy. 

     Tony took a small sip and said, “Very good wine.”

     I sipped mine and was surprised it was good. 

     Ramón returned with our Condigiun, Italian for salad.  After our salads, Tony took my hand and led me to a small dance floor.  The table and chairs had been moved to resemble one.  The music stopped and a small band of musicians came into the room. 

     “May I have this dance?” Tony asked holding out his hand.

     Taking his hand, the band softly played the song we had danced to at our wedding, Together Forever.

     Tony and I slow danced.

     “Together forever,” Tony whispered.

     “Together forever,” I agreed.

     Ramón sat the main course of Tortellini on the table as we finished up our dance.  He waited at my chair to seat me.  This was defiantly VIP treatment I could easily get used to.  Before the last item was off our plates, Ramón served our dessert, well my dessert, Semifreddo, with a cup of coffee.  Tony couldn’t have anything sweet because it made him deathly sick until the sugar was out of his system completely, which took about two days.

     Before we went back to our room, Tony wanted a last dance.  The small band returned and played a song I wasn’t familiar with, but the dance that went along with the music was every sense as revealing as anyone could have imagined.  I had no clue how to dance to it.

     “Tony, I don’t know how to dance to this.”

     “Follow my le
ad.  You’ll pick it up fast, I promise.”

     Tony and I danced and I did pick it up quickly.  On the dance floor Tony kissed my neck and it wasn’t long before we were back in our room.