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Julia
A coupleof days later I awoke to find a dozen red roses in a crystal vase setting on my nightstand. Edward was shaving his face with an electric razor in the bathroom, so I shouted to him so he could hear me:
“Edward what are these flowers for? Are they from you? They’re beautiful!”
A moment later he popped out into the bedroom, still running the razor over his face and neck while he talked.
“Yes I bought them for you Julia. I have some news…….and I thought the roses might…….help.”
“What do you mean? What’s the matter? Is there a problem?”
“Well you see……. I have business I have to take care of overseas…..”
“Overseas where? When did this happen? How long will you be gone?”
“It just came up. I’ve gotta go to Europe; Paris, Vienna and Florence. I’ll be over there for a couple of weeks max.”
“And you thought you could buy me off with roses is that it?”
“Oh damn! Did I forget to put the little card with them? Oh here it is……here’s the little card.”
“Little card? That doesn’t help anything! You can shove the little card up your ass Edward!”
“How do you know? Why don’t you read the little card.”
I pulled the little card out of its tiny envelope and read it. There were only two magical words written on it in Edward’s handwriting: Join me?
Naturally I felt ashamed and foolish for thinking the worst of him.
“Damn you Edward!”
“Is that your way of accepting my invitation Julia?”
I buried my face into his chest hair and sniffled my apology.
“I’m sorry for being so silly and suspicious.”
“You don’t need to apologize Julia. But I do. That was a cruel trick on my part. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’m sorry.”
“That was mean of you. But I’ll overlook it this time! If you were trying to spring a romantic surprise on me, you definitely succeeded! Thank you Edward. I love you so much! Oh I can’t believe we’re going to Europe! When do we leave?”
“Is tomorrow morning too soon for you? They’re readying the Armani jet right now.”
“Oh my God! Tomorrow already? I need to go shopping for a few new things to wear first!”
“Julia honey wouldn’t you rather just shop in Paris? They’ve got quite a few nice stores there along the Champs-Elysées.”
“Shopping in Paris? Are you kidding me? Of course I’d rather shop in Paris! But I still need to pick up a couple things before we go… You know… So I can look chic while shopping for new clothes in freaking PARIS!”
“Whatever you need Julia. I love seeing you this happy!”
I was so excited. I had never been to Europe and I had certainly never flown on a private jet. That night I got very little sleep. I tossed and turned and imagined visiting the world-class cities that I had previously only read about my whole life. My future with Edward was obviously going to expand my horizons by opening up the entire globe to me. I felt incredibly fortunate. And the best part was that I was going to experience those places with the man I loved. It didn’t get any better than that.
In the morning Edward and I boarded the Armani jet and took off for Europe. First stop Paris, France! Flying on a private plane was NOTHING like flying on a commercial airline. It was like day and night! I could actually stretch out my legs, sleep, and eat real food! And no damn kids kicking the back of my seat! The flight was about eleven hours and I slept for a good deal of it due to last night’s insomnia. Our limousine whisked us from the airport to the opulent Hotel Ritz Paris, in the heart of the City of Light. But it was 3AM by the time we arrived so we went directly to bed. Edward said we needed to acclimate to the Paris time zone if we wanted to beat our jet lag.
We awoke to our magnificent view of the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower from our bedroom window. Edward ordered room service for us so we enjoyed buttery croissants with raspberry jam and espresso from our balcony. After breakfast, Edward had a bit of business to conduct over at the American Embassy so I was forced to spend the day shopping (Poor me!) in all the heavenly boutiques along the main boulevards as well as the inviting little side alleys. We met for lunch at a delicious creperie tucked away in a corner of the city by Notre Dame Cathedral. Edward knew all the best places and his command of the French language was such a turn on for me!
At night the Eiffel Tower glittered with its spectacular hourly light show: 20,000 light bulbs flashing throughout the structure with its giant golden beacon shining from the top. We had dinner reservations at a café nearby so we could watch the illuminated landmark sparkle while we ate. Edward made me try escargots – snails! They were too garlicky for my taste but I did enjoy the French onion soup. Every place we ate had superb food, wine and decadent desserts.
