Parts 13 & 14

"How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face..."
-W.B. Yeats

*Part 13

"We have three options to decide on," Melissa offered Hayden during their lengthy walk toward the park entrance.  "We can do all day in Disneyland, or all day in the California Adventure, or we can try and hit the highlights of both."

"You tell me, you're the guide today remember?"

"Ok, but I tend to be partial to traditional Disney."

"And I'm partial to your smile, so lets go wherever it's the brightest."

Melissa was thankful they arrived at the entrance area before she had to come up with a response; surely he had to know what he was doing to her.  As they passed through the turnstiles, Melissa stopped to stare at the oversized Mickey Mouse designed from blooming flowers.  Hayden followed, taking her hand, intertwining their fingers.

"The mouse awaits," she laughed before starting their journey through the park. 

"Main Street U.S.A.," Melissa offered, "is all about shopping.  However, it does lead directly to the heart of Disneyland...  Sleeping Beauty Castle."

As they stood at its base, the splendid castle loomed before them.  Graceful swans floated around its watery moat, the shrubbery was trimmed into timeless characters and the sunlight seemed to shine extra bright on the stained glass windows.

"Would you like a picture?" came a voice from behind them. 

"Sure!  I'm a sucker for souvenir photos," Melissa laughed.

Hayden stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, playfully resting his head on her shoulder.  The photographer snapped the pictures and handed Melissa a claim ticket, telling them it would be ready later that afternoon.
 
Walking through the arches of the famous castle, Melissa led Hayden onto the rides of Fantasyland.  While typically designed for the younger set, some of the more famous Disney rides call Fantasyland home.  No visit would be complete without a spin on the Mad Hatters Tea Cups, a tour through Alice's Wonderland, or even a flight to Neverland with a little help from Peter Pan. 

"Wow!  What is that?" Hayden asked, glaring at an enormous ornate pale pink building as they made their way out of Fantasyland.

"Looks like our next destination, if you can handle the tune," she snickered.  "That's 'It's A Small World'"

This was Hayden's kind of ride.  It was slow, quiet, dimly lit, and allowed him to nestle Melissa in under his arm as they rode.  He didn't even mind the repetitive verse of the song playing, choosing instead to focus on Melissa.

"How do you do it?" he asked, pushing a stray wisp of hair back behind her ear.

"Do what?"

"Get more beautiful every time I look at you."  There was no smile on his face now, his voice pure with sincerity.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

"Hold her...I like that," he smiled in return, doing just that until the ride was over.

Not long after their adventures through Fantasyland, they found themselves heading toward Tomorrowland, making a stop first at the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

"Do you like it rough?" Melissa questioned innocently, only realizing how it sounded when Hayden flashed her a devilish grin.  "The ride silly.  The left track is a rougher, faster ride than the right one."

"Let's go left then." 

Hayden was adding this ride to the mental list he was keeping of ones they needed to ride again.  Each bobsled sat two people.  Being taller, Hayden took the back position, followed by Melissa who sat between his legs and leaned back relaxing against his chest.  Breathing in the now familiar sweet smell of jasmine that seemed to follow her, lost in the feeling of her head resting on him and how soft her hands felt as they held his, Hayden could clearly think of only one thing - roller coaster rides were much to short.

"Tomorrowland is next," she said as they left the Matterhorn behind, "and it's home to one of my favorite rides, but I don't know if it will be that big a thrill for you."

Hayden looked up at the sign and couldn't help but laugh.  "Star Tours?"

"What can I say?  I love Star Wars, and when there were no new episodes, this was all I had to sustain me...but we don't have to ride if you don't want to - I'll understand."

"There isn't anything to understand, let's go.  I'll be fun."

They walked through the sliding glass doors and up the line path around a mock up of one of the Endor shuttlecraft used in the ride, carefully attended to by a robotic C3PO and R2D2.  Hayden stopped to look at them, his eyes locked in thought.

"Are you ok?" Melissa asked, concern tingeing her voice.

"I'm fine," he answered, putting his arm around her waist.  "I was just thinking that in a couple more months, I'd be back at that again.  Do you think it will ever stop feeling so surreal?"

"Probably not...but that's a good thing.  When things become ordinary, we tend to start taking them for granted."

There was honesty in her tone that Hayden couldn't overlook.  While he had heard nearly the same thing from other people in his life, for some reason, when it came from Melissa he believed it.

"Come on!" she said, jolting him from his thoughts.  "Our shuttle awaits."

Hayden did enjoy the ride.  It was a full motion simulator with a Star Wars theme, including a 'jump to light speed' that was the highlight of the journey.  As they left the ride and walked down the exit ramps, he leaned close to her and whispered, "I think George needs one of those at the ranch."

They were both having the time of their lives.  There were no facades to keep up for television cameras, no constricting formal attire, only two people enjoying the sun and each other's company.  Waiting in line provided them time to talk, Melissa holding up her end of the bargain and filling Hayden in with useless Disney trivia.  She would point out where imaginers had put 'hidden Mickey's' into the scenery or as part the rides and tell him stories of her past visits to the park.

As they stood in line for the Indiana Jones Adventure, Hayden decided it was time to live up to his part of the deal.  The queue line décor was straight out of an Indy movie - dark and slightly eerie, created to resemble an archeological dig into a hidden temple.  When they arrived at the end of the line, Hayden leaned against the wall and pulled Melissa into him.

"You've been great about keeping up your end of the bargain today - you truly are the queen of useless Disney trivia," he laughed. 

"I told you," she said poking his cap up so she could see his eyes in the dark cavern.

Following her lead, Hayden reached up and removed her cap completely, running his fingers through the ends of her hair as it fell against her shoulders.

"Now it's my turn," he whispered as he held her head gently with both hands, leaning down to kiss her.  He broke the kiss just long enough to add, "uncomfortable yet?" before returning to her.  It had taken him up to that point to muster up the nerve to kiss her again, not wanting to jinx the way the day was going, but now that he felt her lips against his, he hated that he waited so long.

"Nope," she answered trying to catch her breath, "still not the least bit uncomfortable, but you might want to check again later, just to make sure."

Smiling in agreement, they continued through the line, arms firmly wrapped around each other's waist.  This would prove to be a common scene played out again in that line and in the lines of the rides that followed.  He had missed out on those kisses that morning, but he wasn't going to make the same mistake that afternoon.

They made their way through the rides of Adventureland and New Orleans Square, eventually ending up in line at the stately southern plantation style house that was The Haunted Mansion.  Hayden leaned against the brick wall that lined part of the queue line and Melissa leaned back against his chest while they both read the mock tombstone inscriptions engraved on the opposing wall, trying to block out the banter of a set of arguing siblings behind them.

The "is too/is not" argument seemed to frazzle the last remaining nerve of the sibling's mother.  Melissa and Hayden couldn't help but overhear her loose what appeared to be her final marble when she very sternly told them to either work it out and stop arguing or she was taking them home.   It was then that Hayden felt a tap on his back, followed by a rather quietly spoken, "Excuse me?"
 
Turning around he saw a brother and a sister, he guessed around ages 10 and 13 respectively.  The girl's arms were crossed in a defiant stance while the boy wore an expression of continual frustration.

"I'm sorry, but can you help settle an argument?" the boy asked modestly.

"I can try," Hayden answered.  "What's the argument about?"

"Well, I think you look like the guy from Star Wars, but my stupid sister here doesn't think so and won't shut up.  She says the guy from Star Wars is creepy and you're cute."

This elicited an exasperated groan from the sister who responded quickly, trying to save face.  "I didn't say he was cute, I said he wasn't creepy."

The brother obviously enjoyed embarrassing his older sister because he leaned in a bit before quickly adding, "She thinks you're cute," with a wily grin.

"Well," Hayden said with some thought, "I have to agree with your sister, Anakin is pretty creepy..."

"Ah Hah!  See!  I told you," cackled the sister.

"But," he interrupted her, "ultimately, your brother is right, I do look like him."

"Are you his brother or something?" the boy asked.

"Not exactly.  I'm him."

For the young boy, this was just too much.  An excited "Wow! Cool!" was quickly followed by a hasty request for an autograph, which Hayden provided without hesitation, even shaking the hands of the now speechless sister and her mother. 

"It was nice to meet you," he added just before taking Melissa's hand and getting onto the ride.

"Have I told you that I think you're incredible?" she said as they sat down.

"Because I can sign my name?" he laughed, putting his arm around her.

"No, because you made them all feel special, you could see it on their faces."

"How about you?  Do I make you feel special?"

"Special would be a modest description," she grinned.

"Good.  Mission accomplished."

Snuggled close in the dark confines of their 'doom buggy', they toured the haunts of the mansion before being blinded by the California sun waiting for them at the exit.

"Hey, that looks like fun!" Hayden offered pointing to a mountainous waterfall.

"Splash Mountain, here we come," she grinned.  "Hope you don't mind getting wet!"

With seating similar to that of the bobsleds, the ride started off well for Hayden.  The trip up the mountain was fun, lots of animatronics characters singing and, of course, Melissa's knack for pointing out useless trivia.  She had warned him again before getting on that it was a water ride, but Hayden figured they couldn't get that wet, so on they went.  One 5-story drop later, they were both soaked, but laughing nearly uncontrollably.  Promising a place to get warm, Melissa lead the way to a raft landing where they took a launch across a river to an island in Frontierland.

Tom Sawyers Island is a dirt and rock filled playground on one end, complete with teetering rocks and caves to explore.  Thick trees filled the other end of the island where you could walk around a fort or navigate a wobbly suspension bridge.  It was on that end of the island where Melissa took Hayden, climbing the stairs up into a fairly hidden tree house.  Standing on the deck to the house, they watched as the sun set over the trees of Frontierland, it's last heat drying the drenched twosome.

Melissa stood at the railing, running her fingers through her hair like a comb, oblivious to Hayden's mesmerized stare.  With his heart racing he stepped over to her and, pushing the hair away from her neck, began kissing a trail from her shoulder, up her neck, finally nibbling gently on her ear.

"No matter where we are, you are always the most beautiful thing I see..." he breathed before turning her around slowly but kissing her with a passion he had never known.

Melissa was helpless in his arms, caught up in feel of his lips on hers and his arms holding her.  No one had ever kissed her like that before, and never had she felt the sparks that people so often talked about until now.

"Hayden?" she asked breathlessly breaking the kiss and looking deep into his eyes.  "Can we stop at lost and found on our way out?  I need to look for my heart..."

"You didn't loose it beautiful," he smiled, moving his hand from her neck, over to his chest.  "I have it right here, next to mine."

"Will you keep it safe?" she whispered, placing her hand over his.

"For as long as you'll let me."

Melissa laced her fingers through his, leaned forward and kissed his hand, convinced she had never been happier at any point in her life.  "Even if that's a pretty long while?"

"That's what I'm hoping for," he smiled back at her.

Locked in a kiss filled with hope for the future, the couple barely heard the last call for the rafts back across the river.

"Next time, remind me to bring you here before sunset," she smiled.  "They close the island at dusk."

"That's a deal."

Taking her hand and walking ever so slowly back to the rafts, he knew he had opened a door that couldn't be closed.  He'd opened the door to his heart.

*Part 14

Hayden and Melissa decided that Disneyland by moonlight was the most fun they had had together.  Here they were free to be themselves without the inevitable bank of press corps facing them and, as Melissa loved to point out, wearing comfortable shoes.  Going back around the park and riding all their favorite rides again, they tried to milk the last bit of fun out of the park before it closed.  Eventually finding themselves back on Main Street and ready to leave, they were both suddenly feeling a bit down.

"Oh, I almost forgot!  Our picture!" Melissa perked up.  "Will you wait here for me?  The camera shop is really tiny and gets miserably crowded."

Giving her a quick kiss, Hayden obliged.  "I'm not going anywhere," and he watched her walk away.  As soon as she was safely in the building, he headed the other direction with a playful grin on his face.

Returning a few moments later, Melissa presented him with a bag, obviously excited about it's contents.  "Here," she smiled.  "My present to you, something you can keep to remind you of today."

For Hayden, that simple bag contained the greatest gift...a picture of the two of them in front of the castle that morning.  She had had it framed in dark mahogany with Mickey Mouse silhouettes in the corners, but all Hayden saw were the smiles on their faces and his arms holding her.  "I'm taking this wherever I go.  Thank you, " he said hugging her.

"Me too," she smiled, producing an exact duplicate for her.  "Every time I think back on this and wonder if it was a dream...I'll just look at this and I'll know."

"I got you a little something that you can keep with that."  He would always remember how her eyes lit up when he reached behind his back and presented her with a red fiber optic rose. 

Disneyland was full of kiosks selling what could best be described as tacky souvenirs, but to Melissa, it was the romantic notions behind the small gift, not the gift itself.  "A rose that will truly last forever," she said with a kiss.  "Thank you."

"You know, it occurs to me that we haven't really eaten anything all day."

"Not exactly true," she laughed.  "I had you eating churros this afternoon."

"When George told me to bulk up, I don't think that eating deep fried dough doused with sugar was what he had in mind.  Lets go eat something that has a place in the food pyramid."

He was right, there was nothing nutritious about a churro even if they were Melissa's favorite, and real food did sound very appealing.  Saying their last goodbyes to Main Street, they left Disneyland and headed toward 'Downtown Disney', a strip added outside of Disneyland where you could find everything from restaurants to movie theaters.  Walking some yards in front of them was a blind woman assisted by her service dog, a black Labrador retriever that Melissa couldn't take her eyes off of.

"You missing Kona?" Hayden asked squeezing her hand, startling Melissa.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you keep watching that dog, I just thought maybe..."

"Watch his left front foot, I swear, I think he's limping."

Hayden watched and watched but couldn't tell and Melissa thought maybe she was just imagining things.

"Have you ever eaten at the Rainforest Café?" he asked just outside the jungle themed restaurant.

"Nope, but it looks like fun!  Please don't think I'm crazy, but while you're putting our names on the wait list, I want to go make sure that dog is ok."

"I'll come over when I'm done," he said kissing her forehead before he left. 

The blind woman and been joined by an older woman and both had settled into a small outdoor table, each enjoying a bowl of ice cream.  The dog was doing as he had been trained to, lying quietly under the table, but Melissa noticed him licking at the same foot she thought he had been limping on.  Walking over to the table she introduced herself.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt.  My name is Melissa Hamilton," she said, placing her hand on that of the blind woman.  "I was walking behind you on the way over and noticed your dog was limping.  I work for a vet and was wondering if it would be ok if I checked to make sure he was ok."

"By all means," she replied.  "His name is Keeper.  I'm Suzanne and this is my friend Mindy."

"Nice to meet you," she said sitting down on the cold cement and gently rubbing Keepers head.  She was able to get a good look at what faced her as Hayden came over.  He had seen her sit down and put the dog's head in her lap and was ready to help if she needed him to.

"Is the big guy here going to be ok?" he smiled.  "I'm Hayden, by the way," offering his hand to Mindy.

"Nice to meet you Hayden," they both replied.

"Perfect timing," Melissa interrupted, "can you ask the restaurant if they have a first aid kit?" Hayden nodded and went back to ask.  "Suzanne?  Keeper has a small piece of glass stuck in his paw.  I can get it out and bandage it up, but he'll need to see his vet as soon as you can to make sure I got it all, it's pretty dark out here."

Taking a small pocketknife out of her pocket, Melissa used the tip of the blade to work the small chunk out, putting her thumb on the wound to control the bleeding just as Hayden returned with the first aid kit.  He worked great as her assistant, handing her exactly what she needed and helping to calm Keeper. 

"All fixed up," Melissa told them as she wrote on a napkin.  "I'm leaving you my name and number in case your vet has any questions.  Don't hesitate to call, I always have my phone with me."

"Thank you again," she offered, "it was really very kind of you and your friend to help."

"Christensen, party of two...your table is ready," came the booming voice of the Rainforest microphone.

"Sounds like us.  Take care Keeper, it was nice to meet you all," they said as they headed to dinner.

Nothing more was said about Keeper the rest of the night, but when Hayden looked at Melissa he saw her differently than he had before.  What he had watched was a simple act of kindness, but yet he couldn't remember ever having been a witness to anything quite like it.  What intrigued him the most was that none of it seemed to faze her.  He wondered if she understood how uncommon her actions were in today's hurried society, how special she was - at least to him.

"When will I see you again?" she asked softly, almost afraid of the answer, as they walked around the shops after dinner.

"Is 'as soon as possible' a legitimate answer?"  He looked over at her hoping it would make her smile, but from the expression she wore, he knew that wouldn't help.  "I'm here for another week, then I'm back in Toronto for at least a month.  How about you?"

There was nothing glamorous or worldly about Melissa's schedule, it was pretty much training and work, but she did remember one trip she had coming up.  "I'll be in Chicago for a week next month," she offered.  "Search and Rescue seminars.  Kona and I are going."

"Chicago isn't too far from Toronto," he grinned, "by plane at least.  How about if I meet you there after your seminars are over?  We'll spend the weekend sightseeing or something."

That sounded great to Melissa who couldn't help but be a little shocked that he was going to fly somewhere to see her.  "I would love that," she whispered. 

Hayden held her a little closer the rest of the night, taking in everything he could about her.  The time from the Oscars to that morning had passed so slowly, yet it had only been hours.  Now he faced weeks without her, and he wasn't sure how much help a picture of them would be when he knew he would be longing for another kiss, for another hug, for another dance. 

Driving back to the hotel was a quiet trip, both lost in their thoughts.  Melissa replaying every moment they had been together, her body instantly covered in goose bumps at the memory of their passionate kiss in the tree house.

"Are you cold?" Hayden asked, feeling the soft bumps on her skin.

"No," she replied, glad it was dark so he couldn't see her blush.  "I'm ok."

Hayden knew she wasn't though; her demeanor had changed ever so slightly, an unintentional defense mechanism that he was sadly familiar with.  Going around the car to open the door for her and offering his hand as she stood up, he knew he couldn't leave her this way.  "What can I do?" he asked, gently running his fingers lightly over her cheek.  "You look so sad."

Melissa looked up at him, holding his hands in hers, her eyes pleading for the night not to end.  "Can you stop time?"

Struck with an idea he leaned into the car and turned on the radio, spinning radio stations until he found a slow song that was just starting.  "Dance with me.  No cameras, no nasty shoes, just you...and me...and the moonlight."

Melissa practically fell into his arms.  She wanted to be as close to him as she could, to never have to let go.  With her arms wrapped around his neck and her head nuzzled against his chest, she closed her eyes as she felt his arms wrap around her.

 "Last night I had a crazy dream
  A wish was granted just for me
  It could be for anything
  I didn't ask for money
  Or a mansion in Malibu
  I simply wished, for one more day with you"

What a perfect song, Hayden thought, because that was what he was wishing for.  Adjusting his arms to pull her closer, his hands caught the bottom of her shirt and his hands brushed across the small of her back.  Her skin felt like the smoothest silk and as they swayed to the music, he caressed her back and leaned his cheek against her hair.

 "One more day
  One more time
  One more sunset, maybe I'd be satisfied
  But then again
  I know what it would do
  Leave me wishing still, for one more day with you"*
 
Melissa listened to the beating of his heart, her own racing at the feel of his hands against her skin.  She had heard the chorus of the song and looked up to meet his wistful glance and with a deep kiss they knew everything they didn't need to say.  There would be no goodbyes and no sad thoughts, just the memories of the times they shared and of those still to come. 

*  "One More Day" by Diamond Rio