CHAPTER SIXTY - TWO
Elena could hardly contain herself in the morning, smiling and teasing Urs every chance she got, finally taking the new Jeep and going to town late in the morning and warning him that he must be out of the house, preferably on the beach when she got back or no surprise. He crushed her against him before she got in the Jeep and kissed her so long and with such passion that she was breathless, had to park on the side of the street for a few minutes to catch her breath and went on in to town laughing with glee that she might actually pull this surprise off.

Urs worked out for a while, went for a swim but was bored since everyone else had gone to the beach so, as much as he wanted to wait and catch a peek at the surprise, he wandered down to join the others.

He flopped down on the sand beside Seb and asked how he was feeling today.

“Fine and don’t even think about carrying me up the stairs again. I am better and I think you will have a serious fight on your hands, my friend.”

Urs laughed at his fierce scowl, thinking it might be worth it to try, just to wind the French man up.

“I promise to let you creep up the stairs unaided, Frenchie if you tell me what Elena is up to.”

Seb laughed at him.

“Merde…. I see through your tricks. I would not tell you if I did know and I do not. She has been very quiet about it. I think she does not trust us to keep her secret.”

“It has something to do with that locked room,” David said as he joined them, spraying them with water as he shook himself like a dog.

“Do the girls know?” Urs asked sitting up and looking speculatively at Gerry, Maddie and Jan as they came back from a shell hunt along the shoreline.

“Non,” Seb answered. “I tickled her last night until she had to run for the loo but she still said she did not know.”

“Damn!!” he said and the others smirked, knowing how he hated to leave riddles unsolved.

“I already tried Cena but she became a stone and of course Neto just smiled.” He threw his handful of sand toward the water and got cursed by Seb and David when the wind blew it back.

He had been on the beach an hour and a half and was chatting with Sam and Rose, talking about Switzerland, missing his parents even more as he described his life there as a child and the Academie where he had first taken his training when Seb softly spoke to him.

“Urs, I think your surprise has arrived,” Seb said and motioned up the hill.

Urs turned to look up to the top of the stairs, lost his breath for a moment, then scrambled to his feet, staring.

At the top of the stairs Elena stood, dressed in one of her light cotton dresses, the light breeze stirring the skirt and her hair, a huge smile on her lovely face….. and beside her stood a very tall, well built man with a thick head of grey hair, his arm around a tiny woman with her long grey hair a mass of curls that moved in the wind….. his parents, here, in Mexico, waving at him and smiling.

He was speechless and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time, remembering to breathe halfway up but not stopping until he had reached the top and swept all three into his arms.

Elena and Anya were sandwiched between the two tall men, everyone laughing, the women crying happy tears, the men fighting theirs back and finally they broke apart and were able to talk.

“Papa…I thought you were ill. Are you better? I’m so happy you are here.”

“This little one convinced the doctor that I would find a private jet very comfortable and no stress. I am fine, Urs. The flight was very smooth.”

“I don’t understand.”

His mother put her arm around Elena’s waist and laughed.

“After I talked to you, Elena called. She offered to send a chartered jet for us, so I spoke to the doctor and so did Elena and he said it would be fine so long as we didn’t have to go through all the changing of planes on such a long flight. Peter actually slept all the way from Lucerne to Dallas…. There was a lovely bedroom on the plane and a very nice meal served by the flight attendant when he woke up. We will stay for a few weeks to enjoy the sun before we go back.”

He looked at Elena and his eyes welled with tears that this time he could not control.

“You did this for me?” He took her in his arms and kissed her cheeks. “Danke, Liebeling. Danke.” His arms went around her and he buried his face in her hair, hugging her until she couldn’t breathe.

“So, SRG, it was a good surprise, Ja?” She said with a laugh when he released her.

“And the locked room?”

“Cena’s sister, Peta and her sons, turned the library into a bedroom suite so Peter doesn’t have to do all those stairs. We thought you might get suspicious if you knew.”

He laughed and they all went in to the patio to sit at the table and visit.

Before Urs sat down he offered to get the luggage from the jeep but Elena shook her head and grinned.

“Sometimes it’s handy having so many relatives… Roberto and Marielle, two more cousins, will be staying with Cena and Neto for the next few weeks to help with the extra work. University is out now and they offered to help out so everything is already inside. Relax, Urs. You’re in good hands.”

Peter laughed at her and she noticed how like Urs he sounded, though he was taller and bigger built. She did notice that he held Anya’s hand as they sat around the table and it made her smile.

Anya noticed the engagement ring and admired it, enquired about their room and she and Elena excused themselves while they went off to use the facilities and Anya changed to a lighter frock to cope with the hot climate.

Elena opened the doors and windows to the outside to let the air circulate while Anya was occupied and when she came back out, Urs mother commented on the lovely room.

The original furnishings had been moved or replaced and now the rooms looked like they had always been a suite. As with most of the rooms in the house there was a tiled fireplace with large soft chairs flanking it, reading lamps, stools and small tables for drinks or books, a soft rug in between the chairs and a tall carved wood wardrobe and dresser on one long wall between the two windows.
The four posted bed had been placed on the opposite wall with the usual filmy white curtains forming a head board and bookcases on either side. There was a padded bench covered in green brocade at the foot of the bed, complementing the puffy green duvet and pale green satin linens, vases of white blooms on several tables and the mantle and the all white bath was supplied with green towels, mats and pale green tiles on the shower walls. Over-head a fan stirred the air lazily and the scent of orchids wafted in from the atrium.

Anya came over to Elena and took her hands.

“I feel we are going to be great friends, Elena. You have made my son happier than I have ever seen him. For this alone I could love you but I see why he loves you so dearly. You have a good heart and a kind soul, this I believe. May you always be as happy as you are at this moment.” She kissed Elena on both cheeks and they went back out to join their men.

Neto and Cena had joined the men on the patio and before long the two older couples were entertaining the others with tales of Elena and Urs when they were children.

“Remember, Anya, when Urs broke his ankle skiing when he was 10. We told him he couldn’t ski until it was better and the next day he was out on the hill on the toboggan. When I dragged him inside he was so angry, kept saying but ‘Papa I wasn’t skiing!’

“He got into so much trouble as a boy. My hair was almost all grey before I had 30 years from all the worry,” Anya said with a laugh while Urs hung his head with a foxy grin.

“Elena was just the same. She wore big thick glasses when she was little and one time when she was out at the Ranchero she got away from us and tried to ride one of Chuy’s horses. It stopped short at a fence she wanted it to jump and she flew through the air like a bird with her arms out to the sides and her glasses went over the fence but she didn’t. She broke a rib when she landed on the top rail then crawled over, got her glasses and was trying to get back on the horse when I reached her, angry as a nest of bees.”

There was a flurry of noise as the others arrived from the beach and introductions were made all around. Neto took Sam and Peter for a tour of the grounds while the others went to change and Cena took Hazel, Anya and Rose to see the two kitchens. Urs and Elena walked to the railing of the patio and looked out over the sun drenched vista of the bay, a view that was ever changing, never boring. He held her leaning back against him with his face against her neck and spoke softly.

“Thank you for my surprise, my darling. Every time I think I could not possibly be any happier you find something to make my life more blessed. I am so looking forward to our lives together.”

“Do you suppose they will ever let us live down the terrible things we did as children?” she asked with a laugh.

“No. I think they are waiting for our children to do the same to us.”

She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I can hardly wait,” she said and grinned as he laughed.

“Me too,” he admitted and gave her a kiss that spoke of how eager he was to begin that life.

**