Page 54 of Our Little Cliche

Chapter Fifty-Three

CYRUS

“Ughh. I desperately need to walk this extra fluff off,” Holly cries with discomfort, rubbing her belly as we wait for our ride at the front of the restaurant. She’s not wrong—I haven’t eaten that much food since… well, ever.

“Yeah. I could have done with one less plate of food. I feel like a bowling ball,” I say, humored by my own remark.

Saying that I was full is an understatement at best, we’d spent the best part of six hours at the five star restaurant putting away meals like it was our last, and if it wasn’t for the food absorbing most of the liquor we’d drank we’d not remember these northern lights we’re going to see tonight.

The Vermillion Lakes isn’t far, but walking from here to there certainly wouldn’t be easy…

unless rolling is an option. Plus it’s dark.

Holly looks at me with soft eyes once we sit in the car. “Yep, I think I’m going to explode. Considering the food was served in portion sizes for infants, I don’t know how we’re so full.”

Baby sized meals was a good way of putting it.

Why do they do that? Elegance, I suppose.

We certainly were fine dining: from dishes that resembled something like rabbit food with fauna on top, to crab meat smothered in soup, followed by juicy, still pink steak with garnishes that I couldn’t fathom the names of, among other fancy meals, right down to the fancy deserts that I had no business putting in my mouth without climaxing at the end.

An expensive array of dishes to make our taste buds dance with flavor, but it was well worth it, because I got to see Holly experience it too. I knew she hadn’t been dined like this, hell her ex hadn’t even taken her to a fast food place.

What a fool. Her ex lost a good one. A real one.

It felt so good to see the way Holly’s smile lit up at each different course as they came out, watching her eat without fear of judgment, and it only made my heart beat twice as hard.

“To be fair, we were eating non-stop for what… five hours?” I ask. When she shrugs in agreement I continue, “At least we know we don’t need snacks for later.”

She smiles, then talks with her hands as she does, waving them around like a conductor to an orchestra. “Do you know what? We’ll get there and I’ll be hungry, you watch.”

Holly hesitates, grabbing my hand to step out of the car. “Have you still got your torch?”

I tap my backpack, mentally aware that I packed two and a thick waterproof rug to sit on. “Yes, everything’s in here.”

The Uber rolls away, taking whatever light it cast into the distance along with it.

To my surprise, we’re the only ones here.

Usually it gets quite busy with photographers and all sorts, but thankfully it’s just us.

After putting my gloves on, I shine the light across the small pier over the icy lake, then drop my bag off my shoulder, and pass her a torch.

“What about bears?”

“They’re probably napping, but I’ll scare them away if we see one,” I deadpan, flicking the rug and brushing out the kinks, and sit down.

“Wolves?”

“I’ll bark…?”

“Cyrus!” Holly cries. She’s clearly scared, but I try to not flare her worry.

“We’ll be fine, my love. Hey,” I palm her face, rubbing my gloved thumbs across her peachy cheeks tenderly. “You’re safe with me, okay?” When she says nothing I repeat the question with a hint of demand in my tone. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

After a beat she finally sighs, leaning into my shoulder as we sit side by side on the pier looking over the frosted lake. The tension almost completely melts away from her. “Hmm, is the sky getting lighter, or is it just me?”

“No, no. I see it. It’s getting lighter. This is it.”

“Oh, my god. Really? It’s happening?” Her expression is filled with so much joy, I almost hesitate switching off the light.

“Yes. Now we wait.”

Braving the continual drop of temperature, we huddle together as the sky continues to brighten.

Hints of gray and faded green rays simmer above the peaks of the mountain tops above, illuminating everything below them.

They appear in a straight column-like pattern first, then bend into S shapes snaking their way across the sky.

“Wow! Oh, wow Cyrus. I can’t even…” she trails off.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” My voice is low as I stare at the deepest parts beyond her eyes, and not at all meaning the lights. She’s beautiful. Her skin is glowing, and her eyes are sparkling.

She’s the aura.

My aura.

She loses focus from the sky for a second, realizing that I’ve lost myself in her. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m just a happy man,” I admit.

“I love you. Thank you for bringing me here.” She curls up beside me again and we interlock fingers.

“I love you too, angel.”

Minutes or maybe even hours silently pass with Holly’s head buried in my lap. Both of us close to turning into icicles while watching the sky dance with all the colors of the rainbow. It’s hard to think of anything at all. Just being in the moment is enough.

But eventually I do wander. I can’t help but let curiosity get the better of me and what it would be like to experience a hot summer . The cold is all I’ve ever known. “So, now that you’ve experienced one of the best things about Canada, what is something amazing about Australia?

“Australia… I almost forgot that place existed,” she remarks, turning her head to look up at me.

Her glassy eyes tell me that she’s lying—she hasn’t forgotten, not even for a second.

“There’s so many. Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Snowy Mountains, Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, even the little Quokkas at Rottnest Island,” she adds with a warming smile and I know by the tone in her voice she misses home.

“Hmm, they sound pretty hard to forget. What about the seasons, does it get cold there?”

She spends a moment dissecting me, studying my face as to why I’m asking as I haven’t brought her country up in conversation much. Slowly but surely the look in her eyes changes, and her face turns white, almost as if she’s hesitating saying what’s on the tip of her tongue.

What’s on her mind that’s got her so worried?’

“I could just… show you…”

A grin pinches the side of my cheek. Show me? She wants to show me Australia?

Like we’re already late for our flight there, I waste no time shifting her off my lap to stand. When I reach for her hand to help her up she frowns. “But what about work?”

“My love, we can do what we do anywhere in the world. I don’t care where I am, as long as I have you by my side,” I say, kissing her on the forehead then grab her shoulders.

Holly smiles, taking one last look at the dancing beacons above us before returning her attention back to me.

“Looks like we’ve got some bags to pack, then. ”

The End…