The next morning Mark was up bright and early. Wiping sleep from his eyes he looked down to see Lyra still fast asleep with her arms wrapped around his middle and her head on his chest.
Smiling he rubbed her back before gently moving her off of his chest and placing a kiss on her forehead, though she stirred thankfully she didn't wake up yet.
Mark took this opportunity to quietly get out of bed and prepare breakfast for himself and Lyra. Making himself a couple of pancakes he made sure to make a smoothie for Lyra.
Luckily he was able to finish preparing breakfast before Lyra woke up and placed everything on a tray so they could have breakfast in bed together.
Walking back to the bedroom with the tray in hand he pushed the door further open with his shoulder to see Lyra waking up.
"Morning sleepyhead, I've brought breakfast and I've made a smoothie for you", he said moving a few paces forward to her bedside as he put the tray down on the bed before sitting next to her.
"Thank you Mark, this was quite a pleasant surprise to wake up to", she said softly picking up the glass, remembering to take small sips and not large gulps to stop nausea coming on quickly. Though once the drink had touched her lips she became too greedy. What was supposed to take at least an hour managed to take her half an hour.
The couple began getting ready for the day and for Lyra it was no surprise she began to feel sick. With help from Mark she had managed to drain the smoothie from her stomach.
"Are you feeling better now sweetheart", Mark asked giving her a hug.
"Yes, I'm feeling better now thank you love", she replied giving him a kiss.
"That's good to hear. Now then, are we to get the day started?", he asked as they made their way to the front door.
Mark helped Lyra with her shoes and splints before leaving and getting in the car.
"So what exactly are we doing today?", she asked unsure of what and where they were going.
"That my love, is a surprise".
During the journey Lyra kept on trying to work out where they were going but didn't succeed. She tried getting Mark to spill the beans but she had no luck.
Eventually they had pulled up outside of a bird sanctuary. Lyra immediately realised what was happening.
She gasped in surprise, "a bird sanctuary! This is amazing".
Mark smiled at her reaction, "I knew you'd like it. I wanted to cheer you up after having a bad couple of days recently", he said taking her hands in his.
"Thank you for this", she said softly.
"Your welcome sweetheart".
The couple left the car and entered the building where they were greeted by a member of staff. They were given a tour and was given a chance to feed some of the birds.
Both Lyra and Mark watched with fascination as the birds stood on their hands eating the bird feed from their palms. (Like the picture up top)
Mark watched Lyra for a second as he saw a look of pure happiness and delight on her face and in that moment nothing could have been better.
"This is amazing, how did you come up with this idea", Lyra asked as she gave the birds more feed.
"I remembered a little while ago you telling me about your love for wildlife, especially birds so I knew you would love being here".
Lyra smiled from ear to ear, "this means a lot, thank you for remembering and giving a calming day out, I needed this".
"There's no need to thank me Lyra, seeing you happy is enough for me", he replied as he gave his and Lyra's birds back to the member of staff and turned to face her gently pulling her close to rest his forehead on hers before placing his lips on hers.
Before long the couple were ready to head home. Though Mark had one last surprise up his sleeve.
Lyra watched on in confusion as they turned up at their local supermarket.
"How come were here Mark?".
"Well, that's because I have one last surprise for you and I need a few things to help with that".
Lyra nodded, "fair enough".
~
Later that day once night had fallen Mark and Lyra were snuggled up together watching TV when he soon decided to put his plan into action. Getting up off the sofa and walking to the kitchen he grabbed two cups from the cupboard when he heard Lyra speak up.
"What you up to?", she asked wondering what he was doing.
"You'll find out in a minute darling", he replied.
He returned moments later with two hot drinks in each hand as he gestured for her to follow him.
"Come on, I wanna show you something"
Lyra followed Mark to the front door. He set the cup's down on the hallway table and opened the door and helped Lyra sit down on the doorstep before retrieving their hot drinks and sitting down beside her.
Mark gave Lyra her drink as she began to understand what was happening.
"Ooh, hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream. Is this the surprise?"
Mark smiled and shook his head, "it's not just that.. look up", he said softly pointing up at the night sky.
Lyra gasped as she looked up seeing many, many stars, "oh Mark, it's beautiful".
"Just like you", he said sealing the night with a kiss.
Lyra chuckled and felt her cheeks becoming red, "flatterer"..
To be continued...
Chapter 10 first published July 14th