Til You Come Back to Me Again - A Love Story

Preparing Angelo

Preparing Angelo

We spent part of the next morning walking around the grounds, looking at the beautiful gardens and landscaping.

After lunch, we took a leisurely bike ride to see some of the sites around the island. I was experiencing some pain, but I managed it with Tylenol and ibuprofen.

We stopped to see Fort Mackinac, then we went to the butterfly conservatory. It was an all glass conservatory with lush plants surrounded by hundreds of butterflies in special greenhouses. Soft music played in the background.

"This is so awesome!" I said, lacing my fingers through Angelo's as we sat and watched all the different colors and breeds of butterflies.

"It is pretty amazing."

I sighed, taking in the glass sections surrounding us as various thoughts filled my mind. "You know, I read a book about a woman who had a near-death experience, and she said that in heaven the colors are even more vivid and beautiful than they are here. I'll bet the butterflies there are brilliant looking."

"I am sure you are right, amore," was all he said, but he didn't need to say anything else for me to know what was in his heart.

I turned and smiled lovingly, caressing his face, wishing I could smooth away the subtle sadness in his handsome features. He kissed my hand, holding it against his heart, and we took another moment to look before getting up to leave.

* * *

That evening after we had dinner, we went back up to our room and watched Somewhere in Time. I told Angelo before we came that since we were there, it was only fitting. This time he had a video cable, so we hooked his laptop up to the television and watched it.

This time, however, it was a little harder to watch. When Richard and Elise became separated by time and Richard ended up dying from a broken heart because he couldn't get back to her, the tears came in a rush, and though Angelo said nothing, I felt emotion rolling through him, could feel the pounding of his heart against my palm, hear it in my ear as I lay my head against his chest. His embrace tightened and his lips grazed my brow.

After a moment, I sat up and smiled. "Tomorrow we'll go and see the gazebo and stables, okay?"

Caressing my cheek, he smiled back and said, "Okay."