Un-betaed

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

From Broken Heart to True Love

Chapter 1 – The Museum

She never envisioned that she would find herself in such a state of upheaval at this stage in her life.  She married early, had her children, worked and figured when she grew older she and husband would settle down to a quiet life after retirement. Who said it, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray’?’  And boy did her plans go astray.  She did what she thought she was supposed to do.  

·     She loved her husband

·     She loved her children

·     She kept her house

·     She loved the Lord

·     She trained up her children in the way that they should go

·     She supported her husband.  They moved for his job, six times in twenty years. She had to find another job after each move.

She gave her all; they took her all and left her with very little. She laughs at it now but there were many tears along the way.  As she looks back at it now she realizes that the signs were there early on in the relationship.  He spent his time how he wanted and left little for her.  But she was the wife and she was supposed to hold the family together.  

To look at her now, in her sixties, still looking good.  She’s healthy and she stays active.  She took up running years ago and loves it. She runs half and full marathons. She writes occasionally and sings in her church choir.  

She retired five years ago after working many years in governmental agencies.  After the many moves for his job they did finally settle in one state for more than ten years and that gave her the opportunity to actually obtain a job where she could work long enough to qualify for a pension.  That was a godsend because she couldn’t imagine how she would survive without that and her savings.  She’s frugal with her money.  She keeps herself on a strict budget but still treats herself to those things that she loves to do, which is travel.

Yes, she retired.  But she retired alone.  That dream of her and her husband retiring together and living out there golden years sitting on the front porch in their rocking chairs disintegrated with their marriage.  They divorced ten years ago.  They were married over thirty years and it was not all honey and roses. She was the dutiful wife and he was the cheating husband.  But it wasn’t just one affair, she maybe could have forgiven one affair but no there were multiple affairs.  Finally she decided that she couldn’t take it anymore and filed for divorce. She left the marriage, she left her home, which ironically she picked out and he didn’t even like it at first, and she left her job.  She moved to another state.

Thank goodness for family.  Her family surrounded her with love and made a place in their home for her.  Her spirit was broken and they gave her a safe harbor to heal.  It took time but she came out of that dark place of sorrow with a renewed vigor.  There is nothing so lonely as a failed marriage, she read somewhere and that is so true.  She looks back at it now and knows with certainty that she did her part.  God undergirded her through the rough times and continues to hold her hand even now.  

Yes even now when her relationships with her children still seem fractured.  She feels like an outsider in their lives, like out on the periphery of their existence.  They remain close to their father and his ‘housemate’.  I guess that irks her a bit because she feels the victim in all of this but he seems to have reaped the rewards.  Well, she’d rather have the ‘eternal’ blessing rather than the ‘temporary’ relationship. She’s done all that she can with trying to be a part of her children’s lives but she has come to her breaking point.  It hurts her too much and she is not a masochist.  She will no longer inflict that pain upon herself.  So she will back off and stay to herself.  She has enough activities to keep her mind from dwelling on them.

And so here she finds herself in her favorite city in the world, Paris, France.  She treated herself to this trip for her birthday.  What do they say about ‘April in Paris’?  She loves Paris with its iconic buildings, its museums, its restaurants, and its everything.  She’s traveled here many times and each time she discovers something new about this city.  And today is no different.  Today she made her way to one of the many museums.  On the first Sunday of each month they have free admission to many of the museums.  

She’s already viewed the ‘touristy’ attractions in the museum and has now moved to those art pieces that really catch her fancy.  She likes to look at the painting and envision the artist painting it, thinking about what made the artist choose that particular color or that particular object to paint.  As she studies one such painting she overhears a man explaining another nearby picture.  She doesn’t turn her head to see him but simply listens.  The words that he uses makes it clear that he knows the painting but they also make it clear that his audience is not an adult. Finally she turns and looks at him.  She catches her breath.  

The man is gorgeous with gray hair at the temples but dark brown everywhere else, clean shaven, about six feet, dressed in blue pants and a navy jacket, not a suit, and is holding the hand of a cute six year old girl with curly shoulder length brown hair.  

“Grandpa why do the birds look so big?” the little girl asked. 

“So that he could show how if you stand close to something they may look bigger than if you stand far away from them,” he replied.  

She put her hand to her chin, as if thinking about what he said, and then responded, “Okay.  Grandpa, I’m hungry.”  

Her grandfather frowned and said, “Celeste, I’m sorry but I don’t have any food with me.  Can you wait until we go to the food court?”  

Celeste whispered, “I don’t think so Grandpa.”  

Hesitantly I interrupted and said, “Sir, if you don’t mind I have a new package of soft granola bars and would be more than happy to share them with your granddaughter.”  

He responded and said, “Oh no that’s perfectly alright.  We will purchase something shortly at the food court.”

Celeste took her grandfather’s hand and said, “Please Grandpa, I’m hungry now.”

I took the package from my purse.  You could clearly see that it had not been opened.  I gave it to the man and turned and started to walk away.

“Miss, thank you for your thoughtfulness,” he said.  Celeste also thanked me.

“You are both quite welcome.  Enjoy your visit.  Good bye.”  I turned and did walk away this time.  I needed to make it back to my hotel.  I have an early day tomorrow.  I will take the Eurostar to London to continue my vacation. I will join, in London, an escorted tour of the Great Britain, Ireland and Scotland.  Quite looking forward to this vacation time. Meeting new people, seeing new things, trying new foods and just relaxing being away from home.

Did I say already? Oh I don’t think that I did. My name is Alessandra Monahan and this is my story.

Un-betaed

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Everything went as planned with the transport from Paris to London. Arrived at my London hotel in enough time for a quick shower, change and a bit to eat before I met with my tour group.  The tour director gave us a quick review of our itinerary and told us to me him in the dining hall at 7:00 p.m. for the reception dinner.  We will then have the evening to ourselves and the tour would commence the next morning at 7:00 a.m. with our first stop in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of one my favorite authors, William Shakespeare.

The tour includes other stops in England as well as stops in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Wales with a return to London at the end of the tour.  At the end of the tour I will remain for a few more days in London before returning home to the US. 

I have scheduled a meeting with an estate agent about buying property in or around London.  It is expensive to live in London, just like most large cities, so I have broadened my scope of inquiry to include the outskirts of London.  If that doesn’t fit my budget I will consider looking farther out from London.  Oxford looks nice.  It would be nice to live in a university town.  My how the time has flown.  I need to return to my room and rest a bit before the dinner. I had such a great time in Paris that I didn’t want to leave but I may have overexerted myself because I am a bit tired.  A nap will do me good.

After a nice nap and another shower I prepared for the welcome reception.  I met my fellow travelers and the tour agent who will accompany us on the entire trip. Although local specialists will guide us during the stops in the various cities and the driver will also be there the entire trip, the tour agent will lead the way in making all of the passengers comfortable and safe.  I chose this tour because it stops at places of interest to me and I don’t have to drive to get there.  Several years ago I toured Britain with some friends and we drove.  I determined then that I would not do that again.  I prefer for someone else to do the driving.  The tour allows enough time at each stop for me to get my fill of the place. So far the only city that I have visited and have yet to get my fill of it is Paris.  But I do like England.  

While I still worked I thought about buying a place here, not to live but maybe to rent out part of the year and stay for part of the year. We shall see how things transpire with the meeting with the estate agent.  Oh, did I say how I could afford to buy a house?  My proceeds from the divorce and my freedom were the only good things that came out of that debacle.  I have not touched that money since I retired.  My pension and my savings have paid for everything that I need and want including this trip.

We all had a good time at the welcome dinner.  Found that several of my co-travelers and I have some of the same interests, especially running.  We decided to do a few early morning jogs whenever we can at the stops.  They joked that that way we can eat heartily without feeling guilty.  I wouldn’t feel guilty anyway.  I gave up that nonsense years ago.  I earned my right to eat after years of feeding children, and working late not having time to eat when I get home even though I had already cooked the meal and all they had to do was heat it.  No, I eat what I want to eat these days.  It works that I mainly eat nuts, vegetables, fish and lean meats, no breads, pasta or red meat and I ‘m not much of a sweets eater though I do like an occasional scoop of ice cream.

Looks like we will have a good trip.  Let me make it to my room so that I can make certain that I have properly packed my bags.  Don’t want to leave anything here in London.

Twenty days later we return to London at the end of our trip. I say good-bye to fellow travelers as many of them will began travel back to their homes today.  I still have a few more days in London.  My meeting with the estate agent takes place tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.  I have already arranged transport to their offices and back to the hotel. My satchel contains all the paperwork required for the meeting.  Based upon my research I also printouts of properties that peaked my interest, which I forwarded to the estate agent so that they can preview the places and if possible arrange viewings.  I am a hands on kind of person and I like to touch and feel before I buy. That’s probably why I don’t buy my clothes and shoes on-line because I want to try on things first. Anyway as I have aged I noticed that I am very picky about certain things.  

After my morning run I return to the hotel, shower and dress for my meeting with the estate agent.  Making sure that I have everything that I need I make my way down to the lobby to await the arrival of my transport.  Great!  It has arrived on time, which gives me ample time to arrive at my destination.

The meeting went extremely well with the estate agent.  He scheduled several viewings for tomorrow and the next day.  That leaves me a day at the end to relax before I have to leave for my journey back home.  I leave the estate agency office and head to the meeting with the attorney that will handle the transactions.  My friend who works and lives here in London recommended this law firm.  

Again I arrive in time so that I can sit a moment before the meeting begins.  Just as I finish reading the article in the magazine in the waiting room the receptionist informs me that the attorney will meet with me now and leads me to his office. She opens the door and allows me to walk in.  The attorney has his back to us as he finishes a telephone conversation but says, “Please have a seat I will be with you in a moment.”  The receptionist closes the door and I sit down.  I hear the attorney then say, “Celeste, grandpa has to return to work now.  I will speak with you later.  Good bye.”  

No, it can’t be.  Maybe it’s a different Celeste and grandpa.  Then he turns around and looks at me.  I catch my breath.  It’s the man from the museum in Paris.  It’s really him.  He is still gorgeous with piercing brown eyes and his lips are moving. He’s talking.  Oh my he’s talking to me and I’m sitting here like a teenager mesmerized.  You are a grown woman get a hold of yourself.

He stands there and looks at her.  It’s really her.  The nice lady from the museum in Paris.  The one who shared her granola bars with Celeste.  That was so nice of her.  Celeste talked about her for the rest of the day. She’s here in my office. She’s pretty.  Her should length black hair with streaks of gray but not much.  She looks very fit. She dresses very nicely. I’m staring.  What is wrong with me standing here gawking at our ‘client’.  

“Hello Ms. Monahan, I’m Alistair Leeds at your service.  I see we meet again.  Thank you again for your kindness to my granddaughter.  May we begin?  I have the paperwork for this meeting.”

“I apologize but I wasn’t listening.  What did you say?”

“I said thank you again for your kindness to my granddaughter.  We may begin our meeting as I now have the necessary paperwork.”

“Oh yes, the paperwork.  Yes, let us begin.”

We talked and he explained to me all the items needed to finalize the purchase.  As soon as I view the properties and decide which one suits my purpose I can inform him and he will handle the rest.  He will act as my agent in my absence.  

“Mr. Leeds, you have my address and telephone number so you can call me and I have your office number so I can call you if I have any questions.  I will try to remain alert as to the five hours time difference.  Wouldn’t want to telephone you at a crazy hour with a business call.”

“Ms. Monahan that’s certainly all right.  I’m sure things will work out to your satisfaction.  Do you have any more questions?”

“No, not at this time.  Thank you for meeting with me and I hope to speak with you soon with a decision.  If I don’t decide on a property during this visit I won’t give up searching.  I’m determined to find a home here.  I enjoy it here and looking forward to spending more time in your fair country.  You are from here or are you from France?  I’m sorry that’s personal and none of my business.  Please excuse my impertinence.  I will not take up any more of your valuable time.  Thank you again and now I will finally say good day Mr. Leeds.”

“Ms. Monahan, your question wasn’t impertinent.  Yes I live here in England, outside of London really. I prefer the quiet rather than the hustle and bustle of the city.  I was in Paris to visit my daughter who lives there with her husband and two children of which Celeste is the younger.  You know, she talked about you after you left the museum. She told her mother about you, the ‘nice lady’ is what she called you.  Now I’m taking up your time, please excuse me, I’m sure that you have other things to do so I will say good day to you.  Thank you for allowing our firm to represent you.”

“Good day Mr. Leeds.”

I left the office trying to make it out of the building before looking like a blithering idiot drooling over this man.  He has such a nice voice too.  He spoke so kindly to his granddaughter.  Oh how nice.  Okay now that I have my wits about me I will make it back to the hotel and go for another run before dinner and then settle in for a peaceful night. I have a full two days ahead of me looking at houses and then heading back home.

After my run I returned to the hotel and the hotel desk clerk stopped me before I walked to the elevator.  He informed me that I had a package at the front desk. Someone had sent a bouquet of flowers to me.  I took the flowers and the card and headed to my room.  Once in my room I read the card,  “Ms. Monahan, thank you again for choosing me to represent you in your housing transactions.  I appreciate your confidence in our ability to provide the best service. Alistair Leeds, Briggs & Leeds Law LLP”.  My that was very nice of him.  I smiled.  Okay time for shower, a bite to eat and bed.