by Ann Mauren
Chapter 29
This was the day I’d been looking forward to since my last day in Iceland. We left the hotel before seven heading north and west for approximately forty miles to a place called Lake Louise, renowned as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Set at the base of Victoria Mountain, adorned with a glacier at her top, the jewel-like water of Lake Louise is said to change shades throughout the day, depending on the angle of the sun and the color of the sky. And though we would certainly do some sightseeing while we were there, the principal reason for the visit was to meet up with Gray’s father, Daniel Gregory, along with a group of GGR employees assembling for a meeting being held at the lakeside Fairmont Chateau Hotel, before the various parties struck out on their separate survey assignments in the wilderness at the feet of the Canadian Rockies.
We arrived just before eight and joined the group in a conference room that was set up in a horse-shoe arrangement, with a dozen or so casually dressed men visiting or having breakfast at their seats.
When we walked in all conversation paused and every eye turned to look at Gray and his ‘survey partner.’
Right.
I could feel my cheeks burning. I think perhaps I even saw a wisp of smoke rising from them. Dan Gregory excused himself from his conversation, which was shut down anyway, and came up to greet us.
“Excuse me, gentleman,” he announced in an unnecessary attempt to get the attention of the group. “I’d like to introduce Miss Ellery Mayne, granddaughter of our esteemed colleague, the late Dr. Samuel Mayne. She’s joining us for her first official survey project, but if she’s anything like her grandfather, she’ll be running these meetings before long.”
They all laughed and a couple people clapped. I had to admit, it was laughable. People started talking to each other again and Dan spoke to me directly as he moved in closer to give me a big hug.
“Hello Ellie! I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. How are you enjoying Canada so far?” he asked after he released me.
It was like talking to a version of Gray from the future, but with shorter salt and pepper hair. Arrestingly handsome, he had that familiar easy manner, and those same enigmatic eyes…eyes that probed mine like there was more to his simple question than could be answered with words alone.
“Gray is taking excellent care of me. You can be very proud of him. He still can’t resist teasing me, but I guess I bring that on myself most of the time.”
With the eyes of the most handsome father and son duo in history looking me over I could feel the flush firing up and I had to look away to breathe and collect my thoughts. After a beat I forced my gaze back up to look Dan in the eyes and continued, “But, yes, I’ve been having a wonderful time. Thank you so much for inviting me here. It means everything to me.”
Gray looked at his watch and said, “Why don’t we get a bite to eat? The meeting’s going to start in about five minutes.”
Then he guided me away from his dad and toward the food. I don’t think I was supposed to see it, but there was a look that passed between them, some wordless but meaningful communication that only they understood.
There was a buffet set up against the back wall replete with every kind of pastry and fresh fruit imaginable along with a broad variety of juices, coffees and teas.
I selected a cheese Danish and garnished my plate with a few big chucks of fresh pineapple and a huge, bright red strawberry. Then I made myself a cup of Earl Grey with extra cream and sugar.
I must have been hungrier than I’d realized because the meeting did begin within the next five minutes, and my breakfast was long gone before Dan called it to order.
It was a mostly informal affair. Using a LCD projector, a map of the survey area was displayed on the screen and Dan used a blue laser pointer to identify portions of the photos and maps as he spoke about them.
They discussed the pattern and scope of the survey in the various locations it was to be conducted including goals and checkpoints and then a recap of the various minerals known to be present in the areas we would be visiting. They were looking for surface deposits especially at the confluence of major drainage areas. A summary of their findings would ultimately be submitted to the Canadian Government, for whom this initial survey was being conducted.
Each seat had a set of maps and handouts from the presentation and Gray leaned over to point out the survey assignment we would be covering: the Allenby Pass area between Bryant and Brewster creeks. There appeared to be some elevation on our way in and out, but that would make for some beautiful views, he assured me.
After about an hour and a half of briefing and planning they took a break and Gray suggested that we head outside while the sun was shining. We’d been in a hurry to make it to the meeting on time and hadn’t had a chance to look at the lake of Lake Louise.
It was breathtaking—too beautiful to be real. At the head of the very long, somewhat narrow, deep blue lake was a mountain pass with its crowning glacier high above, inching its way to lower elevations, year after year since the dawn of ice. There was a paved path all the way around the lake, probably a loop of a mile and half or more, with benches thoughtfully spaced so that one might sit and enjoy the incomparable views from every angle.
Gray’s object in bringing me out here was to tempt me with this spectacular view and release me from the next part of the meeting that had to do with the financials of the upcoming survey and a review of the bidding and permits process if the survey work should yield the desired results.
Gray explained that as an intern, I was only here to look at rocks, (though the truth was probably more like, I was only here to be looked at, by him) and I wasn’t required to waste time inside on a gorgeous morning like this, if I didn’t want to. He however, was responsible for presenting portions of the meeting, and had to return and be involved for about two hours more.
“Are you sure I shouldn’t be in there? I’d kind of like to hear you make a presentation to the group. I don’t want to abandon you, plus what will your dad think of me if I do?”
“He’ll think you’re smart and he’ll be jealous, wishing he could ditch too. Just take your time and really get the feel of this place, then we can take the hike up to the Tea House later on today. I’ll meet you inside the restaurant at noon. We have lunch reservations.”
Then he hugged me tight and kissed my forehead. The blush burned on my cheeks as the emotion transferred from his lips directly into my mind and quickly found its way to my heart, stirring it up and melting it at the same time.
“You know something? You’re the most beautiful intern…ever. I’m so lucky that you were assigned to my team.”
Smiling at his joke, he cradled my chin in his hand and chuckled softly at my deer in the headlights expression. Then he let me go and walked across the plaza toward the hotel. I watched his back until he was gone.
There were a few people milling around in the plaza outside the hotel and walking around the lake. Although the paved path was carved straight out of the forest in some places, it did not seem too remote or dangerous for me to walk it by myself. So I began to make my way around the loop.
Though the view was unimaginably beautiful on a titanic scale, I was seeing nothing as I thought about what just happened, and how I could still feel the pressure from Gray’s arms where he’d hugged me and the warmth from his lips on my forehead where he’d kissed it. Being hugged and kissed by him felt far better than it should and I scrambled around in my mind for a way to banish what felt like very unfaithful feelings blooming inside me, fed by my inability to turn off the replay reel, looping continuously in my mind.
I made myself focus on the water and the mountain slopes all around and the look of the sharp blue sky where it touched the white of the snowcapped peak many thousands of feet above. I breathed in the cool air, concentrating on how it felt on my skin when the wind would blow and how it smelled like pine and lake and snow.
I had made
it to the farthest point of the loop, just at the place where it began to turn and reach back towards the beginning. I decided to sit down and view the lake from this angle. I had the bench to myself. The morning sun was warm and bright and I leaned back to let it warm my face. The sound of the wind in this place was like nothing else—high and far away and timeless. As I was contemplating the idea that the wind had sounded exactly like this on a day like this ten thousand years ago, my reverie was interrupted with an unexpected but wonderful sensation: the feel of warm lips kissing my own.
My tendency toward cataplectic reactions wasn’t always associated with scary situations. Over time it became clear that romantic situations could trigger the response as well. That being the case I remained perfectly motionless as I felt my kisser settle in beside me on the bench and then take my left hand in his, fiddling with it actually. I couldn’t keep motionless for long though because a huge smile burst across my face and broke me out of the trance as it dawned on me that he had put a ring on my finger. I sat up and blinked, still seeing spots from the sun shining through my eyelids.
When the spots in my vision finally cleared and I got a good look at my present, I gasped. Then I looked over at its presenter, Ash. He was looking at me with deep feeling, something more than happiness to see me. I looked back again at the ring. It was THE RING! The aquamarine from who knows how long ago! The one I had stared at and dreamed about. The one that someone bought for his lucky girlfriend….as an engagement ring!
I don’t know why, but my tears always seemed to surprise me. If ever there was a moment to weep with joy it had to be this one. I knew what this gesture meant and it was deeply moving. He’d been watching me from the start. He’d bought the ring for me, making plans for me, long before I even knew he existed. He was so kind and thoughtful and romantic and perfect! And somehow through some mix-up of destiny he was mine and no one but the two of us could know about it!
The tears just rolled. I had so much I wanted to say but I was speechless. I looked deep into his eyes trying to transmit my joy and love and need for him. He brushed my hair back behind my ears and wiped away my tears with his fingers. He smiled reassuringly, though his expression was mixed with deep emotion too, and his eyes were wet, though not leaking, like mine. Then he pulled me in to his side, wrapped his arms around me, and buried his face in my hair, inhaling and exhaling deeply.
A few quiet but sublime moments passed as I composed myself, feeling his warm and secure hold on me, while staring at the fabulous piece of jewelry wrapped around my finger. It was a perfect fit. He reached up and held my hand, moving it closer to himself to share the view.
“The last time I was sitting on a bench like this, you were staring at your ring from behind thick glass. I’m glad to finally place this where it’s belonged since it was first made.”
He brought my hand up to his lips to kiss the ring, and I could feel the warmth around the edges of my fingers on either side.
“Though I’m not going to ask you to make any promises to me, I want you to be sure about my promise to you: that you will always own my heart and my love. I want this ring to remind you of the way I have always, and will always see you: precious, rare and stunningly beautiful.”
And he kissed my lips again, but with more emotion this time. It was glorious. The high of this moment put me right up where the ice was touching the sky—a dreamlike moment, enriched with more beauty and pleasure than my most elaborate crystalline fantasy. I let my mind drift and glide in the joy.
Eventually, I passed back over into reality again, but somehow Prince Charming was still sitting on the bench with me, and I spoke to him as an ironic thought occurred in my mind.
“So I guess all along I was jealous…of me!” I laughed and sniffed in quick succession.
“What do you mean?” he asked, intrigued.
“When Mom and I went back to see the ring, the sales lady said that a man had bought it for his girlfriend, as an engagement ring. I was jealous….of me.”
I smiled and sniffed again, wiping away fresh tears.
“You didn’t need to be, did you? This ring is one of a kind, just like its owner. It could never have been anyone else’s. It was meant for you, Ellery.”
He was being very earnest, but his eyes were happy.
“Well then, since I’m planning on keeping it, and you, forever, you should consider yourself engaged, Mr. Ash Ryan.”
The joy and triumph transforming his features was even more beautiful than the ring or this place. It took my breath away. Then he took my breath away some more with a huge kiss. A kiss that nearly made me faint with pleasure, or perhaps it was because I forgot how to breathe. In fact, I wouldn’t have known my own name if he’d asked me.
I tried to steal a moment to etch this time and place and feeling in my mind. It was the happiest experience of my life, possibly from now on. But it was still a secret: a magnificent, dazzling, splendid secret.
How in the world was I going to keep the glow in my soul from showing through, or worse, from being misinterpreted? How in the world was I going to explain it when the time came to let it shine?
