The party went to the wee hours of the morning, but Gini and Robert left about ten. It had been a great night.
By the time he got them ready for bed, Gini was out on her feet.
Sunday morning Gini and Robert walked to the restaurant near the resort entrance for breakfast. Several people got up and walked away from the table Jennifer was sitting at. When she saw them, she waved them over.
“You can sit here, I’m done.” She picked up a few pictures. “Have you looked at the picture board this morning?”
Robert got Gini settled in her chair. He had seen the board from a distance each day but had paid no attention to it.
“There’s a beautiful picture of Gini with the flower in her hair.” Jennifer chuckled. “And one of you, Robert, trying to dance.”
“Hey, trying? I thought I did pretty good.”
“Well, the red toenails were the highlight for sure. Sorry to say I’m about to leave, but it has been a great week. I’m so glad I got to meet you guys.” She reached over and put her hand on top of Gini’s. “You have a wonderful marriage and keep this guy in line.”
“Oh… yes… en… line.” Gini opened her eyes and smiled. “Nice… me… Jen… nee… fer. Be… uff… bee… bee… nay.”
Jennifer looked at Robert.
“Gini was pregnant when she had her accident, twins. The babies didn’t make it. The little girl’s name was Jennifer.”
“Oh, no! Gini, I’m so sorry.” Tears appeared in her eyes.
Gini wrapped her fingers around Jennifer’s hand. “Be… uff… Jen… nee… fer.”
“Jen, come on, you’re going to miss the bus.”
She slowly got up. She’d had such a connection with Gini, maybe that was why. Hopefully, Gini realized she wasn’t her daughter.
Robert helped her collect her things and put her backpack on.
She leaned over and kissed Gini on the cheek. “Have a really good life, you deserve it. Robert.”
She turned and walked away, still filled with emotion.
After they ate, they went to the picture board. He saw the one of him dancing; and then almost like the picture rose off the board, there was Gini, her eyes open wide and her beautiful smile. He slid it down from the holder. He’d never seen such a beautiful woman.
A man walked up next to him. “There’s that pretty lady. Great photo, huh? One of my favorites ever. Did you see the rest of the pictures I have taken of you all week?
“No,” Robert said. “All week?”
“I have some great ones.”
The man came back with a stack of photos and started going through them, separating some out. There was one of Gini being lifted out of the boat by the cowboy, the two of them landing on the sand after their parasailing flight, him with his hands on her waist running out of the ocean, and one of them sitting in a restaurant looking at each other with a dreamy look.
The man pointed to that one. “Another one of my favorites. You can just feel the love.”
The last two he laid down were of the young girl showing Gini how to move her feet at the fiesta; and of Gini, full-faced, in the restaurant, looking in the distance. Another beautiful picture of her.
“She could be someone famous. Have you ever considered being a photo model?”
Gini moved closer to Robert.
“I’ll take all of them,” Robert said.
The rest of the day, they walked the beach, took a dip in the pool, and lounged in the sun. After taking their afternoon nap, they made love and then showered.
He couldn’t keep his hands off her. He just wanted to feel her soft skin, her body next to his. He felt fiery and adventuresome. He wrapped her up in a towel, including her arms pinned to her body. She laughed when he sat her on the bathroom vanity to comb her hair, constantly kissing her on the lips, cheek, forehead. Then he carried her into the kitchen and lifted her up to the counter. Grabbing the orange juice carton, he rubbed her cheek and poured some in her mouth. She choked a little at the volume, and the excess ran out the corners of her mouth. He leaned toward her and licked the juice from her face and orange mustache above her lips. She giggled. He lifted the carton and took two big gulps, then back to her, this time pouring less.
“Dink… uff… car… ton?”
“Sure, why not? It’s just you and me.” He felt so carefree, so liberated. He was married, happy, joyous—there were no words to describe his euphoria. He knew if he unwrapped her, he’d have to have her body again, close to his, inside her. Could he ask or expect more?
Gini was clearly enjoying his boyish actions.
He took her to the couch and ordered their dinner—a platter of six different spiced prawns. He dipped each in a different sauce and fed it to her. They discussed each one and in the end, both agreed on the same spiced meat and the same sauce.
He ran into the bedroom and brought out one of his souvenir shirts and put it on her, taking off the towel.
“I got an email from Catherine today.”
“Cat… ter… rin?”
He read it to her. The issues for children in foster care that she and Gini had fought so hard for was finally part of the proposed national health-care bill.
Gini raised her hands up in the air. “Yay… be… uff… goo.”
“You probably don’t know that I was in the foster
