Imagination- Chapter 10

Shannon stepped out of the rental car and turned to look at me as I slipped out of the other door. We’d spent most of the morning at the viewing for my Aunt Rose and now we were taking a little time for us.
My family had instantly loved Shannon, pulling me aside to tell me over and over how he was such a great guy and to tell me how I glowed when I was with him. It was such a relief for me, to know they accepted him. No one even asked him for an autograph even though they knew who he was. My younger brother and Shannon had talked about music for awhile while I was greeting family I hadn’t seen in over a year. Seeing them together made me get that full feeling in my heart once more. I smiled at him as he came around the SUV and reached for my hand. Both of us had our cameras around our necks, hanging there as we walked toward the entrance.
“Don’t you love how you can hear the falls from here in the parking lot?” he asked. I nodded.
“It was the first thing I ever noticed coming here, that and how it got so much cooler the closer you got the falls. I never appreciated it until I was older and really understood how amazing it really is here” I told him as he reached for my hand. Our fingers laced together as we walked down the path. He’d worn a cap pulled low over his eyes and black hoodie over his jeans. This was one of the few times we hoped no one recognized him. We wanted time alone, time to just be ourselves.
He squeezed my hand as he looked over at me, a smile on his face as he nodded his head toward the falls. The water could barely be seen through the trees but the sound and the cooler temperature left little doubt it was there.
We almost ran down the hill, stopping at the rail next to the American Falls. He let go of my hands, pulling me in front of him as we gazed out at it. His chin rested on my shoulder, his hands locked at my abdomen. I lifted the camera, taking a few shots of the water, making sure to catch the sunlight as it bounced off the water.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah, it is, to think nature did this… amazing” I spoke over the sound of water. I felt his lips against my cheek and I smiled, turning to catch the edge of his lips with mine. He chuckled and hugged me tighter. I covered his hands with my own as we stood there, watching the water, listening to the sound of it. It made you feel small in comparison, the force and power of that water falling hundreds of feet to the rocks below. The mist that rose from the river below blew back in our face, the tiniest drops of water against our faces. He buried his face into my neck and I closed my eyes as he did. There was some comfort in being there with him. The world seemed not so harsh; the sadness of Aunt Rose not being with us anymore, not so hard to accept.
“Thank you again for coming with me” I told him softly. He lifted his head, pressing soft lips to my temple.
“There is no where else in this world I’d wanna be.” He pulled from me and took the camera, raising it and I furrowed my brows.
“You don’t need more pictures of me Shan,” I complained. He growled.
“Shut up and smile. I want pictures of my girlfriend at Niagara Falls, now smile bitch.” He teased me and I burst into laughter before I heard the shutter on his camera click off several shots. I shook my head and reached for his hand, tugging him away from the rail. “Come on.. we’re going to the island” I told him as we began our trip over to Goat Island.
For those of you who have never been to Niagara Falls; the American and Horseshoe Falls are separated by a small splotch of land called Goat Island. Goat Island is very green, lots of trees and small paths that take you literally down to the rivers edge where you can stand near the rapids before they go over the falls. From Goat Island you can go over to Terrapin Point, which is the best place in America to see the Horseshoe Falls. Words would fail to even describe it so I won’t try but know that it was awe inspiring, to say the least.
Shannon let me lead him, and we stopped to take photos of the water, the trees, whatever caught our fancy. It wasn’t until we reached Terrapin Point that we really spoke again. He stopped and leaned over the rail, looking out over the Horseshoe falls.
“Boy, if you ever need something to make you feel insignificant in the world, standing here can sure do it” he said quietly.
“Try going on the Maid of the Mist” I said pointing to the small boat of people that were in the river, near the base of the falls. “That really makes you feel small.”
He looked like a kid on Christmas. “We have to go do that!” he exclaimed. I laughed.
“Maybe we can get to it tomorrow before we leave. That is probably the last trip of the day.”
“Yeah… I have to do that” he said with a nod. I turned and took a photo of a rainbow that spread over the falls. There were only certain times of the day that the sun hit the water perfectly. It was then that I saw Shannon watching me and I turned to look at him, a bright smile on my face. He smiled back and held a hand out to me. I took it and moved close to him.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Nothing, just looking at the woman I’m gonna spend my life with.” He said with a tenderness in his voice that I don’t think I’d ever heard before. His words created such a feeling inside me. It made my stomach turn, made me warm instantly from head to toe and it made me almost dizzy at the same time. I stared at him, wondering what in the hell I did to deserve this? What karmic thing had I done to bring such a wonderful man into my life?
I let the camera hang to my side and touched his cheek.
“I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my life with you Shan, and I plan on doing it”
He grinned, that silly, totally happy grin that made my heart melt and I laughed as he picked me up, swinging me around. People watched us and smiled, a few people even took photos but none of it mattered, we could have cared less. My arms were around his neck and we kissed, both of us still smiling. It wasn’t something we could contain and I didn’t want to.
When he sat me down I gazed at him, thanking my stars, God, and whoever else I could for the chance to be with such a wonderful guy. I once told Jared that luck wasn’t really what brought us together, that it was fate. I believed it even more now, looking at the man in front of me, seeing his smile, hearing the love in his voice, his words.
“Come on… “ I said pulling him over to the grassy area, pulling him down to the ground with me. He laid back on the ground, gazing at the sky, then to me.
“Does life get any better than this?”
“When you’re behind the drums on stage?” I asked and he nodded.
“Yep, I think that might be it” he said as he reached up, tugging one of my dark curls with his fingers. “But it’s different, being on stage and with you”

“Well of course,” I answered frankly. “How can you compare the two? You can’t live without being on stage, without playing”
“And I won’t live without you. I refuse,” he said quickly.
“And I’d never ask you to.” I retorted right back. He gave a solid nod of his head.
“Good, I’d hate to have to take you prisoner or something.”
“I might like that,” I said wiggling my brows at him. He grabbed me, quicker than I expected and I was on my back, looking up at him.
“Behave yourself woman, or that airplane bathroom is gonna be child’s play.” I laughed, looking into his eyes.
“Well I guess I’ll be as bad as I want then.” He looked down, trying to look menacing but we both began to laugh, rolling on the ground, wrapped in each others arms. We were like children, enjoying the world, enjoying life for those few moments of freedom from everything else.
Times like this, this was what it was all about. I once read a quote that I think of when I’m with Shannon more than anyone else.
“Life isn’t about the breaths you take, it’s about the moments that take your breath away”
This was one of those moments, every moment with Shannon, stole my breath and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.