A/N - HEY EVERYONE! I "HOPE" EVERYONE'S ENJOYING HOPE FOR TOMORROW! I KNOW THIS CHAPTER IS EXTREMELY LONG, BUT THERE'S SO MUCH DETAIL AND THINGS IN THIS CHAPTER THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR CHAPTER 11 AND ALL THE CHAPTERS TO COME.
I HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG THIS STORY IS GOING TO BE, BUT I'M HOPING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 30 AND 40 CHAPTERS. I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS!
TALK TO YOU LATER, CHICKADEES! (I'm tired, so forgive me)
-Lucky
CHAPTER TEN
(chapter title – Big Changes)
Ella was now fully recovered from her illness. Marius decided not to punish her, seeing as he almost lost his beautiful, sweet, compassionate, loving girl to phenomena.
Cassidy ended up moving in with the Pontmercy's ten days before Ella's twelfth birthday.
Ella invited Sara, along with Ruth, Taylor and Charlotte to her birthday party. The party was Harry Potter themed. Everyone got sorted into a house and played Quidditch.
Ella received a gold-and-red knitted sweater from Cassidy, some horse models from various friends of Ella's dad, books that included Tales of Beadle the Bard, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages from Marius, a huge stuffed horse from Sara, some gift cards for some stores that Ella liked from Charlotte, Ruth and Taylor, some perfume from Enjolras, Eponine and Jolene and some various gifts from friends and family.
She had decided to breed Hope to a strawberry roan Thoroughbred stallion named Gone With The Wind. Hope was almost done with her pregnancy and it was taking its toll on her.
"Everyone, Hope has gone into labor!" Joly called as he rushed into the house.
"She's not due for another week!" Ella said as she went down to the barn, flanked by her friends and family.
"Well, she's going into labor now!" Joly said, taking Ella's hand in his as they sprinted down to the barn.
Ella was the first one to approach Hope's stall. She was in a large birthing stall towards the back of the barn, away from all the noise.
The top half of her beautiful tail was wrapped with green medical tape to keep it out of the way when she had the foal. She kept biting at her side and pacing.
"She's having contractions." Ella announced as Marius, Cassidy, Sara, Enjolras, Joly and Eponine entered the barn. Courfrayac and the others stayed behind to clean up and watch after the little ones.
Sure enough, a ripple went through Hope's body. She groaned in pain and laid down. The sawdust in her stall had been replaced with straw to cushion the baby's fall. Joly had replaced the straw when Hope's water had broken.
"I better go in and make sure she's okay." Ella said, starting to go in.
"No, I'll go. She might kick you when she's delivering." Marius told his daughter, ducking under the guard rail and stood in the corner, in case Hope needed any help.
Everyone watched as Hope stood up again, paced her stall, then laid down. A foreleg was sticking out. Another foreleg and the foal's head followed it. Marius smiled as the rest of the foal entered the world.
Hope pinned her ears against her head as Marius cleaned the birth sac from the foal's face and nose. She then pricked them forward when he checked to see if the foal was breathing. It was. He then checked under the foal's tail to see what Hope had delivered.
"She had a filly!" Marius exclaimed. Ella squeaked and watched her father duck back under the guard rail and join his family.
Hope nickered happily and nuzzled her filly, licking her dry. Once she was dried off, the filly raised herself on her wobbly legs and tumbled over.
"Look at her coloring – it's beautiful!" Sara whispered in Ella's ear.
Sara was right – the filly's baby fur was gray roan – a mixture of her mother and father. The filly had big brown eyes, long eyelashes and four white socks, along with a snip at the end of her nose.
"So, birthday girl, what are you going to name her?" Cassidy asked.
"Well, her dam's name is Hope For Tomorrow and her sire's name is Gone With The Wind, so I'm thinking Tomorrow's Wind, but I'm gonna call her Windy for short." Ella told the people behind her.
Joly smiled and went to write the filly's name, her mother's name, today's date and time in the foal book. He then walked over just in time to see Windy take her first drink of milk.
"Let's give Hope and Windy some privacy." Joly told the others as Hope and Windy laid down in the large stall. Windy laid her head on Hope's shoulder as Hope put her head on her new baby, as if protecting her.
"She's so beautiful!" Ella told the others as she entered the house.
"Did you take any pictures on your new digital camera?" Courfrayac asked. Ella nodded and showed him the pictures of Hope and Windy. "She's beautiful, Ella! What's her name?"
"Her full name is Tomorrow's Wind, but her barn name is Windy." Ella answered. Everyone agreed that they liked the name. Ella ginned from ear to ear, but it frowned when Joly entered the house, his hands bloody and a frown on his face. "Joly? What's wrong?"
"Hope was carrying twins, but the one twin didn't survive. I tried to get it out myself, but it was breached. I tried to reposition the foal so it would come out right. Eventually, it came, but it was stillborn." Joly explained, going to the kitchen to wash the blood off his hands.
"Did she have a colt or a filly?" Ella inquired.
"Another filly." Joly answered.
"We know that Windy and Hope are healthy." Marius assured Ella. She nodded and took her presents to her room, with Sara, Taylor, Ruth and Charlotte's help.
Once Ella's presents were in her room, everyone sang Happy Birthday to Ella and Windy. Ella blew out all twelve of her candles and smiled as Courfrayac cut her a large piece of chocolate cake.
After cake, everyone left, except Ella, Anton, Marius and Cassidy.
"Did you have a nice birthday, Ella?" Cassidy asked as she came into Ella's room. Ella nodded and watched Cassidy sit on her bed. She was wearing a green and blue tye dye dress that came to her ankles and had quarter-length sleeves.
"I had a great day." Ella responded, not bothering to stifle a yawn.
"Before you fall asleep, I wanted to give you this," Cassidy said, handing Ella a gift that was the size of a DVD, only it felt like there were a bunch of them wrapped together. Ella tore off the wrapping paper and smiled as Cassidy turned on the bedside lamp so Ella could see better. "I hope you don't have these."
"Oliver and Company, Black Beauty, Fox and the Hound, Phar Lap, Seabiscuit, Secretariat and Noble Man. No, I don't have any of these. Thank you, Cassidy!" Ella thanked Cassidy, hugging her. Cassidy smiled and hugged her back.
"Noble Man is about a Thoroughbred colt, then gelding, who is a steeplechaser. I used to do steeplechase and would love to watch it with you sometime." Cassidy told Ella. She nodded and looked to see who was in the movie.
"Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, Toby McGuire Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Ed Asner and Leonardo DiCaprio!" Ella read each name with fascination.
"Zac Efron and Taylor Swift are the younger versions of Will and Emma, played by Ty Burrell and Tina Fey. Ed Asner and Betty White play Will and Emma when they're senior citizens." Cassidy told Ella.
"Who plays Noble Man?" Ella inquired.
"Two To Tango, Gone With The Wind, Snow White, Buster and Fame play him." Cassidy answered.
"I know Gone With The Wind – that's Windy's dad. I've heard of Two To Tango and Snow White. I've never heard of Buster or Fame." Ella said.
"How can you not hear of Buster or Fame – they live at your uncle Courfrayac and uncle Joly's barn." Cassidy said.
"They do?" Ella asked.
"Yeah. I was the horse trainer on this movie." Cassidy told Ella.
They talked a while longer about the movie before Ella started to get tired. Cassidy kissed the top of Ella's head, drew the covers to her chin, turned off the overhead light and closed the door.
She went to join Marius in the master bedroom. Marius was reading a book and kept pushing his reading glasses to the bridge of his nose every ten seconds.
"What shall we do tomorrow?" Marius asked as Cassidy climbed in beside him. She kissed Marius' cheek and rested her head on his clavicle.
"I have classes to teach all day, you have work, Ella has school and Anton goes to daycare." Cassidy told Marius. He set the book down and looked into Cassidy's beautiful eyes.
"I meant tomorrow night – just the two of us. It's our date night." Marius told her, kissing her.
"I was thinking maybe dinner and a movie." Cassidy said, wrapping her arms around Marius' torso.
"I have something even better – I checked us in at a bed and breakfast called Wolf's Howl. We're staying there an entire week." Marius told Cassidy, getting the brochure for the bed and breakfast.
"It looks amazing, but what about the kids?" Cassidy asked.
"They're going to stay with Courfrayac and Joly. Enjolras, Eponine, Sara and Jolie are going out of town to see Enjolras' mother – she's not doing well." Marius told her.
Cassidy smiled and rested her head on Marius' chest. He kissed her temple and wrapped his arms around her.
What Cassidy didn't know was that on the third day they were at the bed and breakfast, he was going to ask her to marry him.
He had picked out her engagement ring and put it in his bedside drawer, knowing that she would love it.
A week later, Marius and Cassidy dropped the kids off at Courfrayac and Joly's farm before driving to Wolf's Howl.
They grabbed breakfast from a drive-through and listened to two audio books on the way there.
"Welcome to Wolf's Howl." Marius told Cassidy four hours later. She had been asleep, but opened her eyes and looked at the beautiful house in front of her.
The house was a huge six-story mansion that sat on top of a hill. Smaller buildings were spread along the hill and as they drove up to the mansion, Cassidy saw a mess hall, horseback riding stable, dance hall, band shell, fire pit and two paths that led off in different directions.
Marius parked the car as Cassidy woke up. The two of them brought in their suitcases and food before going up to the mansion.
A butler greeted them at the door and ushered them inside. Cassidy took a moment to look around while Marius went to check them in.
The main foyer had a six-story ceiling with stained glass pictures decorating the ceiling. Off to one side, a spiral staircase that seemed to go on forever, along with a tall bookshelf, a couple of chairs, end tables, a coffee table with dusty books on it, a large intricately patterned rug and a large stone fireplace.
"Cass, are you coming?" Marius asked, waving her over. Cassidy blinked at least twenty times to see if she was dreaming. "There aren't any elevators, so we're on the first floor in the Red Room."
"That's fine. I would've been fine to climb the stairs." Cassidy told Marius as they followed the butler to their room, just beyond the staircase.
They entered the room and saw why it was called the Red Room – everything was red – the hardwood floor, the two-story ceiling, the walls, furniture – everything.
"It even has a red mini fridge!" Cassidy squeaked, simply amused by the redness of everything.
"Come check out this painting!" Marius called from somewhere deep within the room. Cassidy walked toward his voice and found him in the bedroom.
"Wow!" Cassidy exclaimed, glancing at the painting.
The painting was in a large gold frame that was the size of a large picture window. It was the painting inside the frame that caught Marius' eye.
The painting was a portrait of a man and a woman. The man stood behind the woman, who was seated. The man had a hand on the woman's shoulder and the other holding one of her hands. The woman's other hand laid on her lap.
Both the man and woman had brown hair, eyes and simple features. They were fair-skinned and fairly thin, especially the woman.
The man had a full beard streaked with gray. He wore a black wide-brimmed hat, a black overcoat, shirt, pants and gloves. The woman had her brown hair pulled in a tight bun at the top of her head. She wore wire-rimmed glasses, a dress with a pattern of flowers, a white apron and had a stern look on her face, as if someone had done something wrong. The man, however, wore a smile, but didn't show any of his teeth.
It had been painted on a red background. It showed nothing but the people in the painting.
"This is extremely detailed. I wish I could paint like that." Cassidy said as she unpacked. "You know, if we make love, they're going to watch us, right?"
"I'll put a pillowcase or something over the portrait when we do." Marius told her, coming up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her ear, neck, jaw line and turned her around so he could kiss the rest of her.
"What time is dinner?" Cassidy asked, leading Marius to the King-sized bed in the middle of the room. Her stomach had started growling the moment they stepped into the room, making Marius burst out laughing. Cassidy had hit him with her purse.
"We missed dinner by an hour. Breakfast is served from eight to ten tomorrow morning. If you're hungry, we have snacks in the fridge and the bags from the trip." Marius told her, having her lay on top of him.
Cassidy removed her shirt and bra as Marius kissed her everywhere his lips could reach. He removed his shirt as Cassidy climbed under the covers, throwing her skirt and underwear in his face.
He laughed and dove in after her, removing the rest of his clothing. He loved how she felt against him as they moved as one.
They rested and looked into each other's eyes. Cassidy blinked up at him as he pulled out of her. He kissed her forehead and held her close.
"What are we doing while we're here?" Cassidy asked.
"Tomorrow, we're having a cooking class, going horseback riding, going on the riverboat on the lake, going for a guided bicycle tour and in the evening, going to the graveyard for a movie night." Marius answered.
"That sounds like a lot of fun," Cassidy said, nuzzling his neck. She then looked scared, "did you say graveyard?"
"Yes, I did. Why? Are you scared?" Marius asked, tickling Cassidy. She laughed and moved away from him, but he followed her.
"I am not scared!" Cassidy said between fits of giggles.
Marius climbed on top of her and noticed her scars for the first time. They were on the tops of her arms, wrists, legs, stomach, torso and even one on her neck.
"Cass, what are all these cuts from?" Marius asked, looking at one on her wrist.
"Oh. Those," Cassidy said, suddenly seeming ashamed, "I used to cut myself."
Marius didn't know what to say – she had a darker past than he thought.
"Some of those look really painful." Marius noted, looking at the scars on her stomach and torso.
She shrugged and turned away from him. He knew she didn't want to talk about it, so he left it alone. He moved over to her and rubbed her back in a circular motion.
"I'm sorry I asked about the scars." Marius apologized.
"It's all right," Cassidy told him, turning over on her back. Marius smiled and kissed her again, his hands going to her dog tags. He started to take them off when Cassidy stopped him, "please don't take off my dog tags. They're the only thing I have left of Ryan."
"I'm sorry," Marius said. She smiled and watched him continue to kiss and touch her in the right spots. She moaned with pleasure as Marius put a hand between her legs and felt around. He climbed on top of her and removed his hand. He turned her over on her side so he could enter her easier. "Let me know if I hurt you."
Cassidy nodded and felt herself grow tired. She looked over at the clock and saw it was a little after two in the morning – no wonder why she was tired.
"Marius, it's 2:09 in the morning. We better get some sleep." Cassidy told Marius. He nodded, pulled out and climbed under the covers, taking Cassidy in his arms. She fell asleep to the beating of his heart.
The next morning, Cassidy climbed out of bed and went to take a shower. She sang various show tunes as Marius came into the bathroom and entered the shower.
"In sleep he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me
And speaks my name
And do I dream again
For now I find
The Phantom of the Opera
Is there, inside my mind." Cassidy sang as she lathered shampoo into her hair. At the moment, she had her eyes closed, but opened them when Marius wrapped his arms around her.
"Morning, Cassidy." Marius greeted her, kissing her cheek.
"We've been together for a year and a half. When are you going to come up with cute nicknames for me?" Cassidy asked.
"I haven't been able to think of any that I like yet." Marius answered as Cassidy got the shampoo out of her hair.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Cassidy exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Marius asked.
"I got shampoo in my eye! Son of a nutcracker!" Cassidy exclaimed.
"Here, let me help." Marius said, stifling a giggle. "Son of a nutcracker?"
"I don't swear. I used to when I was a teenager, but stopped for some reason."
"Why is that?" Marius asked, getting the rest of the shampoo out of Cassidy's eye.
"I don't know really." Cassidy answered, turning off the water and walked back to the bedroom, not bothering to wrap a towel around her.
She decided to wear a pair of black Capri's with a T-shirt that had a picture of a howling wolf on it. Marius wore jeans and a T-shirt that had 'Standing on the Side of Love' on it. Cassidy had given it to him for a birthday present.
The two of them decided to wear sneakers as Cassidy put her hair into braided pigtails.
They walked hand-in-hand to the mess hall. The two of them piled their plates high with food and went to join some people seated around one of the several round tables in the room.
"Hello." Marius greeted them as he sat down next to an African-American woman.
"Hi." She greeted him back as Cassidy sat next to Marius.
"I'm Marius and this is my girlfriend, Cassidy." Marius introduced himself and Cassidy to the group.
"I'm Jasmine and this is my husband, Dan." The African-American woman – or Jasmine – introduced herself and the African-American man seated next to her.
Besides Dan and Jasmine, there were Clair and Oliver, Solange and James, Olivia and Michael, followed by Garrett and Svetlana.
"What rooms are you guys in?" Cassidy asked, taking a bite of bacon.
"We're in the Green Room." Clair answered.
"We're in the Purple Room." Solange said.
"We're in the Blue Room." Dan spoke up.
"We're in the Orange Room." Olivia chimed in.
"We're in the Yellow Room." Garrett said.
"We're in the Red Room." Marius said.
"Oh. We were going to stay there, but the Yellow Room just spoke to us." Svetlana said, her voice accented with a Russian accent.
"Where are you all from?" Oliver asked.
"We're from Michigan." Cassidy answered.
"We're from Indiana." Garrett said.
"We're from Rhode Island." Olivia said.
"We're from Maine." Jasmine spoke up.
"We're from California." Solange said.
"I'm from Wisconsin and Clair is from England." Oliver told his new friends.
"What's everybody's line of work?" Cassidy asked as someone cleared all the plates from around the table.
"I'm in real estate and James is a writer." Solange said.
"I'm a hotel concierge and Garrett is a photographer." Svetlana said.
"I'm a club owner and Jasmine's a singer." Dan said.
"I'm in a band and Michael is an actor." Olivia said.
"I'm a stay-at-home dad and Jasmine is a CEO at a large company." Dan said.
"I'm a lawyer and Cassidy's a horse trainer." Marius said.
"Do you have any children?" Dan asked as they exited the mess hall and went onto the large screened-in porch just off the mess hall.
"We have two – Andy and Natasha." Garrett said.
"We have four – all girls – Natalie, Emma, Brooklyn and Juliet." James said.
"We have two – boys – Derek and Shawn." Olivia said.
"We have five – Amy, Jamie, Brittany, Tatum and Noah." Clair said.
"We have one – Benjamin and one on the way – a little girl due in September." Jasmine said.
"We have two – Ella and Anton." Cassidy said.
They all chatted for a while before Marius told Cassidy it was time to go horseback riding. They said goodbye to their new friends and headed to the stable.
Two elegant horses were waiting for Marius and Cassidy as they entered the stable.
One was a stormy gray that was built like a Quarter Horse with big brown eyes. It had a blaze that ran down its face and two hind socks.
The other was a sorrel and white paint with one brown eye and one blue eye. The paint had a small star directly in the middle of its forehead and two front socks.
"These are Diamond and Stormy. Marius, you'll be riding Diamond and Cassidy, you'll be riding Stormy." A groom told the couple as they walked over to the horses.
"Which one's which?" Cassidy asked.
"Stormy's the gray and Diamond's the paint. They're both mares." The groom said, helping Cassidy mount Stormy. She bobbed her head as the groom tightened her cinch and lengthened Cassidy's stirrups. "Quit!"
"Walk on, Stormy." Cassidy told Stormy, gently nudging the mare forward. She took a few bumbling steps, but quickly found her rhythm.
Cassidy had Stormy go into the arena where four other riders were waiting. Cassidy instantly recognized them as Clair, Olivia, Oliver and Michael.
"Hullo!" Clair greeted Cassidy, bringing her mount over. "Thunder, quit it!"
"What a lovely horse you have there!" Cassidy told Clair as Marius jogged into the arena. Diamond was tossing her head and snorting loudly.
"Thanks. Yours is lovely, too. What's your horse's name?" Cassidy asked.
"This beautiful gelding is Thunder. You're riding his sister, Stormy." Clair told Cassidy as a group leader came into the arena, mounted on a beautiful bay Thoroughbred mare named Summer's Night.
"Who're Oliver, Olivia and Michael riding?" Cassidy asked, sitting up straighter in her saddle.
"Oliver's riding Marshmallow, Olivia is on King and Michael is on Strawberry," Clair answered, turning to Marius, "I've ridden Diamond before. She's a sweetheart."
Cassidy smiled as she followed Clair onto the trail, Marius and Diamond bringing up the rear.
"You might want this." Clair said, turning in her saddle and handed Cassidy an object that was the size of a lighter. "Clip it to your shirt, dearie. There's one for Marius, too."
Cassidy handed Marius the other lighter-sized object and had him clip it to his shirt.
"…was founded in 1902 by General Lewis and his wife, Martha…" the trail leader's voice came through the small speaker at the top of the object. "Wolf's Howl spreads across 40 acres of land. It used to be more until the city wanted to build the highway across the back of the property…
In each of your rooms, you might have noticed a painting. That painting is of General Lewis and Martha. It was painted in 1910 by Jacque du Bouts. Today, the painting is worth at least $50,000.00.
Each room is painted a certain color – Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Purple, White, Black, Orange, Teal and Pink and filled with furnishings of the same color. Why each room is painted a certain color was so that Martha and General Lewis could tell which of their children was in each room. They had ten children, but only four survived to adulthood.
The White, Black, Orange and Teal rooms are off-limits to visitors because it is where the children, then later General Lewis and Martha died. The rooms are said to be haunted.
Finishing the tour, there's a golf course, nature trail, lake – not to be swum in, tennis court, lighthouse, gazebo and a church, if you so desire, to get married in. We have four ordained ministers who can do most any type of ceremony.
There's also a gift shop that sells anything from candles to cookies to T-shirts to tin soldiers to anything your heart desires.
The restaurant next to the gift shop – Martha's – has an arrangement of delicious food that you all should try when you're here.
If nothing appeals to you at Martha's, there's a town 7 miles east of here that has all sorts of restaurants.
It looks like it's going to rain, so let's turn around and head back to the stables. You may trot, if you wish, but no cantering or racing." The leader's voice said.
Everyone turned their horses around and trotted back to the barn.
Cassidy turned her eyes to the sky and saw it was darkening quickly. She and Marius made a dash for their bedroom as rain poured down from the sky. Thunder rumbled and lightening pierced the sky.
"Well, there goes the rest of the afternoon." Marius said, lying on the bed. Cassidy kicked off her sneakers and climbed in next to him.
"We have lunch and then the cooking class, right?" Cassidy asked, nibbling on Marius' earlobe.
"Lunch isn't for an hour and our cooking class isn't until two and goes until three-fifteen. The bicycle tour doesn't start until three-twenty. The riverboat tour on the lake doesn't start until six and the movie in the graveyard doesn't start until seven." Marius told her between kisses, his hands sneaking up Cassidy's shirt and pulled it off her head, along with her glasses, which Marius set on the bedside table.
The two of them made out for a while then listened to the sound of the rain falling on the roof.
They then got dressed, had lunch with people from that morning and headed for their cooking class. They smiled and saw their friends from that morning standing at portable burners set up around the room.
The couples learned how to make spaghetti sauce from the ingredients from the garden.
"Open." Cassidy told Marius, scooping some sauce onto a spoon. Marius opened his mouth and closed his eyes, smiling contently.
"This is amazing, Cass!" Marius exclaimed, kissing her cheek.
The two of them worked together to clean up their work station before heading to the bike trail behind the mess hall.
Clair and Oliver, Dan and Jasmine, Olivia and Michael joined Marius and Cassidy.
A blond-haired woman acted as their guide. Her name was Samara and she was from Poland.
"Okay, everyone. Grab your helmets and let's go!" Samara told the group as she got onto a sky-blue bicycle and motioned for everyone to do the same. She then took off towards a wooden trail, the group following behind her.
She talked loudly enough so everyone could hear her. She talked about the property and how General Lewis decided to settle down in this spot. She then talked about how the building was constructed and said at least 50 men died building it. Building started in 1897 and took seven years to construct. Building was finished in 1904. General Lewis and Martha didn't move in until 1905 because of some roof damage.
The bicycle ended after an hour. Everyone thanked Samara and headed off on their separate journeys.
Marius and Cassidy went to their room so they could change and shower before going on the riverboat. They would be having dinner on the riverboat, so they wanted to go early and get their table.
"Oh my goodness gracious!" Cassidy exclaimed as she looked at the riverboat. It was red and white with the words 'THE GRAND DUCHESS' written across the side in black block letters.
The riverboat was three levels, had a wrap-around porch on each level and glass windows. A large wheel was at the back, currently unmoving.
A blond-haired man greeted Marius and Cassidy as they walked aboard the riverboat.
He led them to a table on the second level and sat them towards the back so they were sitting next to the wheel.
"I'm Jesse and I'll be your waiter this fine evenin'. Can I start y'all with somethin' to drink?" the waiter – Jesse – asked in a Southern drawl.
"Could I have some unsweetened iced tea and a water, please?" Cassidy asked.
"Same for me." Marius said as Jesse handed them menus.
"I'll be right back." He told the couple.
"Mmm. Everything on here looks amazing!" Cassidy said as her stomach grumbled.
"I think I'm gonna have the sea bass. What about you, honey?" Marius asked.
"The pulled chicken sandwich sounds delicious." Cassidy said.
"You don't eat fish?" Marius inquired as Jesse came back with their drinks.
"I like tuna and salmon, but other than that, no." Cassidy said.
"Are y'all ready to order?" Jesse asked, getting out a notebook and a pen.
"I'll have the sea bass, lightly cooked with a garden salad." Marius said. Jesse wrote down his order as the riverboat pulled away from the shore.
"And for you, darlin'?" Jesse inquired, turning to Cassidy.
"I'll have the pulled chicken sandwich with a side of steamed vegetables, please." Cassidy said. Both of them handed their menus to Jesse and looked out into the open water.
A slow bluegrass version of Beauty and the Beast came over the overhead speakers. Marius stood up and extended his hand to Cassidy. She stood up and took his hand.
Marius drew her close as the music swelled to a crescendo. He put his left hand on her waist and took her right hand in his. Cassidy put a hand on his waist and put her hand over Marius' beating heart.
The two of them danced to the music, praying that nobody else came to the second floor balcony.
When the music finished, Cassidy rested her head on Marius' shoulder. He kissed her forehead and drew her even closer to him.
The two of them danced until their dinners came. They looked out the window and watched as the full moon rose over the lake.
"That is so beautiful!" Cassidy whispered as the riverboat went back to the shore.
Jesse cleared their plates. Marius paid for dinner and the two of them walked off the boat, hand-in-hand.
Cassidy went back to the room to get a sweater and a blanket for her and Marius to sit on while they watched the movie in the graveyard. Marius had gone to get tickets and told Cassidy he would wait for her.
She found him and they spread the red and white checkered blanket towards the middle of the graveyard.
The movie tonight was one of Marius' favorites – Roman Holiday. He mouthed nearly all the words, which Cassidy hit him for.
"Shush! I've never seen this movie!" Cassidy whispered, helping herself to some of Marius' popcorn. She then took a sip from the soda can she had bought at the concession stand.
When the movie finished, everyone applauded and stood up. Cassidy enjoyed the movie and thought of herself as Princess Ann.
Marius and Cassidy talked about the movie all the way back to their room, holding hands and enjoying being in each other's company.