Chapter 92 Perfect Clarity
The question hit him as hard as anything that had ever hit him before. He had hoped that she would want to go riding in the basin and get more of a look than Grace had when he had brought her to that very same place years ago. She was game to go far beyond the basin. “I suppose we can,” he said. “We’ll likely get home well after dark, though.”
“I can ride in the dark,” she said. “I’ve never been on top of a mountain peak.”
“Well, then let’s go,” he said. He stood, gathered his reins, and swung easily up into the saddle, then waited patiently as Alexandra climbed into the saddle. She was getting better. With time, she would get the rhythm and be able to swing up like he did, but he was proud of how far she had advanced in just a little more than a year. Once she was in the saddle and ready to go, he led off up the trail.
This was the glory of his mountain escape, and he was in heaven as he shared it with Alexandra. Away from the sound of the falls, he and Alexandra could hear the birds as they conversed with each other, flitting from one part of the grass to another. Swarms of small birds would take off in a cloud, spinning and turning in perfect, close formation maneuvers that baffled him. How could 100 individuals move so quickly and gracefully without a single mishap? They never collided with each other. They were in perfect harmony. He heard the sweet “chee-oo-ree” chorus of red-winged black birds as they called to each other from their nests among the marshes. A family of ducks paddled along the stream in a quiet pool where the creek made a sharp turn and some of the water spilled over the edge, creating a small pond that was perfect to raise a family of ducklings. They heard the call of a particularly alert mother cow, who had already accounted for their presence and was calling her calf to her side as she trotted back to where she had left him with a group of his white-faced peers stretched out in the grass.
They rode to them along the edge of the timber, and there they received a sound scolding from the chattering mouths of several squirrels. He and Alexandra had disturbed them, and they were giving them an earful of their opinion of the two of them invading their home. Alexandra commented on the sound scolding that they had received, giggling at the thought of several old women sounding almost the same.
As they rode along the edge of one of the ridges, they encountered a rock slide and more than a dozen marmots sat in the rocks, sunning themselves and whistling to each other. Evan had grown up referring to the animals as “whistle pigs,” and he told Alexandra that is what they were called, and then related their real name. Their fur was a darker brown on their backs and turned to a yellowish tan on their bellies, thus the name “yellow-bellied marmot”. As they scrambled through the grass to the safety of the rock slide, the rolls of fat jiggled over their bodies. As the riders came closer, their whistles became more intense, and those nearest to them scrambled down into their rocky dens.
They passed by the marmots on their way toward the accent of Tralala and gazed back across the basin that opened up below. The green meadow was splattered with patches of wild flowers from every color of the spectrum, some of them mixed and some of them in their own, elite groups. Alexandra lingered as she looked over the patchwork below and began asking about the different flowers.
Columbines were hidden among the aspen trees where they enjoyed partial shade most of the day. Out in the open meadow, purple lupine was in abundance along with alpine penstemon and wild delphinium in various colors. The most abundant varieties were blue or purple, but there was also a sprinkling of red, yellow, and white scattered among them. In greater abundance, but much more subtly placed within the tall grass were asters of every possible color.
The large-leafed “skunk cabbage” plants were also in abundance, with their long stems extending high enough that the cluster of white flowers at the top was within easy reach of Evan’s hand from horseback. The nickname “skunk cabbage” came from their bitter smell, which was similar to the odor of a skunk. He explained all of these things as they rode along. He was full of joy as he presented his mountains and all of their abundance to the love of his life. She drank it all in eagerly and pressed on for more.
They broke out above timberline and continued up the gentle alpine slope toward the summit. As they neared the summit, the trail began to make gentle switchbacks as it became steeper. Alexandra could see more and more of the endless ridges, peaks, valleys, and streams as they went higher. It was a breathtaking view in every direction, and it filled her with a feeling of such intensity that she was nearly moved to tears.
At long last, there was no higher place to g,o and they were sitting at the crest of a narrow ridge looking down upon the world below and across at the other peaks in the range. They seemed to stretch on in endless succession. Alexandra had no words and frankly did not want to interrupt the silence with any words.
“Alex,” Evan said, reaching across to take hold of her hand. “What do you think?”
“Oh my god, Evan,” she whispered. “It’s really beyond words. It’s so vast and so wild. I feel like I could jump and sail upon the wind.”
He smiled, proud of his mountains, but equally proud that she shared the same deep sentiments about them that he did. “Would you like to share these mountains with me?” he asked.
She looked directly into his eyes. “Is this what you had to show me?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I guess to be more formal.” He cleared his throat and started to open his mouth to ask the question.
“Yes, Evan,” she said, smiling. The tears that had been working their way to the surface all of the way up the mountainside finally fell over the brim. “I will marry you and share your mountains with you.” They leaned toward each other and shared a passionate kiss, with Sam and Lucy gazing up at them.