~epilogue: falling into you
The water of Lake Superior washed up on the ice teasingly, nipping at the holes and breaks in the near-perfect snow cover. Clouds and sun danced across the sky, each taking turns controlling the prevailing appearance of the great blue nothing. Seated on the wooden floor, wrapped in a blanket, Dana and Brian stared out at the snow covered land. The cabin was perched somewhere in the expanse of Northern Ontario, a place where no one would expect him to be. And it was perfect. Two empty bowls were the only reminder of the steamy chicken soup that had been consume+d a few hours earlier. The only reminder that they were still alive, and that this frozen paradise was real.
Pine trees stretched towards the sky, seeming to never end in both the vertical and horizontal senses. All that surrounded the log cabin was forest. Tree after tree sheltered the two story, temporary getaway for the couple. He was lying down, his head resting in her lap. She twirled his little curls around her finger, stopping every now and then to admire the landscape. It was like nothing either of them had ever seen before.
The untouched, uninterrupted purity of it all was astounding.
Words were not needed in this place that seemed to transport it's visitors back to innocence. Memory was erased, time was erased, and the only thing that mattered in the frigid paradise was to just be. It was enough just to exist, and nothing else was important. Peace had wrapped itself around both people, leaving them with nothing but a sense of serenity they had never known.
Her left hand rested on the smooth, polished floor, and she stared out at the landscape. Instinct made her reach for her neck, just to be sure that the necklace was still there. It was. She checked her neck every few minutes. The necklace was, in Dana's mind, the most awe-inspiring thing, and she was quite afraid that it might disappear. Symbolic of everything good, right, true and honest, the clear diamond twinkled. It fit in with the environment perfectly, and more important than that, it fit in with their love perfectly. Flanked by two miniscule pale sapphires, the diamond enhanced her skin fantastically. The white-gold chain hung delicately on her neck. Or, more specifically, the ring hung on the white-gold chain, which hung delicately on her neck.
"How many people do you think know where we are?" he asked quietly.
"Very few," she smiled. "Maybe a dozen?"
"Maybe," Brian mused.
"I told five people." She tallied with her hands.
"Nick, Kevin, 'J, Howie, my mom, my dad, Mike. I told seven."
"Exactly one dozen people know where we are right now. And do you know what the best part is?"
He nodded. "Only one of them can get a hold of us."
Dana squeezed his hand, and smiled. "Alone... finally."
The snow reflected the sun that had broken through, and it looked like a field of diamonds sprawled out in front of them. Or a field of dreams, something from a magical imagination. "Did you ever think we'd make it this far?" she asked softly.
He looked up at her. "Why, didn't you?"
"Well, I always hoped," she admitted. "But it's so rare that dreams come true."
"Everything wonderful is rare, though," he murmured thoughtfully.
She lifted his head out of her lap, and crawled in front of him. "Brian?"
"Hmmm?" he asked.
"When did you first know, I mean really know that I was the one?"
Brian wrapped his arms around her body and snuggled against her. "Well, it wasn't a 'at first sight' thing, that's for sure."
She laughed quietly.
He locked eyes with her. "But I think that by my second glance I was pretty hooked."
"Too sweet," she whispered.
"What about you, when did you know?"
She thought about it. "Well, it took me a while," she admitted carefully. "But when we went out for coffee, that very first time, I knew with a great bit of confidence that you were all I needed."
Brian gazed out the glass doors wistfully. "Mmmm."
She closed her eyes sleepily. After a long, worrisome flight, Dana was exhausted. She could feel Brian's chest rise and fall behind her, and felt comforted by the beating of his heart. The rhythmic sound of his breath lulled her towards sleep. He squeezed her waist, then stared out at the land. Glistening with romance and enticement, the twinkling snow brought him to a mysterious level of reassurance.
Sinking deeper and deeper into sleep, dreams began to creep their way into Dana's mind...
Well, thank you for saving me from the hallway Dana.
Brian wants a sunrise?
It's not a crush, it's called being interested!
Let's just leave, this is really uncomfortable. Too quiet, too everything.
You're really something, Dana. Really something.
Yeah, well, there's always something we want to hide, and it's usually our past.
You could have stayed in bed.
I wish you were here.
I wish I was too.
On the one hand you have a total sweetheart ... on the other hand you have pond scum.
It's possible to like someone, but be totally lost as to why and how.
Must be some amazing guy.
I told you, I can't talk right now, I'll call you later.
You know me Dana, you know me.
I guess... good bye?
We're stronger that, and we're better than that, and you know it.
No, I- I'm dating.
And the Grammy goes to...
I needed to hear your voice, to make sure that I didn't dream tonight.
Now that it's through, I'd never change a thing about it.
A smile crept across her lips, just as the sun dipped below the horizon.
~this love of mine~
~chapter index~
