Chapter 34
‘Argh!’ A scream escapes because, well, I’m throwing myself into an Arctic lake when there’s a cosy heated igloo with my name on it.
The cold plunge takes my breath away and shocks me silent until my endorphins kick in.
Wow, what a rush. CJ just might be onto something with all these high-octane adrenaline-filled pursuits.
Jasper leaps in and swims over to me, casual as anything, as if he always throws his buff bod into icy pools of water.
‘You’re shivering.’ He wraps me in his arms and pulls my body against his. ‘I suppose that’s stating the obvious.’
My teeth chatter too much for me to form words and instead they come out garbled.
Eventually I manage to control my shivering enough to say, ‘How long am I supposed to stay in the water for maximum benefits?’ I’ve never felt cold like it before, but it’s somehow invigorating, and heightens the natural world around me.
The vista in front of me is all white ice, with the exception of the carved-out section of lake. I must be mad!
‘As long as you can handle it.’
Princess swims by doing a gentle breaststroke, with Barry trailing in her wake, not quite as graceful a swimmer. Karen remains on the edge, holding onto the ladder for dear life, while CJ tries to convince her that she will not become an ice block.
‘Get in, Karen!’ I encourage her.
‘YOLO, right?’ Karen throws herself into the water with a scream, while CJ dives in just after. A few seconds later they pop up next to me.
Karen’s expression is one of awe. ‘OK, yes, it’s both awful and wonderful at the very same time. How is that possible?’
We laugh, as much as our lung capacity allows us to at any rate. Princess swims back, merry as anything. ‘Isn’t this a refreshing way to spend Christmas Day?’
‘It’s definitely going to be a core memory,’ Jasper says.
Sabrina and George are off to the side, chatting away like they’re the best of friends. When he splashes her, all bets are off, and she soon dunks his head under water.
CJ pops up near me. ‘Sooo,’ I say subtly as anything. ‘Am I wrong or did I see an impromptu K-Pop concert for two last night with you and a rather handsome security guard?’
The Canadian woman grins. ‘Spying, were you?’
I laugh, it comes out breathless from cold. ‘Yep.’
‘Details!’ Princess yelps. ‘Name, age, net worth.’
CJ shakes her head. ‘His name is Eeli, and he’s thirty-five. Not sure about his net worth, but I am sure he loves K-Pop and Korean pop culture. And he’s into extreme sports!’
‘More extreme than this?’ I ask.
‘Much more! We’re meeting later to go ice climbing!
’ CJ explains the terrifying technique involved in ice climbing, where essentially an ice axe and crampons are used to climb an ice fall.
‘I’m a beginner obviously so we’re starting small.
And who knows, I just might have found the next great love of my life, or just a really fun buddy to join me on outdoor pursuits. ’
‘And yet you risk the development of that love or friendship by climbing an ice fall…’ Princess says. ‘I will never understand adrenaline junkies.’
CJ laughs. ‘Carpe Diem!’
We all join in yelling Carpe Diem, even though I have no intention of seizing the day if it means partaking in an activity that is so scary, it makes even my bones shiver. Speaking of shivering, Barry’s complexion has a slight blue tinge to it and his stare is vacant.
Being Australian, Barry is definitely not acclimatised to cold like this but is doing his best but his smile seems frozen in place almost like rigor mortis has set in. It’s rather unsettling. ‘Are you… OK, Barry?’ I ask.
‘Oh my God, I’ve killed him! Haven’t I?’ Princess yells in a panic. ‘Is he dead? The curse is real and I’ve only gone and killed yet another man.’ She covers her face with her hands and lets out an anguished cry.
I give Barry’s shoulder a shake. He might look like a corpse, but I’m sure he’s still alive. Isn’t he? My pulse races as I fear I might have a real death on my hands this time. I’m the one who encouraged Princess to love again. ‘Barry! BARRY!’ I yell.
‘Is he just… a bit frozen, do you think?’ Sabrina asks, surveying him up close. ‘He blinked! He’s alive!’
‘Barry?’ Princess launches herself at him. ‘You poor man. He’s never encountered temperatures this cold, let along plunging his body into the icy depths like this. I’d better get him out.’
She helps him back up the ladder and wraps him in a towel, admonishing him for scaring her witless. I let out a relieved breath.
Once the panic is over, we resume swimming. CJ is ducking and diving and having a whale of a time while Karen’s teeth chatter so much it’s like she’s having a one-way conversation with herself. ‘I’m – g – g – going to…’
‘Get out?’
‘Y – y – yes.’
‘Me too,’ I say.
‘Sauna?’ Jasper asks.
I nod and let him lead me out. We quickly dry ourselves with a towel and robe up, slip on shoes and jog to the wooden hut.
I practically catapult myself into the heat of the sauna.
Princess and Barry are already inside, their cheeks rosy from the warmth.
Barry makes jokes about his Aussie blood freezing over and Princess puts her head on his shoulder.
‘We’ll have to holiday in sunnier climes for you, my dear man. ’
When my body finally recognises it’s not dying and the blood resumes flowing, I say, ‘That was crazy!’
Jasper laughs. ‘Crazy fun, right?’
‘Right. I do think, however, I’m going to give the snowshoeing a miss.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Any other ideas?’
‘Hot tub?’
‘Hot tub.’
We say our goodbyes to the group and take the courtesy car back to the igloo.
* * *
After a lengthy and rather steamy – in every sense of the word – hot tub session with Jasper, he returns to his own igloo to make some notes about ice swimming and sauna bathing for his article. I shower and dress in fluffy Christmas PJs and call Freya.
‘Aubrey! Good timing, he’s awake.’ The camera pans towards little Bear, who has such a wise face even though he’s only a day old.
‘Merry Christmas, Bear!’ He frowns like an old man, which makes me laugh. ‘How are you feeling, Freya?’
She brings the phone back to her face. ‘I’m a little tired but that’s to be expected, probably for the next eighteen years or so.’
‘Probably.’
‘What happened with Miles? I heard he boarded the Winter Wonderland Express?’
I go into great detail about how it all played out and what’s happened since with Jasper.
‘Golly – I look away for one minute…’
‘Yeah, but it’s all worked out for the best. But maybe James could drop in on Miles and check how he’s doing once you’re all settled in back home?’
‘I’ll make sure he does. You know, I sort of feel like I had a hand in all of this. I pushed you towards Miles and really put the pressure on. Upon reflection, I shouldn’t have done that, Aubrey. Tried to sway you in such a way.’
‘You only wanted me home, and it’s not like you forced me to date him, you just vouched for the guy, that he’d in fact matured after high school, unlike most of his friends. The rest happened naturally.’
‘Yeah, but I did kind of push you. It’s just I had this vision of us, raising babies, babies you don’t even want, and growing old in houses with white picket fences…
Since having this little fellow, I’ve sat here snuggling him and contemplating what kind of life he’ll have, and wonder what if he’s like you?
A person who loves adventure and wants to follow the sunshine and have endless summers – I would be in awe of him for living out his dreams in a true free-spirited fashion.
And yet here I am trying my utmost to get you to stay in Kent, so I can selfishly have my best friend with me. ’
Her sentiments bring a tear to my eye. ‘Aw, Freya, honestly, it isn’t selfish of you, and a very big part of me was tempted to stay in the village for all those reasons too.
I miss you like crazy when I’m away, and at times an ocean might separate us, but that doesn’t dim our friendship and it never will. ’
‘I know, but thank you for being so understanding. When Bear is a little bigger, maybe we can meet you somewhere in the world for a family holiday.’
‘Well, Princess is talking up summer in the Cyclades…’