 Although Sarah never got to see Tom Robbins by the side of the road in La Conner, she and Nick were looking forward to exploring Vancouver, another “green city”, and seeing what kind of diamond engagement rings Vancouver, British Columbia might have. Neither of them had ever been to Vancouver, but they had both heard that it was a very eco-friendly city and they had a mountain they were looking forward to climbing. They were both happy to be competing in the Grouse Grind Mountain Run, an insane running hike up rough terrain. “I can’t wait to see the trail,” Sarah told Nick. “I think it’s best if we go into it not knowing,” he responded. “Then I guess you don’t want to see these photos I printed off the internet, right?” She said, waving a few sheets of paper around. “Later,” Nick waved them away. “Put some ‘New Pornographers’ on. I need to get into a Vancouver state-of-mind.” Ever faithful, Bob-the-GPS got them to the Pacific Palisades Hotel, 1277 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC. They picked it because it was uber-eco-friendly. They had all low-flow valves, energy-efficient light bulbs, they composted and even offered free valet parking if you rolled up to the hotel in a hybrid. “I wonder what the ‘organic snacks’ are in the mini-bar,” Sarah said as they were checking in. “You are SO not eating from that mini-bar,” Nick told her. After they checked in, they went wandering around the neighborhood. They stopped and ate lunch at Shenanigan’s Bar & Grill, which was right next door to the hotel. The each had a burger and fries. “No beer?” Nick asked as he ordered a local brew for himself. Sarah smiled as she ordered a Diet Coke. “Not if I’m trying on clothes after this, no.” She told him. Across the street was a funky little shop called Fusion. Sarah was relieved to not have aggressive salespeople pulling at her and trying to get her to try on things she didn’t like. She found a great salmon-pink halter dress. As she twirled in front of Nick in it, she asked if he liked it. “Won’t you be cold?” He asked, gesturing to her bare arms. “When has that ever been a priority when we’re going out?” Sarah said. “Besides, it’s not cold in bars.” Nick grabbed her by the waist. “Not when you’re there, anyway,” he said. After changing back into her jeans and sweater, they headed off for a stroll around downtown Vancouver. Robson Street looked more European than any place they had been yet. “It feels like a village, only with huge skyscrapers in the background,” Sarah said. “Yeah,” Nick told her, “that, and the Virgin Megastore. I don’t really picture one of those in a village anywhere.” It was a great day for people-watching. They decided to sit for a bit at one of the billion or so Starbucks in the area. Drinking coffee and people-watching was one of their favorite activities. “All that’s missing,” Nick said, “is a New York Times.” Sarah smiled and handed him a copy of the Vancouver Sun. “Go native,” she told him and he took it from her. “And gimme the puzzle, will ya?” After they sat and enjoyed the warmth of a sunbeam on an otherwise-chilly day, they got up and headed to look for the jewellery store they had chosen to terrorize. From everything that Sarah had read, it was one of the best jewellers in the city, and she couldn’t wait to see what they had. Sarah put on her ‘unpleasant face’ before they went in. Nick was going to be the wimpy guy totally dominated by his girlfriend. Sarah really enjoyed being unpleasant from time-to-time. Since it wasn’t her nature, it was like being someone else for a little while. Nick held the door open for her and she stalked in. He followed, a few steps back. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to face him. She winked, then started in. “Go tell the woman what we’re looking for!” She barked at him. Nick walked up to the counter as the salesperson came to meet him. “How can I help you, sir?” The woman said politely. He paused, and Sarah said, “Tell her what you want.” Nick barely made eye contact with the salesperson. “I’m looking for a ring,” he said. “An engagement ring,” Sarah corrected. The salesperson put a smile on her face. “How wonderful for you both! My name is Michelle. Do you have an idea of what you’re looking for?” Nick looked at the ground. Then he spoke quietly. “Hearts and arrows, three carats, platinum band.” Sarah stood next to him and looked at him, then at Michelle. “With round brilliant sidestones. Can’t you get anything right?” He mumbled an apology. “Well,” Michelle began, ”We have some rings that are pre-set, but we do a lot of custom work, if you have a design of your own in mind. I’d be happy to help you with creating a design, if you’d like.” “That won’t be necessary,” Sarah snapped. “Platinum band. Round brilliant sidestones at a quarter-carat each. Hearts and arrows center stone, 3 carats. This is not complicated.” “We can custom-make that for you easily. We can pick out your diamonds from our inventory online and you can come back to see them in person after they arrive,” Sarah sighed as if she was bored. “Fine, but let’s hurry if we can. We have somewhere else to be.” They looked through the diamond inventory online together. Michelle steered them toward the diamonds Sarah had specified. “Aren’t they lovely?” she said proudly. “The pictures are nice. But I need to see them through a loupe. Can you do that online? How can I pick a diamond without a loupe?” Sarah was ranting. Michelle tried to smile. “When your diamonds arrive, you will be able to examine them through a loupe and a Firescope.” “And this takes how long?” Sarah asked impatiently. “It will take only 2 days for the diamonds to arrive.” Michelle remained calm. Sarah threw her hands in the air. “I simply cannot wait that long.” She turned around. “Come on, Kevin, we’re leaving.” Nick smiled at Michelle and shrugged. Then he followed Sarah out of the store. When they had walked out of sight, Nick stopped. “Kevin?” He asked. “He’s an ex-boyfriend I hate. It was easier to be bitchy if I thought of you as him.” Nick smiled. “And you were, indeed, mean. You owe me.” “Then follow me, babe.” They walked together for a few blocks until they reached the New Amsterdam Caf?. When they walked in, Nick was surprised at the pungent smell that was coming out of bongs and pipes and hookahs all over the room. He put his arm around Sarah. “You’re the best girlfriend ever,” he told her. “It gets better,” Sarah told him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a gift for him. “Where is this from?” Nick asked. “I got it from Karen when we were in Colorado,” she told him. “I’ve been saving it for this.” They sat at a booth, drinking tea and eating cookies for a few hours. They watched people coming and going. It was an interesting mix of people, from well-dressed business-types to Hell’s Angels-types to hobo-types. And everyone was in the same space, just hanging out. Listening to music and talking. “It’s like college,” Sarah said. “Only this is legal,” Nick reminded her. “Yeah, that never worried me much when we were in school,” Sarah told him. “We should go, though. We need a good night’s sleep before we climb that mountain tomorrow.” Nick started laughing. “I totally forgot about that,” he said. “I know, babe,” Sarah nodded, “but we’re doing it anyway.” “Duh,” Nick smiled as he took Sarah’s hand and they walked back towards the hotel. The slept like babies that night, and woke up early to be ready for the Grouse Grind Mountain Run. Nick decided to look at those pictures after all, and was a little surprised to see 45-degree grades to climb in some areas. He and Sarah had done plenty of hiking together, along with rock-climbing and every other outdoor sport they could, but this was something different altogether. They would be hiking a 2.9km trail that rose over 850 meters high. It was steep.
Nick and Sarah arrived at Grouse Mountain and started stretching as close to the base of the trail as they could. Sarah was wearing running pants with a pocket inside for cash. She was pretty sure they’d both be up for a beer once they were done, no matter how early it was. Just before it began, Nick kissed Sarah and told her, “The trick is to just imagine what’s at the top. Ignore everything else. Tunnel-vision, okay?” She nodded. They started well, but the burn kicked in quickly. They were prepared for it to be steep, but neither was prepared for it to hurt this much. There were people who clearly ran this a lot. Sarah had seen them beforehand, talking and laughing and wearing t-shirts from last year’s race. They seemed to just scamper on ahead of everyone else. Then she decided to just focus. She and Nick lost track of each other, but she kept her focus only on what was waiting at the top. Nick, in the meantime, was a little bit ahead of her, but with every step he could feel the burn in his quads, the aches in his knees. Then he took a deep breath and just thought about what lay at the end of the trail. It was agony, but he knew that he would love having done it. When he got to the end of the trail, he looked around for Sarah. He had finished in just over 42 minutes. He didn’t know how to judge if it was a good or bad time, since he had never done it before. There were a bunch of people ahead of him, but most of them still seemed to be on their way up. After a few minutes, he saw Sarah. She was looking right through him and busting out step after step, looking like something was chasing her. She got to the top and started walking in circles, getting her breath back to normal. Just under 45 minutes. Nick walked over to give her a hug. She held up a finger. She needed to get her breath back and stretch. They walked to a spot away from the crowd and started stretching out. “My calves are weepin’,” Sarah finally said. “My quads are killing me,” Nick responded. “This is a perfect time for my favorite quote,” Sarah told him. “From Gloria Steinem: ‘Like most writers, I don’t like to write. I like to have written.’” “It is a perfect time for that quote,” Nick agreed. “I am truly happy that we have done this run. Now let’s have a beer.” They made their way to the Grouse Mountain Chalet and sat down. First, they each guzzled a few glasses of water. Then they each had a few beers before they went to check out the scenery. The top of the mountain had amazing views from all sides. Downtown Vancouver looked beautiful and clean. “It’s lovely,” Sarah said. “Can we go shower now?” Nick laughed and the two of them gingerly walked to the gondola going back down the mountain. They drove back to the hotel, where they each showered for a non-eco-friendly length of time, and then sprawled out on the bed. “We should really see the rest of Vancouver,” Nick said. “I agree,” Sarah responded. “Call down to the concierge about one of those tours. I’m not taking one single unnecessary step for the rest of the day.” “I’m with you,” Nick told her as he picked up the phone. Sarah rolled over to look at him. “But let’s definitely do this city again, too.” “It’s already on my list,” Nick said. “Let’s maybe train a little first, though." He paused. "Hey, you never got to wear your new dress." "How about I try it on now?" Sarah asked. "You're on," he said, grinning.
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