Kapitel 190: Last Day
Jasper and I walked along the Champs-Élysées holding hands. It was funny that even knowing each other so well, we still could feel a bit shy in the broad light of day.
"So how does it feel to be Mr. Alexander Azure again?" Jasper asked, his tone playful.
"Probably the same way it felt to turn 31," I joked. The day after the wedding reception was Jasper's birthday, and we celebrated more than was probably necessary.
"Oi, that's not the answer I was hoping for," Jasper smiled. "I meant the name; a new name takes some getting used to. Does it feel real to you yet? I went to sign for room service, and I had to stop and think about what my name was again."
"Horrors, it's amnesia; someone must have slipped some retcon into your orange juice this morning. Or perhaps I actually did shag you senseless," I rolled my eyes.
"There you go again," Jasper smiled, "being your usual charming romantic self."
"Can't help myself," I snarked as he kissed my cheek.
Our week-long honeymoon in Paris was almost over. An October trip to Paris might not be everyone's idea of a romantic getaway, but the idea of uncrowded tourist sites and unseasonably warm weather (highs near 60° F) proved irresistible. We had spent the first four days running frantically to see everything: the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's tomb at Les Invalides, the Picasso Museum, the Pompidou, the Orangerie, and the Rodin Museum. On the fifth day, we went to Versailles, and yesterday we had spent almost the entire day at the Louvre. This morning we had planned on visiting more museums and historic sites until we woke up exhausted.
"I thought you were supposed to lounge around and have lots of sex on a honeymoon," Jasper whined.
"Well, if anything, we've been knocking that out of the park half the time," I said a little sleepily.
"I'm exhausted. I've never felt so tired on a vacation before."
"You've never taken a vacation before that didn't involve work," Jasper pointed out. As much as I wanted to argue, he was absolutely correct. When we went to Manalig Village, I was on a work mission to sample a lot, and then there was the Emily ordeal. Our first honeymoon was interrupted by Mr. Azure and Elizabeth.
Still, I had to admit that while seeing all the sights of the historic city had been exciting for the first few days, I was tired as well. My feet hurt, and if I looked at another painting or sculpture, I might just scream.
"Let's relax today," I suggested.
Jasper looked at me like I had two heads. "No, seriously, we can come back and see more sights another time, but we only get to have our uninterrupted honeymoon once."
It didn't take much to convince Jasper that a change in plans was in order. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked down to a small bakery/café near our hotel. We bought bread, some meat, cheese, and a bottle of Bordeaux. When the store owner heard we were on our honeymoon, she insisted on adding two decadent petits fours to our order. We decided to spend the morning sitting in the Tuileries Gardens. We walked over to the gardens and found chairs to sit on near the basin where children were floating toy boats from one end to the other.
As we watched the children laugh and run around the edges of the pond, we sighed almost in unison. "Yeah, this is much better," Jasper said, squeezing my hand.
As lunchtime approached, we found a sunny spot on the grass nearby. I was surprised but pleased to find that the shopkeeper had put some paper plates, cups, napkins, and plastic silverware in our bag.
"Glad someone was thinking about what we needed; I know I wasn't," I admitted.
"Yeah, not sure I'd want to try to eat all of this rough style. Especially the block of cheese."
"Jasper, there's just one problem; we don't have a corkscrew to open the wine."
"Oh Monsieur," Jasper said in the worst fake French accent imaginable, "you are très wrong. I happen to have my very own pocket knife complete with corkscrew courtesy of the American Military. Voilà!"
I began to laugh. The corkscrew was tiny and rusty and didn't look like it was capable of opening a tin of sardines, let alone a bottle of fine wine. "Well, you certainly are living up to the military's creed of 'be prepared for anything.' I just hope you're prepared to treat anything we get from using that old corkscrew."
"Nothing to worry about. Our tetanus shots are up to date," Jasper assured me.
Jasper might have been prepared, but getting the cork out of the bottle was a different matter. After 20 minutes of twisting and pulling and breaking pieces of the cork off, Jasper was unable to open the wine. He was muttering to himself and scowling, and I realized that the whole mood might be ruined by Jasper's frustration.
"Why don't you relax for a moment and let me take a look?"
Jasper looked at me with exasperation. "What, you think you can open it?"
"None of that now, hand it over." Jasper reluctantly handed me the wine. I examined the cork, the bottle, and the corkscrew carefully. Putting the bottle between my knees, I leaned my weight on the corkscrew and pushed. PLOP. The cork was pushed into the bottle, where it floated on top of the wine.
"What did you do?"
"Just a few calculations involving mass and density and...well, who cares, what counts is that we got the wine open."
Jasper snorted. "Why am I not surprised that you approached this like a math puzzle. You are not only gorgeous and sexy but brilliant as well." He leaned over and kissed me, smiling. "I couldn't ask for anything better."
"You'd better not ask for anything better," I teased.
"Of course not."
We ate, laughed, took in the scenery, and even took a nap.
When we woke up, we got up and went to our car for something Jasper had planned. It was barely a thirty-minute drive when the driver pulled up and parked, allowing Jasper to climb out the back and open the door for me.
"This way, Mr. Azure." He said, signaling with one hand while holding the other tight in his own. He led me down a path through some trees. Daylight was fading, so I hoped that he knew where he was going.
I looked at the lake to our right and grinned when Jasper led me over the grass to where a man was standing, waving at us from a boat. Jasper raised his hand back, confirming that we were the people who would be joining him.
"Monsieurs, my name is Louis, and I will be taking you to Temple Romantique de l'Ile de Reuilly," he said as he held the boat close to shore with a paddle. "Are you ready to go? There isn't much daylight left if we're to make the most of our trip."
Jasper smiled and helped me into the boat first, which was a scary moment in my sandals. Once I was comfortably seated, Jasper climbed in and sat behind me.
"There is a blanket behind you," Louis said before taking a seat in front of us.
Jasper grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders. It wasn't cold; I didn't need the blanket, but I appreciated the romantic gesture.
"So the Temple of Romance?" I asked, quirking my eyebrow.
"Temple Romantique de l'Ile de Reuilly, it's right in front of you." He said, pointing to an island just ahead where the underneath looked like a wonder of light-walled caves and arches and above that what appeared to be a bandstand stood surrounded by a green wave. "The caves are artificial, as is the waterfall that runs underneath, built in 1860."
My eyes gazed over the sight in front of us that grew larger and closer with every stroke of Louis' paddles. I snuggled into Jasper's side, enjoying the gentle sound of the paddles rolling through the water. The sun was setting, so I wondered how much we'd actually get to see of the temple when we got there. It was nice to just be in the moment with him too.
We pulled up at the island, and Jasper hopped out before helping me out. We were on the cave level with the caves on our left and stone steps on our right. Jasper pulled me gently towards the left, and I went with him willingly.
"So the caves and the waterfall are manmade?" I asked as we stood on the stone ground facing the trickling water.
"Yes," Jasper said. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" It truly was lovely. "Come on, this is what I wanted to show you..." He led me back toward the boat, but this time we went up the stone steps, slowly for my sake.
At the top, he turned to the left and practically marched towards the temple. It was stunning. Ten huge columns held up the large domed roof, and in the center was a stone circle that once seemed to hold something, now clearly broken. They were around a foot off the ground, and I held to a column and leaned out, looking over the lake we'd traveled on.
"Easy..." Jasper said, wrapping a hand around my waist. "It would hurt if you fell."
"I'm not really scared of heights anymore," I grinned, turning to face him. "It's like a hidden part of Paris."
"We're technically in Versailles," he said. I didn't care where I was really as long as he was with me. "I'm glad you like it. I finally planned something that didn't fall to pieces. I want to see the world with you now, Alex."
"I want to see it with you too."
"And, when we get back... how about we visit a nice orphanage?" Jasper asked. I kind of froze up a bit. After six days of pampering, he wants to do this now? "Sugar? Do you want children with me?"
Well, we had already talked about it, but I guess I put it off long enough myself. No one is realistically ever ready for a child. "Yeah, let's do that."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein