We found a restaurant in Grand Canyon Village and ordered lunch. While we waited for our food we went over the plan for the rest of our honeymoon. We still had a couple of hours to take in all the sights and explore the shops at the canyon. Then we would drive to Flagstaff and get checked in at our hotel wrapping up with some stargazing.

The next few days would be spent hitting the observatory historical areas and some beautiful hikes that were all within an hour's drive. We both enjoyed nature and were excited for all the beauty we would be taking in. Northern Arizona is gorgeous and we had planned out how to see as much as we possibly could.

"We should hike down into the canyon even just a little bit," Paige said with puppy dog eyes trying to get me to do something I didn't really want to do. Paige wanted to hike down into the Grand Canyon, but I convinced her that the view up top would be better.

"There is so much donkey doo on that trail," I argued unconvincingly. I didn't know why I had such a bad feeling about going down into the canyon, but sometimes you have to trust your gut. Paige could tell I was uneasy about it. "There is plenty to see from up top. Poop free," I said trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Not quite poop free up here either," she said nonchalantly gesturing to some of the small humans around us sporting diapers. Paige wasn't against kids but wasn't super interested in them either. I was on the fence about being a dad someday and mostly thought about how much work and sacrifice having a kid takes.

Seeing all the families with younglings around us enjoying their vacations made me think about our future though. Would we be visiting here again in ten years with a little one of our own? I wasn't ready for that and maybe I never would be. Paige has seen me with my nieces and knows that I'm good with kids, but playing with someone else's kid and then being able to leave seems like the better option for us. When is the right time to have the kids talk? For us, not now. I just want to spend as much time as possible with this amazing woman.

With that, I put it out of my mind and focused back on the canyon. I'll leave that conversation for a few years down the line. We just need to focus on each other for now. Lord knows that the first year of marriage is difficult enough without adding a kid to the mix. I wouldn't make the same mistake my parents made. Not that my older sister was a mistake, mom always called her a happy accident.

I was surprised with how much there was to do besides looking at the canyon from different viewing areas. We visited a couple of art galleries, perused some knick-knacks, and learned some of the histories of the area.

We wandered out to another lookout area and Paige looked out over the canyon and asked, "Can we make sure to see something beautiful that we've never seen before every year?"

"Absolutely," I took her hand and interlaced my fingers in hers. "Although I get to see one of the most gorgeous sights every day for the rest of my life so I won't complain either way." It was cheesy, but I said what I said and that can't be helped.

She slowly turned to gaze over at me with tears welling up in her eyes. "That is one of the lamest things you have ever said to me and that is really impressive considering your preponderance for lame utterances." I was impressed by her ability to make herself cry on cue like that.

"Talented and eloquent. How did I get so lucky?" I said still clutching her hand.

"I have no idea, but someone up there must like you," she said pointing up to the sky with her free hand, "and I guess that means they are fairly indifferent to me."

"That wasn't very nice," I said in mocked offense.

"I'll make it up to you later," Paige said tilting her head slightly and giving me a smile, "No other fish in the sea for me."

"That's the opposite of the saying, but I love you anyway," I said pulling her in for a hug and squeezing her tight.

"I love you too," she said pulling me into a kiss.

We looked out over the canyon for a few minutes. Everything felt right with the world and I thought about how lucky I was to have found her. I will spend the rest of my life showing her that I am a good man.

Then I heard the scream behind us. It was one of those sounds that you never forget. The sound of a young woman screaming in a way I'd never heard before. It sent a jolt through our bodies and we turned to see the woman pointing towards the canyon with one hand and smacking at the man standing next to her with the other in a vain attempt to quickly communicate the situation.

My sightline followed the pointing hand and that's when I saw the reason for the terrifying noise. Their toddler had climbed up the small stone separator that abutted the walkway. On the other side was a steep canyon wall that dropped down hundreds of feet. I was the closest to the toddler and my first reaction was to close the distance. The kid couldn't have been more than three years old and wasn't looking down as he took a few more treacherous steps towards the edge. I reached out and grabbed his arm as he went over the edge of the stone wall.

I managed to grab the edge of the wall with my free hand and tried desperately to gain a foothold, but my feet found no purchase. "Grab him!" I yelled as I managed to lift the small child up enough for Paige to reach him and pull him to safety. She turned back to grab my hand in an attempt to pull me up as well, but my hand had already slipped. The last thing I remembered seeing was her arms grasping over the wall followed by her head yelling words I couldn't make out.

Everything went black. I didn't feel any pain. I didn't feel anything.