her neck, his presence relaxed her.
"Are we okay, Bruce?"
"We are fine, my love. We will get through anything."
*****
Kate wanted to make the most of the time that she had to spend with
Bruce. She phoned Amelia and let her know to text her if anything was
important, but made it clear that she needed to relax that morning
after such a long night out. Kate then routed all of her phone calls
to Amelia, intent on spending some uninterrupted time with Bruce.
It was nice to not glance at her phone incessantly and to focus on
something other than work. It was also a pleasure to know that Bruce
had taken such thought and care to plan a morning out for the both of
them. Their first stop was to tour the country side where the cottage
was.
To see the way other's lived was intriguing to Kate. There was so
much beauty in seeing the difference in others. Since it was early
morning, they toured the open air market, picking up some fruit, some
fresh cut flowers, and sampling some of the foods indigenous to the
region. Talking to the locals, they found out about a restaurant that
would be perfect for a proper breakfast.
Kate and Bruce reveled in their one on one time. She gushed over the
way he held her hand, and how he walked with his hand at the small of
her back, guiding her gently. He doted on her, making sure she was
happy and content. When they ate at the restaurant, he ordered for
the both of them, because she was not sure what she wanted to eat
exactly.
He fed her the spoonfuls of omelet and they both enjoyed the
blueberry crepe he ordered.
Instead of taking the car service into the city, they rode the
railway. Riding through the countryside the way the locals did gave
them a true taste of the country. When they arrived in the heart of
Paris, Kate's heart raced with excitement. How different it was to
see the city with Bruce leisurely versus working while with Fancy.
They strolled along the river, visited the Champs-Elysee. Bruce held
her hand the entire way ascent of the Eiffel Tower. Conquering her
fear of heights was yet another item on her bucket list. Once they
reached the top of the monument, being so high up did not seem so
bad. It was exhilarating and the view was breathtaking.
"Being here, with you. It puts so much into perspective."
"It does, doesn't it?" He kissed her lightly on the
forehead.
"You know that I am killing two birds with one stone today?"
"Tell me more," Bruce coaxed.
Kate looked out over the expanse of the city. "My fear of
heights."
"Fear of heights? I learn something new about you everyday, my
love."
"Yes. I think I have overcome that fear. Well, maybe not
completely, but it's a step in the right direction." She laughed
at her admission.
"A step in the right direction is hopeful."
When Bruce spoke, he gazed at her, with an expression that made Kate
think he had some huge secret to divulge.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.
She could tell he was giving her question some deep thought.
"No," he finally responded. Bruce held up his arm. She
linked hers in his and they walked toward to observation deck.
It felt like she was on top of the world, standing there, overlooking
the city, arm and arm with her love.
"Are you ready to go? I have a few other things on the list."
"Let's go then."
Once they were back on the ground, Kate felt the most optimistic she
had felt in a while about everything. There had to be a way to
balance everything.
For the entire morning, her phone did not ring with work related
responsibilities and she was able to rightfully focus on the quality
time she was spending with Bruce.
There was not enough time to do all that Bruce planned for the
morning, so they decided to table some of the last activities on the
list until later that week.
They laughed and talked about nothing in particular on the ride back
to the cottage.
"This is the best time I've had in while."
"I'm glad I could be such great company."
"And I see that being in Paris has
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