Chapter One

 

 

It was almost sunset, on a warm late summer evening.   

After spending more time prepping than usual, she was almost finished and ready for their first, formal event together.   Her mother and father were throwing a party for Bohdan Khmelnytsky, her father’s lifelong best friend. 

Two days before, her Rigel had brought her a Convex Oval Silver Distressed Mirror from a Spanish craftsman who makes mirrors and frames for royal families.   It was the finest mirror she had ever seen, and it allowed her to pursue her passion of perfecting the facial look, she witnessed from a trader’s daughter, with natural exquisite beauty, while traveling with her father. 

That girl was dressed properly for a visit to somewhere of significance on that day.  And she seemed to have her face painted in a subtle manner that emphasized her facial features, which made looking away from her, almost impossible.  She even noticed her father was distracted by her beauty, from his conversation with the trader. 

Inga pondered that girl as she checked her lipstick one final time, to ensure a perfect balance, to the dramatic look.  She had crafted this lip application after being taught by a trader.  It took 22 attempts of combining beeswax and red plant-based dyes, to finally perfect something that looked and felt wonderful. The challenge was always in balancing the blend to achieve the proper color, consistency that didn’t clump, or was too thin to cover the lips properly.   

Fortunately, her mother assisted, and her father taught her to notate each step, so when she finally found the perfect balance, she could easily replicate her success. 

The deep ruby lipstick accentuated her lips in a way that almost made them seem surreal.  Inviting, intriguing, and surreal at the same time. It was an ideal blend of structure and flow, which accentuated the lines of her face, perfectly.   

She stepped back away from the large mirror that required father to bring a new table into her room, in order to have a full perspective of the overall ensemble. 

Her outfit was centered around a subtly cascading deep blue dress, that framed her figure like it was designed earlier that day, by a seamstress that understood how to emphasize her lines, flawlessly. 

The final detail was to merely zip up the dress in the back, but even before that last step, the look was already nearly flawless. 

She paused and studied the mirror, smiling widely; but not at the reflection in the mirror, but at the bequest of her internal reflection, for the night she had anticipated for so very long. 

As Inga studied the overall look - 

Rigel called toward the vanity area in the 2nd-floor suite, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. “Hun, we have to leave soon, how are you doing in there?” 

Rigel was dressed in a black suit that truly complimented his athletic body.  The ensemble was something he had worn before, and he was already comfortable with exactly how to dial in the entire look for the date tonight. 

The suit was complemented by a Baltic blue tie, which shined in the sunlight like a sun-kissed morning at sea.  He almost chose to go bold with the shoes that night, but finally opted for a conservative approach and chose his Steve Parsons, leather oxfords. 

His only real preparation dilemma was in choosing to brush his hair back tightly, or in allowing it to fall across his forehead, in the usual manner.   

On this night, he chose the latter. He glanced at the full-length mirror in the hallway and joked to himself “It’s my signature look, just commit to it.” 

Inga finally called from the vanity area “Almost ready” excitedly and playfully. 

Rigel paused, as the anticipation of seeing her, any moment, suddenly made his heart skip a beat, or perhaps two beats.  A few anxious seconds later, he had to consciously remind himself to breathe again. 

The anticipation of the night had been building for months, via hundreds of messages and phone calls and completely void of any physical contact. 

He thought to himself, “How could the chemistry be so strong before we had even held each other?

And how profound the messages from the Universe can become when you are truly paying attention.” After all, Rigel’s path had taken him down a very different road, for a very long time.  Tonight, that journey was taking a vastly different path, toward a completely new destination.  This new path was with a woman he loved, but the ideal match was contrived under circumstances that would normally prohibit love from being created and nurtured.  A dating site an ocean away didn’t seem practical.  But then again, was expecting and finding a soulmate, practical?

Regardless of the circumstances leading them to this place, he was one hundred percent certain that Inga was his shining star, in the night sky, until his days, no longer yielded nights. 

Suddenly, he remembered the entirety of his plan, as he darted over to the suitcase, next to the bed and pulled out a small JBL Bluetooth speaker.  He pulled his phone from his jacket and toggled through playlists until he reached one that said Inga 1, and hit play.  He then positioned the speaker in the corner of the room, which was now filled with subtle wave sounds and seagulls.  He lowered the volume to get it just perfect and then stepped back admiring the room and the view. 

The room was on the second floor with a large sliding glass door that led to an oversized balcony, with two chairs and a small table.  The chairs were a soft white, as was the table, so they would blend in perfectly with the white painted railing which led one’s eyes straight out to the white sand, and then onto the magnificent blue waves.  It was a view that flowed from the room, like it was well thought out by high-end designers and architects, long ago. 

Rigel thought to himself “What am I missing?” before answering his own question mid-sentence and heading straight for the ottoman at the foot of the bed. 

The ottoman matched the light grey blue bedspread, which gave the room a cozy seaside feel.  The ottoman was approximately four feet long and two feet wide. Rigel grabbed it from one end and pulled it out away from the bed, positioning it in front of the sliding glass door, with the shallow end extending out toward the sea, and the width still facing the bed.  He then opened the sliding glass door and turned, just as Inga walked back into the main room from the vanity area. 

Rigel stopped and smiled.   For a person with an air of confidence, in almost any situation, he was completely unsure where to focus his attention.   Every part of her was so fascinating, that he was absolutely captivated by her beauty. 

After recapturing his focus, his attention landed on her face, and then her eyes, as he could muster only a single word “Wow.”

Inga did not move, nor utter a word.  She studied her man and simply returned his warm smile, with her warm smile.  She always loved his smile, as it triggered something in her that compelled her to dash up and kiss him.  Today, that smile meant even more to her, yet she resisted the temptation to move, allowing her lover the opportunity to study his cherished girl. 

Rigel begins to walk toward her, taking three steps in her direction and stopping again, to take it all in.   He repeated his single word assessment “Wow” bit his lip and then allowed a smile to crawl back across his face.   

The dress came down below her knees, with the flowing fabric laying over her legs like it was beckoning a sea breeze to capture it, just enough, to outline the perfect symmetry of her limbs. 

The lines and cut of the dress highlighted the unique straps on the black pumps, which were an identical shade of rich black. The shoes highlighted her ankles and long lines, which directed his eyes up to her perfect legs, to her slim belted waist, and onto her hourglass upper body, leading his eyes, once again, to that warm smile. 

The smile was warm, but the shade of the lipstick also made it dramatic and compelling.  He wanted to kiss her right then. 

As soon as they made eye contact, she finally spoke “Can you zip me up, Hun?”

in a very soft, partially broken tone, that was emphasized by the sound of the waves playing from the speaker, or perhaps it was the ocean.  Rigel couldn’t focus on that right now.   

He stepped back and gestured toward the recently repositioned ottoman.  She studied his request, unsure of the meaning before he interrupted her thoughts 

"Sit down over here Hun and I will take care of your zipper,” he said in an inviting tone.  She walked over cautiously and began to sit facing out from the bed before he stopped her.  “No, sit here on the end of the ottoman, facing the ocean, so you can watch the sunset.” She studied his face and eyes, thinking that this was a strange request, as they were getting ready to leave for dinner at the Chart House in La Jolla.   They don’t have time to watch the sunset, she thought, as she sat down on the edge of the ottoman facing the Pacific Ocean view, with her legs together. 

Rigel studied the unzipped dress which exposed half of her back, including her black bra strap.  He then straddled his legs over the ottoman, sitting directly behind his girl, in the perfect position to zip up her dress. 

Yet, he did nothing. 

He just sat behind her taking in the smell of the ocean breeze, coupled with the Lanvin Éclat d’Arpège perfume he had bought her the week before and gifted her that morning. 

After the measured seconds ticked off the watch on his left wrist, he slid up behind her a little closer. It was just enough for her to sense his warmth; yet the only warmth she was feeling at that moment, was the heat generated by her heart rate increasing. “Are we not going to be late for dinner?” she said in a soft and understated tone?   Rigel didn’t answer her question.   He took in a very slow, audibly apparent breath, before slowly and silently, sliding close enough for the inside of his thighs, to barely touch, the outside of her legs and backside.   

They were now both facing the sunset with Inga sitting up perfectly straight on the edge of the ottoman, and her man, straddling her position on the settee.   

As the sun began to surrender its hold on the day and light glimmered across the silent ocean; in the softest voice he could muster, Rigel leaned his head to the right and whispered in her left ear “this is the end of today and the beginning of a new tomorrow.”

He then placed his hands on both sides of her legs, before moving them toward her hands, which were placed on her lap.  He stroked his index finger up each hand in synchronization and retracted each one delicately caressing her skin. 

Inga took in a deep breath and leaned into him just a little, as Rigel’s hands drew back down to the top of her thighs, repeating the same subtle and soft movements with his index finger.  After what seemed like forever, his movements expanded from single finger tracing to the expansion of his hand, generating more tactile touches, yet preserving the subtlety of pressure, to a whisper. 

Her mind started to race away from her focus only minutes before, as she could feel her heart accelerate rapidly.  She wondered if he felt that cadence, through his chest, which was touching her back.  Rigel pulled his hands slowly away from her thighs and sat up perfectly straight once again, as his hands moved to her upper arms and then her neck.  

The atmosphere, the timing, and the magic of the moment were all pointing to one outcome. 

Rigel leaned in again and gently kissed her neck like it was a treasure to be preserved forever. 

Both the Sun and Inga were trying desperately to hold on; yet both were finally beginning to surrender to their destinies, in complete harmony.