Hopes & Dreams - Part III

Shane & Oliver's first church appointment was at 11:30am. It was a church/convention centre about 60 minutes north of Denver, just outside of Fort Collins. The pictures on their website were absolutely beautiful, but within minutes of arriving they could tell this was most definitely not what they were looking for. There was no denying that both the church and reception room were beautiful, but they were better suited to the wedding of a senator or head of state. The appointment was short and after less than half an hour, they left for their next one.

The next one couldn't have been more different. It was a tiny church to the south of their location, about 20 minutes away, just outside of a small town called Loveland. The town itself was like a movie set for a western but mostly unimpressive. However, the small church was a beautiful old building abounding in charm. It was a small sanctuary that could seat a maximum capacity of 60 people. It was painted white on the outside and mahogany panelling in the inside. It had a tall, also white steeple and stained glasses windows depicting the many miracles performed by Jesus. The building itself was nestled deep in between ornamental pear, plum, cherry blossom and tulip trees and surrounded by a white picket fence. The coordinator assured them in early May, all those trees would be in full blossom, making the area look like a rainbow of brilliant and vivid colours. Oliver and Shane hugged under the still mostly bare, but beautiful trees. They had found the perfect venue for their ceremony. Amazingly enough, the church was still available for the 3rd of May. They paid the deposit and left with their hearts singing. The small church was exactly what they both had envisioned for their small and intimate wedding.

Next they looked for a place to have lunch. They were starving! They found a small, but delightful little cafe where they enjoyed their break. Shane ordered a Caesar salad with lots of condiments and chocolate cake for dessert. Oliver chose fried chicken with hot chips and passion fruit and lemon cheesecake for his dessert. Shane stole half of his hot chips and they shared their desserts with each other. They both agreed the cheesecake was simply divine.

The second reception venue was about 25 miles from the church heading a bit further west into the Rockies. The area was known as Lyons. They arrived and saw the most beautiful long winding driveway with Colorado blue spruce lining both sides. It must have been about half a mile long and crossed a couple of streams. It looked like a winter fairytale land right now, but Shane could visualise how beautiful it would be in early to mid-spring. At the front of the lodge building, the driveway opened up with a circular stone-paved avenue roundabout. The roundabout had parking spaces separated by narrow little flower beds. There would be plenty of parking spaces for all their guests. The actual entrance to the building looked like the facade of a grand old plantation house from the Deep South in its fully restored glory. It was a white mansion with a wraparound balcony and charming archways with lots of wisteria vines. Although at the moment they were all bare, they would, no doubt, be in full blossom in early May too. The reception room was not huge, but absolutely majestic with seating for about 100 people. There was a magnificent rounded wall of ceiling to floor glass panels that opened up to display the most glorious gardens, orchards and alcoves of hidden greenery gems. Towards the back of the grounds, a fountain with a raised platform stood discreetly out of the way but managed to steal their attention with its beautiful, but simple design. It was obviously used as the altar for weddings and other ceremonies. Altogether, the whole complex was the epitome of good taste and class.

The manager also showed the couple the honeymoon suite, but Oliver informed Shane that part was already arranged and it was his treat to her. After about 2 hours of roaming the grounds and the entire house, they looked at wedding packages including menus, music, colour schemes, flowers, decorations and a wedding cake. The whole thing would be organised by the lodge since they had all the contacts. Once all the details were agreed to, mostly by the bride, they signed the contract, paid the deposit and left.

On their way home, they picked up takeout dinner at Shane's favourite Italian restaurant and instead of heading to Shane's; they went to Oliver's house. Shane was not very familiar with the house, having been there only a couple of times before, once for Norman's bachelor party. Oliver gave her the grand tour. It was a beautiful and elegant house but Shane noticed how in need of a woman's touch it was. She couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Holly do anything with the house once she moved in?" Oliver looked uncomfortable, but confessed with a shrug of his shoulders, "She didn't seem to care. She complained a lot of how boring it was, but once I gave her the chance to redecorate she lost interest. I assumed she couldn't be bothered. She obviously didn't intend on staying here for very long."

Although Shane was glad Holly was completely gone from Oliver's life, every time he mentioned her desertion of him, she felt like finding Holly and giving her a beating as Oliver had given Steve.

"Oliver I won't touch or disturb anything, I will not change anything if that's what you want."

"Shane, we haven't talked about it yet, but I'd very much like it if you chose to move here. If you do, this house is as much as yours as it is mine. I'd expect nothing less than to have your touch throughout the whole house. From what I've seen of your house, you have fabulous taste. I trust you completely."

"Oh, Oliver, of course I'm moving here, what else would I do?" She gave him time to respond, but he didn't say anything. Instead he just flashed her a beautiful smile. She added, "We will work on it together. Any changes will be decided on by both of us, not just me." At this he picked her up and twirled her around the living room as if she was a rag doll. She laughed happily. They sat down at the dinner table and Oliver first served her the chicken carbonara they had bought on their way home and then they shared a delicious tiramisu for dessert. They sat on the couch with a glass of Brunello and went through all their decisions made that day. They had no doubt they had chosen the best options for both the ceremony and reception. They were delighted and surprised at how relatively easy it was to find the perfect venue for both events. Shane then asked him, "Where are we going for our wedding night?" Oliver gave her a lopsided smile. "Wouldn't you like to know, Ms. McInerney? I was missing your curiosity." She laughed and said, "Well, you don't have to miss it anymore, here it is. Where are we going?" She repeated her question. Oliver said, "I know it's here, but it will have to remain unsatisfied as I'm not telling."

"Ohhhh, are we playing hard to get?" She laughed.

"No, we're playing 'you are not getting it', got it?" They both laughed and then she asked, "What about the actual honeymoon? Where are we going?"

"Well, let's just say, it won't be around here."

"Oliver, I need to know where so I can pack accordingly."

"Hah! Good one, Ms. McInerney. Just pack as little as possible as you won't require an awful lot of clothing when I finally get my hands on you." Shane blushed beautifully. Oliver noticed it… how sweet and gorgeous she was. Although she was good at teasing him, it was nice to see she still felt shyness about them being together. He was looking forward to their wedding night more than she could ever fathom.

Once they finished their wine, Oliver got up, picked up the empty glasses from the floor and took them to the kitchen. On his way back, he stopped by the record player and selected a record. He started it and walked to Shane. "Dance with me?" He said, extending his hand to her. She immediately grabbed it and went into his arms. They danced to instrumental romantic classic music glued to each other. When it was finished he scooped her up in his arms and sat on the couch with her on his lap. "As promised!" He smiled at her. She grabbed his face and asked, "What did I do to deserve you?" Without waiting for an answer she went for his mouth. He pulled her closer and let the kiss turn passionate. They drank of each other and when their lips separated, she threw her arms around his neck and remained glued to him. One wouldn't be able to tell where one finished and the other started.

"Shane?"

"Ummm…?"

"Can we bring the date forward?"

"No, but we could elope." She said, getting closer to him as if it was even possible. They started kissing again and Oliver knew this had the potential to turn dangerous really quickly. Reluctantly and regretfully he gently pushed her away. The moment there was a gap between them, he felt the coldness of her absence. He needed her warmth for his very survival.

"I think I should take you home mow." She looked down, sad. "Yes, you should."

"Don't be sad, my darling. Our movie is coming and it will be beautiful."

She smiled and got up from his lap. "Yes, it will be a blockbuster!"