Hester Carole Caldwell, whose maiden name had been Lewis, had just graduated from a very prestigious finishing school in Liverpool, England and she was living with her mother and her stepfather in their very proper, very boring flat that was more of a social club than a family home she met the very confused American tourist who would someday become her husband as she was walking toward the cinema. Her goal was to escape her mother's clutches before her friends arrived, which is when she would insist that Hester entertain them with stories about how well she had done in finishing school and she had succeeded that day. They came every afternoon for tea so her mother could brag about how successful and well-off they were "subtly" and the then nineteen-year-old had become just another win for Mrs. Lewis when she graduated at the top of her class, a task that had been hardly any challenge to her at all. She already had proper posture and she had been pouring the tea for her mother since she was old enough to wheel the silver cart and matching tea set out to the garden on her own. 

The redhead sighed and rolled her eyes. [i]A school that trains young girls to be proper little wives and hostesses, what a sexist concept[/i], she thought to herself.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A male voice with an unusual accent suddenly came from behind her and she snapped out of her thoughts, turning around quickly to see who had interrupted her brisk, somewhat perturbed walk down the cobblestone path that ran through the neighbor's garden. "Can you help me? Im...  a lot lost," a dark-haired young man in a red flannel shirt, beige pants with far too many pockets, and a pair of work boots that had seen a lot of use.

"Where are you trying to go?" Hester glanced down at her wristwatch as discreetly as she could, hoping she could help him get on his way with enough time to make it to the cinema.

"Well," he began, eyeing her with a grin and a gleam of playful mischeviousness in his sea blue eyes. "I really didn't have a plan until I saw you. Now I'm hoping I might be able to treat you to lunch." His gaze had now turned hopeful.

Hester would normally turn her back on a man who tried such a cheesy move on her, but there was something about him that made her believe that he was actually being sincere with his interest in her... "I was actually headed to the cinema to catch an early movie," she said, pausing to give him the chance to opt out of his invitation.  

His smile widened and his eyes seemed to sparkle as he formed a new request, "So is there any way I could treat you to a movie and lunch then? Sitting with a pretty girl in a dark theater would be the highlight of my entire trip, I'm sure." He offered Hester his right hand and said, "My name is Noah Caldwell. My dad sent me to work out a deal with his merchandise and services because he's stuck out at sea right now.  It's been rather boring."

Hester took his hand. "I'm Hester Lewis and boredom is my worst enemy." She smiled at Noah gently and that was how it all began...