Summer Lovin’

The Lake Effect

Nisha ♥ Grant

Robertson Lake, Ont.

Long ago, I helped build a cedar Prospector canoe. Years later, in the wake of hard times, the canoe sat quiet, unused, and too heavy for me to take out alone with my small son. And so, in 2005, I put the word out to friends that it was available for loan, as long as it was cared for and appreciated.

Three months later, Grant showed up on my doorstep, referred by some mutual friends. With a roof rack on his car and tie-down straps in hand, he was ready to enjoy the canoe with his four children.

More than a year later, Grant reached out and asked if I wanted to go for a paddle. Soon paddling became part of our routine, and in the quiet solitude of the Canadian Shield, we too had a chance to connect, laugh, and get to know each other. Out on the lake, we shared early morning canoe rides through rising mist, fall afternoons with the colourful leaves reflecting off the water, and late-night paddles with blankets in the moonlight. The canoe was our silent, stable ally in the evolution of our growing friendship and the discovery that we were meant for each other.

Fast-forward 10 years to August 2017, to our wedding at the lake. We decorated the canoe with cedar boughs and wildflowers and tied it to the dock where the ceremony took place. We read letters aloud that we had written to each other over a decade of courtship. Afterwards, we climbed into the canoe (Grant wearing his kilt!) and paddled away into the afternoon light.—Nisha Parekh

Andrea ♥ Colin

Lac Barnes, Que.

At my friend Ali’s cottage wedding reception, her brother Colin followed me around like a puppy, but I was not interested. (I had my eye on another guest.) On the last night, the power went out, my alarm didn’t go off, and I missed my flight home to Arizona. I managed to book a flight the next day, but now I was stuck in a foreign country without a place to stay, and Ali was long gone on her honeymoon. But I had Colin’s number in