13:00hrs on the nose and they had arrived at the lodge. During his shift as driver, Jim had to ask every so often where he should turn and other such questions. Sara wanted to keep things a surprise for as long as possible, so she gave him limited information, but as they neared their destination, it dawned on Jim exactly where it was that they were headed.
When they pulled into the gravel lot, Sara sat up straight in her seat and looked out the window. The lodge was so much more beautiful than she had imagined, it was almost like a dream. As far as she could see, there were pine trees, evergreens, log cabins and in the distance, she could see the light shimmering off of the surface of Lake Tahoe.
They stepped out and after stretching their stiff limbs, Jim and Sara made their way to the main building to check in. Jim held the door open for Sara as she passed in front of him and headed for the concierge. No one was around, so she tapped on the bell that sat on the counter. Moments later a woman appeared. She was of average height and weight and her hair was jet black, with her eyes being one of the deepest shades of green Sara had ever seen.
"Yeah, hi. Sidle, party of two." she stated
Looking in the reservation book, the hostess quickly found Sara's reservation and smiled.
"Yes, I have your room right here. Might I ask how long you two have been married?"
asked the clerk
Before Sara could correct the woman, Jim spoke up.
"1 week." he stated "Well, might I be one of the first to congratulate you on your blessed union." she offered
Taking Sara's hand in his, Jim kissed the back of it and smiled. Sara knew that Jim liked to play games and figured that he was just going along with the charade. As the woman turned to get their room key, Sara looked up at Jim, expecting him to be uneasy, but to the contrary,
he was calm, cool and actually grinning. As the hostess handed Sara the room key, Jim tilted his head down and kissed her on the cheek. Looking at the woman, Jim simply stated:
"I love this woman."
The woman smiled and wished them joy as Jim and Sara exited the main building. On the way back to the truck, Sara turned to Jim and smirked.
"Why did you say we were married?" she asked "Well, it is the honeymoon suite, and far be it from me to spoil someone's fun. Besides, they'll probably send up some champagne tonight. And that always comes in handy." he replied
#############
Having unpacked and settled in, Jim and Sara now had to tackle the issue of who got the bed. Jim, being the gentleman that he is, offered it to Sara. But Sara, being as resolute as she is, told Jim to keep it. In the end, they decided to share, as the bed was more than big enough; a king size. In the back of her mind, Sara was a bit apprehensive about sleeping with Jim, but decided that since this would not have been the first time, that it would be fine. They unpacked their bags and placed their clothing in the dresser drawers and when they had finished,
Sara wandered outside and sat in one of the Adirondack chairs on the front porch.
Their cabin was right on the lakeside and they had a clear view of the glistening waters of scenic Lake Tahoe. Soaking in the sun and simply staring out into space, Sara felt a sudden rush fall over her like that of an epiphany. And it was that she was home. Granted, she had never been to Tahoe before, but only seen it in pictures, but she felt at home, regardless. The smells and the sights, like the birds and deer that passed in front of her just felt so right, like she had seen them countless times before, that she was not even in awe, as a family of deer walked by.
A short while later, Jim emerged from inside and plopped himself in the chair next to Sara. He stretched out and sighed as he laced his fingers across his belly and closed his eyes. Sara watched as Jim dozed off and when he began to snore, she got up, lightly ran her hand across his buzz cut and went inside. In the living area, she found a television with cable tv. Flipping through the channels, she settled on the Sci-Fi channel. At present, there was a "V the Final Battle" marathon on. Sara leaned back, propped her feet up on the solid oak coffee table and turned the volume down a bit so as to not wake Jim.
Sara watched as Mike Donovan and Ham Tyler fired laser pistols at the lizard aliens. She remembered in the 80's when the show was on television and she would sit every week, watching and becoming totally engrossed in what was going on. Normally, it was Mike Donovan that women found irresistible, but for Sara, it had always been Ham Tyler. He was tall, broad, had a very nice speaking voice and there was just something about the way he moved and carried himself that always turned her on. Maybe it was the receding hairline, maybe it was the scar on his face; she wasn't sure, but one thing she was sure of was that this man was hot, hot, hot.
17:00hrs and Jim woke alone on the front porch, covered by a wool blanket. Smiling to himself, Jim arched his back and stretched his legs and arms out. Standing up, he had to place a hand on the back of the chair to steady himself, due to the head rush that had come over him. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't fall over and waited for the dizziness to subside.
Later in the afternoon, Jim and Sara went into town and to the market for some food. They picked up the essentials; red wine, French bread, brie, bottled water and some fruit. On their way back to the lodge, Sara spotted an Italian restaurant. They went inside and looked at the case mounted menu. Rubbing an open hand across the side of her face, Sara turned to Jim.
"Do we want to eat here or bring it back to the cabin?" she asked "That's up to you." Jim replied
"Let's take it back. That way, we can relax and take our time." she said "Sounds like a plan." Jim commented
Jim ordered some lasagna with meat sauce while Sara ordered some eggplant parmesan. While they waited for their meals to be done, Jim and Sara walked around to kill some time. They found a nice little curio shoppe and went inside. All around the dimly lit store there were trinkets, bits and baubles of various styles and origins. On a shelf near the back of the store, Sara found an ivory carving of a Japanese village encased in a teak wood sort of frame with glass in front and in back of it. Turning it over very carefully and examining it, Sara fell in love with it. She fingered the price tag and seeing that it was reasonably priced, she decided to buy it. At the other end of the shoppe, Jim had found a sword which appeared to be Japanese in origin, with a carved ivory handle and an intricately carved blade with lettering on it. Examining it thoroughly, Jim found the shop owner and asked what the writing said. Without even looking at the sword, the clerk responded.
"It says "Beware The Fury of the Patient Man."
Thinking to himself, Jim decided he liked the item and decided to buy it. So, sword in hand, Jim found Sara and they exchanged items for inspection. Jim looked her carving over carefully while Sara gracefully sliced through the air with the blade. She heard a very nice swoosh and when she held the scimitar with the business end pointing upward, she smiled.
"I like this one. Its got a good weight and its perfectly balanced." she commented
"I never knew you were into swords, Sara." Jim said
"Well, any idiot can use a gun, but it takes true grace and discipline to learn how to use a blade." she stated
Jim could not argue with her on that one, not that he wanted to, mind you, but he just never thought of Sara as a swordsman. With a smile on her face, Sara handed the sword back to Jim and they headed for the register. Sara's Japanese village was priced at $300.00, but she haggled it down to $250.00, whereas Jim's sword was considerably more expensive, but since it came with a certificate of authenticity and origin, he willingly forked over the $1200.00 in the form of his Visa Platinum card.
As they stepped outside and made their way back to the restaurant, Jim and Sara dropped their merchandise in the boot of the truck. Covering his new toy with a blanket, Jim had a very broad smile plastered across his face, he was truly happy that he found such a nice, quality item.
Inside the restaurant Sara and Jim picked up their dinner and walked back to the truck. Placing the bag with the food on the floor between her feet, Sara buckled herself in and turned to Jim, who was still smiling over his sword.
"I swear, Jim, you're like a kid in a candy store. I had that same dopey grin on my face when I found my first geode. It was big and dark grey on the outside. but inside, it was amethyst and charcoal coloured. I still have it." she explained
"So, you're into swords, rocks, physics and what else? Sara, you're like an enigma; a walking, talking puzzle. Mind you, I love puzzles, but you're a truly rare bird." Jim commented
During the ride back to the lodge, Jim and Sara continued to share pieces of themselves; likes, dislikes, hobbies, passions and such. Jim confided to Sara that he secretly loved chick-flicks and Sara confessed that she loves horror films, especially psychological thrillers and gore.
Not in the least bit surprised by this, Jim commented that he too, likes horror movies. No sooner did Jim declare his love for blood and guts than they rolled past a video store. Turning to Sara, Jim grinned.
"You wanna pick something up?" he asked
"Yeah, I can think of no better way to spend a relaxing weekend than to watch work away from work." she stated
Jim parked the truck and they hopped out and went inside. With nothing else on their minds, both of them scouted the tops of the racks until Jim located the horror section. Scanning the selections, Sara pulled down "The Haunting", "The House on Haunted Hill" and "In the Mouth of Madness". Jim went more for "The Ring", "Event Horizon" and the "Alien Quadrilogy".
"Damn, Jim, you really must like Sigourney Weaver." Sara commented
"Yeah, well, she's fine any way you look at it." he replied
On their way to the check-out counter, Jim spotted a couple of films that he had not seen in the longest time, so, picking it up, he added it to their selections. Seeing the title of the last film, Sara turned to Jim and chuckled.
"Shadowlands and Steel Magnolias?" she asked
"Yeah, its a really good film and its got Debra Winger." he replied blushing a bit
They paid for their rentals and climbed back in the truck. ############
"Well, that was pretty good." Sara said
"Yeah. I'm not much for Italian, but I must admit that I really liked it." Jim commented
Jim stood from the table and took their dishes to the kitchenette. While he washed the plates, Jim wondered what film they would watch. He and Sara had discussed this topic over dinner and he told her that she got first pick, so, as the warm water washed over his hands, Jim hummed to himself.
Sitting back down on the couch, Jim kicked off his shoes and propped his feet up on the coffee table. Sara had the movies laid out in front of her and tapped the tip of her index finger on her pursed lips.
"So, what do you want to watch?" she asked
"Doesn't matter to me, we've got two and a half days and ten movies to watch." he replied
Reaching down, Sara picked up "Event Horizon" and popped it into the dvd player and leaned back on the couch. As the opening credits ran, Jim poured himself and Sara some wine. Handing Sara her glass, Jim sighed heavily. Picking up on this, Sara inquired as to why Jim was so tired.
"Well, the drive up here, for one, and work, too. I guess I just needed to kick back and relax." he replied
"You wanna call it a night? We've got more than enough time for these." she said, gesturing to the movies
"No, I'm fine. But if I start to snore, just poke me." he replied, laughing
It was halfway through the movie when Sara looked over to see Jim snoozing happily. Looking down at her watch, Sara noted the time, and seeing that it was kind of on the late side, she turned the movie off and covered Jim with the wool blanket from the back of the couch. Standing over him, Sara smiled to herself.
"Goodnight, handsome."
TBC?--