The Vacation of a Lifetime
***Petit St. Vincent***
Chris and David took a shuttle from the airport and arrived at the port where they would take a boat to their resort.
David boarded the boat, and helped Chris on. They were the only ones on the boat.
"We will be there in about an hour, folks".
The captain took their luggage and loaded into a waterproof bin. Chris put her purse in there as well, just in case".
He showed them how to use the umbrella that covers their seat, and they took off. An hour later, they arrived at their resort.
They had booked a one-bedroom cottage, over the water. Christine couldn't wait to listen to the ocean waves from her bed.
They checked in, and took their luggage to their room. The desk clerk had explained that they used a flagpole system. If they put the yellow flag up, the staff would come check on them once an hour. If they put the red flag up, the staff wouldn't bother or disturb them at all, for any reason. It was the perfect place for total relaxation.
They settled in, and changed clothes for dinner. It was dark by the time they finished dinner, so they went back to the room. They had a hammock outside their room, just off the deck. Paradise was a beautiful place, even at night.
"Want to lay in the hammock for a bit, Chris?"
"That sounds lovely". She kicked off her shoes and she put her purse in the room. She had changed into Capri pants and a sleeveless blouse for dinner. Perfect for being outside at night.
They climbed into the hammock and David wrapped his arms around Chris. They looked at the stars for a while, and he kissed her head several times.
"What would you say to us making things more permanent between us, Chris?"
"Like marriage, David? I don't exactly have the best track record for that…."
"Neither do I. But have you ever wondered if maybe our track record is so bad because we weren't with the right people? I think our lives were meant to work with us being together, Chris. You have made me the happiest man these last several months. I just want that to continue and I want to secure it for both of us".
"I am happy too, David. But is marriage really the answer? We already act like a married couple. We are sleeping together every night, sharing every part of our lives together. You helped me through Cancer, when I was at my worst…. Do you really think a piece of paper is going to make things any better?
"I don't see how it could be any better, Chris. But I do think we would be more secure in knowing that we are going to spend the rest of our lives with each other".
"I feel like we know that now, David." She sat up. "When I got married, I had sworn that I would never do that, so when I got married it was very personal and sacred to me. I worked every day to try and make my marriage to Jimmy better, and when it failed, I considered it a personal loss, one of my biggest. Being divorced took a lot out of me, and I swore that I would never let myself get into that position again. I was alone for a long time, and I was content to stay that way. And then I got flowers from you. And I realized that I never wanted to be alone again. If we were to get married and I had to lose you to another woman…. I don't know how I would function, David."
"You aren't going to lose me to another woman, I promise. Chris, I am not ever going to let you go. I regretted walking away from you years ago every single day until I saw you again on top of the Empire State building. I love you more than words can say, and I just want us to do everything we can to make sure that we never change that".
"Can I think about it? I am so in love with you David. I am just not in love with the idea of marriage, is all".
He kissed the top of her head. "Take all the time you need, I am not going anywhere".
He kissed her again, hungrily this time, and they stretched out on the hammock.
"Mr. Keeler, you sure know how to get a woman excited".
His hand ran across the small of her back, and she grabbed her shoulders as they kissed. He nibbled on her neck and whispered in her ear "Let's go in".
He helped her up, and she grabbed her shoes and went inside.
She selected what she wanted to sleep in, and went in the bathroom to change. She emerged to find him in his boxers, turning the bed down.
"Oh Chris, you are breathtaking".
"You approve, counselor?" He embraced her and kissed her neck and picked her up. "Oh yeah".
They got in bed and had the most passionate sex they had had in weeks. Afterwards, they snuggled up and David whispered in her ear. "I am so in love with you, Completely, more and more every day".
"Me too, David. Me too". They made love again and they fell asleep tangled up.
David woke up at sunrise, to go to the bathroom. Then he quietly put on his robe, and went to the door and headed towards the flagpole. He raised the red flag, and went back to join Chris in bed.
***Later***
Chris and David slept in till 10. They decided to go up to the restaurant for breakfast and then lay on the beach till the afternoon.
After a quick breakfast, they headed back to their room to change into their beach clothes.
Chris picked the purple bikini with the black bottoms, and a pretty yellow cover-up. She packed their beach bag with sunblock, a lotion that bronzes you and maximizes your tan, and a book. She put the "On the beach" door tag on the door, and reminded David they needed to raise the yellow flag. Grabbing a few towels, they headed to the beach.
She and David selected their beach chairs. These were the good kinds, with the padded cushions. They picked a double chair, so they could lay together. They decided against the umbrella.
They ordered drinks from the beach waiter and David got the sunblock out of Chris' bag. He handed it to her. "Do my back, babe? Please?" She nodded.
She lovingly rubbed sunblock on his back for him and massaged it in. "You keep doing that and we are going to have to go inside, Lieutenant".
"Or we could just let it build up and save it for later…."
"Want me to do your back?"
She nodded.
She stood up and took off her cover-up, and unhooked the straps. She laid on her stomach on the chair and David rubbed her sunblock in for her as well. He stretched out next to her and kept rubbing. He started to get a little "handsy" and Chris rolled over and kissed him.
"Mr. Keeler, someone might see us".
"Good, then we can show them how it's done". He kissed her again.
"David…. we can't. Come on, let's save it for the room.".
"Ok, but if that room could talk….".
She rubbed the bronzer in on her chest and face then, and did her arms with the sunblock as well. David turned his portable stereo on that he had brought and plugged his phone up to it so they could listen to music. It was bright, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.
After about an hour, they ventured to the water. The ocean was warm, almost like bath water. They waded out, and took a dip. They stayed out there in the water for about 45 minutes, and pushed the boundaries of decency under the water. Thankfully, the water camouflaged them, even though they had the beach to themselves.
They went back to their chair, and the bartender had brought their drinks. Christine enjoyed her Pina Colada, and David took a swig of his beer. Her drink was virgin, but she was fine with it. Her life was immensely better without alcohol in it, and she was thankful that Mary Beth had helped her to see that years ago.
They stayed out till 2, and then went in to change and eat lunch. She showered quickly before lunch to get the tanning lotion stickiness off, and then she threw on shorts and a tank top.
They had a wonderful buffet lunch filled with seafood and salads and steaks. As much as she wanted to, she decided not to indulge in the dessert table.
After lunch they went back to the room, and as they were changing back into their swimsuits, it started to rain.
"How about a rainy day nap?" David came up and kissed her neck from behind and wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh yes, that's a great idea'.
She turned around and kissed him. "You have the greatest ideas, counselor".
They closed the blinds and made the room as dark as possible. David dashed out to the flagpole and put up the red flag.
They climbed into bed and gave into their passion. It was beautiful, tender, sweet, and intense.
Afterwards, they fell asleep and slept till dinner time.
***The next day***
Chris and David were enjoying breakfast on their private patio. They had ordered room service and were still in their robes and pj's. Today was the day they were going to get their couples massages.
The appointment was for 11. They were going to have massages on the deck, followed by lunch, and then at 3 they were scheduled for a dip in the hot tub and a body polish. David wasn't as excited as Chris was, but he was happy they were doing it together.
They quickly showered and got back into their robes and waited for the lady to come. She arrived at the right time, and had another lady with her. They were going to do the massages at the same time. Chris and David sat in the hammock while they set the tables up. Chris got the first table and David got the second. They both asked for deep tissue. Getting a massage while listening to the ocean was extremely relaxing for both of them. David started snoring and Chris was in a daze.
Lunch came, and they perked up a little bit. Afterwards, they took a dip in the pool and came back to the hammock, and then it was time for their spa appt. Christine could use a day like this every month… she couldn't remember when she had been so relaxed.
Their hot tub was so relaxing, and they let them do it together, which was even more romantic. Chris and David snuggled up like they do at home, and had a very sexy make out session that made Chris weak in the knees.
When their time was up the jets shut off automatically. They climbed out and dried off, and put their robes back on. They headed to the room for the body polish. It was side by side again, which was nice. First they rubbed them with lotion from head to toe. Then they wrapped them in a hydrating body wrap, and they went to sit in the sauna for 25 minutes.
After the 25 minutes were up, they had their bandages taken off, and were they exfoliated from head to toe, and then they showered and dried off. Their spa day was over. The aesthetician was very clear in telling them to stay out of the sun for the rest of the day. So they decided to go back to their bungalow and lay around.
After dinner that night, they were laying in the hammock again and David brought up the subject of them making this an annual trip.
"I would like that. I just don't know if I can wait that long, a whole year till I get to go away with you again".
"I know, but think about how special it will be, once a year, pull out all the stops…."
She kissed him. "We need a hammock in the city…."
"I will see what I can do". He kissed her back. He put his hands under her shoulders and started to rub them for her, and was surprised at how relaxed she was. This trip was exactly what she needed. It was exactly what they needed.
"I could stay out here forever, with you, in this hammock, with such a peaceful place and the ocean waves…."
"I could stay with you anywhere forever, Chris. Doesn't matter to me the setting".
Chris and David stared at the sky for a long time, and listened to the waves.
"Yes".
"Yes what, Chris?"
"Yes. Yes, I will be yours forever".
He kissed her then, long and slow…. "When?"
"whenever. We can do it here this week, or we can do it back in NYC. Or we could do a small thing with just our family and very close friends, in our house".
"Whatever you want, babe. What changed your mind?"
"Being here with you, and seeing that you do anything for me. You got body polished today just because I wanted to book it. You bend over backwards for me, and this whole thing has showed me that I need to be more flexible and do more for you".
"Chris, you do so much for me. You make me want to be a better person for you. You make me breakfast, you always make my favorite dinners, you pick up my dry cleaning…. you keep me going just like I keep you going. That is what love is., and that is just one of the many, many reasons I love you so much". He kissed her and they melted into each other's arms.
They went inside then, and went to bed. Cagney put on the sheer nightgown for him this night, and he loved it more than anything he had ever seen her in. They had a very romantic night.
***The next morning***
Christine woke up first. It was just after 8, and they had planned on going to breakfast in the restaurant that morning, and then hailing a cab to take them shopping on the island.
Cagney crept to the shower and turned it on, and then disrobed. She climbed in and quickly showered. As she got out, she dried off and quickly caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair was finally long enough. Tears began to flow. This was finally the end of her cancer journey, and she actually had mixed emotions. She was so happy it was over, but she was anxious too. The wigs had become her security blanket and now that was being taken away.
David woke up and found her in the bathroom crying.
"Honey, what's the matter? What is it?" And then he noticed her hair. He held his arms out and just held her. After a few minutes, she let go of him and grabbed a tissue, and wiped her eyes.
"You look beautiful to me, Christine. Gorgeous. You were beautiful to me when I met you, you were beautiful to me on the roof of the Empire state building, and you were beautiful to me when you were bald, just like you are beautiful to me now".
He kissed her gently, and stepped towards the shower. She washed her face and put on some makeup while he showered. She went and changed into a pretty aqua-colored one shoulder top that Bridgit had picked out for her and some jean shorts. She borrowed some of David's hair gel to style her hair, and then as soon as he was ready, they left.
Breakfast was amazing. Coconut pancakes, blueberry crepes, and orange zest waffles, fresh fruit smoothies and fresh squeezed juice. Chris and David were in breakfast heaven.
Around 10, they hailed a cab to the Open air market, where the good shopping is. They walked up and down the streets stopping in the booths to look at all the treasures. Christine bought Bridgit a very beautiful necklace and some handmade beaded sandals. She bought Alice Christine a pretty little hobo bag, and Mary Beth and Harvey a pretty throw blanket and some hand woven pot holders. David didn't have any family to buy for, so he bought something for himself and Chris to enjoy. They bought a piece of original street art, and had the artist put the date on the bottom of the piece. He was going to hang it in the office.
They went to a jewelry store off the market area to browse for a bit. Christine wanted a pendant of some kind to put on a necklace. She found a very pretty aquamarine pendant, that was the exact color of the water.
As the lady was wrapping it up so Chris could buy it, David called her to another counter.
"We are going to need rings. We could always get them here as a remembrance".
"Let's see what they have, I will know the right one when I see it".
Chris pointed out a few that she liked, the square solitaire ones and a few halo set diamonds. She was very fond of the ones that had a bigger diamond in the center and then a few other diamonds on each side. They were browsing and trying on rings, when she finally saw the set that she fell in love with. The wedding band for David was titanium and had a scalloped design along the edge that was very subtle. Her set was an engagement ring with a square-round diamond that was framed with smaller round diamonds, and there were round diamonds all along the band. The wedding band was similar to the engagement band, and fit underneath the lip of the engagement ring. All of it was in titanium, and it was definitely an eye-catcher.
"David, do you like the man's band with that set?"
He tried on the wedding band while she tried on the engagement ring by itself. It looked really good on her hand and she liked what David's ring looked like on him too.
"I love it Chris. How do you like yours?"
"I think we found the one". He kissed her and she took the set off her hand, and then they handed it to the lady who was ringing them up. David insisted on paying for the wedding set himself, and Christine indulged him, part of that whole being flexible thing.
They left the jewelry store, after having put their jewelry bags in their other bags so as not to draw attention to themselves.
David handed the rings and Chris' pendant to the lady at the front desk and asked her to please put them in the hotel safe.
They went back to their bungalow and ordered room service. After lunch they went down to the beach and shared a double chair for a few hours until dinner. Chris was really dark brown by the time they left the sun that day, and David was noticeably darker too.
Dinner that night was at a Hibachi place, and it was excellent. They walked on the beach after dinner for a good bit, and then turned to come back to their bungalow. Just before they walked into their bungalow, David stopped to change the flag to red. Christine took a picture of the moon over the water.
"Chris?"
She turned around to see what he wanted, and found him on one knee, with her engagement ring in his hand.
"It doesn't count unless I do it the right way. Will you marry me Chris?"
Her eyes teared up, and she nodded yes. She held her hand out and he slipped the ring on it, and then stood up and kissed her. He picked her up and carried her inside, and called the front desk and requested the proposal package to be delivered to their room right away.
"What's the proposal package?"
"I looked it up before we came here. I had planned all along to ask you to marry me. The proposal package is chilled champagne, fresh strawberries, and a photographic keepsake for us to take home".
Chris ran and changed the flag back to yellow, and then a few minutes later, room service knocked on their door. As he set it up, David realized he had forgotten to ask for non-alcoholic sparkling juice to be included.
"David, it's ok. I will just have one, and then I won't have anymore. One drink isn't going to do anything; I will be ok".
He tipped the guy, and then shut the door. He went out on the patio and popped the top, and Chris stood by with the glasses. She filled hers with just a swallow or two of champagne, like she promised. The card on the cart stated that the photographer would find them the next day to take a few pictures of them.
"To us, forever. For always. No matter what".
They clinked glasses, took a swallow, and kissed for a few seconds.
Now it was Chris' turn.
"To never having to go on a first date again, and to spending the rest of our lives deeply in love each day, every day, and forever".
They clinked glasses, drank the champagne and they kissed again.
They filled their glasses with champagne once more and took a selfie. It was one of Chris' favorite pictures of them.
She sent it to Mary Beth. Mary Beth texted back 'nice picture. Are you ok?'
'Yes. Just had a swallow or two, that's it. Still on the wagon, and having a wonderful time'.
She sent the pic to Bridgit too, and told her that she would need her to help her with something in a few weeks. Bridgit responded with a thumbs up.
They climbed into bed then, and ate the strawberries. Christine Cagney was engaged for the last time, to her soulmate.
***the next few days***
They spent the rest of their vacation trying to relax as much as possible. Their glass bottom boat ride was canceled, so they had a relaxing day at the pool. Chris was able to read two books while they laid by the ocean and in the hammock in the afternoons. David had a horrible case of food poisoning on the 4th day, from the chicken salad he had for lunch. It put a damper on the romance, but as soon as he was feeling better, they picked up where they left off.
When the resort had found out they were engaged, they upgraded them to the honeymoon suite, which was just like their suite except they also had a Jacuzzi tub and a king sized bed swing on the patio, along with the hammock. It was a beautiful room and a nice gesture on the resort's part.
The last day at the resort was the most beautiful, so David and Christine took a long walk on the beach in the morning, and had their engagement photos taken just before lunch. After lunch they laid out on the deck by the pool, and had drinks from the swim up bar. Christine had a few virgin Pina colodas and David tried to have a beer, but his stomach wasn't up to it yet, so he stuck to ginger ale.
They had to be packed by 7 that night, to take the last boat transfer to Barbados. Their flight home left from Barbados just after midnight.
Christine got them packed and ready to go before dinner, and they went and had their nicest dinner of the whole trip. The restaurant was a 5 star steakhouse and each table was candlelit. Chris had the steak and lobster, and David had the rack of lamb. They were both practically in a food coma after they left the restaurant. The shuttle dropped them off, and they changed clothes quickly and took a cab to the port. The captain had them in Barbados in 1 hour, and there was another shuttle to take them to the airport.
In 18 hours, they would be home. Their vacation was over, and Chris couldn't wait to plan the next one.
They sat and read in the airport until it was time to board their flight.
As they settled into first class, and buckled their seatbelts, Chris turned to David.
"Honey, I know I was given the money for this trip, but you made it more than special. Thank you for the best trip of my life". She kissed him.
"We made it special, and we are going to make every day, and every new adventure of ours just as special too". He kissed her again a few more times, and then the plane took off.
Christine made a few lists on her phone on the plane of how she wanted to get married. She and David chatted about it and they decided to do it at the house, just Bridgit, Brian and Ann if they could attend, and Lisa, and Harvey and Mary Beth. David was going to ask his law partner to come as well. Christine was going to invite Feldberg, and the Isbecki's, the Petrie's, and Bert Samuels. Their apartment couldn't' hold more people than that as it is.
"We need to set a date. What about 4 weeks from now?"
They picked the date. June 20th. They decided to do it as a dinner party, and they would surprise everyone after it started by announcing that it was a wedding. Christine and David agreed that only Brian would know it was a wedding, because she wanted to ask him to give her away.
She made a list of things they had to do before the wedding/dinner party.
Invitations; flowers; minister; marriage license; caterer; dress and tux; wedding cake; champagne and sparkling juice for toasting, and she wanted to book a small honeymoon somewhere.
She put her list in her purse and since it was going to be a surprise, she took her ring off and put it in her purse as well. She and David chatted and read the rest of the flight home.
They landed in Atlanta at 10 a.m. They had a long layover, so they grabbed some lunch sat in a lounge while they waited. Their last flight took off at 4 and they were home by 7. They caught a cab and he dropped them off at their building by 8, and Chris was so exhausted she was about to drop. She could literally feel her bed calling her name.
David put their luggage on a cart and asked the doorman to bring it up. They took the elevator to their floor, and just as David opened the door, he turned to Chris.
"May I?" he asked, as he picked her up and carried her across the threshold.
He kissed her and then set her down, and shut the door behind them.
4 weeks until they were Mr. and Mrs. Keeler.