It was around 5 p.m. that Owen called Cristina to meet him in the lobby. "And wear something warm," he said. "We are going somewhere special." Cristina got dressed in a pretty blue sweater, a pair of jeans, socks and boots. She pulled out her coat and scarf and headed downstairs.
His face broke out in a huge smile, when he saw her. "Okay, I have a taxi waiting." He grabbed her hand they walked out to the taxi. As they bundled into the back seat, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"It is a surprise," he said. "A birthday surprise." They drove for about half an hour and then, the taxi dropped them off at this building. "I am going to cover your eyes, now." He blindfolded her and guided her into the building. When he got her to where he wanted, he told someone, "Can you dim the lights, please?" He then removed the blindfold. Cristina rubbed her eyes and looked around. There were thousands of lights decorating the place, which appeared to be an ice-skating rink. The lights gave it an ethereal glow.
"Wow, an ice skating rink. I have not been on one, in a while," she said. "How did you know?"
"I called your mom and asked her what was the one thing you love that you haven't been able to do in a while," he told her. "She said that you loved figure-skating and you used to do it, competitively but you stopped, when it became too expensive for them to keep up with the costs. So I decided to hire out an entire ice-skating rink just for you. I got them to put up all of the lights, too." She looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"I was devastated when I had to give it up. It is very costly with all of the traveling, the coaches, the equipment, the choreographers, the costumes. My parents aren't rich so they couldn't continue," she said. "When I gave it up, we all cried. My mom, my dad and me. After I stopped, I couldn't face going to the rink, anymore, just to skate for fun. I gave away all of my skates. I haven't been on the ice for a long time." He cupped her face and kissed her gently on the lips.
"Let us get those skates on you, right now," he said, pulling out a pair of white skates from a box. "Your mom told me your size." She sat down on a bench and allowed him to put the skates on her. He then sat down and put on his skates. "Ready?" She nodded, so they got up and hand in hand, went around the rink. Cristina started off, a little tentatively. She hadn't been on skates, since she was 15 years old. Then, she found her rhythm. She released Owen's hand and stared building speed before throwing herself in the air and doing a double toe loop.
"Wow," Owen said. "I am very impressed."
"That was easy," she yelled, from the other side of the rink. "That was only a double. I haven't done it so long that I can only do doubles, now. I have to practice some more before I can do triples, again." She skated back to him. "So let's see what you can do."
"No, no," he said. "All I can do is glide around the rink, aimlessly, like an idiot. I want to see what else you can do."
"Are you sure?" she asked, as she skated away from him again. He watched her doing step sequence, a couple of more jumps and ending in a spin. She caught the back of her skate, raising her leg over and behind her head , while spinning on one leg.
Owen whistled and clapped, as she finally came to a stop. "That was a spectacular spin at the end. What do you call that?"
"A Biellman spin. That was named after a Swiss skater called Denise Biellman. She made the move popular in the 1970s," she told him. "I was known for my flexibility. But I am a little rusty. I used to do that much better."
"That was really, really good. You would have been a great competitor," he told her.
"Yeah, I would have. But I can't cry over that now. My time has a competitive skater has long past. You have to be a teenager to keep doing some of these jumps. At my age, I would have been looking at winding up my competitive career and hoping to move into a pro career with one of those touring ice-skating companies. You would have seen me on tv, doing those ice skating spectaculars that they have every winter."
"A tennis player's competitive days are also limited," he told her. I am going to be 27 this year and then I guess, I will have only about three or four years left on the circuit. I will probably retire by the time I am 30. I will probably do a few celebrity tournaments after that but my days of real competition will probably be over. I will be leaving it for the Dominics of the world, who have the younger legs and more than likely, greater stamina. I think I have achieved almost everything that I have wanted in the game, except for one thing."
"What? I thought you had done everything," she said. "You've been number one, you've won countless tournaments. What haven't you done?"
"The French Open. I have yet to win it. It is the only tournament that I play that is on clay. The rallies are so long and tiring. Do you know Quinteras has won this twice and I can't get my hands on the trophy as yet? So frustrating," he said. "But enough of me, today is about you."
"Hey, I am going to bet that you are going to win the French Open this year," she said, grinning, throwing her arms around him.
"Why say you, my little girlfriend?" he said. Cristina liked that he called her "his girlfriend." It sounded good coming from his lips.
"Because this year, you have me. I will be our good luck charm," she said. He kissed her on the top of her head.
"And if I lose?" he said. "What happens, then, good luck charm?"
"Well, I would say I must have run out of mojo, that day. But let's think positively, we are going to win the French Open this year. We are going to give Pablo Quinteras a run for his money," she said, emphatically.
"That's the spirit," he said. "So, can you show me some moves?"
"Sure," she said and took his hand. She showed him how to glide with one leg in the air and a few simple spins. He wasn't very graceful and he didn't care. Neither was she. They were just happy being with each other.
After about two hours, they had enough of ice-skating and headed back to the hotel. He dropped her off at her room and told her to come up to his room in about half an hour. She asked if she needed to dress up. He said that she could just come up with her pjs, since she was going to spend the night. They both just grinned at that.
Owen went to his room to find that the hotel staff was hard at work. The concierge was there and handed him a small box from one of the finest jewelers in France. "The gift you asked for," he said.
"Thank you," Owen said. He opened the box and stared at it. It was indeed beautiful. The concierge left while a waiter dressed the table near the balcony. He covered the table with a fine linen cloth, placed a small vase with flowers and candles that were ready to be lit. He had ordered a special menu from room service, which they had wheeled in on a trolley.
"Thank you," Owen said, as he tipped everyone for their fine work. Everything looked lovely. He gave it a final glance before he went into the bathroom for a shower. He changed into his pjs and awaited his girlfriend. There was a knock on the door. There she was at the door. She was in her pjs, too, but was wearing a coat to cover it.
"Why are you wearing that coat?" he asked.
"Because I don't want somebody like that old guy in the elevator in the morning, giving me a knowing look that I slept somewhere else other than my room," she said. She came in and gasped at everything. "You did this all for me?" she said, alittle in disbelief.
"Yup, because it is your birthday, even though you didn't want to tell me," he said. He lit the candles, while she started checking out the food on the trolley. "Oh, my," she said. "That looks scrumptious." Then, she reached for the covered dish on the bottom.
"Not the one on the bottom. That is your birthday cake. I want you to see it when we are ready to have dessert," he warned. She pulled away her hand.
He continued, "The best thing is that having dinner in my room, we don't have to dress up for it. Totally comfy and barefoot, too."
"That is so true. Dressing up can be fun but you must have the mindset for it. Like one of those parties you have to attend that the tournament organizers put together," she said. "Those can be a bore, sometimes."
"Yup," he said. "Always making chit-chat with people you don't know. The best company I can have is the one right here with me. So, let's eat." They spent the next hour and a half, sampling all of the food that he had ordered. "You have to leave some room for the cake," he reminded her. She nodded. They had done enough damage to all of the food, when Owen brought out the cake from the bottom of the trolley. He lifted the cover to reveal a three-layer red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.
"Oh, awesome," she said. "Let me light these candles," he said, sticking two number two figure candles into the cake, so that together, they were 22.
She watched him light the candles. "Make a wish, baby," he said, as she blew out the candles. "Happy birthday. Did you make your wish?" he asked. She nodded. "Are you not going to tell me?" She shook her head. "That's okay," he said.
He cut the cake and handed her a slice on a plate. She dug into it with her fork and made a satisfied sound, as she ate the cake with a smile on her face. "I have something for you," he said, handing her the box that the concierge had given to him, earlier.
"You have done enough. You don't have to buy me a present, too," she said. Even though she told him that he didn't have to get her anything, he could tell from her tone that she was excited. She opened the box and gasped, loudly. She took the diamond tennis bracelet and stared at it.
"I can't believe that this is for me," she said, fingering the diamonds.
"Of course you can. I am a tennis player so I got my girl a tennis bracelet. Okay, that sounded corny. Now, don't you think you should put it on?" he said. She put it on her wrist and he closed the clasp for her. She just kept staring at it, watching it sparkle in the candelight. She looked up at him. "Thank you." He rubbed his thumb on her cheek. "You're welcome, Cristina," he whispered.
After dinner, Owen gathered up all of the dishes, plates and flatware and placed them back on the trolley, putting it outside of the room. He called room service to take it back. They brushed their teeth and lay on the bed, snuggled next to each other.
"If I could, I would make love to you for your birthday," he said. "Unfortunately, I am too full."
"Me, too," she said. "Maybe later, when it has all digested."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Definitely later. So you're not going to tell me your wish?"
"I guess I could," she said. "It already came true." She rested her head on his chest.
"Okay, well?" he enquired. "What was it?"
"This," she said. "Me and you. That's my wish." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "You know what, Cristina? This is my wish, too."
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thank you. I appreciate when you take the time to do so.