Tuscany Trip

"This is such a beautiful place, Brian," Khaat said quietly, "You really should be here with the woman of your dreams."

"You're as close to that as I want, Khaat," he said, sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee.

She laughed," I am a very, very poor substitute for love, Brian Quinn."

"Leave it alone, Khaat," he sighed. "Quit trying to matchmake me with somebody. I'm happy just the way I am. If I had a girlfriend or a wife, I'd be petrified that I'd end up risking not coming home to them someday. But right now..."

"Right now, since its just me you're safe."

"Why does that sound so bad when you say it?" he laughed. "You know what I mean."

"I do," she laughed. "And I'm fine with it. I just want you happy, Brian. You deserve to have anything you want in life. And I do mean anything."

"I have just about everything I want right now just as it is."

"Brian--can I ask you something? And I"m serious now."

"Sure. You can ask me anything. You know that."

"Can we give serious thought about moving here? For good?"

"You mean leave England? Give up everything we have there and move?"

"Yeah."

"We can think about it, but let me as you this. What is it that you're missing in England. What does Italy have that England doesn't?"

"I don't know. I'm happier here. That's all."

"You're on vacation. You're supposed to be happier. I'll bring you any weekend you want. I promise."

"And the girls? Can we make rooms for the girls?"

"Of course. Can I ask a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Let me make their rooms. Let me surprise you with it."

"You really want to do that?"

'"I do. Really."

"Okay. Surprise me, then. Do whatever you like," she smiled. She was so proud of him. He was going to be the finest father in the world to her girls. Tonight, she was feeling very blessed.

"I'm not going to let her run from England that fast," Brian smiled. "She's just really trying to escape all the recent ugliness that she has had back home. And she is never going to run so far that she can run from herself. I think I can provide her this place as a good escape place, but if she moves here, it will stop being such a sanctuary for her. It will just be home. The regular life problems will still come up. I'm sure she would still run Sparks, but I really am just not going to let her run like that. I want her to go back to facing life headon," Brian said.

"I havent seen Nick for awhile now," Khaat said. "I suppose I'll try him, though, if he comes back. I do believe in giving students a chance. After all, wewanted people to give us a chance when we were that age."

She yawned. She was a bit surprised that she was getting sleepy so early, but she was feeling tired.

"Why don't you turn in early?" Brian asked. "You're on vacation. Part of the joy of that is that you don't have to stay up til late because you're working til late. Maybe it means you're just relaxed and enjoying being a bit less stressed."

"You all wouldn't be upset with me if I went to bed early?" she asked.

"I wouldn't," Brian said. "Go ahead. It could be that your bath relaxed you too. Maybe it would be good for you to get some extra rest." He was glad at encouraging her at any chance for her to get caught up with her rest. She hadn't really slowed down to do the right thing since she'd been hurt and she needed to slow down for just a bit. If she was even halfway willing to get a good night sleep, he was going to take full advantage it and encourage her very gently. Pushing her to do it would bring rebellion, but gentle encouragement always seemed to work better with her."

"Thanks," Khaat said.

"You want me to stay with you tonight?" Brian asked.

"No," she smiled, "You hover enough. Get some sleep tonight. Goodnight, All." She excused herself and went to bed. Brian just watched her go upstairs. She did seem to be more relaxed. She wasn't necessarily tired. She was just relaxed, and it had made her sleepy.

"I'll check on her throughout the night," Brian said. "I don't mind taking night duty. I guess I"ve been around her enough that I know what to look for if I see her having a nightmare. I'd like her to stop having those, if I can hedge those off for her. By the way, I took some things from her closet and drawers earlier. I can pack for her after she's asleep. We might be able to leave in the morning. So, should we have breakfast here, or should we start the day with breakfast in Venice? What would you like to do?"

"Okay, so breakfast in Venice it is," Brian said. "I have the perfect spot. I'll take care of it before I take us all there. I want it 5 star all the way. This should be a lot of fun. I've ordered a lot of roses for the girls, and big welcome baskets in both suites. I think I've covered just about everything. Is there something you want to do? I thought the girls would enjoy going to Murano while we were in Venice and seeing some of the finest glass creations anywhere in the world. I think they would really enjoy that. Some of their work is fabulous, and some of the smaller pieces are actually affordable. Is there something you want to see? "