Page 27 of A Winter's Wedding

“I talked to the front desk clerk, and he said we can keep the room for now. Plus, we have to come back through this direction on our way out of town.” Leo chugged the rest of his coffee and shook his head from the caffeine rush. “I love this stuff. Doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. I’ll drink it any way it comes.”

“Just like beer?”

“I do love a good pint.”

America put her drink down on the small dining table and met Leo on the edge of the bed, dropping the blanket from her shoulders. “And I love you.” She straddled his lap and placed her knees on either side of him. Her weight depressed the soft mattress, and she used her leverage to push him back onto the bed. A giggle vibrated in her throat as her hair draped around their faces. “We don’t have to leave just yet.”

Leo held tight to her waist, pulling her hips against his. She liked how it felt to fit her body to his. She tilted her head and swung her hair around to one side, letting light flood his features. A fire lit his eyes from deep within him. No longer encumbered by the misplaced expectations of finally sealing their union, she knew what he wanted, because she wanted it too.

Sitting up on her haunches, she checked the time at her wrist and unhooked the watch clasp. Throwing the timepiece to the bedside table, she began unbuttoning her red plaid pajama top one agonizingly slow button at a time. She was fairly certain her tease was having an effect on him as he squirmed, pinned beneath her weight.

It wasn’t until later, when they were in the car on the way to the falls, that she realized she hadn’t put her watch back on. Being in love, and snowed-in, worked to scramble her brain, or it forced her to forget that she had ever enjoyed worrying about time at all. If stressing was a sport, she was sure she would have a rack of gold medals to her name. As she looked at her naked wrist, she wondered if her sporting days were truly coming to an end. She rested a hand on Leo’s right leg, and it hit her that she was no longer in charge of everything. She had a true partner to share life with.

With or without a watch, it was pretty clear that they weren’t going to make it back to the Cove in time for Carol’s dress fitting. All she could do was try to enjoy the rest of the day. If it ended half as good as it had begun, she would be a satisfied woman. Outside, the whitewashed city creeped by the car’s windows, and America decided to enjoy the view instead of calling Carol to let her down.

“You okay?” Leo asked. “You’re more quiet than usual.”

“I was thinking about missing Carol’s dress appointment. I really thought we would be coming into the Cove right about now, not stuck in Buffalo. Not that it hasn’t been great so far.” She felt her cheeks burn from a rising blush. “I was also thinking about how our morning went and how much I liked when you?—”

Leo grabbed her hand, halting her words, but the action caused the car to swerve. Even though he was driving slowly in the slick conditions, Leo should have had both hands on the steering wheel. America had other ideas and laced her fingers together with his, rubbing her thumb along the back of his hand.

She was truly married now, in all the ways that mattered. The papers had been signed, the vows uttered, and their love perfected. She caught her undeniable smile between her teeth. Looking at Leo, who glanced at her at the same moment, they both giggled. “Is it possible to die of happiness?” America said.

“I don’t think so,” he said, beaming. “But it makes me happy that you’re so happy.” He squeezed her hand.

They traded looks the rest of the way to the falls. Following the GPS directions, they creeped across a narrow bridge and followed the signs, heavy with icicles, to the car park. Whether from the cold or from the snow, she couldn’t see anything from the parking lot. Bundling up, they got out of the car and followed the marked walkways. The route to the viewing deck consisted of a series of slick sidewalks and short sets of stairs. Deciding to brave the terrain, they took the off-road path and avoided the icy sidewalks altogether, preferring the added traction of the deeper snow instead. Her feet would be wet and frozen before too long, as her boots were really more a fashion statement than ones meant for arctic snowshoeing.

Besides the snow piling up around her, the snowflakes obscuring the scenery were some of the largest she had ever seen. Not like the stuff in movies that falls to the ground like delicate glitter, this snow was like millions of frosty meteors hurling towards her face. The visibility was near to nothing, and she would be surprised if she was able to see anything at all.

Leo helped her across the last section of icy pavement to the observation area that faced north. The best view of the falls was on the Canadian side, not the New York side, but this is what they had since they hadn’t needed to pack passports for the trip to Las Vegas.

Desperate to see the falls, America leaned out over the railing and peered through the dense precipitation but had a hard time making anything out. “Why is it so quiet? Even small waterfalls make some noise.”

“Maybe it’s completely frozen this time of the year,” Leo said. “Sorry, I thought that we’d be able to see something. I’m going to walk down and get a closer look.” He tossed her a quarter that she nearly missed catching. “Use it in the giant binoculars.”

“You mean my step stool with alien glasses sitting on top of a pole?” America joked. She always thought the sightseeing binoculars were a hideous eyesore that dotted the most beautiful landscapes and monuments around the country. Putting the quarter in the slot, the lens covers opened inside the contraption. Peering through, she panned around to the west where the water should be, but the glass seemed to be frosted over. The view was no better than the one she could get by squinting her eyes through the daylight.

Leo was out of view and America knew she wasn’t alone.This is how those true crime podcasts always start, she thought and was irritated that her best friend Poppy had always forced their section of the office to listen to the disturbing things. Slowly, she turned her head while using the binoculars to shield her face and saw another couple approaching her spot. Hoping that the couple weren’t national park serial killers, she opted to scoot down the railing so they could use the device if they wanted to.

“Howdy,” the man said in a southern accent. “Cold day for sightseeing.” America nodded, but they came closer. “Isn’t it something?”

“What’s that?” America said and her heartrate immediately responded to the sound of Leo coming back.

“It’s empty,” the man and Leo both said in stereo from each side of her.

“Empty!” America couldn’t believe it. “Where, how? Do you mean frozen?”

“They rerouted the flow of the river to do a geological study of erosion. It’s a once in a lifetime event seeing it dewatered,” the man said with a very excited tone.

He might have thought it was a unique experience, but she couldn’t see much of anything to know whether it was, or it wasn’t historic. For all she knew, they were standing in an abandoned big-box store parking lot and not one of the world’s natural wonders. “Thanks for the info, mister,” America said and took Leo’s arm. “Can we see anything from over there?”

“A little bit more than from here,” he said. “I’ll show you.”

They walked along a U-shaped railing. and she could just make out the far edge of the famous falls. She’d seen thousands of photos before and had a reference point for what she was looking at. Across the river, the silhouettes of several multi-story buildings peeked through the snow, and red and blue neon signs shone between flakes. Below, a tree-covered cliff ended abruptly in a mass of broken gray stone.

“It looks so sad,” America said and took her phone out. She snapped a bunch of photos, changing the filter with every couple captured in order to find one that could cut through the poor conditions. Being somewhat let down, she knew if she ever got a chance to come to Niagara for a story, she would jump at the opportunity. “Looks like all we’re going to get today.”

“You ready to get out of here?” Leo asked as he put an arm around her shoulders.

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