Page 68 of Is She Really Going Out with Him?
“Anna is a skeptic,” Will explains. “She’s also allergic to the outdoors.”
“I’m not allergic to the outdoors, I just enjoy the indoors,” I clarify.
Verity carries on chatting to Will and ignores my questions about scientific data.
After a fifteen-minute walk through the woods, we come to a wooden shepherd’s hut on cast-iron wheels. It’s a modern, sleek design, with a large window looking out over the valley beyond. Verity opens the door and shows us both inside. It’s stylish and well-appointed, with a double bed, a small desk, and an oil burner, then a separate room with a shower and compost toilet. It’s all tastefully decorated with pale wooden beams, pale burgundy bed linens, and elegant throw cushions. But just as I’m warming up to the idea of this “camping without camping” experience, I have a concerning thought.
“There is another cabin, right? You’re not expecting us to share this one?” I ask.
“I told them we’d only need one, pookums,” Will says. “Was that not right?”
My stomach drops and my throat constricts. Hehasto be joking. I know we’re supposed to be writing about this as thoughit’s a date, but having to share a bed would be beyond the call of journalistic duty. Verity lets out a burst of laughter, like a pretty little machine gun.
“Don’t worry, there’s another cabin just beyond those trees,” she says. “This is our ‘separate but together’ glade, perfect for a first date. We have many combinations.”
“I’m offended by how panicked you just looked,” says Will, tilting his head to one side.
“You’re not together, then?” Verity asks, her eyes flashing back and forth between us.
“First date,” says Will, in that voice he uses when he’s trying to wind me up. “But there’s a lot of unresolved sexual tension.”
Verity laughs, as though he’s made the most hilarious joke, and I feel my cheeks heat. Is he flirting with her, or me, or both of us? Why am I so bad at reading this stuff?
Outside the cabin, Verity shows us the firepit, which has a large wooden lockbox beside it. “All your food for the weekend is provided, and there’s a stocked cool box in each of the cabins. You’ll need to cook and heat water on the fire here. Wood, kindling, fire lighters all in the wood store, drinking water from this casket.” She taps a large plastic water butt. “You have separate living spaces, but you come together for meals.” Verity gives me an expectant look. “We ask that you replenish whatever wood you use from the store; logs to split are over there. And that you leave nothing in the woods but footprints. Finally, phones. There’s limited reception in this valley, no Wi-Fi, so it’s easy not to cheat. But we provide lockboxes to put your phones in, as it can be hard to break the habit of reaching for them. Did you give family members our emergency landline number?” We both nod, and I feel the first tug of alarm at being completely cut off for two whole days. “If anyone needs to get in touch with you, I’ll drive down from the office and let you know. Rarely happens, but itputs people’s minds at rest, especially if you have children.” Verity smiles at me.Did I tell her I have kids, or do I just look so tired she assumes I must?
“This all looks wonderful, thank you, Verity. I feel more relaxed already,” says Will, the teacher’s pet.
“Each door locks with a code, all the information you need is in this pack.” She hands us each a booklet full of “commonly asked questions.”
“Your code is written here, five seven zero four,” she tells me, pointing to the front page. “It won’t lock unless you click the latch like this, so just leave it open until you’ve remembered the code, or until you’re inside at night.” Taking in the calm quiet of the woods, I feel my shoulders start to relax. The cabin is gorgeous and the view of the valley beyond the trees idyllic. There are certainly worse places you could be forced to spend a weekend. I’ve broughtPride and Prejudicewith me, and without my phone or my laptop to distract me, I’m hoping to get plenty of reading done.
“There are six other reconnectors on site,” Verity tells us. “But their cabins are half a mile away at the other side of the woods. They shouldn’t disturb you. Our forester, Malcolm, will be leading a guided flora and fauna walk tomorrow. He’ll be leaving from the gate at twelve if you want to join in, but nothing is compulsory. There’s also a river down the hill with a plunge pool that’s safe for swimming, just follow the wooden arrows. If you do go skinny dipping, just be aware that the other residents might also use the pool.”
“I’ll bear that in mind,” Will says, his voice a flirtatious growl. Verity laughs appreciatively. I suppress the urge to groan.
“You are going to have the best time,” she tells us. “Two nights here feels like an eternity, in the best way, trust me. We try to leave you to it as much as we can, but if there’s anything urgent, there’s phone reception on top of that hill and our office isonly three miles down the road.” Verity points to a hill on the other side of the valley, which looks a long way away. She lingers, shifting her weight from side to side, eyes on Will. “I’ll leave you to it then, shall I?” she asks him.
“Yup, we’ve got it. Thanks, Verity,” I say.
Once she’s gone, Will says, “She was nice.”
“She was,” I agree. “Right, I’m going to unpack.”
“Don’t unpack, let’s get the fire going,” Will says, clapping his hands, then rubbing them together, his eyes dancing. “Don’t you just love camping?”
“This is so your kind of thing, isn’t it?” I say, feeling myself smile because it’s sweet how excited he is.
“It is,” he says, flashing me a grin.
“Were you okay to leave your brother this weekend?” I ask, remembering he, like me, has family commitments.
“Yes, George came down for the weekend to help Dad. Shall we go and look for this plunge pool before it gets dark?”
“I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” I say, “and before you suggest skinny dipping, it’s not happening.”
“Suit yourself,” Will says. “Shall we keep each other’s phones? Otherwise, how do I know you’re not going to sneak up that hill to check theDaily Mailin the middle of the night?”
“I’m hardly going to do that, am I?” I say, but I turn my phone off and hand it over. He does the same with his, then we head to our respective cabins to get settled.
