Chapter 32

After dinner, Paul and Andi and the twins drove into Williamsville and, as they drove, the discussion was about Veronica. “She looks like a model,” said Andi.

“She was until she got her MBA, then she dropped modeling to set the business world on fire.”

“Wow,” said Andi, feeling inferior. That woman was tall, slim, and breath-taking with her beauty. Andi felt like a “schlub.” “How come you’re not dating her?”

“To be honest, it never crossed my mind, we’re buddies. We meet at Worzils, I help her start her snow blower, she helps me pick flowers for my window boxes.”

“You’re afraid of her.”

“No, we’re friends, and the moment I realized I was falling in love with you I was incredibly thankful that I didn’t fall for her first, not even a little bit.”

“Good answer.” Andi crossed her arms under her breasts, hoping to look angry, but if anything she felt horribly inferior to the tall, radiant blond.

They pulled into Williamsville and eased down Main Street to stop at a fine jeweler on old Main Street about two miles from Tiorunda. Mr. Wetzel was a jeweler of some repute and Paul had called him earlier in the day and asked him to prepare some wedding/engagement ring sets they may look at.

They entered the shop, and the twins were drawn to the glittering jewelry in the glass cabinets. A gray-haired, mustachioed gentleman greeted them. “Mister Wetzel, I’m Paul Jarecki, and this is my fiancée Doctor Andi Roberts and we’re hoping that you can dazzle us.”

A sweet, old-world craftsman, Mr. Wetzel placed a black velvet covered panel on the glass countertop, “I think I might have something you will like,” and he adjusted a pair of small spotlights, then removed the velvet cover showing several sets of rings glistening in the light for Andi’s approval. Andi immediately noticed that there were two cherry Lifesavers laid out for her approval as well. She slugged Paul in the ribs and only looked a little worried when she did that, but when he smiled, she started laughing. “You jerk! You put this sweet old man up to this.”

“That he did Doctor Roberts, that he did,” said Mr. Wetzel with a sweet smile.

Andi was torn between several pairs until Mr. Wetzel showed her a set that was a mother’s ring/wedding ring/engagement ring combo he would weld together. Then she saw a mockup of the Mother’s ring - blue topaz for the girls, Pearl for herself, and a red opal for Paul. “Red, White, and Blue – we were meant to be.”

“And as Dr. Paul asked, there’s room to expand.”

“My soon to be husband is a 20-year USAF veteran, I’m an Army brat, these colors are perfect for us.” It turned out that Mr. Wetzel was a mechanic in the postwar German Luftwaffe and had worked on German owned British made Hawker Seahawk fighter bombers until he went back home to Koln and joined the family jewelry business.

Finally, Andi chose the set she loved the most and Mr. Wetzel took the engagement ring from the set, eyed it carefully and said “Fine, now you go, walk Main Street, look at the Christmas lights, have a Danish and coffee at the diner on the bridge, come back in one hour.” He held up a long, slim finger. “One!”

They took his advice and walked up Main Street and found the diner he mentioned. It was next to the bridge over a wide body of water and was a reproduction of a 1930s lunch counter that was built out of a New York Central Railroad dining car. They sat at the lunch counter, the twin’s chins on level with the countertop. “Two coffee, two chocolate milk, and three grilled Danish,” said Paul. “We’ll take a spiced apple cider also.”

“Coming right up!” said the cook, who could have been the short-order cook in any black and white movie.

Andi had never had a grilled Danish and enjoyed every sinful, eye-rolling bite. Hot, sweet, buttery, with the bottom grilled crispy brown. It was heaven. The coffee was hot and delicious, and the twins loved the spiced hot apple cider, something they never had before.

Afterwards they walked along Main Street, a light snow drifted downwards, the Christmas lighting in the village was beautiful. Every lamp post was wrapped in holly garland, and a wreath encircled the faux-antique gas lamp. “It’s so pretty!” exclaimed Andi, “but they didn’t get much snow here. We got almost 6 feet in Springville.”

“That’s why the area we’re in is called the Snow Belt,” smiled Paul. “Further south from us are a few ski resorts.” They walked in the gentle snow and Paul said, “check out that building, that’s the oldest building in the village, it started back in the seventeen hundreds as a stagecoach stop back when this area was considered the wild west.” Through the windows, they could see diners enjoying a late dinner in authentic colonial décor, and an enormous fireplace with a cheery fire.

They stepped inside to glance around and were standing at what appeared to be a hotel register desk from 1770. The colonial ambiance was intoxicating, and the simple holiday decorations made this a festive, historic joy. “This looks like a hotel,” said Andi.

“We are,” said the clerk at the desk. “We have ten rooms upstairs.”

“Can I make a reservation for dinner for tomorrow evening?” asked Paul.

The clerk looked through a book. “I can get in a party of four at...” his brow knit. Their dining room wasn’t large, and they were very popular.

“Just two, would that be possible?”

“Yes, two for six thirty?”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

They stepped back out into the gentle snow, and Andi clung to his arm. “We haven’t been out yet, just the two of us,” said Paul. “I want something special for us and the Eagle House is supposed to be incredible...”

Andi whispered, “Thank you.” The twins will be angry, but they have Aunt Lucy to play with, she reassured herself.

Just past the Eagle House, at the bottom of a hill, was a huge water mill painted red with white trim and festooned in white Christmas lights. As they crossed over a rushing stream on a bridge decked out in Christmas lights, Andi asked, “What river is this? Is it the Niagara?”

Paul chuckled, “No, we’ll go up to Niagara Falls later so you can see a real river. This is Ellicott Creek. Creeks here in the east are pretty big. The Mississippi starts out about this size up in Minnesota.”