Part III

After what had been a magical camping weekend in P.E.I., I had no desire to leave.

“I’m going to marry you someday,” he said with a country twang in his voice to me the night before.

At the concert, he introduced me to his group of friends as his fiancée. I had played along even though I didn’t have proof of a ring.

The whole weekend we had joked about getting married and I was referring to him as my future husband. Now his words echoed in my ears as I watched him walk away. Just saying goodbye brought me to tears as we finished packing up the campsite.

On The Road Again

Jonni and I left last in her car. My future hubby hitched a ride back to Charlottetown with his sister and Brad left back to Nova Scotia in his truck. We poured some roadie drinks for the four hour drive from Cavendish to Jonni’s apartment in Halifax.

I took one last look at the red sandy beaches of Prince Edward Island and tipped by cowboy hat in a salute. This island had touched my heart and so had the boy I met here. I doubted I would ever see him again.

We stopped at the Green Gables Heritage Place and took a stroll through Lover’s Lane. Just being there tugged at my heart strings and it only been a few hours since he left.

Onwards we drove. Crossing The Confederation Bridge from P.E.I. to New Brunswick, it was the beginning of the second leg of my trip.

We stopped at a gas station in Truro, Nova Scotia where they also had a trading post. Jonni and I each bought a pair of authentic moccasins sans tax.

I grabbed a ginger ale at the gas station. For some reason, I was having the worst car sickness ever.

“Hope you’re not pregnant!” Jonni joked.

“I’m sure I’m fine,” I said, but the queasiness in my stomach seemed to worsen as we drove on.

Halifax

We made it back to Nova Scotia, but instead of staying at Jonni’s apartment in Halifax, we stayed the night at Brad’s in Annapolis Valley. I was pretty burnt out and still feeling nauseated from the drive. We decided to take it easy and went nearby to one of Jonni’s friend’s houses and took a dip in their hot tub. It was pretty relaxing until sunset and the mosquitos started eating us alive.

I hadn’t remembered the mosquitos being this bad in P.E.I. Something about the woodedness of Nova Scotia really brought out the bugs. Lack of wind perhaps?

The next day we went to Jonni’s place in Halifax because she had to head back to work at the restaurant in the evening. That left me to do pretty much nothing. Later, we ended up at one of Jonni’s friend’s houses that night. He lived in a mansion in Annapolis Valley. Now this was more my style! With a swimming pool, some alcohol and a few more joiners, it became a party. I told Jonni I didn’t want to leave the mansion, so to leave me here. I would find somewhere to sleep. She was pretty peeved by my newfound friendships with those at the mansion, but I found solace in my new surroundings.

The next day, Jonni had to work again, so I ended up meeting up with my new mansion BFF, Brit, at Gahan House in Nova Scotia. The taste of that blueberry beer brought back my fond memories of Prince Edward Island. She and her boyfriend Pete picked me up and we drove out to Peggy’s Cove.

Photos by, Ruby Wray

 Peggy’s Cove

If you haven’t been to Peggy’s Cove, it’s like driving through a small fisherman’s village, with little colourful houses lining the water. It’s a really majestic spot for taking beautiful photos.

The lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove was built in 1915 and is the quintessence of picturesque East Coast shoreline.

Outta There

As much as I had enjoyed my visit to Nova Scotia and Peggy’s Cove, I couldn’t stop thinking about P.E.I.–specifically, the guy I had met there. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? I’m normally glad to be rid of a guy and over it five minutes after they leave. This time was different.

My friend at the mansion had a twin  brother who lived in P.E.I. with a cottage to boot. They were planning to go to the cottage that weekend and I jumped at the chance to get back to the island. My new bff Brit and her boyfriend decided to go as well, so we all made the four hour trip back to Prince Edward Island. I said goodbye to Jonni, as she had to work everyday and could see she was almost happy to see me leave. I had come all the way to the East Coast to see her, but we had already grown sick of one another.

Cottaging in P.E.I.

This was the most relaxing leg of the trip. We drove up to a tiny cabin right on the ocean, our spot for the next few days. My phone didn’t get reception out there so I couldn’t even call my future husband to tell him I made it back. I was ready to be a recluse for the next few days and recover from all my drinking. It was time for me to sober up and let the salty ocean air heal me from the outside in.

Over those few days, we kayaked and tanned on the red sandy beach–soaking in the warmth of the Canadian summer sun. It was just what I needed and I was happy I had extended my trip an extra week to enjoy a little R&R.

It felt like the longest two days and on the Wednesday it was time to leave. I asked Brit to drive me to Charlottetown, only a 20 minute drive from the cottage. She agreed and drove me to the girl’s house I had met on my first night. She lived in a burrow of Charlottetown called Stratford.

Stranded in Stratford

I hadn’t heard from my future husband all day and was so excited to surprise him by showing up again. He took almost the whole day to text me back and it wasn’t until 8 p.m. when he finally responded. We had planned to meet at Hopyard again, but by 11 p.m. he still hadn’t shown up. Was he trying to blow me off? I told him I was leaving the bar because I was the last one there and he apologized, telling me to cab over to his house.

I brought an overnight bag and picked up some drinks at the gas station on my way over. We stayed the night next door to his parents house, apparently the people had left for the week so it was like we had our own apartment.

The next day I met his parents and stayed with them over the last few days of my trip. In no time, I was sitting in his family’s kitchen while his mom was showing me photos from his childhood. Our relationship had escalated quickly! I can’t say I even met my ex’s parents and we dated for three years. I always felt hesitant about meeting a guy’s parents. However; this time it was natural, this time it felt right.

Time’s Up

Ironically, his parents were driving to Toronto the day I was leaving to catch my flight back to YYZ. I begged my future husband to go with them and stay with me in Toronto for two weeks. He made up some excuse that his friend was having this reunion and he couldn’t miss it.

“Nice to meet you,” he said as we lingered outside of the taxi. All my stuff was already packed in the trunk. Nice to meet me? Isn’t that something you say to an acquaintance at a boring party, to be polite? Not someone you just spent two weeks with.

Broken hearted, I left that afternoon and cried all the way back to Toronto.

Our time together had been brief, but I got the impression that he was more than just a summer fling. After his emotionless goodbye, I wasn’t sure he felt the same. I sloughed it off and figured it was another relationship meant to be experienced, but didn’t mean it would last. The relationship came so effortlessly and I couldn’t help but feel it was serendipity.

However; there was one souvenir I brought home that I had NOT bargained for and it made him very hard to forget. . .

To Be Continued . . .

Don’t miss the ending! Here’s Part IV