curb, waiting for her to reappear. She sat halfway down the bus, peering at him through the darkened glass windows. She gave a forlorn little wave. James stood mutely, unable to wave back. The last few passengers climbed aboard and James felt the loneliness roll over him.
She couldn’t go.
He bounded up the steps, just as the doors were closing and bought a ticket from the bemused driver and took his seat by a grinning Nina.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m seeing you safely to your destination,’ he answered gallantly.
By the time the Greyhound pulled into the Vancouver bus station two and three-quarter hours later, James had proposed and Nina had accepted.
It wasn’t something James had planned or Nina had expected. Sitting in the darkened bus, Nina’s serious little pixie face illuminated by the occasional passing headlights and the few other passengers well out of earshot, the words came tumbling out of James’s mouth. He was trying to articulate the enormity of his feelings. Nina had become integral to his sense of wellbeing, he told her, and he needed to know that he would wake up next to her tomorrow, the week after and every day for the rest of his life.
It was like a waterfall. Once the words were out they had a momentum of their own. There was no way to take them back. Not that James wanted to. As he heard himself say them, it felt right. This was what he wanted.
Nina was astounded. He spoke with such conviction and fervour that it seemed his love for her was solid and almost tangible, quivering in the air, enveloping her. She felt humbled and honoured.
They spent the night at a Vancouver hotel and the next morning James returned alone to Whistler shocked, elated and with a vague plan for the future that started with packing up his life and heading back to Australia.
The ski world was no place for them to start married life, he reasoned. Nina deserved so much more than that. Suddenly he felt very responsible. The future was about more than just the next winter season. It was about building a life together, one day starting a family. The very thought of it brought out all the traditional ideals of his ownupbringing that he had managed to submerge most of the time. Sitting beside Nina on the bus, holding her hand, he had started to tell her about the waterwheel on Wilde Wines estate.
They married in Vancouver within two weeks and landed in Australia a week after that. It was all so breathlessly exciting. Before they left Canada Nina took him home to the quaint town of Eyebrow on the edge of the Saskatchewan prairies to meet her bewildered parents. Jake Lambert was not pleased. He told her it was a mistake, she was too young, and a host of other things Nina chose to ignore.
Her father couldn’t understand why they had to go to a country he knew nothing about on the other side of the world. Nina had tried to explain. The words fell out of her mouth, tumbling over each other in her excitement. She was in love with this man and would follow him to the ends of the earth, she told her unimpressed father. James had a future in his family’s wine business in Australia and she could just as easily start her new career there as in Toronto. It would be an adventure and she hoped her father would be excited for her. She stopped in midstream, suddenly aware of how she must sound. Nina hated to appear foolish or out of control in front of Jake Lambert.
Seeing the crestfallen look on her face, her father had softened slightly. ‘You will always have a home with us, always. Don’t ever forget that.’
Her mother asked if she was in love.
Nina replied, ‘The rest of my life isn’t long enough to spend with him.’
Dorothea Lambert rolled her eyes and said, ‘That’s unfortunate.’
Then she had pressed ten $100 Canadian notes into her hand and told her to keep them somewhere safe.
‘Never let on you have it, no matter how dire things become. It’s your money,’ her mother whispered.
Nina didn’t
She couldn’t go.
He bounded up the steps, just as the doors were closing and bought a ticket from the bemused driver and took his seat by a grinning Nina.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m seeing you safely to your destination,’ he answered gallantly.
By the time the Greyhound pulled into the Vancouver bus station two and three-quarter hours later, James had proposed and Nina had accepted.
It wasn’t something James had planned or Nina had expected. Sitting in the darkened bus, Nina’s serious little pixie face illuminated by the occasional passing headlights and the few other passengers well out of earshot, the words came tumbling out of James’s mouth. He was trying to articulate the enormity of his feelings. Nina had become integral to his sense of wellbeing, he told her, and he needed to know that he would wake up next to her tomorrow, the week after and every day for the rest of his life.
It was like a waterfall. Once the words were out they had a momentum of their own. There was no way to take them back. Not that James wanted to. As he heard himself say them, it felt right. This was what he wanted.
Nina was astounded. He spoke with such conviction and fervour that it seemed his love for her was solid and almost tangible, quivering in the air, enveloping her. She felt humbled and honoured.
They spent the night at a Vancouver hotel and the next morning James returned alone to Whistler shocked, elated and with a vague plan for the future that started with packing up his life and heading back to Australia.
The ski world was no place for them to start married life, he reasoned. Nina deserved so much more than that. Suddenly he felt very responsible. The future was about more than just the next winter season. It was about building a life together, one day starting a family. The very thought of it brought out all the traditional ideals of his ownupbringing that he had managed to submerge most of the time. Sitting beside Nina on the bus, holding her hand, he had started to tell her about the waterwheel on Wilde Wines estate.
They married in Vancouver within two weeks and landed in Australia a week after that. It was all so breathlessly exciting. Before they left Canada Nina took him home to the quaint town of Eyebrow on the edge of the Saskatchewan prairies to meet her bewildered parents. Jake Lambert was not pleased. He told her it was a mistake, she was too young, and a host of other things Nina chose to ignore.
Her father couldn’t understand why they had to go to a country he knew nothing about on the other side of the world. Nina had tried to explain. The words fell out of her mouth, tumbling over each other in her excitement. She was in love with this man and would follow him to the ends of the earth, she told her unimpressed father. James had a future in his family’s wine business in Australia and she could just as easily start her new career there as in Toronto. It would be an adventure and she hoped her father would be excited for her. She stopped in midstream, suddenly aware of how she must sound. Nina hated to appear foolish or out of control in front of Jake Lambert.
Seeing the crestfallen look on her face, her father had softened slightly. ‘You will always have a home with us, always. Don’t ever forget that.’
Her mother asked if she was in love.
Nina replied, ‘The rest of my life isn’t long enough to spend with him.’
Dorothea Lambert rolled her eyes and said, ‘That’s unfortunate.’
Then she had pressed ten $100 Canadian notes into her hand and told her to keep them somewhere safe.
‘Never let on you have it, no matter how dire things become. It’s your money,’ her mother whispered.
Nina didn’t
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