Epilogue
WATERTON NATIONAL PARK CANADA—TEN YEARS LATER…
Keaton and Layne stood on the footbridge, feeling the mist from Cameron Falls lightly brush their faces. They had just finished hiking along a trail next to the falls, seeing the Canadian Rockies in all their glory, with Cameron Creek running below.
“I think I could move here,” Layne declared, her face flushed from the hike.
And happiness.
He understood what she meant. “You say this everywhere we go, babe,” he gently teased.
“But I mean it about Canada,” she protested, smiling. “All right. You’ve got me. Yes, I seem to be taken by all the places we visit.” She leaned over and kissed him. “The world calls out to me. And my partner in crime.”
She lifted her camera and took a few shots of the falls, and he knew he would also use her photographs—and their travels—for inspiration.
Neither of them had really been anywhere when they got married, and they had made travel a priority in their marriage.
The first part of their honeymoon had been spent in the idyllic countryside of Tuscany, though they had managed stops in Rome and Florence before spending two wonderful weeks soaking up the Tuscan sun and eating like royalty.
They had left Italy for France, first visiting Paris for three days before leaving the City of Lights for the Loire Valley.
Again, they had drunk in the pastoral beauty, as well as enjoyed sampling regional wines and eating rustic meals.
It was on their honeymoon that Layne began her photography journey.
She had that artist’s eye, inherited from her father, and she framed photos and captured scenes, seeing things no one else did.
Her photographs, both black and whites and in color, brought scenes to life.
She had self-published a book of photos taken on their honeymoon, which had done incredibly well, leading to her current career.
Wherever they traveled, she always had a camera in hand.
Her photographs now commanded top dollar.
Her travel blog was popular with tourists.
Both these ventures still gave her time to be a mom to Allie and Bryan, their two children.
Their children followed in their mother’s footsteps, playing soccer, though Bryan also enjoyed playing right field in baseball.
He had his mom’s innate sense of numbers, while Allie liked painting with watercolors and singing in the choir.
Though they enjoyed bringing their kids on vacation, they always tried to take a trip every now and then with just the two of them.
This late September trip to Waterton, where the prairies of Alberta met the Rocky Mountains, was proving especially fruitful.
Yesterday, they had hiked through Red Rock Canyon, a fairytale landscape of scenic red and green argillite rock formations shaped by water over the centuries.
He had filled almost half a new sketchbook, while Layne had taken hundreds of photographs.
The day before, they had rented canoes and paddled around Cameron Lake, which was at the end of Akamina Parkway.
Not only had being out on the water given them spectacular views of the Rockies, but they had also seen wildlife along the shore as they paddled at a leisurely pace.
They had brought a picnic lunch and eaten it as they floated on the water, both inspired by their surroundings.
He’d scribbled madly, turning page after page in his sketchbook, telling his wife that he would need to study some of the photos she took to fill in gaps.
That’s what he had done since their honeymoon.
Keaton tried to sketch what he could, but he counted on the pictures Layne took to help him fill in the blanks of his pictures and memory.
The trip to Italy and France had proven to pack a punch for him professionally, and he spent the next two years using inspiration from what they had seen to do several series of paintings.
Sidney had gleefully accepted all his landscapes, getting top dollar for each painting in the various series.
Keaton had become fulfilled in his professional life, but it was his personal life and contentment with his wife and children that truly gave him purpose.
“Ready to go?” Layne asked.
“Lead the way.”
They strolled through Waterton village, a place where everything was reachable by foot in a matter of minutes.
As they walked along the sidewalk, they saw a deer coming down the center of the street.
Layne stopped to snap a few pictures of him.
She also stopped in front of a B&B, where a doe and her two fawns were sitting in the front yard, basking in the sunlight.
The tame wildlife had been a pleasant surprise when they first arrived several days ago, but they had soon adjusted to it.
Everyone in town gave the wildlife space, and people and animals existed in harmony.
“Where to next?” he asked as they continued strolling along the main street.
“We haven’t been down to the International Peace Park Pavilion yet. I want to see it. Let’s cut over to the shoreline and walk along it.”
Waterton Lake and Glacier National Park in Montana sat adjacent.
Together, they formed the world’s first international peace park.
He slipped his hand around his wife’s and they walked along the marina’s seawall, pausing when an elk appeared.
Keaton guided them to a bench and they sat, watching the elk move leisurely toward the water.
Layne silently took pictures of the magnificent beast, who after pausing for a drink, strolled off.
“Hey, we can see our hotel from here,” he said, pointing in the distance to the Prince of Wales Hotel standing on the bluff.
She stood, taking several shots of the iconic hotel, saying, “These will be a nice companion to the photos I’ve taken from the hotel, looking down on Upper Waterton Lake.”
He stood and joined her, slipping an arm about her waist. “I’m ready to sit beside those huge windows and enjoy the peaceful view.” Grinning at her, he added, “With a cup of tea in hand, of course.”
“Don’t forget the scones and clotted cream,” she reminded. “I’m so glad I’ve turned you into a tea drinker.”
“Well, I’ll never give up my morning coffee, but you’ve convinced me that a cup of tea during the day can be soothing for the soul.”
Layne put her camera in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. “Let’s go back to the hotel. I’ve gotten plenty of pictures.”
“For now,” he teased. “I have a feeling when we take our sunset trail ride tonight, your camera will appear again.”
She laughed. “I may just use my cell phone. I haven’t been on a horse in a long time. I think I’ll need to keep both hands on the reins most of the time.”
He saw the look of contentment on her face as she gazed across the water.
“Keaton, I think I can finally put into words what happened when we met.”
She faced him, those moss green eyes still as mesmerizing as they were all those years ago, drawing him in.
“I felt like I was drowning—and you built me a boat. It was a boat for two. Sometimes, you’ve done the hard work and rowed for the both of us, but I hope I’ve done my fair share of helping steer our boat and getting it to where we are today.
The boat has magically expanded, incorporating Allie and Bryan.
One day, we’ll need to build them a boat of their own.
Put them in it. Hand them the oars. Then nudge it out to sea, so they can be on their own. ”
Layne blinked back tears. “I know that’s not for years, but when that time comes and our chicks leave the nest we’ve built, they’ll be fine. And so will we.”
She tenderly touched his cheek. “Because we have each other.”
“I’m yours for this life—and all the lives to come,” Keaton said.
He kissed her, thinking of the adventures still ahead.
And how he wouldn’t want to experience them with any woman but Layne.