| Chapter 38 Brian bit his nails as he looked out the window. The group had spent the last two days at White Cap, skiing and enjoying the freshly fallen snow. Now they were nearing Tumacer. He could see the steam rising from the springs, and with each passing second he became more nervous. He'd never felt the way he did about Marie with anyone else, and he didn't want to screw up when he proposed to her. He had practiced the words over and over in his head, and had even had Rowland listen to him to make sure he was pronouncing them correctly. He smiled, remembering the look on the guards face when he said them. Brian was sure he saw a tear form in the man's eye, but Rowland had quickly hidden it. If those words could make him cry, he knew Marie would cherish them forever. He felt someone squeeze his hand and looked over. Marie smiled at him, "What's wrong?" she asked. He shook his head, "Nothing." "You're biting your nails, something's bothering you," she said. Brian sighed, making a point of putting the hand he was chewing on down on the armrest, "I was just thinking about things." "Are you going to tell me or do I have to drag it out of you?" she asked, with a smile, but with concern in her eyes. Brian interlaced their fingers as he looked deep into her crystal blue eyes, "Just about us, and being here, and what's going on back home. See, nothing to be concerned about," he assured. "You miss earth don't you?" she asked. Brian shook his head, "I miss my family and my friends, not really earth itself." Marie nodded, retreating into her own thoughts for a moment. Brian nudged her, "Don't worry. I don't want to go back." She stared at him, "But your home is there." He shook his head, "My home is here, with you now." Marie smiled as tears filled her eyes. Brian cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a soft sweet kiss. As they parted A.J. leaned over the seat in front of them, "Ya know I love you guys, but get a room already!" Everyone around them chuckled as Marie and Brian both blushed a little. "Hey, lay off," Nick said from behind them, "It's sweet." A.J. sighed dramatically, "You can die from to much sweetness." Nick giggled, "Not us, we thrive on it." "Oh shut up," A.J. called, plopping back down in his seat. "Here we are guys, Blue Mist Resort," Anthony said, looking out the window. "Oh cool," A.J. said, watching as the blue steam rose from the various buildings. "What makes it blue like that?" Kevin asked. "The minerals in the water," Ana replied. "It's gorgeous," Howie said as the transport slowed for its landing. "I see why you love it here so much Anthony," Nick said, as the transport touched the ground with a thud. Anthony smiled at his older cousin, as he grabbed his bag and headed down the ramp, eager to show everyone around. They headed to the lobby of the resort. Everyone was trying to take in as much as they could. The scenery was outstanding. Mountains all around, some with enormous waterfalls. Then the valley the resort was in was breathtaking. Greener than green grass filled it, with an array of wild flowers. Then the hot springs themselves, surrounded by rock that had been polished to a high shine. "Absolutely beautiful," Nick said, taking it all in. "Come on, lets get to our rooms, so we can decide what we want to do first," Anthony called. Everyone followed him in and up to the desk. Of course Nick had to tell everyone in the lobby to stand back up after they saw him. He still wasn't used to that. Marie sat down on one of the plush couches, waiting as Brian and Nick seemed to be making arrangements for something with the desk clerk. Everyone else had already gone to their rooms, planning to meet back in the lobby in an hour. Finally they finished, and Marie stood up as Brain approached her. "What was that about?" she asked, as he grabbed her bags and lead the way to their room. "Oh some kind of mix up with the rooms. We got it straightened out though," he said. She laughed, "How can they mix up the King's rooms? That's not good for business." Brian smiled, "I dunno, but we got upgraded for the hassle." She smiled as they left the main building and walked down a covered path to their room. Brian glanced at his key, then at the numbers on the door. "I think this is it," he said. Marie looked, "Yeah, suite 102." Brian opened the door, letting Marie walk in first. "Oh my..." she said, looking around, "Bri this is a honeymoon suite." He grinned at her, "Really?" "Yes really," she said, going over and checking out their own private heart shaped hot spring. She sat on the edge and tested the water with her fingers, "Oh it's just right." Brian finished putting their luggage in the bedroom and walked over, "Wanna test it out?" She giggled, "I'd love to, but we're suppose to meet the others in a few minutes." Brian shook his head, "How bout we do our own thing today and catch up with them tomorrow?" She looked at him suspiciously, "And what exactly are we gonna do by ourselves?" A slow, mischievous smiled formed on his face, "Oh I'm sure we can think of something." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ �OK, is everyone here?" Anthony asked. "Nope, we're missing the love birds," Kevin said. "They aren't coming," Nick said, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "And just why not?" Howie asked. Nick rolled his eyes, "Do I have to draw ya a picture D?" Everyone chuckled. "Ohhhh," Howie said, "Dang, they should like give them an award or something. No normal person has that much sex." Ana walked over and covered Anthony's ears with her hands, "Howard, there are children present." "Hey, I'm not a child," Anthony protested, moving his head so Ana's hands were no longer covering his ears. "I have you to know that I've had plenty of girlfriends, thank you very much," he said. "Really?" A.J. asked, putting his arm around the younger man's shoulders, "Why don't you enlighten us during our hike." Anthony's eyes widened as they walked out the door, and he looked back at Nick. "A.J.'s always been a stickler for details," he said with a laugh. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Umm this feels so good, I don't want to get out," Brian said. He was sitting in the hot spring, leaning against the side with his eyes closed. Marie was next to him, her head on his shoulder, drawing imaginary pictures on his chest. "Then let's not," she said, looking up at him. He opened his eyes and glanced down at her, "We should though. I know, lets get dressed and go for a walk. The valley looked beautiful on the way in, then we can get some lunch." She smiled as she moved in front of him straddling his legs, "Or we could stay here and order room service." Brian bit his lip, as he gazed into her perfect features, "Um ...that sounds so tempting, but um, I really wanna go for a walk." Marie stared at him for a moment. He was up to something, but she couldn't quite figure out what. She sighed, "OK, a walk it is," she said, standing up and climbing out of the hot spring. Brian watched as she walked to the bedroom, the water dripping from her naked body. He looked at the ceiling, "God give me strength. If she keeps teasing me like that, we may never leave." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Wait," A.J. said, bending over and resting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Come on J, you aren't that out of shape," Kevin teased. A.J. looked at him, "We've hiked like ten miles, I'm pooped." "Actually, we've only gone three," Anthony said. A.J waved his hands to take in everything around him, "Yeah but they were straight up!" Everyone laughed. "Come on Alex, just a couple more then we stop and eat, then it's straight down," Ana urged. A.J. straightened up, "OK, but if you end up carrying me, don't say I didn't warn ya." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian quickly glanced into the bedroom to make sure Marie wasn't on her way out, then he flipped the switch on the console. The image of the desk clerk appeared on the table. "Bonjour. Nous sommes sur le point de partir. Nous devrions �tre all�s pendant quelques heures." Hello. We are about to leave. We should be gone for a few hours, he said. The desk clerk nodded, "Ne vous inqui�tez pas, nous aura tout pr�par� avant que vous reveniez." Don't worry, we'll have everything prepared before you return. Brian nodded, "Merci." Thank you. He switched off the console just as Marie walked out, "OK I'm ready." He smiled, "Great, let's go." He took her hand and together they walked out of the room and down the path to the valley. They walked slowly, talking as they always did. That was one of the things Brian loved about her. They could talk about anything. Nothing was off limits, and everything that was said came from the heart. It was honest and straightforward. As they walked, Brian made sure to pick a few Tsars Might flowers without her really noticing. After he had about six, he stopped walking and pulled her to him. She smiled as he leaned in and gently kissed her. As they parted he held up his bouquet, "For you." Marie looked at the flowers, then at Brian. Surely he didn't know what they meant, did he? And how did he pick them without her seeing? "Brian, do you know what these mean?" she asked. He nodded, "I asked. It's the flower you give someone that you love, that you're courting." She took the flowers from him, shocked and impressed at the same time, that he would inquire about their dating customs. "Thank you," she said, as they continued walking. He smiled at her, squeezing her hand. They spent a few hours in the valley, walking, talking and enjoying the scenery. Now they were walking into the restaurant, both famished. They were seated near the back, in a beautiful candle lit room. Marie looked around, noticing they were the only ones in that part of the restaurant. They ordered their food, and engaged in small talk as they waited. Brian reached across the table and took her hand, holding it. Marie loved it when he did that. It was the small things with him that mattered the most. The way he held her, the way he took her hand when they were in public. And the way his eyes lit up when he looked at her, full of love and happiness. Their food came, and they took their time eating. But as they paid the bill and left, Marie could tell that Brian was nervous again. She'd seen it that morning on the way in, but as the day passed it had left him, now it was back. She squeezed his hand, "You have that look again." "What look?" he asked, trying to play innocent. "The I'm thinking way to hard about something look," she replied as they turned down the path to their cottage. Brian didn't get a chance to reply. Marie noticed the petals lining the path and gasped. Brian grinned as she looked at the hundreds of Tsars Might petals, then looked at him with utter awe and confusion. He took her hand and lead her the rest of the way, opening the door for her. "Brian...." she said, walking into their cottage and seeing the table set up on the balcony. "Shhh, come on, there's something I want to show you," he said, taking her out and pulling the chair out for her. Marie had tears in her eyes as she sat down. She kept telling herself that he didn't really know what this meant. He couldn't. Brian looked up as a clap of thunder roared through the valley. A storm was coming, and his heart sank. It couldn't rain, not now. This was the most important day in his life, and it was going to rain. He took a deep breath, then started. Marie watched as he prepared her tea. He took his time, making sure that everything was done in the exact order it should be. Every movement meant something, and he had them down pat. He placed her cup in front of her just as the rain started to fall. He looked at her, his eyes filled with love, as he knelt down in front of her. "Marie. Je me pr�sente vous. Je demande que vous prenez cette tasse, comme vous je. Je t'aime, et elle me ferait l'homme le plus heureux au monde si vous seriez mon �pouse. Buvez svp de cette tasse comme acceptation de mon offre. Laissez-moi vous chauffer et vous remplir comme le fait le th�, laissez-moi vous aimer pour le reste de ma vie." Marie. I present myself to you. I ask that you take this cup, as you would me. I love you, and it would make me the happiest man in the world if you would be my wife. Please drink from this cup as acceptance of my offer. Let me warm you and fill you as the tea does, let me love you for the rest of my life. Marie took the cup and drank the tea, her tears mingling with the rain. When she finished, she placed the cup back on its saucer, and looked down at him. He smiled, taking her hand and placing the ring on her finger, "I love you." Marie stared at the ring, shock registered all over her face. "How did you ....?" Brian smiled, "I saw how you looked at it. I knew you liked it, so I left my bag there on purpose so I could go back and get it for you." She smiled as she stood up, pulling him up with her. "I love you. I love you. I love you," she whispered, pulling him into a hug. Brian held her tight as the rain poured down. They were both soaking wet, but neither cared. Marie pulled back and stared at him, "Brian, je marcherai avec vous pour le reste de ma vie. Je promets de vous accomplir en tant que vous complet je. J'ai pris votre tasse, et accepte votre offre. Je t'aime, pendant que vous aimez moi et la volont� pour le reste de mes jours." Brian, I will walk with you for the rest of my life. I promise to complete you as you complete me. I have taken your cup, and accept your offer. I love you, as you love me and will for the rest of my days. Brian pulled her in and kissed her. He was so happy he couldn't express it with mere words, he had to show her. He ran his hands up her back and into her rain soaked hair. Marie touched his cheek, and moaned into the kiss. After a moment, they parted. Brian looked up and held his hand out, the rain pouring down. "I love the rain," he giggled. Marie laughed, taking his hand, "Come on, let's take this inside." Brian smiled as she pulled him into the cottage, out of the rain. Chapter 39 |