We packed up the last of the luggage and took one final look at the vibrant blue Aegean Sea. It was a perfect cloudless day, the kind where the view seemed limitless and you could see exactly why mythical creatures and gods had been created in a location like this.
Sometimes, there were places on earth that truly felt divine, where being amongst them felt like we were intruding on someplace above our station. Santorini and every other place we’d visited on this honeymoon were exactly like that. Being there, experiencing it, felt as if a slice of heaven had dropped down to earth, and we had accidentally stumbled upon it.
We were incredibly lucky to have such places around us to discover. I only hoped I would be able to take my own angel to visit each of them.
“I’m afraid so. We have to return to reality sometime.” I took her hand and grabbed one of our suitcases.
We turned toward the door, and I saw her take one glance around the room before heading out.
We’d come back. I’d make sure of it.
Her attitude was bleak by the time we arrived at the tarmac and boarded the plane.
The wedding, the honeymoon—all of it was over.
I smiled warmly, realizing it was probably a normal reaction every woman had, and I tried not to take it personally. The last year had been spent getting ready for those precious moments down the aisle, and when those were done, we’d had three weeks of vacation to spend in each other’s arms. Now, it was time to go back home, back to school, and back to work.
“Hey, you do remember we still have the holidays to celebrate when we get back, right?” I reminded her, wagering that tidbit of information had gotten lost in her post-honeymoon depression.
Her eyes perked up, and they met mine.
“Oh! I totally forgot about that!”
“And I might have also forgotten to mention that your parents are flying in!”
Her gasp of surprise was followed with a squeal of joy as she threw her arms around me and kissed my cheek.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day!”
“Well, it is only ten in the morning,” I joked.
“I guess I’d better go Christmas shopping when we get back!” she exclaimed merrily.
And there was my girl again, happy and thrilled to be going home. She’d just needed a jump-start.
Now, I had to make a few calls and figure out how to get her parents on a plane—pronto.
WE’D HIT THE ground running the minute the plane had landed.
School had started back up, business meetings had been scheduled, and family had arrived for our after-Christmas Christmas celebration. As much as I missed the quiet of just the two of us tucked away in our secluded honeymoon hideouts, I had to admit, it had been nice coming home. Five-star luxury just couldn’t top the sheer comfort of falling into our own bed again. And even though I hadn’t spent as much time with my new husband, there was something to be said about seeing him back in his routine. As much as it sometimes seemed to stress him out , this job—his family’s legacy—really was his calling. I could see it in the way he presented himself to employees, the passion he carried in his words, and the details he put into each and every single action.
Plus, the return of his three-piece suit hadn’t hurt.
Nope, not at all.
It had taken days, but I’d finally finished unpacking everything from our honeymoon. Clothes had been put away, mementos and trinkets had been stored and put on display, and the few gifts I’d bought had been wrapped and stored under the tree until tonight when we’d leave for Jude’s mother’s country estate.
The rest of the gifts, I’d purchased earlier in the day, doing a quick after-Christmas splurge.
Last-minute shopper? Me? No way.
Or at least, I usually wasn’t, but I’d had this little thing called a wedding—not to mention, four finals, all of which I’d aced—distracting me from the daunting task of buying presents for my now very large family.
It used to be just my mother and me, and now, I had an entire family to buy for.
I smiled, looking down at the large pile of presents under the tree, reminding me of all the people I was blessed to have in my life.
“You ready to go?” Jude called out from the bedroom. Walking down the hallway, he appeared in a pair of dark jeans and a gray sweater.
“Yes, we just need to pack the presents.”
He looked down at them—all of them—and huffed, “Okay.”
I laughed at his reluctance and bent down to begin helping. A wave of nausea hit me suddenly, and I froze, waiting for it to pass. It was the second occurrence today, and I wondered if I was possibly coming down with something. A couple of students in my morning class had been out, and the teacher had mentioned a bug was going around campus. Luckily, Jude hadn’t noticed my misstep, so I proceeded to shuffle packages his way as the queasiness began to fade. I didn’t want to miss tonight, especially since my parents had flown in just for it. I could get the stomach flu tomorrow.