Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (25 page)

"Oh Mike, t
his
is beautiful."

He gave
her
the biggest hug and he put
her
hands in
his
jacket pockets. He couldn't stand
her
being cold. "I told you, and it's worth bearing the elements, don't you think?"

"Yes, can we just stand here for a few more minutes to imprint t
his
memory in my mind?" The sun
was
growing big and bright.
She
could only imagine how it
would
look on a hot summer morning. The steam of heat off the water
would
make the sun look like a mirage.

They walked several feet down the beach to some chairs
that
were arranged to face
t
his
beauty. Mike pulled the two chairs together and they sat down
to watch t
his
amazing view
. "You should see t
his
in the summer, the sun is bigger."

"I will t
his
coming summer, and I'm going to make you sit out here
with
me every morning."
She
noticed when the waves capped it looked like ships in the distance against the orange sky.
She
thought about how many women had mistaken the waves for ships bringing their husbands home. Bringing
with
them stories of their travels and bearing gifts from foreign lands.
Lana
reached over and gave Mike a passionate kiss and said. "Oh Mike, I've missed you so much and tell me about your travels and what did you bring me."

"What?" He looked at
her
like
she
had lost
her
mind.

In
her
English accent
she
asked again. "Sire, what did you bring for me while traveling yonder foreign land? Warm thyself by the fire and speak of your travels."

Mike took off one of
his
gloves and dug in
his
pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Milady I bring you treasures from a land called England. T
his
token I will give to your father in return for your hand in marriage."

"Thank you, Sire."
She
took the quarter and put it in
her
pants pocket to keep forever.
She
never wanted to forget t
his
moment. "Oh Mike t
his
is the best sunrise I think I
've
ever seen." A few hundred yards down the beach
Lana
saw a cement wall
with
boulders all around it. "Mike let's walk to the wall."

"I love to sit on the wall and watch the rain in the distance. You can see for miles and it's amazing to see the lightening shoot across the sky. It's better than fourth of July fireworks."

"I can imagine."
She
was
preoccupied
with
something
she
saw on the beach. It
was
a colorful fabric of some sort. As they got closer
she
thought it
was
a beach ball sticking out of the sand.

Mike stopped when
she
let go of
his
hand and
she
walked over and pulled it out of the sand. It
was
a small piece of vinyl and it once
was
bright colored polka dots on white; red, green yellow and blue. It
was
only about eight inch square warn piece of vinyl. Memories flooded
her
mind as
she
picked it up and examined it. "Mike, what do you think t
his
is?"

He
examined
it for a minute. "It's a real old umbrella
that
probably got tore up during a storm. Usually people bring in the furniture at the end of summer. Who knows what happened
with
t
his
, maybe someone cut it up to make a flag for a sand castle. Why?"

Tears rolled down
her
face, uncontrollably.
She
just sat down on the sand and bawled like a baby. "I'm sorry I'm crying but I just couldn't help myself."
She
cried every time
she
looked at the piece of vinyl, reminiscing.

He sat on the sand next to
her
and held
her
close. He just let
her
cry it out but he
was
bewildered why
she
would
be
so upset. "Honey, just cry all you want
but
tell me what's hurting you."

She
regained
her
composure the best
she
could. "Years ago when I
was
a little girl, my family came to the Cape Cod area for a vacation.
That
was
the first time I had ever seen the ocean, and we had a wonderful time playing on the beach, eating seafood and just enjoying life. My daddy
was
Irish and
his
skin couldn't handle the sun, so he
would
walk around toting an umbrella. Mike it looked just like t
his
one, it had many colors on it. Everyone laughed so hard at him. We could see him coming a mile away because t
his
umbrella
was
so bright. He
was
the only one on the beach who carried an enormous size cover."
She
got choked up remembering one special moment. "What I remember the most about
that
umbrella is my mom and dad
would
kiss under it."

He
held
her
close. "Oh baby, take it
back to your dad and he'll be proud you found such a treasure."

He stood up and
extended
his
hand to help
her
stand
.

"He died two weeks after our vacation. He died at work.
In
his
job he worked
on machinery
,
and
one day
he slipped and fell into the machine and it crushed
his
head. It
was
a bathtub mold and they couldn't turn off the machine fast enough. Coming here, to Cape Cod
would
be
our last vacation."

All he could do
was
hold
her
and try to take
her
burden away. He wished there he could
have done more for
her
.
His
heart hurt for
her
. "I'm sorry baby, what can I do for you?" He knew how death played havoc on a person's emotions, and
she
had been through a lot the last few days.

"I thought I resolved t
his
sad memory years ago. But when I looked at t
his
little piece of cloth, it brought back too many memories."
She
was
having such a wonderful time
with
Mike
she
didn't want to ruin it, so
she
put
the
piece of vinyl in
her
pocket
with
the quarter. "Mike I'm beginning to look like a homeless person collecting things
that
don't mean anything."

"They do to you."
Her
innocence of emotions
was
a part of
her
personality he
was
attracted to
most
.
She
never had a problem showing how
she
felt. He liked
that
much better than bottling every emotion.

"Honey, put your arms around t
his
Pillsbury dough boy, I need a hug,"
she
asked.

"Come here chubby." He held
her
for a long time and they just watched the sun come up and then hide into the clouds.

While he held
her
,
she
slipped
her
hands under
his
jacket to touch
his
tummy, and he felt nice and warm. He didn't seem to mind, nor did he yelp when
she
touched him
with
her
freezing hands. He truly is a wonderful man
with
a major six pack. "Do you think we can catch the wall on a warm rainy day in the future, it's so cold and I'm ready to get warm? Plus I'm getting hungry."

"We sure can."

When Mike opened the back door, the heat felt wonderful. "Mr. Ramsey, how
would
you like some breakfast?"

"
Breakfast sounds wonderful, I'm hungry. What do you want to eat
?"

"Anything sounds good to me. I'm starving.
That
walk and fresh air gave me an appetite,"
she
answered while shedding
her
coat
s
.

Before
she
walked off he gently raised
her
chin to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, baby I'm fine. I just had a déjà vu moment."
She
rummaged through the fridge. An omelet sounded good, and
she
had everything for
that
.
She
saw the steak and thought about supper.
She
stuck
her
head in the living room. "Hey babe, how about steak for dinner, I can mix a marinade if
that
sounds good to you."

"
That
sounds great, do you have steak?"

"Yes, I picked one up at the store a couple of days ago. I'll start the marinade and get the steak soaking in it. Do you mind if I use some of your wine?" Wine in the marinade
was
a must, but
she
wanted some for dinner tonight.

"Not at all, and we can get some more wine later if we need it. Just whatever you want, it's your day." The he added
with
a wink and grin. "And it's my night."

*****

She
just finished putting on
her
makeup when Mike popped
his
head in the bathroom. "I'm going to put my tools in the truck and look around outside, so take your time and we'll go when you're ready."

"I'll be ready in a few minutes." He
was
already gone.
She
wondered where they'll go today, where their adventure
would
lead them.
She
knew there were many lighthouses and museums in their destined futures.
Her
heart skipped beats just thinking about being
with
him, especially for a lifetime.

When
she
finished putting away
her
makeup
she
lingered when
she
saw
his
shaving cream and razor sitting on the bathroom counter.
She
had to touch them because he touched them just a few minutes ago. The sink had been
was
hed out but there were still a few hairs in it.
His
toothpaste cap
was
n't put back on the tube tight. All
his
t
oiletries were haphazardly thrown all over the counter
.
His
towel had been thrown on the floor.
She
smiled when
she
looked up and hers properly hung over the bar by the toilet.
His
boxers and t-shirt were tossed on the floor next to the sink.
She
wanted to remember t
his
moment so
she
'll never fuss at him for not picking up
his
stuff.
She
had learned there are more important things to worry about
than t
his
.