Page 31 of It's Now or Never

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‘Are you always such a nervous passenger?’

I was certain I detected a gleeful look in Alex’s eye as he threw the Land Rover around yet another sharp corner and my hands clutched on tighter to the edge of the seat. Alex’s gung-ho style of driving, as though he was competing for the leading position in a cross-country rally, hadn’t been quite so noticeable when we were bombing up the motorway but now, navigating narrow country lanes, I felt sure my life was in imminent danger.

‘No, never before,’ I said, bracing my legs wide to the floor to counteract being flung from one side of the car to the other. ‘This is a first for me.’ I looked down briefly to see my knuckles white against the seat before fixing my gaze on the road ahead again, acting as un-appointed chief look-out for any traffic coming from the opposite direction. I was ready to scream, slam my foot down on my imaginary brake and hide my head in my hands for what I felt certain was an accident waiting to happen.

Alex chuckled as though he was pleased with my answer. I smiled weakly in return, wishing to goodness he wouldn’t turn tolook at me like that. ‘Keep your eyes on the bloody road,’ I was silently chanting.

‘Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands. Della’s never let me down yet,’ he said, tapping his hands fondly onto the steering wheel. ‘She can give a bit of a bumpy ride at times, but she’s totally roadworthy.’

‘That’s reassuring to know,’ I said, not wanting to mention that I was more concerned about the driver and his credentials than the vehicle.

When Alex had mentioned a day out in the country I’d imagined a leisurely visit to the seaside or a country park where we would walk for miles along unchallenging territory. I loved walking and had hoped we might round off the day with a romantic picnic on a riverbank overlooking some pretty scenery. It was only after we’d been in the car for several hours, climbing increasingly narrow roads up into the hills that I got the first inkling that this wasn’t going to be any ordinary day out. My imagined scenarios were looking less and less likely by the moment.

‘You still haven’t told me where we’re going.’

‘Well, if I told you then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?’

‘Did I mention I don’t like surprises? Hate them, in fact. I need to know what I’m doing or else I get terribly anxious.’

‘Ah right. This could be awkward then,’ said Alex, chuckling to himself. ‘Look, hopefully you’ll like this surprise. And if you don’t, well there’s not a lot I can do about it now.’

I sat back in my seat and let the unfamiliar countryside whizz by. Half an hour later we finally arrived at our destination. He parked in a huge gravel car park and we both climbed out.

‘Come on,’ he said, marching ahead, clearly expecting me to follow him. A feeling of trepidation was growing in my stomach with each passing moment as I realised that Alex’s and my owndefinition of fun might differ greatly. Everywhere I looked there was a warning sign of sorts, although I was still struggling to work out what we might actually be doing. Anything that involved safety gear, warning notices showing falling rocks, and the great outdoors didn’t sound like a lot of fun to me.

‘I thought you said you wanted an adventure. This is it, Jen.’ Alex flexed his arms out to the side taking a big deep breath. ‘Today’s the day. Don’t worry though, I think you’re going to love it.’

I wasn’t so sure about that.

‘No, I might give it a miss. Whatever it is. I’ll watch from the sidelines and cheer you on. I’m happy to do that. I’ve always been a good spectator.’

‘Nope, sorry Jen. I’m afraid that’s not an option.’

He took me into a large log cabin where a couple of hearty types looked me up and down and assessed my body shape, which was most disconcerting. Ten minutes later I was dressed in a bright yellow jumpsuit, had a black harness wrapped unflatteringly around my nether regions, a tin hat on my head and a huge surge of adrenalin racing around my veins.

When we got back outside Alex bent his head down to avoid the contraption fixed to my head and peered into my eyes.

‘Are you all right?’

‘Do I look all right? No, I’m not all right. I look absolutely ridiculous in this get-up and feel sick to my stomach.’

In fairness I probably didn’t look any more ridiculous than I had a few days earlier when I’d bumped into Alex in the department store dressed as a tomato, but at least then I was only required to look the part. Here, I suspected something else might be required of me.

I looked and felt totally self-conscious, whereas Alex managed to look quintessentially cool, rugged and totally at easein his gear. As though he should be appearing on the cover of Outdoor Pursuits Monthly. A big smile spread across his lips.

‘Come on, Jen, shall we go and get this done?’

‘Do we have to? Can’t we please just go home? Find a nice little pub where we can warm ourselves up and get something to eat?’

‘Ha ha, you’re so funny, Jen. Of course we can’t go home, we’ve only just got here. Don’t worry, you’ll love it. I promise you will. Come over here, let me show you.’

He took hold of my hand and led me over to a viewing platform. From our vantage position high up in the sky, sheer cliffs descended to either side of us lining a vast lake that disappeared off into the distance. It looked as though we were on the edge of the world and I was desperate to get off.

‘What happens? How do we get down?’ I asked, not really wanting to know the answer. ‘Is there some sort of cable car,’ I said, suddenly spotting the parallel wires running from another platform a little further along. A cable car would be okay. I could close my eyes and hang onto Alex’s arm for dear life.

‘It’s a zip wire. You’ll be harnessed to that overhead cable and travel down the line over the water. It’s the most amazing experience, Jen. Exhilarating.’

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