Second Chances (65 page)

Be careful what you wish for.  Who said that?  Well, someone who knew what they were talking about, or knew Gabriel.  On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Gabriel met them at the barn after everyone was off for the holiday.  They had packed as he had instructed, and were ready to go.

“We’re going to drive,” he began, watching the kids for a reaction.  They frowned in disappointment.  They had quickly discovered that Gabriel flew everywhere and were adjusting better to first class travel than Isabella had.  “To the airport.”  Rebecca and Kyle jumped up and down.  Isabella looked at him anxiously.  “Relax, my Bella.  I did as you asked.  We are going traditional.”

Traditional wasn’t the word for it.  He refused to divulge their itinerary prior to landing, but Isabella began to have her suspicions when she realized the flight had been scheduled to land in Boston.  Upon arrival, they once again located a sign bearing the words “The Charmant Family.”  A limousine drove them to Lewis Wharf in Boston’s historic North End.

“I’m feeling a little better,” Isabella said with a smile as they settled into the limo.  “I was beginning to think we were going to be walking around in pilgrim attire eating with our hands this trip.”

“Now, Bella,” Gabriel chided seriously, “that is only on Thursday.”

“You’re joking,” she responded with a laugh.  He shook his head solemnly.  “I don’t believe you,” she said doubtfully.

Gabriel pushed the button to drop the privacy glass between themselves and the driver.  “Oh, good sir,” he said seriously, “can you please tell my family where you will be driving us on Thursday.”

“Certainly, Mr. Charmant,” the driver answered jovially.  “Mrs. Charmant, you and your family will be enjoying a Thanksgiving Feast at the Plimoth Plantation.”  He smiled widely, obviously pleased with the plans.  He hadn’t even noticed when Isabella stiffened at being called Mrs. Charmant.

“Why?” She asked Gabriel bewildered, lifting her hands in shock.

“You said stick with something traditional.  You can’t get any more traditional than that.”  He shrugged, completely confused.

Then Isabella did something that anyone hardly ever had the pleasure to experience any more.  She threw her head back and laughed.  It was a laugh that warmed the car, lit up the solemn interior, and even caused the driver to ask if everything was all right.  And at the moment, everything couldn’t have been more perfect.

When they pulled up to the wharf and piled out, a friendly gentleman stood on the dock waiting for them.  “Are you the Charmants?” He asked with an outstretched hand.  They nodded, and shook hands before being led to a cabin cruiser named The Golden Slipper.

“I’m a little nervous about this,” the man said seriously.  “We don’t normally rent the boat out this late in the season, but since it had been unseasonably warm, and you took care of those other arrangements with my wife...well, I just hope you are comfortable here.” 

Gabriel reached into his inside coat pocket and passed the man an envelope.  “This should take care of it.  Has your wife taken care of the special provisions for tonight?”

The man nodded and they climbed aboard.  His wife emerged to present the table she had prepared for their arrival.  “As you requested, Mr. Charmant,” she said smiling.  “I hope it meets your approval.”

They fed the kids and tucked them in early, which wasn’t a challenge since the travel had exhausted them.  Then Gabriel and Isabella dined in peace by candlelight.  They, too, quickly retired for the night, but lay awake in bed pouring over brochures, trying to plan the next day.

They decided to visit the Museum of Science, feeling that with the Ancient Egypt exhibit, the IMAX theatre, and the planetarium there, Rebecca’s mind would be plenty stimulated.  “Thanks,” Isabella murmured.  “Her teacher already thinks she is too intelligent, if there is such a thing.  I think the woman just feels threatened, doesn’t know how to challenge her.”

“Want me to enroll her in a private school?”  Gabriel asked offhand.

“No,” Isabella replied, stunned.  “Why would you do that?”

He appeared as though he had something he would like to say, but decided simply on, “No reason.”

Isabella changed the subject.  “So, why were they so reluctant to let us stay here?”

“Well, the boat is rarely in the water this late in the season.  It isn’t exactly winterized.  They thought we might be cold, didn’t want a lawsuit.”  He shrugged his shoulders.

“So, what were the provisions you made...?”  She asked while glancing around the cabin.

“Well, I bought these down comforters for our bedding and had them shipped here.  I ordered these space heaters that I promised to only allow to burn while they were being watched, never while we were sleeping or off touring.”  Seeing the serious look on Isabella’s face, “And as a last resort I told them that they need not worry about us, our love would keep us warm.”

Isabella laughed.  “You did not.”

He looked at her seriously again.  “I guess you’ll never know.”

Normally only a continental breakfast would be provided on the boat, but with Gabriel and his “money is no object” attitude, the chef, who was also owner, returned in the morning to make them blueberry pancakes, ham, hash browns, and scrambled eggs.  Isabella and Rebecca drank hot chocolates with mounds of whipped cream.  The men decided that they would drink milk.  And with the hearty breakfast behind them, they departed for a day of sight seeing.

They stopped in at a photo shop first.  “It will be quick,” Gabriel promised, “I just need a picture of each of you.”

“For what?”  Isabella asked suspiciously.

Gabriel tried to think up some excuse, but as he couldn’t come up with a feasible one, opted to instead tell the truth.  “For passports.”  He watched Isabella carefully for a reaction, but since she wasn’t sure how she felt about the entire situation, she didn’t have one.  “It’s just in case,” he explained.  “What if I have to go away on business for a long time?  That happens sometimes.  I would want you to be able to come visit me, or even go with me,  right?”  Isabella’s look softened.  “I like having you around,” he directed the comment at Isabella, but then squatted down and opened his arms to the kids.  “All of you.”  Without a second’s hesitation, the children had piled into his arms and wrapped themselves in his embrace.  For a moment, Isabella’s eyes threatened to spill over with enormous happy tears.

They remained at the Museum of Science until it closed, which happened just about the time Rebecca’s head looked as though it might overload.  She couldn’t stop babbling about everything she had seen.  Kyle slept through part of the escapade, safe in Gabriel’s arms.  Isabella had watched him then, seen how happy he
looked, proud to be playing the role he did in her children’s lives.

They ate a late dinner out, then put the kids right to bed once they arrived at the boat.  They climbed into bed themselves, time they relished spending together, and the location of some of their best and deepest conversations.  Isabella didn’t know how to start this one, but she managed to say quietly, “You looked great with Kyle today at the museum.”

“I love him so much,” Gabriel gushed.  “I want to have children of my own some day.”  Then he paused, realizing how that might sound.  “It isn’t that I don’t think of them as my own...not that I should...you know what I mean,” he blustered.

Isabella smiled and nodded.  He did think of her children as his own.  She had noticed that earlier when he offered to send Rebecca to a different school.  She had seen that again in the way he attended to Kyle.  And now he had been hinting, stating outright even, that he wanted biological children one day.

“Do you ever think about that?” He asked quietly, almost as if he feared her response.

“I love my children.  I am so completely enthralled with them.  Sometimes I can’t imagine having more.  Then sometimes I miss having little ones so much that I can’t imagine not having more.  Kyle continues to grow older.  There are three and a half years between them...”  She shrugged, unsure of how to complete her thought.

Then he uttered the question that she had been dreading hearing since he ventured onto the subject.   “Would you ever consider having more children?”  He studied her intensely to note any change in facial expression, vocal intonation, or body language.

Isabella faced him, hiding nothing.  “I would never have a child with someone I wasn’t married to.”  She inhaled deeply, then continued.  “And for me to marry someone...well, he would have to be amazing, both to me and my children.  I would have to know that this time it was forever.  It is too hard to raise them alone, both financially and emotionally.  And even worse are the times that the children and I are apart due to visitation.”  She bent her head low for a moment, then faced him with glistening eyes.  “I don’t know how I would survive all those weekends without Rebecca and Kyle if it weren’t for you.”  She wrung her hands.  “And I don’t know how I’m going to survive Christmas vacation without them.”

Isabella lay down with her back to Gabriel.  She couldn’t believe that she opened up to him like that.  She couldn’t believe that she had almost cried.

He lay behind her, spooning her, gently caressing her body with his warm hands.  He slowly turned her to face him, making sure she had time to compose herself.  He knew that she didn’t want him to catch her in a moment of weakness.

“I’m okay now,” she whispered in his ear.  “I...I really care about you, you know?” 

“I know,” he murmured into her hair.  Then intertwined, they fell into a peaceful slumber.