AllThingsThatMatterPress

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WANTED:

Want a love that

I can sit down in the middle of

Lay down in the middle of

Spread my arms wide

And never feel the outer edges of

Want love’s arms to wrap around me

Like a blanket

Keeping me warm

On a chilly winter morning

Want a love that wants to

Be there

Not a needy, greedy desperation

That leaves the table

Once it’s full

Want a love

who believes just talking

Is good sex

in the middle of the night

while we lick the hot fudge off

the same spoon

dipped into

chocolate fudge nut brownie ice cream

want a love that

I can close my eyes

and rest in

for a minute…

a million minutes

Want a love I

can see reflected

In the mirrored soul

of his eyes

Even when I’m not looking

Want a love

who sees my flaws

And finds them

Interesting

Like the imperfections

in newly blown glass

Perfection

Is not the requirement

of this love

want a love

who I can give everything

every part of the who

that I am

Because nothing was required

To be loved.

LEGACY

If there were time

To gather all fathers

To sing to their daughters

To sing to their daughters

If there was time.

Not of cats in the cradle

Or

Silver spoons.

But instead how they love them

And would

give them the moon

If they could.

If there were time.

They’d show them a real man

Who knows what love is

From a man to his woman

From a child to his father

And

A father to his daughter…

If there was time.

She’d learn how to teach

A man how to treat her.

She’d know by example

What she should expect.

She’d know that a real man

Would be like her father

She’d know how to give

As good as she gets.

If there was a time

To gather all fathers

To sing to their daughters

To sing to their daughters

Be they here or gone

Just think of the legacy

Each one would leave

Each one would leave

For the next to pass on.

PROLOGUE

The orange tinge of scattered clouds encircled the castle like a halo. The castle was mostly a ruin, but the silhouette of this once majestic structure possessed an eerie sense of foreboding. The deep crevices and shadows held mysteries longing to be told. A lone hawk circled overhead in the quiet of dusk and suddenly dove after its prey. A loud shriek was heard by the victim of this attack before succumbing to a quick death.  

Ivan awoke with a start. The recurring dream of the castle lying in ruins was something he could not discuss with anyone. He brushed it aside and prepared for the day. He knew he could never lay claim to the title of nobility, even though his father was a nobleman. He was simply a bastard. It made him angry that his mother had to suffer the humiliation of bearing a son by her lord. When the time was right, he would have to try to force his father to acknowledge him if he could ever hope to marry the girl he loved. Just now, he was simply a farmer whose owner was a nobleman. He would have to work the fields for several more years before he could have his own plot. He knew that his athletic prowess gave him much recognition, and it was at one of the games that he had first seen Lucile. The attraction happened the moment their eyes met. After that, Lucile attended every game in which he participated, and eventually he had the courage as well as the opportunity to speak with her. It was not easy since she was always in the company of guardians for young maidens with rank of nobility. They both sought an opportunity to meet, and it eventually happened.

It was now early in the 16^th century, and laws regarding ownership and inheritance in many regions and cities were becoming explosive. Many cities all over Germany were experiencing civil unrest. Peasants had taken up arms and things were different. Yes, the peasants were poorly armed and inexperienced, but they posed a serious challenge. They assembled in Hordes and forced local knights to lead them. Initially they were able to inflict damage by burning down a few castles, but they were no match for disciplined armies of noble cavalier. The peasants’ war came to an end. It was 1525; the Hordes were dispersed, and the ringleaders publicly executed.

Times were difficult. The love between Lucile and Ivan had many obstacles, yet Lucile devised a plan to be with her beloved Ivan.

 Their forbidden love would ultimately take 20^th century characters on a Journey into the Past. 

CHAPTER ONE                                     

THE GOOD WITH THE BAD

“What do you mean? How did the caterer lose the order?” Heather Wilson asked while twisting a strand of curly red hair around her finger. She stood staring out at the San Francisco skyline. “Yes, I’ll wait while you check. This is only the biggest groundbreaking ceremony in this firm’s history. We have to serve food!” 

She paced the floor. She had long since kicked off her two-inch navy-blue pumps,  worn to make a point when she needed to be taller than most of the men in the firm. Her pinstriped business suit, like her long curly red hair, seemed to have a mind of its own. One sleeve up, the other down; shirt tucked in on one side and not the other. The tailored skirt appeared to be two sizes too big and hung low on her hips. Half of her hair was tied back and the rest hung free. She was a wreck, and she knew it; she hadn’t gone home last night or the night before. She’d stayed up working all night, and she hadn’t slept but a few hours for three days. She whispered to herself, “Just one more day. One more day.”

The voice came over the phone, “We found the order. That temporary receptionist put it under her name, not Kranshaw, Martin, and Wilson. The food will be delivered at eleven a.m. tomorrow, and served at noon, after the ground-breaking ceremony.” 

Heather collapsed into the leather chair and said, “Thanks so much, Karen. You are the greatest.”

Heather placed the cordless phone in the recharge socket. She turned her chair and sat staring at the San Francisco skyline. It was this view, the buildings that created this silhouette against an orange red sunset, this skyline that had beckoned her to be an architect, and this same chair where her dad had sat.  She was supposed to be creating great works of art and function, not chasing down catering orders. But as her dad had said, “It all comes with the territory. You’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

The good would be watching the mayor cut the ribbon to her designed vision created out of stone, glass, and steel. The bad was chasing down catering orders. The good was watching her vision grow day by day; the bad was working endless late nights on last minute changes. The good was heading up a team of talented engineers and scientists feeding off each others’ ideas; the bad was walking in on her husband of eighteen years feeding off the ample breast of another woman.  Yeah, that was the really bad part of this project. He claimed she spent too much time away from home. She knew she just happened to show up at home at the wrong time.

She turned, facing her desk, and saw the round trip tickets to Tahiti on the corner. The senior partners had said, “Heather, if you bring this one in on time and on budget, there’s three months off with pay, anywhere in the world.”  Tahiti had been her husband Tom’s choice. She tossed the tickets off the desk.

She closed her eyes, imagining what the next three months held, and she saw nothing. No white sand, no walking hand-in-hand, nothing. Everyone knew the partners had a couple of new projects lined up when she got back; all she had to do was choose one. She pushed the first button on the phone and said, “Karen, is everything set for tomorrow?”

“Yes, ma’am, everything. You need to go home, get some sleep, and look fabulous tomorrow. “

“Karen, as always, you are right.”

Heather tossed her jacket over her shoulder, picked up her pumps in one hand, draped her purse over the other shoulder and headed out the door, turning the lights off as she exited.

Karen was holding a suit in a new bag as she walked out her office door, and said, “A new suit. I had the tailor start with a size smaller and then do all your regular adjustments. It’s for tomorrow’s ribbon cutting.”

Heather took the suit and said, “If anyone ever offers you another job, consider your salary doubled.”  Karen always tried to please, and her smile expressed her pleasure.

Heather walked down the hall, looking over the cubicles of the young architects and engineers. She turned the corner and saw a poster of a twelfth-century castle, with a tall distinguished looking man standing on the drawbridge staring straight at her with piercing deep blue eyes. He had something in his hand. She had a hard time figuring out what it was. She stopped and stared at the poster.

“Mrs. Wilson, may I help you?” A young voice asked.

Heather looked down at the young man, but didn’t reply.

He repeated himself and said, “Mrs. Wilson, is there something wrong?”

She said, “Jordon, Jordon Phillips, right?”

“Yes, ma’am, I… I… I am impressed you remembered me from the interview. Today is my first day.”

“I’m a Berkeley graduate myself. We Bears tend to stick together around here. We have to keep those Cardinals on their toes.” She paused and then said, “Where did you get that poster?”

“It’s a photo I took while visiting my uncle in Germany. I had it blown up to poster size.”

“Is the castle from the Twelfth Century?”

“Yes, how did you…? Of course you would know that, yes, it is the Landeck Castle. Actually, my uncle tells me it is called Burg Landeck – burg meaning ‘castle’. The man in the picture is my uncle. He has lived over there for 20 years.”

“Where did you fly into when you visited him?”

“Frankfurt.” 

She stared at the poster and said, “Frankfurt. Are you going to the ribbon cutting ceremony, tomorrow?”

“I didn’t know I could.”

She smiled and said, “Yeah, everyone in the firm will be there.”

“Then I’ll be there, too.”

She looked at the poster again. There was something about that castle, about those eyes. Still in her stocking feet, she decided to take the stairs down to the parking garage rather than the elevator. She had spent too much time at her desk of late. She slipped on her shoes as she entered the parking garage and walked over to her BMW M3. Tom had wanted the M3 in the divorce. She wouldn’t budge, so instead he got the house and alimony payments.

She got into the M3 and closed her eyes. Suddenly she saw the castle from the poster. She opened her eyes again, started the M3, and drove to her new home. Once inside she stood and looked at her barren apartment. She simply did not have time to make it feel like a home. There was just the most basic of furniture, no paintings or art. She warmed up a frozen dinner and poured herself a glass of wine. Taking both to the coffee table by the couch, she put on some music, started to eat her meal,  drifted off to sleep, and the dream began. She was in a horse drawn carriage pulling up to the Landeck Castle. It was dark and the moon gave the castle walls an eerie glow. She was pulled from the carriage and hurried through the castle gate. The urgency with which she was rushed inside the castle walls under the cover of darkness made her feel like a thief in the night, like someone who didn’t belong. With the same sense of urgency, she was pushed up the stairs to a spacious and well-appointed room. Her things were placed neatly by a chest, and then the door shut and locked.

She felt alone and afraid. She gathered her belongings around her for comfort and curled up in the bed, fighting sleep, then waking, startled by those eyes staring at her…

Heather Wilson woke from her sleep with a start. Her heart was pumping and her breath was short. She quickly realized where she was: in her apartment, a bottle of wine on the coffee table. She stood and walked to the kitchen, placed the bottle of wine in the cellar unit, and said, “Enough of this.”

She dressed for bed in a loose fitting nightshirt and then drifted off to sleep. She had vivid dreams that made little sense: the castle, the eyes, and then a soft touch … and those eyes!  The feel of the touch woke her with a sensation of loving, care, and warmth.

Heather woke early. She had a big day ahead of her, but she couldn’t get the strange dreams out of her head.  She showered and dressed, choosing to pull her wild hair back in a tight bun for the presentation.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony went extremely well, just as she had planned. While the guests were enjoying the catered food, she saw the new architect, Jordon, and made her way though the crowd to him.

“So, Jordon, what did you think of the ceremony?”

Jordon was taking a sip of his drink and gulped hard. “It was good, Mrs. Wilson.”

“Jordon, would you mind if I spoke to you in private?”

“Not at all, Mrs. Wilson.”

“Exactly where is that castle in your picture?”

“It is in southern Germany near the border of France – about a two hour drive from the Frankfurt airport.”  He gave her further details of the roads and towns it was near.

After the ceremony, Heather called Karen and said, “You know my tickets to Tahiti?”

Karen said half kidding, “Please, oh, please, tell me you have decided to go and are taking me.”

“No, not quite, but I was wondering if you could turn them in for vouchers and book me on a plane to Frankfurt next week. I have decided to take that three months leave after all.”