I love a stroll along a trail in a park. I love finding spots along that trail to take snapshots of the experience. And I love letting my mind wander while I walk and later as I remember the walk.
Sometimes those walks become part of the inspiration for a scene in a story.
Or in this case, a scene that was planned by the hero but never materialized.
Victoria Park in Truro, Nova Scotia, is about an hour’s drive from my house. I haven’t been there in a few years, but the last time I was, I took the pictures included in this post. There’s a lovely boardwalk walk up to the falls with some long stairways that will lead you up to another level of trails and then back down again. And as you can see in the lower left image – some of those stairs take you down and then back up.
There’s more than just the path to the falls in this park (it covers 3000 acres!), but that’s the part that sparked the inspiration for Mark Bennett’s plan in Tell Me You’ll Be Mine Forever.
[If you’d like to see a map of the park, there’s a pdf of it and a mountain bike trail at this link, which I got from the city of Truro website.]
In my story, Mark has planned a full day of things that he and Amy can do together before he proposes. However, those plans get thwarted and all Mark’s planning gets tossed out the window.
Here’s where my memories of Victoria Park spark a little part of that plan.
…Amy peeked over her menu at Mark. “What can you tell me about your week?”
It was how she always asked him about his work. She understood that the type of ministry in which he found himself employed carried with it a great measure of trust and confidentiality. She wasn’t one to push those boundaries or look for things to gossip about.
“I spent a lot of it studying and typing up my sermon notes,” Mark answered. “But there were also some calls that had to be made with Pastor Gauthier, and then, the flower beds needed tending.”
He set his menu aside. He knew what he was going to get without looking. According to his stomach, today was a bacon cheeseburger with a side of home-fries kind of day.
“You did the flower beds? I thought Mrs. Powell always did them.” Amy’s brow furrowed as she scanned her menu. “Salad or a sandwich?”
“A salad is not a meal. Get the sandwich.”
“A salad is too a meal,” Amy protested. “Have you seen the size of the salads they make here?”
Mark chuckled. “Yes, I have. In fact, I ate one yesterday, but today’s not a salad day.”
“How is a day a salad day or not?”
He loved it when she argued with him and looked as befuddled as she did right now.
“The wind is a bit too brisk. That salad won’t keep you warm or give you enough fuel to traipse up to the falls with me.”
Her look of bewilderment slid into a smile. “We’re taking a hike?”
“A short one.” He knew how much she loved to walk in nature. Perhaps one day they would have a son or daughter who would love it as much as she did.
“That sounds lovely. In that case, I’ll have the Chicken Caesar sandwich.” She took a sip of her water. “Why did you have to do the flower beds?”…
Did you see it? The one tiny mention of a traipse up to the falls? Yeah, it’s not much writing about the falls, is it? *chuckles* That’s how it is sometimes with writing. You do research or have something specific in mind and it comes out as a line or two.
In my mind, I could see Mark seeing himself walking hand and hand along the trails or climbing the stairs with Amy, and I could also see him thinking about them chasing behind a couple of children along those paths in the future.
He didn’t know it yet, but they would have a child who loved to walk (and be) in nature as much as Amy did. Maybe Brandon likes it even more than his mother. But, Mark doesn’t know his wish will come true at this point. In fact, his vision of taking that walk with Amy is about to be erased just after this part of their conversation at The Falls Diner. And so begins his journey to learning to release his plans for this day and embrace God’s.
Mark and Amy’s story is available in eBook format as a welcome gift to my reader community subscribers (whether you’re on Patreon, Substack, or my website). It is also available as a free-to-listen-to (digitally narrated) audiobook on YouTube.
In case you’re subscribed to one of my reader communities but don’t have this story, you can find it in these places:
If you’re on Patreon, I made a post/email about this yesterday so check your inbox or the home page on Patreon.
If you’re a website subscriber, look for the welcome email in the Subscribers Only section of the menu.
And if you’re on Substack, I have put a link to download it in the Chat section of my Substack which can be accessed via the app or online.
