Something Unexpected by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 31
Nora
“THIS MUST BE a very special waterfall to make it onto Louise’s list.”
Beck glanced over and back to the road. We were about four hours into our drive. “I think it’s less about the waterfall and more about the memories she created there.”
“I didn’t realize she had been there before. We talked a lot about the other items on our list because most of those needed a lot of arrangements. Since this one was drivable and a quick trip, we never really spoke about it.”
“Watkins Glen was a special place for my grandparents. They have a small cabin up there. That’s where we’re heading.”
“Really? Oh my God. Why wouldn’t Louise have put that at the top of her list then?”
“Because she hasn’t been back since Gramps died. His ashes are in the waterfall. As much as it holds a lot of good memories, I think some were hard. Plus, I think she thought she had more time. I know I did.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I get that.”
Beck was quiet for a while. “My grandfather proposed to my grandmother at the waterfall. Twice.”
“She said no the first time?”
He shook his head. “Nope. She accepted his proposal twice. Once when they were twenty-two, and the second time when they were sixty-two.”
“You mean he asked her to renew their vows?”
“I guess technically that’s what they did. Though Gramps thought he was proposing for the first time. Gramps had early-onset Alzheimer’s.”
“I knew he died from Alzheimer’s, but I didn’t realize he’d had it so young.”
Beck nodded. “He was only fifty-eight when he was diagnosed. By the time he was sixty-one, he was living in a facility because Gram couldn’t watch him twenty-four-seven like he’d needed. He would wander off and leave their apartment in the middle of the night when she was sleeping, or leave the stove on. Gram visited every day and took him out often. When the fortieth anniversary of the day he proposed arrived, Gram took him up to the falls again. He no longer remembered that she was his wife, but he still enjoyed her visits. He used to tell people at the nursing home that she was his girlfriend.” Beck stared off with a smile on his face. “Anyway, when she took him up to the falls, he told her he’d fallen in love with her. Then he got down on one knee and proposed.”
“Oh my God, Beck.” I held out my arms. “I have goosebumps. That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He smiled. “I was only eleven or twelve at the time. But I remember Gram inviting all her friends and family up to the cabin the next day. She had a minister come, and the two of them got married in the gazebo in the yard. Gramps had no idea he was marrying his wife of forty years, but he didn’t stop smiling the entire day.” Beck chuckled. “I thought the whole thing was kind of strange at the time. Years later, I realized how special the day had been and how incredible their marriage really was. A man who didn’t remember his wife fell in love with her a second time.”
“Wow. That’s an unbelievable story. Though if anyone could make the same man fall in love with her twice, it would be Louise. She was very special.”
Beck nodded. “Yeah. She was.”
We arrived at the cabin a little while later. It was rustic and small, actually made of logs, which I hadn’t expected, but anything more would have felt out of place among the babbling brooks, tall trees, and lush surroundings. Beck said it had been a while since anyone had visited, which explained the shutter dangling from the house, two toppled rocking chairs on the porch, and a collection of vines starting to grow over the front door. The driveway was made of small pebbles, and it crunched beneath us as we pulled in and parked.
I took a deep breath of fresh air into my lungs. “It smells incredible up here.”
Beck looked around and nodded. “I forgot how off the grid this place is.”
Inside looked like something out of a movie. There were sheets over furniture and cobwebs growing from some of the tall beams. A giant stone fireplace took up almost an entire wall of the living room, and a ladder led to a second-floor loft.
“Guess it really has been a while,” Beck said. “Are you up for going to see the falls today, or would you rather rest and go tomorrow morning?”
“Let’s go today. Maybe we can take off the furniture coverings, wipe away the dust and cobwebs, and leave the windows open so it can air out while we’re gone.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Beck and I went to work. When we were done, we piled back in the car for the short drive to Watkins Glen State Park. It was a good hike from the parking lot to the waterfalls, but worth every step. I’d expected a waterfall, not waterfalls. Nineteen separate falls plunged through a breathtaking natural gorge. Stone steps wound their way to the bottom, and natural bridges connected different areas. It looked like something out of a fairytale.
“How you feeling? Do you want to stop for another rest?” Beck asked. He’d already insisted on two along the hiking trail to get here.
I wasn’t tired, but I checked my heart rate on my Apple watch anyway. “I’m good. We can keep going.”
Down at the bottom of the gorge, Beck pointed to a natural alcove. “There is where Gramps proposed the first time. The second time was up at the top. He couldn’t make it down anymore.”
“I see why this place is so special. It’s magical, Beck.”
He looked down at me and took my hand, weaving our fingers together. “It is. I’m glad we came.”
I squeezed his fingers. “I am too.”
“Come on.” He motioned with his head. “Let’s sit over there for a while.”
We sat side by side on top of a stone wall, watching the falls and pointing out all different things to each other—until Beck looked at his watch.
“We should probably start the hike back,” he said. “It’s going to get dark soon, and I have no idea how late that little store in town stays open. We need to pick up something to eat.”
“Okay.” I looked around one more time, then saw my reflection in the water beneath us. “Wait. We have to make a wish.”
Beck’s forehead wrinkled. “A wish?”
I nodded. “Louise says you have to make a wish whenever water clears and you see your reflection.” I pointed. “Look.”
The main falls had slowed a bit, causing the water to smooth out. The bright sun beamed our reflection back to us, clear as day now.
Beck smiled. “That sounds like Gram.”
I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, wishing for something I’d stopped wishing for a long time ago. When I opened my eyes, Beck was staring at me.
“You’re supposed to make a wish.”
“I did.” He looked into my eyes. “I know exactly what I want, so it didn’t take long.”
My heart squeezed. I had a feeling we’d both wished for the same impossible thing.
***
“What would be on your list?” I asked.
Beck had made a fire when we got back to the cabin. We were both sprawled out on the floor in front of it with our heads propped up on throw pillows as it crackled. He’d been pretty quiet since we left the falls.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked what would be on your bucket list, if you made one.”
Beck sat up. He grabbed the bottle of wine from the coffee table and refilled our glasses. “I need another to consider that question.”
I smiled. “It is a pretty tough one.”
He sipped his wine. “I don’t think mine would be quite as adventurous as yours and Gram’s, but it’d probably have a lot of travel on it. I’ve been a lot of places for work, but not too many for pleasure.”
I sipped. “Like where?”
“Running of the bulls in Spain. Greek islands. Tuscany wine tasting.”
“Interesting. Go on.”
“Floor seats at a Knicks-Celtics game, where the Knicks win. Preferably a playoff. Fifty-yard-line seats at a Giants-Patriots Superbowl, where the Giants win.”
I smiled. “You’re such a New Yorker. Basically you just want the New York teams to beat all the Boston ones?”
The corner of his lip twitched. “Pretty much.”
“What else?”
“Road trip across America in an RV. See the Northern Lights in Iceland.” He grinned. “Smoke a joint with Snoop Dogg.”
I chuckled. “Do you even smoke pot?”
“No, but with Snoop Dogg I would.”
“Anything else?”
He shrugged. “Safari in Africa. Take flying lessons. Hike the Inca Trail in Machu Picchu, Peru.
“Those are all good ones.”
Beck looked into the fire. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I’d give them all up to spend the rest of my days with you.”
“Beck…”
“I know. I know. This trip changes nothing, and you’re leaving when we get back. But you asked, and that’s the damn truth.”
I smiled sadly and leaned my head on Beck’s shoulder. “I hope you find someone, Beck.”
He leaned his head against mine. “Already did, sweetheart. Already did.”
A little while later, he climbed to his feet. “I want to see something.”
“What?”
“My grandparents wrote letters to each other the night they got engaged the first time. Gram read the one she’d written to my grandfather at his memorial service. They were hidden in the back of their wedding photo, which is hanging in the loft upstairs. I wonder if the one Gramps wrote is still there.”
Beck climbed up the ladder to the loft and came down with a dusty, framed black-and-white wedding photo.
I took it. I’d never seen a picture of Louise so young. “She was beautiful. And you look so much like your grandfather—the same masculine, square jaw.”
“Turn it over. Let’s see if it’s still back there.”
I flipped the frame and bent the prongs holding the wood backing in place. Sure enough, there was an envelope with Louise written on the front. I picked it up and ran my finger across it. “This was written sixty years ago.”
“Open it,” Beck said.
“Should we do that? It’s a private letter from a man to the woman he loves.”
“I think we should. Gram read hers to a hundred people at his memorial. She’d want someone to read it if she couldn’t.”
“You sure?”
He nodded. “I’m positive. She was proud of their love.”
“Okay.” I held the envelope out to Beck. “But you do it.”
He took a deep breath and nodded. Inside, the stationery was yellowed and the ink faded, but the letter was still legible.
Beck cleared his throat.
“My dearest Louise,
I tried to remember the exact moment I fell in love with you today. But looking back, I can’t. Because it didn’t happen just once. It happens every day, and I blissfully fall all over again. So rather than tell you when it happened, I’ll tell you why I love you. I love that the only thing that rivals your big mouth is the size of your heart. I love that you are fearless and don’t live life afraid of what might come next, but rather you look forward to conquering things that try to stand in your way. I love you because you’re beautiful, but forget to look in the mirror some days. I love you because wherever we are, you make it feel like home. My love for you is so great that it spills over onto me—I love you because you make me a better man.
You are, my dear, everything. And even that feels like too small a word.
Yours always,
Henry”
I covered my heart with my hand. “That is so romantic.”
“Yeah.” Beck shook his head. “Damn. That was beautiful.”
I looked up. “I hope Louise heard it.”
Beck nodded. “She did. You know, before we came here, I felt bad that Gram didn’t get to come one last time, didn’t get to finish her list. But she could have come at any time. You know what I think?”
“What?”
“That she knew we’d come. And she wanted us to have this time. To remind us what love is. I know you love me, even if you refuse to say it.”
An ache squeezed my chest. I wanted to tell Beck I loved him with all my heart, and that I didn’t need the reminder. But how would that help? It would only make things more difficult in the end.
The end.
That was coming closer and closer each day.
Beck watched me with hope still in his eyes. It was physically painful to squash that hope yet again. But I did, because a little hurt now was better than him sitting by my side when I was on my deathbed. I didn’t want him to end up alone like William—no matter what William said about having no regrets.
“I’m sorry, I don’t love you.”
“Yes, you do. You’re just too much of a coward to admit it.”
