Out of the Past Cont'd

Granny here,

      Alex had vowed not to return to the villa again without Cesca and he kept his vow by returning to the barracks. As he undressed he noticed that he had lost his dog tag identification with the ring that Cesca had given him. He had no idea where he had lost it and with the pain his heart was already suffering he didn't have it in him to go looking for it, at that moment he was fighting for his life and it would take some doing to keep him from the depths of depression. Lt. Donavon was out of town on maneuvers so there was no chance of getting him to look for the chain if indeed he had lost it at the villa which he doubted. In his moment of deep despair Alex gave up the idea of ever retrieving his treasure and felt that since he had lost the real jewel he would not search for the material one.
     With his broken heart and his memories fresh Alex knew this time in his life would never come again and he had to face his future without her, he flung himself across the bed and fell into a deep sleep. It was over.

                                                    Chapter 10
                                                    Present Day

     As Daisy was lost in thoughts of the ring and its mystery the phone was ringing loudly, it was Tory. "Hey Doll, how about a date, haven't seen you in a week, how about a day at the beach, tomorrow?" "I'd love that, Tory, I'll fix a picnic basket, you get the wine and we'll make a day of it?"  Answered Daisy with excitement in her voice. "I'll pick you up around nine, will that be too early?" "No, that's great, see you then." As far as Daisy was concerned it was never too early to see tory and she was always ready to spend a day with him.
     Tory was there early, they had not seen each other in a week and their desire was at its peak. they met with a passionate kiss that left them wanting more, but they had made a vow that they would g slow and would try to keep it if possible. The vow to each other gave them reason to always keep themselves in public places and when in private to use self control, which they had been able to do thus far, but they both knew the more they saw each other, the harder it would be to restrain their emotions. they had been faithful to their vow up to this point in their relationship, although there had been moments of passionate love making that had brought them to the edge but never to the point of submission and they wanted to keep it that way. Their total submission was a gift they desired to give to their spouse on their wedding night whoever that person turned out to be.

     Daisy had the picnic basket filled to the brim with good food, all the things they loved, good breads, cheeses, fruits wine glasses and all the necessities. Her tote was filled with towels, bathing suits, lotions of all descriptions, sunglasses and anything else she thought she might need. They would also need a blanket, umbrella which she hoped Tory would remember to bring. daisy could hardly wait, this was one of her favorite things to do with tory other than spending the evening on her veranda in the moonlight and nothing could top that. Daisy was surrounded with contentment when she was with Tory, he brought her happiness like no one else and she loved him for it.
     The sun was already high in the sky and the beauty of the day had already brought out the beach lovers. The sand was hot beneath their feet and the beach was very crowded, it looked as if everyone had taken a holiday. Tory had remembered to bring the umbrella which he sat up in as private a spot as he could find which wasn't easy. Daisy spread out the blanket and sat down the picnic basket, took her tote and ran to the beach house to change into her bathing suit and Tory did the same.
     Tory chased Daisy into the water splashing as they went, she tried to get away from him but her efforts were futile, he had her right where he wanted her, although pretending to get away from him she was right where she wanted to be, in his arms. Their lips met, the water rushed over them as they sank embracing each other and still locked in their kiss, they came up for air laughing at each other as they caught their breath. This lover's game went on for quite sometime until they both were so exhausted they had to take time out on the blanket. Daisy set up the lunch while Tory continued to snooze, to alert him Daisy planted a big kiss on him and he pulled her down onto him, the weight of her made his desire come alive but Daisy brought it to an end by kicking sand on him, laughing as she stood up and presented the meal she had prepared. The beach was far more public for Daisy to show that kind of affection and Tory knew it but he couldn't help but try.
     After their lunch of cold chicken and all the other goodies Daisy had packed, their conversation turned to what lay ahead, but they tried to steer clear of any future commitments. They talked the afternoon away and the evening was turning into a thing of beauty as the sun began to set. Daisy and Tory had a day that most young people only dream of. It was getting late and time to call it a day, the drive home was quiet; the two of them were too exhausted to carry on a conversation. Tory dropped Daisy off just before midnight; their kiss at the door was long and wanting but tomorrow was going to be a tough day since they had stayed out so late, but they knew it had been worth it.

      It had been almost two months since Daisy had left the ring with the jeweler; she was going to go by after work and see if the report had come back. She couldn't wait any longer; she just had to know if they had any information to tell her, she thought that they had had plenty of time to hear something about the ring if they were ever going too. The traffic was terrible as Daisy tried to make her way to the jeweler, she arrived just as he was about to lock the door but he let her in. "I was just about to give you a call, Daisy, we received the report today." "What did you find out; I am so excited to hear the news." "Well, Daisy, you have quite a piece on your hands, the ring is set in platinum as I thought it was, the main stones are of the highest quality emeralds that can be found. I would estimate its value at somewhere between fifty and one hundred thousand dollars if not more." Daisy stood frozen, she was totally taken off guard, she was silent for a few moments, she couldn't say a word. Finally she caught her breath, "You've got to be kidding me? I can't believe it, I'm in the process of researching the stories I've heard to see if there is any truth to them. The story goes that this ring or one similar to it belonged to a countess back in the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen hundreds and it was  given to a soldier that rented the same villa that I now live in."
     Mr. Pizzario had a puzzled look on his face, "I have heard those stories too but never thought much about it being true." "That sounds like a story I would like to know more about, said Daisy, are there books about it or maybe information at the library?" "It's not something that is talked about very much out of respect for the royal family that was involved, so the complete details may be hard to uncover but I'm sure they're out there somewhere, you'll have to work to find out the whole story, good luck." He replied. "Thank you so much, Mr. Pizzario, you have been a great deal of help, send me the bill and thanks again."

     Daisy was on cloud nine, she would have to insure her find, and she really should have it put in a safe deposit box. Should she share this information? And with whom should she share it? All these thought were going around in Daisy's head as she drove home. She had already told Leslie about the ring but nothing of its value, but maybe she could remain a confidant, maybe she would help her investigate all the details concerning the ring or would she want to, maybe she wasn't interested. Daisy had to call her and tell her the exciting news, she had to share it with someone she just couldn't keep it to herself. She would call her mom too, she could tell her mom anything and this was just too exciting to keep quiet.
     Daisy would have to call her mother in the morning, with six hour time difference she would be in bed already and a call at night always scared her mother to death. Daisy dialed Leslie's number as soon as she got home. "Hello, Daisy, " "Leslie, you're not going to believe it, I got the report back on the ring I found, it is so exciting that I want to tell you in person, can you spend the night Friday, we can sit up late then spend Saturday at the library investigating" "That would be great, we can have our own slumber party," joked Leslie. "Ok, I'll see you Friday evening around seven, bye." Daisy hung up the phone and took out her treasure, and it indeed was just that, a valuable treasure. Just think this may have once belonged to royalty, was it possible she was going to find out for sure? Everything she had found out so far was pointing to that conclusion. How could Daisy get any sleep with so many questions on her mind?
       Friday evening found Daisy making pizza for the "slumber" party she and Leslie were going to have, am I crazy or what, she thought, as she made the pizza, I live in Italy, does that make any sense? Well, I'm not making any sense right now either. Daisy heard the door bell ring just as she put the pizza in the oven. "Hi, Leslie, come in, I just put the pizza in, it should be ready in about twenty minutes, hope you're hungry!" "I'm famished, said Leslie, but I'm more excited to hear the news about the ring than anything. What did you find out?" "Let's have a glass of wine and I'll tell you all about it," Said Daisy as she retrieved two wine glasses from the fridge she had chilling.
     With glasses in hand Daisy began to fill Leslie in on all the details and value of the ring. Leslie, Like daisy was stunned. "What are you going to do now?" Asked Leslie. "I thought you and I could spend the day at the library tomorrow and do some research and see what we can uncover. the jeweler, Mr. Pizzario, said he had heard an old story that a countess had had an affair with an American soldier during the war and she had given him a ring similar to the one I found as a token of her love for him when they parted. The picture I found did look like it but would that be too weird if they were one and the same. That's why we need to do more research. This is almost unbelievable, I have heard that story from my mom and grandmother but thought of it as a fairy tale, never thinking there was any truth to it. there are lots of question, Leslie; we just have to find the answers, if we can. Leslie, could it be possible that if I found the ring in the garden and it was on the man's chain that the chain could be buried there too. wouldn't that be unbelievable, we have to start digging?" The bell on the oven rang signaling that the pizza was done and not a minute too soon, the girls were ready to eat and then to slumber.
     The girls were up early and wasted no time getting to the library, it was only open until noon so they had to make the most of the time they had. Daisy was handling the jewelry side of the story and Leslie would handle the family history , former owners etc. They had come prepared with iPads, cell phones to take pictures, laptops etc., they would collect their information and then swap it when they returned home. They were ready for the challenge but had no idea what surprises lay ahead of them.