Page 49 of Entwined in Norway

‘Okay.’ She was grinning at him. This girl liked surprises.

He got on himself and started paddling, turning right to head down the side of the island.

‘Where are you going?’

‘Wait and see.’

‘But… there’s nothing down here. We won’t be able to stop anywhere. It’s just rock.’

‘Have you been down here before?’

‘No.’

‘Uh huh.’

Ida was a person who liked to be in control; he knew that. But that was the point of a surprise, and seeing the joy on her face before made him stay quiet about the destination. He had no idea what to expect, but he knew Heidi liked Ida and had done this for her, so it was going to be more than a beach to pull up at.

The waterfall was right around the corner, out of sight from the end of the island, and Erik thought if the water wasn’t so cold, it would be possible to swim to it. Then right after that, Heidi’s beach. He paddled so that the front of the kayak beached on the shore. It wasn’t sandy, more like dark grey gravel, but where the water was shallow, it showed off the clarity of the water like nothing he’d ever seen before. He dipped his hand in. It was cold, but nowhere near as cold as the deeper water he’d been dipping into.

‘How did you know this was here?’ Ida asked as she crawled to the front of the kayak while he held it still.

‘Heidi. Her grandfather built a cabin here.’

At the top of the beach was a wooden platform with open sides and a roof. It had an eclectic assortment of chairs on it and a large chest. Stacked neatly on one side was a pile of logs. Erik couldn’t help but think about the fact that someone had brought those around here in a boat. In front of the old cabin was a fire pit, and as they got closer, they could see a string of lights criss-crossing the underside of the ceiling.

‘It’s a secret beach,’ Ida said in amazement.

Erik looked inside the chest and pulled out a couple of blankets and cushions, spreading them on the ground next to the fire pit.

‘Can I look in the bag now?’

‘Sure. Can you hand me the lighter?’

Ida pulled out four parcels of foil-wrapped food, then handed him the lighter and began to unfurl the foil.

‘You don’t need to open those. Heidi said put them on the fire like that.’

‘Really?’

‘You don’t want to cross her.’

‘No, that’s true.’

Next out of the bag were two napkins, two plastic wine glasses and a bottle of Ida’s favourite white wine with an ice jacket to keep it cold. There was also a big bottle of water in there.

‘Wow. This is amazing,’ Ida said, opening the wine while Erik got the fire going and went to fetch more logs.

With the fire roaring and the sun just high enough to shine on the beach until it dropped behind the top of the mountain, they pulled the cushions closer to the water’s edge and sat with their toes in the relatively warm shallows, sipping their wine.

‘To Heidi,’ Erik said, tapping his glass against Ida’s.

‘To Heidi.’

Erik absentmindedly rubbed his leg, enjoying, as always, the feeling of being stretched out.

‘Is it feeling better today?’

‘Yeah. Really good, actually.’ Now that he thought about it, he realised it might have been the first time he’d thought about it all day. When was the last time that had happened since he’d been in Norway? ‘I haven’t even noticed it today.’