The Symbolon (4 page)

She nodded, looking at her “real” Louis Vuitton bag that had been a Christmas gift from Camille—the only stipulation was that Valeria had to get rid of the “knock-off
.” She gave the bag to Ava, much to Camille’s chagrin and Ava’s delight! Not that Ava cared about style whatsoever. Still, she liked a sturdy leather bag that wasn’t “frilly and feminine.”

“So
, are you going to tell me now? Alex, where are we going?” she asked for the hundredth time.

Giddy with excitement, he said, “Let me have my surprises!” He closed his arms around her waist and kissed her sweetly, and then suddenly overwhelmed with joy, he swung her around.

∞

The Porsche easily plowed through the snow as they wound along the drive leading to the highway and
away from Morgana. Valeria glanced through the forest and appreciated the way that everything seemed to be aglow with hues of pale pink and blue. After they entered the highway, the snow quickly became a wet mess; but as they continued out of the mountains and into the valley toward Venice, the roads dried. All the while, Alex’s smile continued to broaden.

“I hope you don’t mind that we didn’t go with the rest of them, but I wanted to have the day alone with you.
I know we’ll have the honeymoon, but I really haven’t had an opportunity to court you.”

The honeymoon!
Her face flushed just thinking about it, as that marvelous warmth shot through her body. He noticed her reaction and his mouth turned up in the delightful smile that she loved. He hadn’t told her where they were going. But frankly, she would have been absolutely content to spend their honeymoon at the cottage or in her Manhattan brownstone which she had decided to keep.

In fact, h
er only requirement for a honeymoon was that the two of them were there alone for as much time as possible. And Valeria was quite certain that there was not enough time in a mortal life for her to express what she felt for him!

She turned away, regaining her composure
. “I never mind being alone with you. It’s being without you that I can’t take!” With that, she was surprised to find a tear come to her eye. He gave her an inquisitive look.

“Well
, fortunately, you won’t have to worry about that! Beautiful, I am yours forever!” He took her hand and pulled it to his mouth. While they were still miles from Venice, he pulled off the road and into a field. Now it was Valeria’s turn to give him an inquisitive look.

“I always wanted to show you Venice. So I thought we would take the morning—unless you’re anxious to
get ‘there,’” he teased.

“Isn’t Venice still several miles away?” She pointed to the southern horizon. Alex’s eyes sparkled.

“You know, after the accident, you’ve been so weak that I wanted to wait until it warmed up a bit to do this.” He drove around a hill and there was a feast set out in the middle of the field, along with a hot air balloon that was still laying flat on the ground.

Valeria’s jaw dropped
. She tried to find something to say, but again, he had taken her breath away with his remarkably romantic gesture. He parked and jumped out, opening the door for her. They ate a wonderful breakfast while a crew filled the balloon with hot air.

Then he took her hand
and helped her into the basket. They both sipped their Mimosas as the balloon rose. Within minutes, they were over Venice seeing the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge. She looked down on the ancient city with its green waterways filled with gondolas, and the magnificent domes of St. Mark’s Basilica with the extraordinary piazza that looked out to the sea.

“Fantastic!” Valeria enthused.

Alex nuzzled her neck. “Napoleon dubbed the piazza ‘Europe’s finest dining room’ because of the spectacular views.” She pulled his arms around her tighter.

It was so very romantic and beautiful; she turned and kissed his cheek as they landed in a field east of Venice
.

“What about the car and our luggage?” she asked, drinking him in from beneath her lashes.

Just then, a boat pulled up. Alex led her to the motorboat and gave the driver instructions. She loved hearing him speak in Italian. It was just so…
sexy!
She felt herself blush. Valeria was certain that the only sound more extraordinary than Alex speaking Italian was his beautiful laugh. He winked at her and she drew a deep breath as the boat jetted toward Venice.

“You know what you do to me, don’t you!” she gushed privately to him
, and kissed his ear. His smile widened as he looked on.

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

They pulled in near St. Mark’s, crossing the bridge to walk through the pigeon-filled square and stopping in one of the shops to get a cappuccino along the way. They toured St. Mark’s and then walked back to the Grand Canal. An elegant gondola awaited them. “Buon giorno, Il Signore e la Signora Morgana!”

Stepping
into the gondola, Valeria’s eyes lit up at the gondolier’s assumption.

“Like that, do you?”
Alex said as he sat down next to her.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “More than you know!”

The gondolier began singing Puccini, as they moved effortlessly through the canals of burnt pastel buildings. Valeria felt the anxiety that had affected her earlier drifting away.

“I’ve always wanted to ride in a gondola...it’s so Venice, and so very romantic,” she said.

“Mussolini tried to ban them.”

“Why?”

“He thought they were archaic.” A bit of sunlight flitted over them, as the gondolier continued his romantic serenade. Gesturing toward the gondolier, Alex continued, “Most people believe that the gondolier punts, or pushes off from the floor of the waterway. But see what he’s doing?”

Valeria watched and noticed that he was gently turning the oar back and forth. Alex continued, “That method of turning the oar actually exerts less energy than that of walking.”

They pulled up to a restaurant and Alex thanked the gondolier in Italian, glancing at Valeria to see if it had the desired effect…it did. He took her hand and they walked a few blocks before turning into a quaint restaurant. Again, the staff was waiting for them.

They ate a marvelous lunch and then strolled along the ancient brick streets passing an ornate building that looked like
a fortress with numerous sculptures of lions. Squeezing her hand, he told her that it was known as the Arsenal, the first mass production, moving assembly line in history! In the 1400s, while it took most shipbuilders months to build a ship, the Arsenal could produce them in hours. She smiled dreamily. She could listen to him forever!

“You know,” Alex said with a wink, “there is one little detail of the wedding that Camille and I agreed would best be decided by the bride.” Coming around a corner, Valeria saw an extravagant bridal shop with the most exquisite wedding gowns she had ever seen. He steered her into the store.

“Alex, my guess is that these are all special order.”

He cocked his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow
. “They may be for others…but not for you!”

An older, very attractive woman, probably the owner of the shop, greeted them by name in Italian; while a man, obviously her assistant, rushed to get Valeria a glass of champagne.
The man and woman talked while critically analyzing Valeria’s figure and coloring. They made her turn around and then both smiled, approvingly. The woman gave several orders to her assistant, which he hastily executed, while the shop owner led Alex and Valeria to a comfortable lounge that had two dressing rooms large enough to be bedrooms.

They sat in a comfortable loveseat while the
assistant brought back various gowns for them to look at. Alex didn’t say a word while he observed Valeria’s responses. The woman held out several of the lacy gowns that were beautiful. Valeria didn’t want to offend her, so she just nodded in response.

As the woman was about to hang the gowns in the dressing room, Alex said, “Scusa
, per favore,” requesting that the shop owner give them a minute before placing the dresses in the dressing room.

“You don’t like them,” he challenged Valeria.

“They’re beautiful!”

“But?”
He raised his eyebrows. The male assistant attempted to tell Valera something, that she was certain was an encouragement to try on the dresses. Alex kindly held up a finger, to silence him, and waited for Valeria to speak.

“I don’t know. They’re really beautiful. I’m just not sure that I see myself in something like th
ese gowns. We probably should have just gone to the Justice of the Peace because this big fancy wedding is just…I don’t think it’s me.”

Alex pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes for a moment
, and then raised an eyebrow in thought. “Let me try something. I want this to be fun for you!” She nodded, feeling like a pigeon in an exotic bird shop.

For the next several minutes, Alex explained to the shop
owner and her assistant exactly what he was looking for. They nodded and listened, anxious to please him. Valeria thought she heard the names of several designers, but she didn’t know enough Italian—or enough about designers—to determine what they were saying. She did love hearing Alex’s voice though!

Valeria leaned toward Alex’s ear as he finished speaking
. “I think you’re going to have to teach me Italian.” Alex beamed and kissed her forehead.

Then the assistant noticed the blush moving over Valeria’s face and down her neck.
He and the storeowner both laughed and the woman made a comment to Alex that made him turn his head in mild embarrassment as he brushed his fingers through his hair.

“Do I want to know what they said?” Valeria grimaced.

He shook his head as he rolled his eyes. “Oh, it was just a reference to our honeymoon.”

There was that word again!
Valeria’s face brightened to purple, as Alex gazed at her with pure adoration and offered a soft, enchanting laugh. She guessed that she was hypersensitive to all of his charms because the wedding night was getting so close. And frankly, he just did something to her that she couldn’t explain; it was definitely beyond the physical.

Finally
, the storeowner and her assistant returned with several gowns. Without showing them to Valeria, the woman invited her into the dressing room. Valeria looked to Alex for approval and he nodded.

In the dressing room, Valeria was both embarrassed and glad for the
woman’s assistance; she had brought her a beautiful handmade corset, which Valeria would have never been able to hook by herself. Then she tried on several dresses. They were gorgeous, much better than the previous gowns. But Valeria felt that she, as a bride-to-be, just didn’t “work” in something this formal. With each dress, Alex offered a nod and said, “Very nice,” while he evaluated the look in her eye and occasionally provided further instructions to the shop owner.

Then the
assistant brought Valeria a simple, but elegant, silk-crepe gown with a cowl neck and a low back. She would have never seen herself in something this sexy or exquisite. But as she looked in the mirror, she felt a thrill run through her. It looked and felt as if it was made just for her.

Offering Valeria a sharp appraisal, the shop
owner's eyes lit up and she called to her assistant. The assistant returned with a hair comb, pearls, and a pair of high-heeled shoes. Pulling a few strands of Valeria’s hair to the top of her head, the woman hooked the hair comb and the pearls and then gave her a nod of approval.

Valeria s
lid on the satin shoes as the assistant opened the dressing room door to present her to Alex and she nervously stepped into the lounge.

“
What do you think?” she asked.

His response said it all. Alex was speechless
, and then his eyes lit with emotion. She knew at that moment, that
this was most definitely the dress!

While Valeria changed back
into her jeans, Alex purchased the gown and accessories. The feel of the jeans was disappointing after the luxury of the silk. She was thrilled at the thought that in just a few days, she would be dancing in Alex’s arms, in that dress.

The shop would do the minor alterations and deliver it in two days, which was the morning of the wedding. Valeria decided that they couldn’t be too far away if they were hand delivering the dress
, and the beautiful undergarments. But then again, this was Alex and he would go to any lengths to make certain that her wedding day was perfect!

“Better thoughts of Venice now?” he asked, satisfied that the memories of their previous visit to Venice had been eclipsed. All she could do was smile as she leaned into him affectionately.

“So, is this where we’re staying?” she asked, hoping he would now give in and tell her their destination. He shook his head in mild amusement, while his eyes sparkled with playful mischief.

They boarded the gondola and headed back toward St. Mark’s. It was simply so romantic and perfect that Valeria was disappointed that they were leaving. For Alex, he had carefully planned the visit to Venice so that they avoided all of its many marinas and the hospital. She hadn’t been terribly aware, due to the high fever from the plague
, but for him, that memory—although she had lived—still caused him tremendous distress. And he wanted this memory of their wedding trip to be perfect!