“So what color?”
“Hmm… this light brown one will suffice.”
“Really, what do you admire about it?”
“Well, in comparison to the other colors it compliments your natural beauty.” He said while my foot rested on his leg.
“Are you always this charming when painting a woman’s toes?”
“Not always but I never painted a woman’s toes before so consider this an exclusive event.”
I observed him painting then looking at each toe as if it was a masterpiece before his eyes. Every stroke of the brush made him smile up at me. It was almost as if this act of service warmed every part of his soul. I had only known him for a couple of weeks and here he is on his knees painting my toes. Some would say this must be love if he is doing something so lovely already. Love did cross my mind, but I know men too well by now. Some will do anything to get what they want, and that’s the truth. However, something is different about this guy. He pours me wine, cooks, and unexpectedly asks about my thoughts on his personal endeavours. I’m shocked with curiosity and wonder why no woman could remain in his life long enough to be a wife. Nevertheless, this moment will never escape my thought as I realize there is only one pinky toe left to paint.
“All done, miss.” He gently placed my foot on the floor.
“Wow, you did a really magnificent job, impressive really.”
“I have never been good at art, but I think this is the Michelangelo of toes.”
His laughter spoiled me and I was captive merely watching him stand to greatness. My hand into his, we both walked out the living room into the kitchen. Rarely have I ever been pampered this way but I was not shy about loving the attention.
“So what would the miss like to eat tonight?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure but what do you have?”
“Dear I have all that your heart desires. Just close your eyes then think of something that will tease your tongue and impress you even more.”
“Maybe a shrimp salad?” He looked affectionately at me as he carefully opened another bottle of wine then told me to close my eyes again.
“Just shrimp salad? Go big and wild with your desire. Trust me, no want is too far from my capability.”
“Okay, what about filet mignon, shrimp, baked potato, and chocolate cake with strawberries for dessert.”
“You know it’s almost as if you read my mind too. Go ahead and open our eyes now.”
In a dream, you toss and turn then wake up to realize nothing of your desire came true. However, this was not a dream and my eyes became a witness to something unforeseen. A table set for two with beautiful candles set the scene. A juicy perfectly cooked steak with all that I asked for was laid before me. Sitting across for me, he reached for my hand then kissed it softly. Nor a novel or movie could predict such a situation. In my innonce, I began to supress negative thoughts while thinking how is this happening to someone like me? I almost didn’t want to believe my luck, so I tried to look away.
“No reason to be shy here, I am no magician.” He smiled while still holding onto my hand.
“But how did you achieve all of this?”
“I have five chefs in the back kitchen. I told them what you wanted, and they fixed it for me.”
“Really? You have five chefs cooking for you?”
“No, in fact since its Valentines Day, I can kind of guess what women would like. I had prepared all of this before you arrived.”
“What if I would have said, pizza?”
“Well that would have been a curveball, but I would have had to make it work somehow.”
“Are you consistently this perfect?”
“Never am I perfect as you. Your beauty is what causes me to carry out such wild things.”
At that moment, I wanted to pinch myself. How could it be I have this good-looking, intelligent, and charming man in my presence? Before my mind could disrupt the absolutely best thing happening to me, he grasped my hand once again and we walked out to his garden.
“See the pale roses over there? I reared them only because I thought about getting married one day.”
“Really so what about the golden ones?”
“The golden ones, I grew them because I thought one day I would have children.”
“So how come you don’t have red roses?”
“I do possess them.”
“Where? I don’t see any in this garden of flowers.” I stood staring into a vast selection of roses as he watched over me.
As I turned away from the garden of flowers there he stood with one red rose. I’m not quite sure if this is how you are supposed to fall in love but I did. He looked elsewhere as if the rose just magically appeared in his hand. Closer than we had ever been, he pressed his lips to mine as the rose became the bond between us. Departing from his tender sweet lips, we both smiled.
“There is something I have always wanted to do in a garden of flowers like this.”
“What my dear?”
“Run through the flowers!” I said, while getting ready to run.
“Really? Well, you better start running because this is no fun if nobody runs after you.”
Like teenagers in a fanciful dream, we developed something never ending. Resting among fragrant flowers we held hands looking up into the night stars. Our eyes met with a love I never felt before and he cemented my belief by making this real.
“How long can we look up at the stars?”
“My dear, as long as those golden roses grow.”
Livia Flair 