Misty Niagara

Janice bit her lip to keep her chin from quivering.  She thought she could pass it off as being cold rather than tearful if Henry asked, except that she was starting to feel her eyes swell with tears. Perhaps she could blame that on the cold, too. The truth was she hated this Maid of the Mist cruise. She was miserably cold, wet, and a little bit seasick. She couldn’t imagine why Niagara Falls was such a popular honeymoon spot.

Henry seemed to love it.  Janice watched him leaning over the deck rail, throwing his head back as mist crashed against the boat and splashed him. He turned to her, laughing, and Janice forced a smile onto her face.  It was her job now to make sure her new husband was happy. She wouldn’t  utter a word of complaint.

Instead, she dug underneath her dripping plastic rain poncho and into her purse. Her fingers were wet and cold, but she managed to pull out the camera and held it up as Henry turned toward her, smiling again.

“Let me take your picture!” she yelled to him. She doubted he could hear her voice over the explosion of the waves, but he seemed to understand her and posed with his back to the magnificent falls. She snapped his picture and nodded toward him. She’d gotten it; a picture of Henry on their honeymoon.

Henry turned back to the falls as the boat bounced atop the choppy waves. Janice stuffed the camera back underneath her rain poncho and slipped quietly inside. She felt a few tears on her cheek, but she could easily dismiss those as drops of mist. No one would suspect this bride was crying on her honeymoon.