I got engaged to protect something precious to me--my life.
photo circa the 1950s
Walk with Me
The bus jerked to a stop, threw me out and I landed in a snowbank. Winter's icy fingers made my entire body numb. My boots couldn't gain traction so I skated from streetlight to streetlight until I slid into my apartment.
"Cold out?" My boyfriend Byron greeted me with a kiss.
"Too."
I slowly began to thaw as we watched TV.
He waited for a commercial. "Would you like to go to--."
I would have gone anywhere with him.
"BC?"
I visualized green grass and heard Hawaiian music. "When?"
"You don't even have to think about it, eh?" Byron smiled. "We'll spend Christmas visiting my parents."
Minutes, hours, days dragged past but finally, it was time to pack.
"No, Leanne, it'll be too cold for flip-flops and shorts. BC is still part of Canada. It's still winter," Byron told me.
Side-by-side, Byron and I walked into the airport. The metal detector presented no problem for me.
Unfortunately, Byron wasn't as lucky. Alarms announced his presence. He removed his belt and tried again but was greeted by the same harsh noise. The security guard frowned as Byron emptied his pockets--dimes, nickels, pennies. No change. The security guards surrounded him and I began to panic. How well did I know Byron? What exactly did he have in his pocket?
Laughter? One of the guards slapped Byron on the back, stepped aside and Byron was free.
"Good luck." The security guard called and I wondered why.
We left our city of snowflakes, flew over Saskatchewan, and caught turbulence over Alberta. It felt like riding a bucking Bronco as one air current bounced us up and another slammed us down. I loved every minute of it.
Byron steered me to the luggage carousel, to a curly brunette with glasses. "Hi, Mom." They shared a hug. "This is Leanne."
"Welcome, Leanne." She greeted me with a warm smile. "Have you been to BC before?"
"Yes, once when I was twelve, but never in the winter."
"Oh, well, you'd better bundle up. It's minus ten and raining."
"Mom, we just left minus thirty-five and snow. We'll be fine." Byron didn't stop to zipper his jacket.
In the parking lot, a raindrop hit my shoulder. As I was climbing into the car, another landed on an eyelash.
"Liquid sunshine," Byron said, "At least I don't have to shovel it."
The rain stopped, the sun shone but I was glad I hadn't packed flip-flops or shorts. The air was chilly.
Byron's parents took pride in showing us their province. We took a water taxi to Granville Island, a sky train to the Science Centre, and their car to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Byron and I were still gawking at the scenery when his parents crossed the bridge.
"Well, let's go," Byron lead me to the bridge.
I hadn't told him that I was scared of heights.
I focused on the blue sky, the evergreens on the other side. Anywhere but down at the flimsy bridge or the rushing water.
"This is boring." Someone was behind me. He sounded young, like a teenager.
"No, it's not," said another teenage boy, "It's like surfing. See."
The bridge began to rock back and forth.
I tightly wrapped both hands around the rope, closed my eyes, and willed myself all the way back to Manitoba.
"Move," the boys yelled, but I didn't care.
"Hey, Leanne," that was Byron's voice. "What's the matter?"
I opened my eyes. "I want to get off this bridge."
"We will. We're halfway over, already."
Half. Way.
Laughter as the bridge rocked even harder.
"Stop. My girlfriend is scared," Byron told them.
"Sorry," one of the teenagers said.
"We have to cross the bridge," Byron told me.
"But I...I..."
"Don't look down. Look at me."
I took a step.
"That's right, very good. See, you can do this."
I didn't cross that bridge, I walked to Byron and together we made it safely to the other side.
"Congratulations," Byron's parents greeted me. "We didn't think you'd make it."
"Neither did I." We shared a laugh.
"Leanne, come with me. I want to talk with you." Byron sounded so serious--and that worried me. Was he going to break up with me--because I'd embarrassed him; because I'd been such a chicken? Would I have to cross the bridge alone? I knew I could never do that. I visualized my death so clearly that it was hard to focus on Byron's words.
He cupped my hands in both of his. "Leanne, we've known each other for several months now. Things seem to be going okay. And I... I... I love you with my whole heart and..." He looked up from my hands into my face. "Leanne, what I'm trying to say--. What I want to ask you is... Will you marry me?"
Well, that blew me away. I threw my arms around him and we kissed. "Can I think about it?"
We laughed and kissed, kissed and laughed.
"Well?"
"Of course, I'll marry you."
The heavens opened, angels sang, doves flew, the world rejoiced, or maybe that was all in my head.
Byron dug into his pocket and produced a box. "This is the reason the security guards stopped me."
I opened the box and found a twinkling diamond.
Only one question remained. "With our heads in the clouds, how are we going to make it back over that bridge?"
"Together," Byron told me and we did.
Thirty-one years ago, on December 23, 1990, Byron and I became engaged.
On this blog in December...
Wednesday, December 15
Podcast: Author Reading
A nice story about my parents' naughty kid.
Sunday, December 19
Book Review
As You Wish:
Inconceivable Tales From The Making of The Princess Bride
Cary Elwes
(memoir)
Friday, December 24
Christmas Eve
Short Story
My CBC Radio Christmas Tradition
Leanne Dyck
A short story inspired by Alan Maitland's reading of The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth.
Sunday, December 26
Bonus Content
The Other Side
Leanne Dyck
As The Other Side was hands down the most popular "anything" I shared this year, I thought you might be interested in reading this scene.
Wednesday, December 29
Podcast: Author Reading
Listener's choice. What would you like me to record?
Sharing my Author Journey...
Bill Richardson was the host of one of my favourite radio shows--Richardson's Roundup on CBC. One day, I heard him request stories answering the question, Why did you marry? In response, I wrote... (what would eventually become the story you just read. If you would like to read the original, please keep reading.)
