| Wes Boyd's Spearfish Lake Tales Contemporary Mainstream Books and Serials Online |
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| Wes Boyd's Spearfish Lake Tales Contemporary Mainstream Books and Serials Online |
Chapter 23
It was only a relatively short distance on a smooth walkway to the El Tovar Hotel, and it had apparently been decided well beforehand that Duane and Michelle would walk back there for the breakfast reception by themselves, to give them a few moments of peace and quiet together. It would be nearly two weeks, after all, before they would have the opportunity again.
They left their friends behind and started up the path, walking slowly in the early morning light to savor the experience and put the events of the last few minutes into perspective a little. As soon as they were away from the others, Duane said softly to his bride, “That was quite a wedding. I mean, it was a lot more than I expected.”
“Yeah, me too,” she replied, apparently still feeling the effects of the service. “I thought a sunrise ceremony at Yavapai Point would be pretty cool, but I never expected it to be quite that powerful. I don’t think I’m going to forget it as long as I live.”
“I couldn’t,” he shook his head. “My God! Who would have expected ‘Sunrise’ to be our wedding music for a sunrise wedding at the Grand Canyon?”
“It wasn’t my idea,” Michelle protested. “It had to come from Dad. Back when this idea first came up he said he’d take care of the music, and I guess Mom and I just kind of let it go at that. Then when I saw the musicians I realized he must have pulled a few of his strings and kept his mouth shut about it.”
“Yeah, what was that all about?” he said. “Park rangers, and like that? That was the park superintendent on the violin, for Pete’s sakes.”
“Well, I knew about that part of it a little,” she smiled. “There’s a group of people around here who are amateur musicians. Sometimes in the winter when it gets a little slow they’ll get together in someone’s living room and play music that they like. I mean, I knew about it but I never heard them before. But ‘Sunrise?’ Wow! I mean, considering where we are I guess they’d have had to have done it sometime, but I never believed they’d be that good.”
“That made the service, as far as I’m concerned,” Duane shook his head. “I mean, I figured that we’d just be out there, the little gang of us, and Preach would run through the ceremony. But wow!”
“It was a lot more powerful than I was expecting, too,” she admitted. “You could spend thousands and thousands of dollars to have a wedding in the biggest and grandest cathedral on earth and not even come close to that. Did you see some of those tourists standing around? There was one couple there who I’m sure had to be on their honeymoon, and the gal was just about green with envy!”
“Could be they spent a lot more on her wedding and it didn’t come off near as nice and dramatic,” Duane laughed. “So are you satisfied with your wedding, Mrs. MacRae?”
“I couldn’t be happier, Mr. MacRae,” she replied. “I wonder how long it’s going to take me to get used to that. Michelle MacRae,” she said, a little wonderingly. “You know, in the time we’ve been together I’ve wondered about that a little bit, how much I’d like that. Right at the moment I like it a lot. Does that mean I have to learn a fake Scottish accent and how to throw knives?”
“Can if you want to, I guess,” he shrugged. “I mean, we’re probably not going to be near Bradford much, so it probably doesn’t matter.”
“We need to spend more time with your dad and Vicky. They are such cool people, it’s a shame you’re not getting to spend much time with them. I was hanging around with them for a couple days before you got off the river, and they’re just plain neat. It’s really a shame they live so far away.”
“I guess we’re just going to have to make the time in a few months,” he said. “It’s going to be a little different, you know that.”
“Different?”
“Yeah, different. Being married is not the same thing as living together, and I didn’t quite realize that until a few minutes ago. Now, I feel the depth of commitment that has to be involved. I think we’ve got it, Michelle, and I never quite realized it would hit me that hard.”
“Me, either,” she sighed. “I mean, for a couple years we lived together and I figured that marriage would be mostly more of the same. Boy, was I ever wrong on that, and I feel really sorry for anyone who doesn’t understand that.”
“Yeah, really,” he smiled. “Damn it, Michelle, I love you. It’s only gotten stronger as we’ve gone along. I mean, when we started out it was mostly extended fuck buddies, but I guess it got away from us. I guess I’m just as happy about it, too, and that includes having a kid. That’s what I meant when I said it was going to be different. It’s serious, it’s the real thing, and the ceremony only made that point.”
“I see what you mean. But it’s like we’ve said all along, we’ve got to get through the season, and then we’re going to have to get serious about making plans for the future.”
“We do,” he said. “And the more I think about it, the more I think that being a boatman who only sees his family occasionally isn’t exactly the right thing to do. At least, I don’t think it’s right for me. But we may have to have things that way for a while until we can figure out what the right thing to do is for us.”
“It could be that you’re right,” she said. “I hate the thought of being the reason you decide to give up the river, but maybe you’ll have to do it. Maybe not right away, but it could come to that.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid it could. This is something we’ve talked about before, and there’s no need to get into it again, at least right now. When you get right down to it, all this has come about so fast that I’m not sure what I think. I’m really looking forward to the end of the season when there’ll be time to talk all this stuff out.”
“Well, let’s not worry ourselves about it right now. We’ll have plenty of time to do it in the future. We don’t have a lot of time to enjoy this, so let’s make the best of it.”
“Not a bad idea,” he agreed. “Damn it, Michelle, this whole deal didn’t come out quite the way I’d hoped it would. I figured we’d be getting married sooner or later, and I think we’ve had a wonderful wedding that will stay with us forever, but I wish it had come around a little differently.”
“I do too,” she sighed. “But really, I think it worked out for the best. We might have messed around for years before we finally got around to moving on to the next step, but getting it pushed on us like this may have been for the best.”
“You may be right,” he smiled. “I guess there’s not much we can do but treat it like the river, take it like it comes and head on down to the next rapids.”
“That’s about what we’re going to have to do,” she grinned. “Damn it, Duane, in spite of the way this happened, I love you, and because of the way you’ve handled it, I think I love you more than ever.”
“I love you, too, Michelle,” he replied. “And I’m glad we’re married. It feels, well, more honest, if you have to put a word to it.”
“See, you’ve made an honest woman out of me,” she giggled. At the same instant they both got the same idea, and stopped in the middle of the path for a long kiss.
Duane and Michelle took their time on their walk to the hotel. It was not a long walk, but they enjoyed every step of it, talking lightly along the way. It was a very special time for them; though they might wind up eventually going to Hawaii on their official honeymoon, this brief walk was their real one, and both of them knew it.
The El Tovar Hotel is located in the main visitor area of the South Rim, not far from Pat and Rachel’s gift shop. It has a wonderful view of the Grand Canyon, although to the newly married couple no view could be as wonderful as sunrise at Yavapai Point. Though an older building and smaller than some in the area, it held a feeling of tradition in the Canyon, something that reached back into the heritage of the place. At this hour of the morning it was not busy, and as they walked in the door, a hostess directed them to a side room off the dining room.
This room was a little more full – full of friends and family, along with the musicians who had made their wedding such a powerful experience. There was a small round of applause when they walked in the door, and even that was special. After all, these were the people with whom they had shared a most special moment in their lives.
“Now that you’re here, I guess we can get started,” Pat spoke up. “We know that you’re tight for time, so we’ll keep this brief, so that means we’re going to dispense with the traditional formalities. The hotel has been nice enough to set out a nice breakfast buffet, and the bride and groom deserve to be the first to sample it.”
Duane and Michelle took just a little food, even though it was, as her father had said, a nice buffet. Without discussion they’d decided to eat quickly so that they would have the time to go to everyone in the room to thank them for being a part of their wedding. Soon they were circulating through the room as a couple.
Most of the musicians were at a single table toward the back of the room, and the newlyweds soon worked their way over to them. “That was wonderful,” Michelle smiled to them. “I’ve never heard ‘Sunrise’ played that appropriately before.”
“Glad you liked it,” the park superintendent smiled. “Our little group has been playing together off and on for over twenty years that I know of, and that’s the first time we’ve ever given a public performance. Your father does some powerful arm twisting, Michelle.”
“Well, if I have anything to say about it, I’d say it was worth it,” she smiled. “You did so well that I’m a little curious about how you’d do with the ‘Cloudburst’ movement.”
“Not very well, I’m afraid,” the park superintendent grinned. “The group keeps changing, and we’ve lost a few people since the last time we tried it. Maybe someday we’ll have the combination of people to try again. I do hope it was a memorable experience for you, because I think it safe to say that it was a memorable one for us. That’s also the first time we’ve ever played it at sunrise, and this summer has been so busy we haven’t had much time to practice.”
“You did great,” Duane smiled. “Of course, you had the advantage of having the best possible concert hall.”
“It did help,” one of the other musicians said. Duane recognized her, although didn’t know her name – she worked somewhere around the visitor area, but he couldn’t remember where. “It was a special experience in more ways than one. Duane, while we see more people going through here than we can imagine, those of us who live here permanently are really a pretty small group, almost an extended family. It makes it very special to me, anyway, to be a part of the wedding of a girl we’ve watched grow up.”
“Very true,” the park superintendent agreed. “Duane, those of us who know her know that you’ve managed to marry a very special young lady, and we wish you all the happiness in the world.”
“Well, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for getting up early to do this for us,” Duane said. “Your efforts together made it so much more special for us and everyone.”
They exchanged a few more sentences, then moved on to a table where Al and Karin were having breakfast with Crystal and Preach. “Do you feel married yet?” Preach grinned.
“Incredibly married,” Duane admitted.
“Well, technically you’re not, yet, since I haven’t gotten around to signing the paperwork,” he grinned. “Maybe I’d better do it now just so I don’t forget about it.”
“Might not be a bad idea,” Duane grinned, recognizing the tease when he saw it. “That was some service.”
“Pretty much the standard thing,” Preach shrugged. “I had a sermon more or less blocked out in my head, but it just got washed away by the music. I knew I couldn’t say what I’d intended to say, so I just let the spirit lead me after the music was over with. I hope you found it appropriate.”
“It was beautiful, Preach,” Michelle smiled. “You couldn’t have done better.”
“I have to admit, that was quite a sight,” Crystal said. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that sunrise before.”
“It was a little dramatic, wasn’t it?” Duane grinned. “Preach is right, you know. There is more to the Canyon than the river.”
“I guess I knew that,” she shrugged. “But what a way to be reminded of it.”
Duane and Michelle moved on, pausing at another table, where some high school friends of hers were eating. Duane didn’t know any of them, but these friends of hers, apparently Grand Canyon Village kids, all had still been moved by the power of the ceremony. “Boy,” one of them said. “I sure don’t know why Dale and I didn’t think of that. I guess maybe we’re a little too close to it.”
“I’m surprised we thought of it,” Michelle admitted. “Here we are, living at one of the scenic wonders of the world, and it’s amazing how blasé we can be about it. Maybe I have a little different view of it after all the time I’ve spent on the river, but it’s still pretty amazing. You almost have to be from somewhere else to realize just how incredible this is.”
“Yeah, that’s true, isn’t it?” the woman said. “I mean, I’m like you, I grew up here, and I never quite got why all the tourists were so hot to see sunrise out there. I mean, I never did it till this morning, and wow!”
“Maybe we need to spend a little more time trying to learn to see the wonder that’s around us,” another woman at the table said. “Thanks for inviting us, Michelle, and the best of luck to you and your husband.”
Soon they made it to the head table where their parents sat finishing their breakfasts. “Thanks for everything,” Michelle said. “I sure hope someone got some pictures of that.”
“Oh, I’m sure someone did,” Rachel smiled. “Your dad was pulling some strings there, too.”
“I’m sure looking forward to giving Emily a picture of the wedding to go in the Bradford Courier,” Vicky grinned. “Duane, you’re going to have a few people in your class jealous of that one.”
“Might as well,” he grinned. “After all, it’s not likely I’m going to be seeing much of any of them again.”
“We know you have to be going,” Pat pointed out. “So we probably ought to get on with things.”
After a waitress filled their coffee cups, Pat got up and said a few words, then Jason, who presented the couple with a souvenir sheath knife, their pictures engraved on the blade along with the wedding date and place. A few minutes later Michelle and Duane used it to cut their wedding cake, which was nothing grand but appropriate for the size of the crowd. After that, they were presented with some gifts, most of which involved envelopes, one of which had a certificate for the Hawaiian honeymoon that had previously been hinted. “I don’t know when we’re going to get the chance to use this,” Michelle said. “Maybe next spring, but we’ll sure enjoy it.”
There were others they talked to, including the Gold Team, looking uncommonly nice in what had to be the best clothes they had with them; some of them looked fresh from some big box store in Flagstaff. “We’re all a little sorry that we’ll be the ones with you on your wedding night instead of Michelle,” Barbie smirked. “But I guess you’re just going to have to wait it out.”
“If I can’t be with Michelle, there’s not a lot of people I’d rather be with,” Duane replied. “But I’m afraid you guys just don’t quite measure up to her, especially in one special regard.”
“I sure hope they got everything rigged all right,” Barbie shook her head. “I have visions of getting down to Lee’s and finding there aren’t any oars, or something.”
“For once, it would make a pretty good excuse to delay things,” Duane laughed. “But I’m pretty sure Al and Crystal made sure they had oars loaded on the rafts before they headed that direction.”
“I suppose so,” Barbie shook her head. “Even though it’s going to be a short trip, I’ll bet it’s going to seem long to you.”
“Oh, well. We’ll make do, I guess. It’s not like there’s anything else we can do.”
The clock was ticking all this time, and a couple hours had passed since the ceremony; while Duane would have liked this to have continued, he was also aware that his trip was being rigged for him down at Lee’s Ferry, and that the crew for the trip was all here. He knew it was almost a three-hour drive to the boat ramp, so he was getting antsy about leaving.
Finally, they could go. Someone had brought the Mustang around and parked it in front of the steps of the El Tovar, suitably decorated but not overdone. The small group filed outside to stand on the steps and see them on their way. Duane helped Michelle get in the right side of the car, walked around and got in himself, gave her a kiss, then started the car and drove away. He knew, of course, that the rest of the Gold Team and a few other people were going to follow them out to the launch site.
“Well,” he said to Michelle as they drove away from the hotel, “I guess this is the rest of our real honeymoon.”
“Yeah, guess so,” she sighed. “At least you and I aren’t exactly blushing virgins heading off to someplace to defile each other. In a way, I’m kind of sorry we’re not.”
“I guess I am too, in a way, at least,” he nodded. “But I’ll damn well tell you this: if we were, the last damn place we’d be going right now is Lee’s Ferry.”
“You sure got that right,” she smiled. “I guess that’s part of the price we’re paying.”
A couple miles up the road Duane pulled to a stop at a pullover, and they got out to clean the worst of the decorations off the car – there was no point in risking their being blown off and littering the beautiful countryside. It only took a few minutes, and they were on the road again. “Hell,” Duane said when he got back in the car. “I didn’t get a chance to change out of this outfit.”
“Oh, just show up at the launch in the full outfit and give the customers a thrill,” she laughed. “You can change to river clothes in the johns or something. I know your river clothes are in the car, and you have more on the raft.”
“Oh, hell,” he sighed. “I guess we might as well give the customers something to talk about.”
It was almost noon before they got to Lee’s Ferry, now running in a caravan of several cars. Even as they drove up to the launch site, Duane could see that the customer bus had arrived, and could see the group gathered around the rafts, where Kevin was going through the on-river orientation. Oh, well, he thought, might as well make a grand entrance.
As he and Michelle got out of the car, they could hear Kevin say, “And here’s the people we’ve been waiting for, your trip leader for this little excursion, Duane MacRae, accompanied by his lovely wife of -- ” he glanced at his watch “ -- about six hours now.”
“Aye,” Duane replied in his fake Scottish accent. “An’ Kevin, ye’d better be glad we had no flat tire or somethin’, or ye’d be leadin’ this group instead a’ me.”
“Like I told you,” Kevin told the customers, “he’s probably not going to be in the best of moods, and with a wife as lovely as he’s going to be leaving behind, I can’t say as I blame him. In fact, I think maybe I’m just going to beat it on out of here before he uses one of those knives on me.”
“Ye’ll get yours, my boy, sooner or later,” Duane grinned as Kevin climbed down from the raft he’d been standing on, then dropped the fake accent and went on. “Did you get through the orientation?”
“Just finishing up,” Kevin nodded, “I don’t think I missed anything you would have said.”
“OK, good,” Duane replied, then said in a little louder voice, “OK, folks, I’m your trip leader Duane MacRae, and knowing Kevin, almost everything he said about me is more or less true, depending. I did get married about six hours ago, and that’s my lovely wife Michelle, who unfortunately is not going to be going on this trip. It was a pretty good wedding, and I’m sure you’ll hear more about it after we get started. We all wish things were a little different, but that’s the life a boatman leads. In spite of everything, we ought to have a good trip, although I can see right now that it’s going to be one of those kinds of trips.”
