Page 59 of Landing Her Eagle
“Well, I was going through my portfolio, I was surprised to see how few pictures of you I had. Of course, most of my photos are from my travels, but I realized that when I’m home, I rarely have my camera in hand. I spend my time with you doing things and not looking at them through a lens.”
We browse through the stalls and select a bunch of items to give as gifts for Christmas. We find earrings for the ladies in my family and Mallory. And while Daphne hovers around another stall considering mugs for the guys, I find a pair of heart-shaped amber earrings and buy them. The shade reminds me of the color of Daphne’s eyes after we’ve made love, and I want her to have them. As a souvenir for Mallory, we select a figurine of a timber-trimmed building like the ones surrounding us. You put a small candle or bulb inside to illuminate it. It’s neat and reminds me of something.
“Are these the right scale for the Christmas village you have?” I ask. “Or are they too small?” I haven’t seen the display in years because I haven’t been home at Christmas since we graduated college. I don’t remember how big the ceramic houses are that Daphne and her gran used to set up in the bay window as a charming holiday decoration.
Tilting her head to consider them, Daphne answers, “I think they’re too small. To be honest, I haven’t seen them in years, so I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you haven’t seen them in years? Where are they?” I’m dreading the answer I think I’m going to get.
“Packed away.” She shrugs. “I haven’t decorated in years. There didn’t seem to be a point when I’m the only one seeing them.” She picks up a building. It’s a church. She examines it for a moment and puts it back on the display. “They decorate the office and the lobby at work, and Mallory has a little tree for our section, so I get to enjoy decorations without having to do any of the work.”
Luc recommended that we take shopping bags to carry our purchases, and I’m grateful. I feel like we’ve bought out the markets between the mugs, ornaments, jewelry, and the house for Mallory. I grab the card from the stall with the houses. I want to see if I can purchase a bunch of them and have them shipped to us as a surprise for Daph.
We decide to take our loot back to the hotel before having dinner. I’m determined to have something other than room service sandwiches tonight.
“That’s cheating!” Daphne cries when I give our bags and a hefty tip to a valet to take them to our room.
“No, it’s being strategic,” I reply. “If we’re going to the pub for dinner, we need to do that before we’re in the room.” I wink. “We can stop by the pharmacy on the way back and pick up anything we need.”
Daphne peers at me with an excited expression. “Like candy bars?” With a sheepish expression, she admits, “Even though this is France and there are all these fancy things, I really want to try some of the weird, mass-produced, buy-it-off-the-shelf candy.” This is my girl—offer her lobsters and filet mignon, and she’s going to crave a cheeseburger. I love her.
Laughing, I admit, “I was planning on buying more condoms, but if candy bars are what make you happy, we’ll get them too.”
We hold hands as we walk through the early evening. This is our first time being out in Strasbourg after dark. Previously, by the time darkness fell, we’d locked ourselves in our room, enjoying each other’s bodies until we fell asleep, sated.
Strolling the historic streets under the cover of night with Daphne is romantic, and I feel fanciful imagining how many other lovers have walked these same streets through the ages. That’s one thing I love most about Europe, the sense of history. Of course, other places throughout the world have places with buildings and towns older than these French streets, but they don’t resonate with me the same way these old European cities do. I love the cobblestones and narrow roadways, timber beams, and thatched roofs. It all tells a story I’m eager to hear.
The pub is busier than it was the first time we dined here, but we manage to get a table. The TVs are on, with one screen showing a soccer match and another showing rugby. The rugby match isn’t featuring teams we follow, so we don’t worry about being able to see the screen, but we do glance at it when the patrons groan or cheer depending on the on-field action.
We debate whether to get the stew we loved before or something else from the menu. There are interesting burgers we’d like to try. It’s ridiculous to travel to these locales with incredible local cuisine and then get a cheeseburger, but you can learn a lot by seeing how a place does a cheeseburger. They don’t always use beef, for example, and they base the rolls on the common bread of the area. The toppings can be extravagant, like foie gras or unusual cheeses, and the portion sizes are often a surprise. In the US, we’re used to big burgers that are getting larger with a mountain of fries on the side. In other places, the burgers are smaller and come with a small hill of fries, but the flavors are so incredible you don’t even care that you’re eating less because it’s so satisfying. We could probably do a global burger tour documenting different burgers worldwide. In the end, we decide to do the stew again because it was so good.
After our glasses of red wine arrive, we chat about the Christmas markets and how beautiful the city is at night.
Daphne is fidgety. I reach across and cover her tapping fingers with my hand. “Daph, what’s up?”
I can see her weighing her words before she speaks. “I love Strasbourg and being here with you.”
I nod, half afraid of what’s going to come next. Has she changed her mind about being together after having a taste of what it could be like? Is she going to say she wants to move here? I’d be okay with that, but I can’t imagine it being something Daphne wants.
“How upset would you be if we tried to switch our tickets and fly home tomorrow night or Wednesday night so we can have Thanksgiving with your parents?” She appears apprehensive, and while I’m surprised she wants to cut the trip short, I’m touched she wants to spend the holiday with my family.
“Why would I be upset?”
“You plan everything out and get upset when your plan changes,” she says.
“Yeah, I’m realizing this unfortunate trait of mine. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be pushy or self-centered. I’m used to only focusing on myself and only being concerned with what I want.” I don’t mean to be controlling. It’s the last thing I want. It makes me feel sick I’ve unintentionally been that way with Daphne, and I’m determined to change.
“You try to hide it, and I’m not sure you’re even aware of it, but you have a plan, and that’s the way it is.”
“I honestly wasn’t aware of it. Everyone always lets me get away with it. Now that I know, I’ll work on changing. I trust you’ll tell me if I fall back on old habits?”
“Oh, I will,” she assures me.
With a sheepish smile, I admit, “I was trying to figure out a way I could ask you about going home for Thanksgiving. I don’t want to cut your trip short now that you’re finally here, especially since you haven’t seen much outside of our room.”
Her blushing giggle causes my heart to stutter.
I continue, “I promise we can come back and explore more. I realized I missed home and want to spend our first holiday together as a couple with our family, and they areourfamily. You’re one of us. You aren’t alone. You’re never going to be alone.”
