Ok I'm sorry but this chapter is crazily short. I'm not really sure why - it just worked out that way. Enjoy! Please R+R.
Later that evening, after an extravagant meal at a high-class restaurant in the centre of Paris, Nikki and Helen were wandering quietly, taking in the sights and sounds of the beautiful city and just enjoying being in each other's company. They were both quite overwhelmed, yet incredibly excited by their engagement. They reached a grand bridge over the river Seine and they noticed that some areas of the bridge were completely covered with padlocks. Helen stopped to speak to an elderly Frenchman nearby who was selling padlocks and they attempted to converse across the language barrier by using hand gestures and facial expressions. Helen purchased a padlock and borrowed a marker pen, then headed back over to where Nikki was standing, looking over the river. "So, how good is your French? Can you explain what that guy said about the padlocks?" Nikki asked, teasingly.
"Actually I can." said Helen, proudly. On one side of the padlock she wrote 'Nikki Wade + Helen Stewart' and on the reverse she wrote 'forever'. She then unlocked the padlock and fixed it around the metal rails of the bridge, clicking it shut. She passed the key to Nikki, kissed her on the cheek and said, "Throw it in the river so that the lock can never be opened." Nikki obliged, then turned around and gave her fiancé a deep passionate kiss.
"I love you." she whispered because it was all she could say. She looked up and saw tears falling down Helen's face. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?" she asked, concerned.
"I wish so much that my mum could have met you. She would have adored you. She would have been so excited about planning our wedding - it would have driven us crazy. But still, I really wish she was here to see this." said Helen, caressing Nikki's face and looking deep into her eyes.
Nikki was a little thrown. She suddenly felt incredibly guilty for not trying to make contact with her mother. David had given her her address so that if Nikki wanted to send her a letter then she could, but she hadn't. And here Helen was, crying, so utterly desperate for just a little time with her mother. "Sweetheart. You know she's watching over you. And for what its worth, I think I'd have loved her too. She sounds like a wonderful woman. And I am thankful to her every day for bringing you up so that you could become the amazing woman that you now are." This was followed by another beautiful kiss.
"Thank you Nikki." said Helen, softly. "Now, can we go to bed please."