Free Web NovelChapter 129: Homebound: Hannah
The next morning, we rose just before dawn so we could make it to the helicopter on time. We shared a modest breakfast of toasted bagels and coffee before dressing and heading out the door. I didn’t bother to ask where we were going, as I knew he would lead the way. The wind was a little heavier that morning, and part of me worried that it would interfere with the ride. However, I was going to leave that up to the professionals. After all, I was sure that the pilot wouldn’t allow us to take off if it wasn’t safe. freewebnøvel.com
The helicopter was a little way’s away from the resort, stationed on a flat piece of land without any buildings nearby. The pilot nodded at us and extended a hand to Roman to shake before me. "Good morning, guys," the man greeted. "Ready to see the Bahamas in style?"
I nodded happily and he then opened the door for us. We climbed in and waited for him to properly strap us in. After we were harnessed, we then were given headsets so we could talk over the sound of wind and the blades. It felt so unreal to just hop into every activity we wanted to do. So much of my life had been spent waiting to do anything at all, that everything, even going out with friends, had felt like a distant dream. Even the every day person would dream of something like what we were doing, but have to spend potentially years saving and planning to do it.
Life with Roman really was a dream come true. I think anyone would have been lucky to be in my shoes, considering it all.
My hand found his and gave it a tight squeeze as the pilot cut the engine to the helicopter on. The blades spun overhead, so fast that it quickly became a deafening sort of noise. The pilot came over the headset. "Brace yourselves for liftoff. When you aren’t used to it, it can be a bit jarring."
I gripped Roman’s hand in one and my harness with the other. The take off did tousle me a bit, and I had a feeling it was from the wind. The helicopter climbed, and climbed, and climbed, until it finally stabilized.
"Sunrise should be in about five minutes," the pilot announced.
I looked down through the massive clear windows down at the ocean and the small islands. I had been on planes several times in my life, and the United Sates had always been aglow with lights. Even in small counties, there were always a few lights. However, over those islands, I couldn’t spot but a couple.
Then, just as promised, the sky was ignited with the gradual rising of the sun. The dark purple soon faded into lighter shades of purple, red, and orange. Any amount of exhaustion that had been in my system before that moment, quickly found its way out.
"Oh, it’s beautiful," I could hear myself say in the headset.
"If I could propose to you all over again, I would do it here," Roman called over to me.
I looked over to him and felt my heart give a squeeze. That was just as beautiful to hear as the sunrise was to watch. We smiled at each other and then, in relative silence, took in the sighs. My eyes could hardly leave the views of the sunrise over the water. It made the ocean look more like a painting than something you would find in reality. It was a pool of all the colors of the sky, moving fluidly with the push and pull of the currents. It was a continuous work of art, only broken apart by those waves. It was absolutely breathtaking. Unable to resist, I took my phone out of my pocket and took some pictures and some videos. I knew I would remember that morning, but I wanted to take it with me, even if photos and videos would never do it justice.
The pilot told us the name of the islands we flew over, along with any random facts he seemed to know about them. It was fun to listen to, but nothing had anything on that sight.
"You made an excellent choice of activity," Roman said. "I’m only jealous I didn’t think of it first."
"Just shows we are a team, even in leisure," I chuckled.
After an hour or so and the sun had fully rose, sadly, it was time to land. The pilot took us back to our island and had the helicopter come to a complete stop before unbuckling us and saying goodbye. We left feeling invigorated, inspired, and hungry.
That evening, Roman had me get ready for yet another romantic dinner. I still wasn’t tired of the royal treatment he was giving me. It had never even once felt like too much.
I was in a state of mind to finally just accept all the good that was coming my way. I couldn’t have been happier. I was in love, I was on vacation, and there was nothing stopping me from cherishing every little moment.
We returned to the same café we had first dined at for our last dinner. I didn’t even allow myself to think about the fact it would be our last night there. As the table filled with all the seafood, rice, vegetables, and fried food we could possibly stomach, Roman raised his glass to me. "Cheers to us, to our second honeymoon, and to the years to come."
"Cheers," I smiled at him. It felt like we had toasted at every meal, but I wasn’t about to complain about it. It was so sweet and a way to put into words the theme of our time together. We feasted like kings, eating every last bite until we couldn’t possibly stand to eat anymore. We sat there a bit, letting the food settle as we chatted and drank a little more.
"So, how does this compare to our first honeymoon?" Roman asked with a smirk, crossing his arms as he looked at me.
"It doesn’t compare. There’s no way to compare them," I stated. When he gave me a look, I shrugged. "Last time, I wasn’t in love with you. This time, I am. This time it’s real, special, and intimate. I can’t put into words how different this feels. Or how this is sort of the ground zero for our building of a relationship. One that will last."
A gentle and soft look came over his face then. "I don’t think I could have said it better myself," he nodded.
I leaned forward and propped my elbows up against the table. "Do you think we will be able to spend time together, and I mean really spend time together, when we get home? I know life will always be busy, but I’m just wondering how long in between we will have to wait to have moments like these."
He swirled his drink and looked down for a moment as he composed his thoughts. "I’ll be honest in saying I don’t know. Business is consuming and it can be hard to predict trends in workload. However, know that you are still my priority. No matter what is going on, I’ll always make time for us. It just might not be a week get away, but still." He sighed and reached across to hold both of my hands. "There’s plenty of things we can get busy with and lose track of, but I’m never going to forget how important you are to me. I know that sacrifices have to be made to be successful, but you aren’t going to be one of them for me. If I ever start to make you worry that you are slipping down the ladder of my priorities, just let me know and I’ll whisk you away."
"Noted," I smiled. "I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I want a vacation." We both laughed but I wasn’t done with the conversation as of yet. Once the laughter settled, I added, "I have to admit, I have been having to force myself not to think about how our vacation is already coming to an end. I’m content to return to our life, of course, but it’s still a little sad to leave. I’ll miss it here."
"I will too," Roman nodded as he stood, pulling my hands for me to follow suit. He moved around the table and leaned into my ear. "Vacation isn’t over as of yet, Hannah. We’ll make the most out of every moment we have here."
Something about his voice caused a shiver to run up the length of my spine. He had something specific in mind, and I couldn’t wait to find out.
