My European Honeymoon (Completed)

Chapter Six

As we drove, I saw a sign with Swarovski on it, but it didn't seem to make much sense. The car park was huge and certainly wasn't for a jewellery store. While I was busy changing shoes, Luca had gotten Isabella and put her in the sling. He clearly had as much faith in me carrying her wearing my heels as I had. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I only had to change my shoes." As we held hands and walked, he started swinging our arms back and forth. Then out of no where he lifted his up and forced me to do a twirl.

"You do look stunning, Mrs Mantovani. Even this place will pale in comparison." He stopped right in front of a pool, it was one of the strangest things I had ever seen. It was a giant grass head and it's mouth was a waterfall into the pool below. There was an opening underneath to walk through. I was even more lost as to what the hell was going on than I had been beforehand.

As he led me inside, all I could see was crystals everywhere I looked. There was literally a wall of them, a horse adorned with them, they were literally everywhere. It was enough bling to make Beyonce proud. We walked around exhibit after exhibit and they were all more blingtastic than the last. When we came to one that had snow falling, I got excited. It was magical. The mixture of the crystal tree and the snow falling all around it.

Out of nowhere, Luca got so excited and dragged me along with him. We went through a door and were literally inside the snow dome. It was freezing. "Is this real snow?"

"Absolutely. Isabella's first snow experience and it will probably be a fairly long time before she gets another." I stood there as the snow fell around us and watched on as Luca caught it in his hands. He was like a boy in a toy shop, but then I guessed he didn't get a lot of snow growing up. When he had some flurries of it in his palm, he put Isabella's hand in his and her little face didn't know what on earth was going on. She looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

We moved on quickly. It was way too cold to keep her there for long. As we walked into a crystal dome, it seemed nice enough but a little boring. Then, out of nowhere, it started changing colours. Isabella's eyes lit up at the sensory overload. It was then that I realised that the excursion was just as much for her as it was for us. Her little giggle seemed to echo off the walls.

When we got to the shop, Luca went and found somewhere to sit. It was like he expected me to be in there for hours. I walked around the edge, gazing into the glass cases absentmindedly. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a pair of earrings. They had a blue centre with a ring of clear crystals around the edge. "Seen something you like?"

"Yeah, come here." He obliged.

"Very nice." He hadn't even bothered to ask me which item in the cabinet I was looking at and I smiled at his nature. If I had been looking at varieties of cheese he would have been all over it like a rash.

"That pair of earrings right there. Don't you think they look identical in color to Em's engagement ring?"

"I can't say I paid that much attention."

"I'm going to get them for her. We owe her an engagement present."

"Isn't that supposed to be something for both of them?" Of course, he was right, but they were perfect. Just then, I spied a pair of cufflinks. They were silver and had the smallest matching stone in them. It felt like fate. I bit the bullet and purchased them both. I had visions of her wearing them on her wedding day and George wearing the matching cufflinks. The idea of her getting married was so exciting and I couldn't wait to help her plan every last detail. Even if she didn't wear them for that, they were still perfect. In George's profession, I was sure they would find an opportunity to wear them.

As we left, I thought that was it and I was actually looking forward to being stuck in the car for the drive to whichever destination was next. Except I was completely wrong. We walked into the outdoor section and I almost wished I had kept the hiking boots on. "Don't worry, there's only one thing left that I want to do."

I wondered if I had been that obvious. We came to a stop in front of a lovely monochrome carasel, filled with quirky animals. It made me laugh. He was making such an effort to make it special for Isabella, despite the fact that she had no hopes of remembering it or was even aware of most of it. It made my heart sing that he would make such an effort for her. He really was as good a father as I had always known he would be.

We all climbed into an odd little saucer and waited for the ride to begin. There were mirrors all over the centre of the carasel and they twinkled in the daylight. It was just so perfect. After we had been on together, I convinced Luca to go on again with Isabella. Taking photos and small snaps of video to save the moment for myself as much as for Isabella. She might not remember it, but in years to come she could look back on the photographs and know how much effort her wonderful father put in to her childhood.