The next morning, Lee woke up bright and early as he usually did. He rolled over to find Rosemary still fast asleep, so he decided to let her be for now. He pulled on his undergarments and headed into the bathroom to begin to get ready for the day. The wonderful thing about staying in a major city was that there was better plumbing and electricity than on the frontier. He took a quick shower and began to brush his teeth when he heard Rosemary enter the bathroom, clad in nothing but her robe, "Sorry, I'll wait until you're done," she quickly turned to leave.
"No, it's okay sweetheart," Lee ushered her into the room.
Rosemary nodded and hesitantly began to get ready to shower, "Guess we have to get used to sharing a bathroom. And a bedroom. And a whole house."
"Speaking of which, where will we stay until we can build a house? Neither my place nor yours are big enough for two people," said Lee.
"Well," Rosemary thought about it, stepping into the shower, "There are those row houses. Like the one Elizabeth lives in. In fact, I think the one right next door to her is empty!" said Rosemary excitedly.
"Elizabeth will love that," Lee muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Rosemary asked, peeking out from behind the shower curtain.
"Nothing sweetheart," smiled Lee, "I'll be getting dressed if you need me."
Rosemary finished showering, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, brushing her hair, and applying her make-up before she found Lee in the living area, "Hey, sweetheart. Are you ready to go?"
"In a few minutes," said Lee, patting the couch, indicating for Rosemary to sit down next to him. Rosemary cuddled next to him and he rubbed her back soothingly, "I enjoyed last night with you."
Rosemary smiled and kissed his hand, "I did too. I think it's something we can both learn to enjoy," she winked at him, "I think we should get going that way maybe we can have a more relaxing breakfast before we go to the zoo."
Lee stood, "Yeah, I'm sorry I'm dragging you to a zoo, just that they're very special to me," he said, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice.
"Oh that's okay. I love animals. I always wanted a pet growing up but Maman and Papa wouldn't allow me because of Papa's job," said Rosemary, "Plus our nanny was allergic to pet dander. Maybe we can do something more sophisticated tomorrow, like one of the museums before the theater."
Lee grabbed Rosie's coat and held it out for her, "If I may, Mrs. Coulter."
Rosemary smiled and laughed. Lee Coulter being ever the gentleman, sneaking in the words 'Mrs. Coulter' every chance he got. She did have to admit the phrases 'Mrs. Coulter', 'Rosemary Coulter', and 'my wife' all had a nice ring to them, "If you insist, Mr. Coulter."
Lee pulled on his own jacket and they went down to the lobby, "So, Rosemary Coulter, if you could tell me where in New York City the best bagels in the world…"
"Ahem!" Rosemary cleared her throat loudly.
"Sorry, second-best bagels in the world," Lee corrected himself, "I'd really appreciate it."
"Well, there's one on the Upper West Side called Barney Greengrass, The Sturgeon King. It also sells smoked fish so that's why it had that name. But they have an everything bagel with lox that is to die for. And it's right near Central Park, so we can take our breakfast, find a bench, maybe people watch a little and go for a nice, romantic stroll before heading to the zoo," smiled Rosemary hopefully.
"That sounds wonderful," Lee kissed her, "Shall we head to the subway?"
"Oh goodness no," Rosemary chuckled, "The subway is much too crowded at this hour." Rosemary whistled loudly with her fingers before a cab immediately pulled over towards them.
The couple got into the vehicle and Rosemary instructed the driver where to go before Lee turned to her and said, "You weren't kidding about being an expert in hailing cabs."
Rosemary shrugged, "Well, you already know I have a big mouth."
"That you do," Lee smirked and Rosemary smacked his chest lightly. Lee and Rosie arrived at the bagel shop and ordered their breakfast before they took the five minute walk to Central Park. They found a bench and Lee held up his coffee mug, "To my beautiful wife."
Rosemary grinned, "To my handsome husband," they sipped their coffee and ate their bagels, but Rosemary could tell something was off with Lee, "Honey, what's the matter?" she asked, grabbing his hand.
"Nothing," Lee responded.
"Lee," Rosemary scolded lightly, "I know we've only been married for four days, but I do know when something is up with you."
Lee looked at their entwined hands, "I'll explain later," he answered.
Rosemary sighed, but squeezed his hand and nodded, "Alright," they threw their trash away and sauntered through Central Park hand in hand, "Central Park is beautiful around the holidays."
Lee turned to Rosemary and said, "Well, maybe we'll have to come back here around Christmastime then, Rosie."
"Oh it's wonderful. The gigantic tree in Rockefeller Center, all of the store windows decorated, the Macy's in Herald Square, Santa Clause greeting the children, ice skating in Central Park, oh it's so marvelous and cheerful, you'll love it. Especially because we're kids at heart," she giggled.
Lee chuckled, but he knew she was right in her admission. He pulled her closer to him and gave her an ever-so-romantic smooch, "I love you so much."
"I love you too," she smiled, "So, are you ready to check out one of the best zoos in the world?"
"Oh the zoo is the best, but not the bagels?" Lee asked jokingly as they headed towards the subway station, "Those bagels we just had were pretty good."
They reached the subway station and got on the train, "Well, once you get a taste of Montreal bagels, you'll change your mind. They're thinner, but sweeter, just like moi," she smirked, gesturing herself up and down.
Lee laughed and shook his head. Rosemary might often be conceited, but she always meant well and her heart was in the right place. Most of the time. Once they arrived at the Bronx Zoo, Lee found out that Rosemary wasn't kidding when she said she loved animals. They wandered through the zoo holding hands, Rosemary's smile as big as the moon whenever they came across an animal she liked (which was pretty much every animal in the zoo, but she went nuts when they reached the panda bears). They stopped to take a break, rest their feet, and eat lunch before conquering the rest of the zoo. When they got to the elephant exhibit, Rosemary felt a somber vibe from Lee again, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. She watched her husband observing the elephants frolicking around in the water and waving their trunks. Rosemary could see the small smile on Lee's face, but she also noticed a few tears falling down his cheeks. Once they had seen all of the animals, they were just about to leave when Lee stopped her, "Uh Rosie, can we stop by the gift shop first? I really want to get something."
"Of course," Rosemary beamed happily. Lee couldn't help but laugh. He knew Rosemary would never say no to shopping, no matter where it was.
They entered the gift shop and Lee kissed Rosie on the cheek, "Why don't you go pick out something you want and I'll buy it for you."
Rosemary's eyes lit up, "Anything I want?"
"It is our honeymoon," Lee replied.
"Okey dokey," Rosemary happily bounced away.
Lee went over to the stuffed animals and finally found the elephants. He picked up a medium sized one and thought back to that one day at the Lincoln Park Zoo, "I'm going to go to all of the zoos in the world and buy a stuffed elephant from every single one so I remember which zoos I've been to," he had said, picking out a stuffed elephant for himself.
"This one's for you, Buddy," Lee whispered to himself.
"Lee, sweetheart, can you help me?" he heard his wife's voice.
He turned around and found her peeking out from behind a giant stuffed panda bear. "Where did you find that?!" asked Lee in shock.
"Over there," Rosemary motioned with her head over towards the giant stuffed animals, "You said I could get anything I want. Don't worry, I'll put it on my side of the room."
Lee huffed and rolled his eyes jokingly, but decided to give in. He figured this wasn't the time to start their marriage arguments. They arrived back at the hotel and changed before having dinner at the hotel restaurant. Lee made sure to order Rosemary's favorite wine before their first performance of the trip, As You Like It. He knew Rosemary was most looking forward to all three theater performances over the course of the trip (As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and The Honeymoon, just for irony). He was pretty sure her love of theater was only second to him. He wasn't disappointed in her reaction either. Her smile, her laugh, her sheer joy at the whole experience was worth it for him. He knew she was reliving her Broadway days, but he was secure enough to know that she didn't regret marrying him either. After the performance, they made their way back to the hotel, Rosemary talking a mile a minute about the show, "Oh Lee, did you see the actress who played Rosalind? Her performance was flawless. And I should know, I was Rosalind once, it was one of my first shows. Of course, I got my costume caught on the edge of one of the set pieces, ripped my dress, and had to completely improvise a good five minutes of dialogue," she chuckled at the memory, "It was embarrassing at the time but now I can't help but look back and laugh."
"Mmhm," Lee nodded as he unlocked the door to their room. The couple changed and crawled into bed. They both had decided they were too tired to do any sort of marital play that night, so they would do some more tomorrow.
Rosemary was hesitant to bring it up, but finally her curiosity got the best of her, "Sweetheart, at the zoo…the elephant exhibit."
Lee scowled, "Yeah, what about it?"
"You just seemed lost in your own world," Rosemary admitted, rubbing her hand over his chest.
Lee sighed and held back a few tears, "Rosie, can we not talk about it?"
"Lee, I'm your wife," she said firmly, "The purpose of this trip is to bond and grow closer together. And that isn't just physically, but emotionally too. We can't keep secrets from each other if we want this marriage to work. You remember what Pastor Frank said, 'Communication is the key to any good marriage and that it's important to be open and honest.' Now what's wrong?"
Lee sighed sadly and held out his arms for Rosemary and she snuggled against his chest, "Just that my brother Patrick loved elephants."
"I didn't know you have a brother," commented Rosemary surprised.
"That's because I don't really like to talk about it, at least not with people I'm not close to. He was a good kid, most of the time. He had a lot of energy and a childlike sense of adventure. You both probably would've gotten along pretty well to be honest. He passed away when I was nine and he was five," Lee admitted.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, honey," Rosemary grabbed his hand, "But I'll admit, sibling relationships aren't exactly my field of expertise."
"Oh I know," said Lee, "Patrick loved all sorts of animals, but elephants were his favorite. Well, when we were kids, Mom and Dad took us to Chicago and we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Patrick would've just sat there and watched the elephants for hours if Mom and Dad would've let him. Well, when we went to the gift shop, he bought a stuffed elephant to remember the trip. And then he told me he was going to go to all the zoos in the world and buy an elephant at each one to remember where he had gone. But then he got sick and he died a month after that trip."
By now, Rosemary was also holding back tears, "So that's why you wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo and buy an elephant."
"Every zoo I've been to since then, I've done so in memory of Patrick. Granted the only other zoo I've been to is the Philadelphia Zoo, but I felt it's the least I could do for him."
Rosemary hugged Lee and kissed him passionately, "Well, I'm glad you told me. If he had grown up to be anything like his older brother, he would've been a wonderful man."
Lee wiped away the tears running down his cheeks, "Listen, I know we're both a little tired tonight, but tomorrow, maybe we can…?"
Rosemary smiled and kissed him, "Of course, my love," Rosemary turned off the light and snuggled next to him, "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you."
"I love you too."