She was glad she had arrived early; her morning walk on the beach had been the perfect bridge to allow her the freedom to leave her cares behind. With each wave that lapped her feet, one more piece of her cluttered mind drifted away. The constant battle raging within her was now a distant memory. Her mind, body and soul were tense with the anticipation of looking into his eyes again.
Closing her eyes, she let her mind slide back in time to their first time together. It was just four years ago, she had just finished her finals on a fourth degree and convinced her family that she needed a weekend to herself to unwind. She had gotten in her car and driven north, no particular destination in mind, no schedule, no plan. This was, for the most part, unlike her and it was somewhat liberating to not have a care in the world. Her watch was in her purse and her cell phone was turned off. She drove.
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His hands were tight on the steering wheel. On any other day traffic on route nine would have been sparse, but today of all days; it was bumper to bumper at five miles an hour. The radio had given him all he needed to be convinced he would be at least three hours late; an overturned fuel truck with no alternate route to the exit for the lake. His mind began to wonder to what the coming three days would entail. The embrace, the connection, the stolen moments of time they shared. His thoughts settled on their first weekend together.
He was amazed to realize it had been four years. In some ways it didn't seem that long, in others it seemed like he had known her a life time. He had been traveling between projects and couldn't find a hotel or even a motel in this desolate region of the country. The sign at the edge of the road was only partially visible, the wood was gray, the letters were faded and the words were less than poignant. "Lake Side Cabins." He pulled to a stop in front of a humble cabin with the word "Office" on the door. He was concerned that he saw no other buildings and wondered if the place were abandoned.
As he turned off his car an elderly gentleman greeted him with a smile, "Evening."
"Good evening to you," was all he could think of for a response.
"Need a place to lay those weary bones?" was the question from the porch.
"I do, but how did you know my bones were weary?"
"Well, I've been here a long time and lately the only guests that show up without reservations are the ones that realize there ain't no Holiday Inns or Motel 6's for thirty miles or more."
"Please tell me you have a vacancy," were his next words.
"We happen to have one cabin left, just gimme a second to leave the wife a note and I'll show it to you."
Leaving the note in the rocker, he climbed down the steps and extended his hand. After a proper introduction Hal showed him where to park and walked him down the quarter mile of dim trail to cabin number nine, "The Love Nest."
As he open the door, he offered with a smile and a wink, "Sorry for the sparse accommodations, but it is the honeymoon cabin and most folks don't have much use for the TV and all that other fancy stuff."
"This will be fine, all I need is a place to shower and a bed in which to lay my body," was his response.
"Then you're in luck, the showers are just down the trail another hundred yards and the bed is very comfortable. Breakfast is included in the rental so stop on down to the office in the morning for a home cooked meal."
After negotiating a price he paid cash for the cabin and grabbed his only piece of luggage and headed for the showers. Hal meandered back down the trail and resumed his perch in the rocker on the porch of the office. He assumed his wife would have been back from the store by now, but no matter, she would wake him when she returned. A little nap before bed was just what he needed.
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Her eyes were getting heavy, the road she was on seemed desolate, the last motel had been thirty miles ago and she was starting to wonder where she would spend the night. As she rounded the bend she caught sight of a tired old sign "Lake Side Cabins." As she pulled in she saw an old man sleeping on the porch, his mouth hanging open, his hands folded in his lap.
She wasn't sure how to wake him without scaring him half to death, but was spared the need to try when an elderly woman came from the door wiping her hands on her apron.
"Oh thank goodness someone is here, I wasn't sure if this place was still open," she exclaimed.
"Of course we're open, we're always open... until we close," she said with a smile.
"I was wondering if you have any cabins for rent? I don't really know where I am and with the looks of that sky I think I better find a place to stay for the night," was her question.
As the elderly woman looked up she agreed, "It does look like a terrible storm is brewing doesn't it?"
They met at the bottom of the steps to the cabin and Helen introduced herself. As the large rain drops began to fall Helen advised her to drive all the way to the end of the driveway and make herself at home in cabin number nine.
"No sense us getting soaked to the skin, go have a restful evening and we'll settle up in the morning," was all that she needed to hear.
She quickly made her way up the drive and ran into the cabin before the full force of the storm arrived. The cabin she entered was perfect; pine floors, simple white curtains and even more simple furnishings, a gorgeous fire place, a very large bed and one small love seat.
She had noticed the "Love Nest" sign hanging above the door and sighed an, "if only," to herself. If she were to be honest with herself, the love had long since faded from her life and her days were filled with work, school and a less then fulfilling marriage. Not that things were terrible, just, well...dead. Although she shared a bed with her husband they rarely spoke and hadn't touched one another in years.
As she lamented in her sorrow, she began to look around the cabin. On the counter was a fresh bowl of fruit and in the ice box was a chilled bottle of champagne. She laughed to herself and decided to indulge. Wasn't that the reason she had begun this trip, to relax and recover?
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As he finished his shower he was startled to see that it had begun to rain. In the west dark clouds were rolling and the sound of thunder could be heard. He quickly ran the hundred yards to the cabin but stopped dead in his tracks as he reached the porch.
Parked next to the cabin was a car that hadn't been there. As he looked through the window he saw a totally unexpected sight, a beautiful woman sitting on the only piece of furniture in the room besides the bed. She sat comfortably on the small wicker love seat with her feet tucked under her, a glass of something in her left hand and a luscious bunch of green grapes hung from her right. He checked the cabin door again to make sure he was at the right one before he gently knocked on the door. Just as she opened it the skies let loose with a fury and rain began to fall in sheets. The noise on the metal roof was deafening, he had to practically yell to be heard over the staccato over head.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"No thanks, I'm fine," she returned.
This puzzled him.
"I mean, what are you doing here?" he continued.
"Relaxing, what are you doing here?" she offered with a smile.
"But this is my cabin," he offered.
Now she was getting perplexed.
"I just rented it for the night from Helen," she explained
"Well I rented it from Hal half an hour ago," he countered
By this time she was getting weary of trying to talk over the din of the pounding rain. She asked him to come in so they might sort it all out. With the ever harder hammering of rain he couldn't understand what she was saying and after repeating it twice to no avail, she grabbed him by the shirt front and pulled him into the cabin.
"Well, it seems we both rented the same cabin from two different people," he said as he wiped the rain from his face.
"Seems to be the case," she replied.
He said, "I was told it was the last one they had open, and there isn't another place for miles, I'll go down to the office and see what they can do about our situation."
"Well, why don't you wait until after the rain lets up, no sense catching a cold?"
"If you don't mind," he offered quietly.
"Nah, you look mostly harmless," she joked.
As he removed his wet shoes and set his bag on the counter he commented on the chill the rain had brought. She offered him a glass of champagne as she began to pour it before he even answered.
"Least I can do is offer you something to eat and drink for trying to steal you cabin," she joked.
"Well, the least I could do is build you a fire in that fireplace for attempting to steal your cabin," he replied.
As he bent to the task she watched him. Thinking about what her friends and family would say if they knew she was alone in a secluded cabin with a stranger. She wasn't sure if it was what she had to drink or where she was in her life, but the thought came to her mind... "but they don't know...do they?"
As the fire began to burn he turned and caught her watching him. The smile on her face was beautiful. The look in her eyes was as if she were a million miles away. He watched her watching him, waiting for her to realize he was watching back. When she finally came back from where ever she was her cheeks flushed and her voice failed her...she tried to speak, but nothing came out.
He rescued her by offering his name.
"Hello, my name is David," he almost whispered.
"And my name is Elizabeth," she offered as she handed him his glass.
"Well, Elizabeth, we may be here awhile from the sounds of that storm, why don't you come sit by the fire and tell me your story?"
Still feeling somewhat at a loss, she joined him on the floor in front of the fire and asked him just what story he wanted to hear.