“Come with me. I’ll show you your cabin,” Michael told her, quite animated. He seemed quite happy to have her there. She felt welcomed. She walked behind him, noticing his well defined back and his slightly sunburned neck. She wanted to tell him to put some more sunscreen on the back of his head but decided not to; she didn’t want to sound like his mother. The cottage was to her right and she could see two little blue cabins peeking through behind the trees on the left. There was a nice flat patch of grass between the cottage and cabins. As they made their way to the cabins, Angela noticed a tiny white cabin, not big enough to sleep in she concluded; maybe for storage she thought.
“This is yours. It’s the nicest one,” Michael explained, smiling as he opened the door for her.
“Thank you,” she said as she squeezed in by him, taking in that glorious combo of sunscreen and after shave. The man smelled good.
Well, it wasn’t quite what she had expected; it was very old with a musty smell. Although, it was quite quaint; a twin bed with a small side table topped with a lamp sat in the center of the cabin. An old cedar chest sat at the end of the bed. The red and white checkered curtains on the window were hung on an old rustic oar. An oak dresser sat against the wall with a bouquet of fresh wild flowers displayed on its top.
“These are beautiful.”
“Michelle picked them this morning.”
A beautiful colorful quilt covered the bed.
“I cleaned it up a bit for you,” he told her as he set her bag on the bed. They were in close quarters as the cabin was quite small. She wanted him to stay… and she wanted him to leave!
“Thank you. It’s...nice,” she said. “The quilt is beautiful,” she added as she felt the soft texture of it, and appreciated its detailing.
“Yeah... I think my grandmother made it.”
In those few seconds, the place grew on her; she decided she could be quite happy here for the next two nights.
“I hope this is good with you. I’m in the other cabin,” he explained, sitting on the bed, leaning back on his hands.
Get off my bed.
“Dot would never sleep in here and I’d rather the kids be in the cottage; under her supervision. They can’t get away with anything with her around,” he joked.
“This is great,” she reassured him as she opened her bag.
“I’ll be right in the next cabin, if you have any concerns.”
Um... well,thatis exactly my concern.
“There’s the odd bug in here but you should be fine,” he added.
Um... odd bug... no, I won’t be.
“The outhouse is right out there; the little white cabin.”
Oh damn… that’s what that is.
“And worse comes to worse, you can always sleep on the pull-out couch in the cottage if you’re not comfortable here.”
“Oh, I will be.” She hoped what she was saying was true. She didn’t quite believe herself at the time.
“Well, I’ll leave you to unpack. Come join us in the cottage when you’re done. We’re having lunch,” he told her as he stepped out as quickly as he had come in.
As she put her stuff in the dresser, she did a further inspection of the cabin, in privacy. She looked at the floor, under the bed, under the sheets. Everything seemed fine; no scary bugs. She felt a wave of relief. She could survive this weekend after all. She told herself the last few minutes would be the official last exchange she would have with Michael for the next two days. She would, from then on, keep as far away from him as she had promised herself she would. Everything would be proper and appropriate.
But… on second thought, she decided that she would maybe sneak in a peek or two, harmless peeks.
But that would be it, definitely it.
Angela stepped up the stairs of the cottage, smiling at the sight of the wicker chairs on the porch; this was definitely a quaint place. She could very well imagine herself reading a good book, sitting on one of those chairs. She hesitated to knock, decided she’d go right in. She jiggled the stiff handle of the door and Eric opened it for her.
“Come in. Make your self comfortable,” Dot told her, sitting comfortably. “Michael is making his gourmet sandwiches. He’s a great cook, my Michael.”
“You’re over selling me,” he said, prepping the sandwich at the large counter, assisted by Michelle.
