The Honeymoon

The Honeymoon

“Vicky, honey we’re gonna miss our free breakfast,” yelled my husband Jay from outside of the bathroom door. “I need to get rejuvenated and back to the kids and my job,” said Jay. We had finally done it, tied the knot and I was now Mrs. Robinson. Our wedding wasn’t the biggest but it was amazing. We were able to save up about 10 grand, but we couldn’t afford the white doves nor carriage ride I wanted. A simple wedding and reception at, The Lake, followed by a four day honeymoon, which I like to call Vacationmoon. Any time away from the kids was a vacation and we were enjoying it.

My mother was the first one to say it, “Jay it’s time you put a ring on it.” Three kids and 14 years together, yeah it was about that time, I agreed. I’d been in love with Jay since I met him, he definitely had me interested after seeing him push my Chevy Bronco by him self out of the road. I’d broken down in the middle of the road and he being a good guy helped by getting me to safely. I was one impressed sister and had to tell all my family and friends. My tall handsome young man kept me up all night, and after all the late night honey moon action, I was very lethargic. I wanted nothing more than to get back to my beautiful children, who were probably getting so spoiled by my mother and weren’t ready to go.

“I’m trying to get all my money worth at this expensive place, and I do like them freshly made omelets,” he said. I hurried in the shower and quickly ended it. As I got out the shower, I grabbed my wedding gift from my sister Keechia, which was a warm cozy bath robe. If only he’d let me get a few more hours of sleep last night, then I fell into a trance. Thinking of all the time we’ve spent together in each other’s arms, stress-free and away from our career ruled worlds. This love birds trip was filled with the California smooth tasting air and with the coolest people ever. We were getting the most welcoming and congratulating vibes everywhere we went.

We go down to the breakfast hall, and Mr. Williams, the cook, already knew how to make our omelets. He looked at us and pointed, letting us know he would start on the omelets. He was amongst the crew of people that were helping to make sure our honeymoon was the best experience and he was doing a fabulous job. After scuba diving yesterday he even hooked us up with an afternoon lunch of salad with grilled mahi. We greeted him, put $10 into his tip jar. After the omelets were made, we headed for the buffet line. Jay grabbed hash browns, bacon and sausage, as for me, I’d take hash browns and grits. The breakfast here made my day, each morning we’d been here.

This morning, I noticed a new couple down for breakfast and the woman reminded me of my late great grandma. They were sitting across from us and I just couldn’t stop looking over at them, smiling. Jay asked, “Why do you keep looking at that golden couple.” I told him grams looked just like my good Ol’Lue B. In that moment, I thought of my grandma in the kitchen, making us her famous breakfast: homemade biscuits with baked sausages, scrambled eggs and buttered grits. If you were still in bed, when she started cooking you’d surely be awakened by the most heavenly smelling aroma. The woman got up eventually and said, “Honey, why don’t y’all come join us, I just lost my granddaughter and you remind me of her so much.”

At the golden couple’s table, we introduced ourselves, and Mrs. Jackson hit it dead on, when she guessed we were newlyweds. She said she could see it in the sparking eyes and the way I clung onto Jay’s every move. She was in awe, as I showed her our family portrait and she couldn’t believe I was the mother of five, including a step-daughter and one feline son. “So where do you all live, “ asked Mrs. Jackson. Oh, ma’am, you don’t want to know, our small apartment is desperately crying out for a more sufficient family, in size, that is,” I chuckled. “You see we made a choice to get married, after being together for 14 years out of wedlock,” I said. We were so close to having enough money for a dream home. I wanted nothing more than to run free in our back yard on Saturdays, playing with the kids and cat. Our situation wasn’t the best at the time and this conversation was making me uncomfortable. I excused myself to the restroom, to pull myself together as I am known to let my emotions take over me.

When I came back to the table, the table was empty and Jay was at the drink machine grabbing another orange juice. He said, “Yeah, we all got up for seconds.” When I looked around the room, I didn’t see the Jacksons anywhere. Just then I looked down on the table and noticed something Mrs. Jackson must’ve left behind. It was a little mysterious black notebook titled, Couples That Grow Old Together by Mrs. Connie Jackson. The first page I opened to had a letter in it, with a check for $20,000.

The letter read, “I’ve come to this hotel every weekend, for three months now, looking for the right recipient and today I found you. When I prayed to God for a sign, I asked him to send someone with a beautiful smile. A smile that would brighten my day just as my Luna used to and God did just that. After our chat this morning, I know that you are who I’ve been looking for. My grand daughter was killed in a DUI related car accident a month before her wedding. I was gifting her with $20,000 for a down payment on a home to help start her family. Now I’m passing that gift to you, congratulations again. Pick a beautiful home for you and your beautiful family to grow old in. Sincerely, Mrs. Jackson.

My eyes filled with happy tears and I showed Jay the book, the letter and check. The good Lord was surely looking out for us. “I knew it was something about them I liked,” said Jay. We checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport. I had the biggest smile on my face and couldn’t wait to get back with the kids, to tell them the good news.