16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
S omehow, over dinner the night before, I’d been railroaded into agreeing to try wild swimming. I couldn’t imagine anything worse, but in the face of everyone’s kindness, it seemed churlish to refuse.
By halfpast seven, Bertie was happily munching through his cereal and I was fidgeting with my clothes. There’s nothing as uncomfortable as wearing a swimsuit beneath three layers of clothing and I shuffled against my seat to dislodge my wedgie.
‘Morning, campers,’ said Pat, his cheeks even redder than usual thanks to the cold.
‘Morning, Pat. Thanks so much for watching Bertie whilst I indulge in some early morning torture.’
‘My pleasure. I’m always up with the lark so it’s no bother. Besides, I want to hear more about Bertie’s day helping Harry with the animals. From what I gathered over dinner last night, the lad’s a natural.’
‘I’m going to be a farmer when I’m older,’ said Bertie. ‘Or maybe a vet, but I think being a farmer would be more fun.’
I smiled at the thought of Rob hearing of his son’s ambition. He’d better come out of the woodwork soon, or any hope of his son joining the family firm would be long buried beneath Wellington boots and a lingering smell of manure.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ said Harry, rushing into the dining room. ‘It took me ages to find my cossie. I’ve not worn it for years and it was buried beneath my socks.’
‘I thought you go swimming most days?’ I asked.
‘Yes, but I like the feel of water on my skin… on all my skin.’
‘Oh, right, well, thank you for making an exception today.’
Harry laughed. ‘Didn’t want to scare you off so soon into your stay. But I’ll bet you’ll be joining me for a skinny dip before you leave.’
‘No chance,’ I said, shivering at the thought. ‘Is that your spare wetsuit?’
‘Yes. I hardly use it these days. Only on the rare occasions I go surfing.’
‘Where’s the nearest beach?’
‘It’s only about a fifteen-minute drive, but there are no waves on the south coast. It’s the north coast you want for that, and I can rarely spare the time to drive up there. Anyway, today is about swimming, not surfing. Come on, let’s go.’
Harry led me out to her mud-covered Land Rover. ‘Will you be able to get through the forest in that?’
Harry laughed. ‘Seb took you on the scenic route yesterday. We’ll take the track today. It’s much quicker.’
Whilst the track took about half the time, it was no more comfortable. The worn leather seats did little to cushion the bumps and potholes of the track, my bones shaking within my skin until I worried my teeth would fall out.
‘Here we are,’ said Harry, pulling up outside a cosy-looking cabin.
‘Who lives here?’
‘Seb. I’m surprised he didn’t show you yesterday.’
‘I guess there was too much else to see. How come we’ve stopped here?’
‘One, the track’s too overgrown to get any closer to the lake, and two, he has an outdoor hot shower we can use once we’ve been for our swim.’
My face must have betrayed my feelings, as Harry laughed and put an arm around my shoulder.
‘Don’t worry, Seb’s no perv. He’s out feeding the chickens, and even if he comes back, he’s built a cubicle around the shower to protect the user’s modesty. Right, you ready?’
I looked down at my many layers. ‘Where do I get changed?’
‘We’ll get changed by the water. I usually get changed here, but you don’t want to be walking down the track in a wetsuit.’
I followed Harry as she picked her way along an animal track carved into the undergrowth. Brambles caught my coat, and several times I had to stop to free myself. The ground was squelchy under foot, my trainers sinking into mud deeper than my ankles.
‘We’ll have to sort you some wellies for next time,’ said Harry.
If there was one thing I’d learned already that morning, it was that there was nothing glamorous about wild swimming. Between the tears in my coat, mud-covered trainers, and crazy hair scraped up on top of my head, I was very glad there was no one to witness my escapade. And I hadn’t even put my wetsuit on yet.
As we climbed up onto the wooden jetty, Harry handed me two plastic bags.
‘Are these for my clothes?’
‘No, they’re for your feet. Trust me, they’ll make getting the wetsuit on a whole lot easier.’
God knows what putting the wetsuit on would have been like without Harry’s hack, for even with two bags on my feet, the damn thing was near impossible to get on. I hopped around on the jetty like an ungainly trainee ninja, and twice Harry caught me just in time before I toppled into the water.
When I was finally zipped up and barely able to move my arms and legs, Harry dug around in her bag and pulled out wetsuit boots and gloves. She handed a set to me, then put some on herself. I swallowed down a giggle, but it broke free and I spluttered into my neoprene-clad hand.
‘What?’
‘D… do… you… wear those… g… g… gloves and boots when you’re skinny dipping?’
Harry’s face creased into a grin. ‘Of course I do. I’m not mad. I don’t want frostbite on my extremities.’
‘Now that’s a sight I’d like to see.’
Harry began untying the strap of her swimming costume.
‘Not today though,’ I added.
‘Come on. It’s best to get it over with. Stay here too long and we’ll talk ourselves out of this.’
As I was new to this particular form of torture, Harry guided me into the water, one small step at a time. Her words, we don’t want you getting cold shock, doing nothing to build my confidence. Icy water shot up the leg of my wetsuit and I let out a small yelp. I’d promised myself before we arrived I wouldn’t lose face by screaming, but as the punishing water made its way through my wetsuit, I gave into my natural urge and squealed like a pig.
Harry waded in, laughing and splashing like she was on the beach in a heatwave.
‘You’re crazy,’ I yelled. ‘This is horrific.’
‘Give it time,’ said Harry. ‘Do you feel you’re being stabbed by a thousand pins yet?’
‘I feel like I c… c…. can’t breathe.’
‘OK, take it easy. Take slow, deep breaths. This stage will pass, I promise.’
I fought the urge to panic, and just as Harry had promised, my skin was soon being stabbed by a thousand invisible needles, but at least my breathing was almost back to normal.
‘Try swimming a few strokes.’
I did as instructed, the wetsuit limiting my movement so much I was forced to doggy paddle to where Harry trod water a few metres away.
‘Well done. Feeling better?’
I found my stride. No one watching would’ve described my strokes as elegant, but as I fumbled my way through the water, my body responded in unexpected ways. First, I had an overwhelming desire to laugh. So, I did. Harry joined in my giggles, spraying shards of green water into the surrounding air, whooping and hollering like a child on their first visit to a beach.
Tears swiftly followed my laughter. I trod water, my body suspended in a lake I now considered magical due to its ability to undo me every time I got near it.
‘Keep swimming,’ said Harry. ‘I’ll be back in a tick.’
Rather than panicking as Harry swum away, I felt a deep sense of peace. I let the tears flow as the surrounding water cocooned my tired heart.
‘Ahoy there, me hearty!’
I turned around in the water to see Harry sitting inside a rowing boat, her body swathed in a thick coat, oars in hand. She leaned over the side of the boat and pulled me in. For a moment, I was stranded, half in, half out, but with a worrying amount of swaying, and plenty of pushing and pulling, I flopped into the bottom of the boat like a stranded seal.
‘I know you probably could’ve stayed in longer given your wetsuit, but it’s best to play it safe on your first time. Here,’ said Harry, handing me a towel-like coat to match hers.
My teeth were chattering, my limbs shaking despite my second skin, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt so alive. It was something like a baptism. I’d gone into the water one person, and come out, well, not a new woman entirely, but one with a little more perspective.
‘Are you OK if we row to the other side of the lake? If you’re too cold, just say and we’ll go back.’
‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m fine.’
‘Great.’
Harry rowed in silence, smooth, powerful strokes cutting through the water, pulling us ever further from the jetty.
‘What’s in there?’ I asked, pointing to a large-lidded basket sitting between us in the boat.
‘I packed a few supplies. I’ll show you when we reach the pontoon.’
I looked over Harry’s shoulder and saw a wooden pontoon growing ever closer. It seemed rooted to the lake, only bobbing gently once the boat came close enough to create a small swell.
Harry pulled the boat alongside the pontoon and tied it securely to a wooden post. She reached down and lifted the large basket, dropping it onto the pontoon and waiting for the boat to stop rocking before jumping out herself.
‘Come on,’ she said, holding out a hand.
‘What are we doing?’
‘It’s time for your reward.’