Chapter Twenty #2
Hmm. I checked my watch and it was already half three.
We had to dry off and drive back and I wanted to meet Mark straight off the boat and find out what he was playing at.
I did a little stretch then broke into a swim, gliding off into the middle of the lake.
I felt so conflicted at the thought of Mark arriving.
What could he possibly want that couldn’t wait until I got back?
There must be some paperwork I’d forgotten to sign.
Why else would he bother? He’d been actively avoiding me ever since I’d moved out.
I floated on my back in Henrik’s direction. ‘Ahh, well this has been lovely, but we should probably think about heading off soon.’ I said, stifling a yawn.
Henrik opened his eyes. ‘We can stay another hour or so – I’m in no rush.’ He frowned. ‘Unless you are?’
‘No, not especially, but we’ve got to go back sometime, and I wouldn’t mind being there to find out what’s going on with Mark.’
‘Oh. Yes, sure.’ Henrik climbed out of the lake and pulled on his T-shirt which clung attractively to his wet back.
‘I didn’t mean immediately,’ I said lightly, attempting to salvage the moment. I wouldn’t mind a few more minutes with my legs wrapped around that back.
‘No, no, let’s go. You’re the guest; I don’t want to keep you here against your will.’
Bloody hell. Men and their fragile egos.
‘You’re not keeping me here. This is bucket-list worthy and has been amazing.
Thank you.’ I tried to catch his eye, but he threw a towel over his head and started vigorously drying his hair.
‘I just wouldn’t mind having a shower before dinner,’ I said, getting out of the lake and shuddering into my Firefly robe.
I didn’t want Mark seeing me like this, a bedraggled rat smelling of pond water.
My hair was curling up without my weekly blow-dry and the frizzy bits on my hairline were almost impossible to tame.
My ginger roots were poking through, and I needed to iron out the kiss curls on the nape of my neck.
Assuming there would be a hairdresser here was possibly my biggest regret.
I hadn’t even packed shampoo. I’d have to use the block of vegan soap on the shelf in the shower.
Or worst-case scenario – the vegan washing-up liquid.
*
Ana and Lars stood on the edge of the boat as it chugged towards the jetty.
What a weird existence; boating in and out all day, going around in circles.
Although wasn’t that what we were all doing?
I was on the never-ending King’s Cross to Central London loop, which was far less pretty and far more polluted.
I wondered what Lars would make of the Victoria Line.
Even if I hadn’t known Mark was coming, I’d have known it was him.
Even more so because he was arriving by boat.
His red curls glowed in the sunshine as he stood tall and sure of himself, with his hands on his hips.
Boats were his forever happy place, so why he’d decided to work in ‘real estate’ was entirely beyond me.
I pulled my hat down and fluffed my hair forward as Tore side-eyed me with amusement.
I’d done the best I could, but it was irrepressibly wild and woolly without a professional to wrestle it into shape.
‘Glad to see him?’ Tore asked.
‘Glad, no. Confused, yes. Although it’s always nice to see a familiar face when you’re somewhere strange.’
‘Does it still feel strange here? I think you fit right in.’
We waved as the boat got closer, and Ana and Lars returned the greeting. Mark stayed still, surveying the shores like a pirate directing his ship in to land. Waving like a children’s TV presenter would have ruined his vibe.
‘Mr Pearson, welcome,’ Tore said, shaking Mark’s hand, while Lars tossed his Armani holdall into the snow.
‘Thank you, it’s great to be here.’ Mark turned to me, then did a double take. ‘Look at you!’ he said, holding up a piece of my hair. ‘Trying out a new style while you’re here? I like it.’
‘Hey, you,’ I said, trying to hide my immediate irritation. We’d get to that later. ‘Good trip?’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said, looking around in awe and taking it all in. ‘Bet you didn’t expect to see me here, did you? How did you ever find this place? It’s not even marked on the map.’
‘Isn’t it?’ I frowned over at Tore, who had Mark’s bag and had already started walking.
‘The forest is listed, of course, nothing we could do about that, but not the buildings. Deliberately so. It’s private land and I opt out of giving information to the tech companies when I can. We try and keep the retreat somewhat off-grid.’
‘Really?’ I asked. ‘I didn’t know you could do that. How weird that I stumbled across you then.’
‘Our business is mostly word of mouth, so there would be no reason to look for our website unless you’d been told about it. I thought your friend had stayed with us. Emma Stone, wasn’t it?’
‘The actress?’ Mark asked.
‘It was a misunderstanding,’ I said, walking double speed to keep up. ‘Em actually stayed at the Firefly retreat in Sweden.’
‘Em?’ Mark repeated, baffled. ‘Since when do you know Emma Stone?’
I gave him a coy smile, letting the implication that Em and I were besties hang in the air.
‘Synchronicity then,’ Tore said. ‘Something beyond reason and logic brought us all together. I wonder why. Interesting to observe how the world works once you start to notice these things. People come here for all sorts of reasons – a chain reaction if you like. What brings you here?’
Mark looked surprised by the question. ‘Me? Oh, right. Same as everyone else I suppose. A quick break in nature. Relaxation, good food – and I knew if Sara was here, it’d be top class.’
‘Am I your quality assurance officer?’ I said, affronted.
‘Yup. The original hotel inspector.’ He gave me a friendly nudge. ‘She’s got high expectations, this one.’ His tone made it sound like a bad thing. What was wrong with wanting the best for your holidays? I worked hard every other day of the year; I wanted to make sure it was worth it.
‘It is a gift to have a wife who aims for the best in life,’ Tore replied, and I could have kissed him.
Mark looked uncomfortable as he nodded. ‘For sure,’ he said.
Ha! Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Although it felt sad to have a virtual stranger sticking up for me against my own husband – albeit soon-to-be ex. The man who chose me above all others. Before un-choosing me, of course.
‘Here is your cabin,’ Tore said, pointing to my front door.
‘Yes, I heard you’d said it would be OK to stay with me,’ I said, eyes flashing. ‘There isn’t space, Mark. What were you thinking?’
‘I’ll stay on the sofa; I’m only passing through.’
‘You still should have asked,’ I said in a huff. Cheeky bastard.
Tore gave an awkward cough. ‘As it’s still daylight hours, I can give you a tour of the retreat site if you’d like?’ Tore said. ‘Unless you’d prefer to see it with Sara?’
‘No, no – I’d love the personal tour. I’m fascinated by this part of Norway. I’ve got loads of questions about it.’
‘Please,’ Tore said, with open arms. ‘Ask me whatever you like.’
Mark dumped his bags on my sofa and I hovered by the door. ‘Do you want the guest version too?’ I asked.
‘Definitely. Can we do it tomorrow? I don’t want to drag you round the place when you’ve already seen it – I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.’
‘Cool. I’ll see you at dinner.’
I didn’t have anything better to do. Especially now Henrik was annoyed with me.
It wasn’t like I could pop back and finish off my wild water swimming.
It was weird having Mark suddenly here in the flesh at Firefly Forest and I wanted to interrogate him in private. I needed to understand his motives.