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I feel the first twinges of stiffness across my shoulders and down my legs as I get ready for bed that night. It looks like I’m going to be sore tomorrow, but I don’t care. I’ve had a blast today doing something that I’ve never done before, and I’m looking forward to more of the same over the next few days.
As I drift off to sleep, images of the day play through my mind. I’m so glad I came on this holiday, and I’m glad to have met Ed. As I think about him, I’m aware of butterflies fluttering deep in my stomach.
‘Are you falling for him, Charley?’ I ask myself out loud.
‘I think I might be, just a little,’ I reply.
I turn over and, within moments, I’m fast asleep.
15
When I wake up, I’m delighted to discover that, although I am a bit stiff, it’s nowhere near as bad as it could have been. I had been worried that I’d have to pass on the windsurfing due to my muscles being on strike, but I reckon I’ll be OK as long as I don’t overdo it.
I look at the bedside clock, which tells me it’s eight thirty already and I’ve missed having breakfast with my parents. I’m not due to meet Ed until ten, so I have a leisurely shower and then wander up to the restaurant for breakfast. On the way back to my room I finally remember to pick up some earplugs; although I haven’t had any repeat performances from my parents, I don’t want to be caught out again.
Ed is waiting for me as I approach the water sports hut, and my heart quickens slightly when I see him. ‘For God’s sake, Charley, get a grip,’ I tell myself sternly, but it doesn’t make any difference.
‘How are you this morning?’ he asks with a smile. ‘Not too stiff, I hope?’
‘I’m a little sore,’ I confess, ‘but I’m looking forward to this too much to let a little stiffness get in the way.’
We put on our life jackets and walk out to where the windsurf boards are. While we’re still on the beach, the instructor teaches us how to position our bodies, and raise and hold the sail. To be honest, it seems pretty straightforward and, after a couple of practices, we head out into the water to try it for real.
If I thought water-skiing was hard, this is in a whole new league. Once you’ve got onto the board, you’ve got to try to keep your balance while you try to pull the sail out of the water. This is next to impossible, and both Ed and I fall in several times. The problem is that the sail is really heavy when it’s lying down because it’s full of water so, if you’re not careful, you overbalance and fall in on top of it. Then if you avoid that, as it comes up and the water runs out of it, it suddenly becomes much lighter and, if you’re not ready for that, you tip off the board backwards.
‘This is impossible!’ Ed exclaims after falling in the water for the umpteenth time.
‘Now you know how I felt yesterday. At least we’re on a level playing field this time,’ I reply with a smile.
‘I think these boards are sabotaged,’ he splutters as he surfaces following his latest disastrous attempt.
I can’t help but laugh, which proves to be unwise as I promptly lose my footing, fall in face first and end up swallowing yet another mouthful of salty water. Once I surface, I can see Ed’s desperately trying not to repeat my experience. It’s been like this all morning, we’re completely in sync.
‘Sabotaged or not,’ I tell him, as I clamber back onto mine, ‘I’m determined not to let it win. It can’t be as impossible as it feels, otherwise nobody would do it. Come on, we’ll get there.’
He lets out a small sigh and climbs back on.
After several more attempts, both Ed and I manage to get the sail out of the water without falling off. Neither of us look elegant, and I can feel my legs shaking with the strain of trying to keep my balance, but we’re up and the first battle is over. The instructor reminds us how to position ourselves and hold the boom to angle the sail into the breeze and, after another couple of falls, we tentatively set off.
By the end of the lesson, the muscles in my arms and legs are begging for mercy, but I’ve managed to sail from one end of the beach to the other, turn around and sail back again, all without falling off. Poor Ed is not quite so lucky, but only because he fell off during the turn.
‘That was really hard,’ Ed remarks as we walk up to get some lunch. ‘I’m definitely going to pay for that later. I’ve worked muscles I never knew I had!’
‘I think we were beginning to get the hang of it by the end though,’ I reply. ‘A few more lessons and I might actually be able to do it without looking like I’m hanging on for dear life.’
‘Are you sure you’re up to kayaking this afternoon?’ Ed asks. ‘It is much gentler and we can go slowly, but if you’d rather just lie on the beach and recover, I quite understand.’
‘I think that we’d better do it while we can still move,’ I reply. ‘If we leave it until tomorrow, we might find we’re not up to it!’
After lunch, we go back to the water sports hut and get our kayaks. Ed is right, this is much easier, and I love the restful sloshing sound of the water against the bow as I paddle across the bay. Ed is alongside me as we head for the beach that we’ve been told about. When we get there, we pull the kayaks up onto the sand and Ed produces two towels from his and spreads them out for us to lie on. There are a few other people dotted about, but it’s much quieter than the hotel beach. I remove my life jacket and lie down on the towel. Ed flops down beside me.
‘So, one of the exercises the other couples in the programme will be doing around now is a questionnaire, apparently. Do you know about this?’ Ed asks.
Since our first conversation, Ed has realised that I’m quite an expert when it comes toMarried Before We Met. ‘Oh, yes. It usually ends in one of them revealing something that is going to be a massive problem for the other person, and then there are loads of trust issues that have to be worked through,’ I reply.
‘I’ve got the one that Sarah and I were supposed to be doing. I thought it might be something fun for us to have a go at before we paddle back, but if it’s going to open a can of worms then perhaps I’ll leave it.’
‘No. Go on. I don’t think I have anything to hide, do you?’
