Chapter 9 #2
“I will try to be kinder to you, seeing as you went out of your way to come. But I can’t make any promises,” she teased.
“Do your best,” Angela replied as she greeted Michelle.
“Bonjour Michelle.” She didn’t know her very well but she planned to make it her mission to do so in the next two days. She seemed a little reserved but Angela was determined to break her out of her shell.
“Come with me. I’ll show you your cabin,” Michael told her, quite animated.
He seemed quite happy to have her there.
She felt welcomed. She walked behind him, noticing his well defined back and his slightly sunburned neck.
She wanted to tell him to put some more sunscreen on the back of his head but decided not to; she didn’t want to sound like his mother.
The cottage was to her right and she could see two little blue cabins peeking through behind the trees on the left.
There was a nice flat patch of grass between the cottage and cabins.
As they made their way to the cabins, Angela noticed a tiny white cabin, not big enough to sleep in she concluded; maybe for storage she thought.
“This is yours. It’s the nicest one,” Michael explained, smiling as he opened the door for her.
“Thank you,” she said as she squeezed in by him, taking in that glorious combo of sunscreen and after shave. The man smelled good.
Well, it wasn’t quite what she had expected; it was very old with a musty smell.
Although, it was quite quaint; a twin bed with a small side table topped with a lamp sat in the center of the cabin.
An old cedar chest sat at the end of the bed.
The red and white checkered curtains on the window were hung on an old rustic oar.
An oak dresser sat against the wall with a bouquet of fresh wild flowers displayed on its top.
“These are beautiful.”
“Michelle picked them this morning.”
A beautiful colorful quilt covered the bed.
“I cleaned it up a bit for you,” he told her as he set her bag on the bed. They were in close quarters as the cabin was quite small. She wanted him to stay… and she wanted him to leave!
“Thank you. It’s...nice,” she said. “The quilt is beautiful,” she added as she felt the soft texture of it, and appreciated its detailing.
“Yeah... I think my grandmother made it.”
In those few seconds, the place grew on her; she decided she could be quite happy here for the next two nights.
“I hope this is good with you. I’m in the other cabin,” he explained, sitting on the bed, leaning back on his hands.
Get off my bed.
“Dot would never sleep in here and I’d rather the kids be in the cottage; under her supervision. They can’t get away with anything with her around,” he joked.
“This is great,” she reassured him as she opened her bag.
“I’ll be right in the next cabin, if you have any concerns.”
Um... well, that is exactly my concern.
“There’s the odd bug in here but you should be fine,” he added.
Um... odd bug... no, I won’t be.
“The outhouse is right out there; the little white cabin.”
Oh damn… that’s what that is.
“And worse comes to worse, you can always sleep on the pull-out couch in the cottage if you’re not comfortable here.”
“Oh, I will be.” She hoped what she was saying was true. She didn’t quite believe herself at the time.
“Well, I’ll leave you to unpack. Come join us in the cottage when you’re done. We’re having lunch,” he told her as he stepped out as quickly as he had come in.
As she put her stuff in the dresser, she did a further inspection of the cabin, in privacy.
She looked at the floor, under the bed, under the sheets.
Everything seemed fine; no scary bugs. She felt a wave of relief.
She could survive this weekend after all.
She told herself the last few minutes would be the official last exchange she would have with Michael for the next two days.
She would, from then on, keep as far away from him as she had promised herself she would.
Everything would be proper and appropriate.
But… on second thought, she decided that she would maybe sneak in a peek or two, harmless peeks.
But that would be it, definitely it.
Angela stepped up the stairs of the cottage, smiling at the sight of the wicker chairs on the porch; this was definitely a quaint place.
She could very well imagine herself reading a good book, sitting on one of those chairs.
She hesitated to knock, decided she’d go right in.
She jiggled the stiff handle of the door and Eric opened it for her.
“Come in. Make your self comfortable,” Dot told her, sitting comfortably. “Michael is making his gourmet sandwiches. He’s a great cook, my Michael.”
“You’re over selling me,” he said, prepping the sandwich at the large counter, assisted by Michelle.
Angela took a seat with Dot at the rustic pine table, taking in her surroundings.
The cottage had been fully renovated; nice wood finishes with all the convenience of modern technology.
The character had been preserved in small details; rustic moldings, wood beams on the ceilings and a large grey stone fireplace mantel.
Despite its beauty and comfort, Angela decided she preferred her quaint cabin.
Although she did conclude that the odds of bug sightings would be quite smaller in the cottage… . she eyed the puffy pull-out couch.
“So Angela, can you believe my son doesn’t let me smoke in the cottage,” Dot asked her, not so much a question as it was a statement.
“There’s nothing wrong with the porch,” he said, with a hint of a smile.
“But to make an old woman like me go outside to have a cigarette, that’s just insane.
Don’t you think Angela?”
“Hey, I’m not getting in the middle of this,” Angela clarified.
“See Mum, you don’t have an ally in her either.” He smiled at Angela as he brought up a large platter of sandwiches.
“It’s absolutely unfair,” Dot said as she reached for a sandwich.
They had roast beef and chicken salad sandwiches with salad and lemonade.
Angela practiced her French and encouraged Michael to do so, too.
There would be no English at the table, with the exception of clarifying for Dot who really didn’t care for a large portion of the conversation.
Angela was impressed with the level of Michael’s French.
He was by far, much better than he had made himself out to be.
He just seemed very self conscious about it.
Angela encouraged him not to be. She also encouraged Michelle and Eric to stop teasing him when he mispronounced words.
She explained that this would only set him back.
They agreed and promised to be better, albeit still giggling occasionally.
As a result of the practice conversation, they learned much about each other.
Angela learned that the kids both played hockey, and both enjoyed swimming.
Michelle was taking singing lessons and Eric was a bookworm, like Angela.
They were both fans of The Harry Potter series.
Eric and Michelle learned that Angela figured skated as a girl but wasn’t a great swimmer.
She told them she wasn’t working at the moment but that she would love to work with children.
Michelle suggested that she be a teacher; and Angela considered how strange it was that she had never considered it.
Michael struggled a little to follow, but tried hard to understand all the words being said; especially those concerning Angela.
Dot left to smoke a cigarette on the porch and then settled herself on the sofa for a nap.
Angela helped Michael and the kids clean the kitchen.
Thankfully they were assisted by a dishwasher and all the modern conveniences one could ask for.
Angela observed that Michelle and Eric were great, well raised kids; helping without being asked, not distracted by their own pursuits and various gadgets.
As she shuffled dirty dishes, utensils and condiments bottles, Michael shot her his irresistible crooked half-smile.
He wasn’t making this easy. She wondered if he was flirting with her in his own assuming way…
but on further thought, she truly believed he had no idea what he was doing to her.
“How about some horseshoes later?” he asked her as he was putting away the last few dirty dishes.
“Um... I think I’ll pass.” She thought about the promise she had made to herself. Besides, she didn’t remember ever playing horseshoes and was sure she would make a fool of herself.
“Well. If you change your mind, let me know,” he said with a hint of disappointment.
Later in the afternoon, they were all sitting on the porch, chatting and looking at the lake.
Eric and Michelle suggested going for a swim.
Angela froze at the suggestion. No thank you, she was quite comfortable, sitting there on the porch in the warm sun.
She wasn’t much of a swimmer and she knew the water would be freezing.
If it were winter, she’d put on a pair of skates and be in her element.
Her swimming skills were basic at best and she didn’t trust herself swimming in water over her head.
Eric suggested she wear a life jacket, which she didn’t deny was a solution to her problem.
Yet, she still tried to get out of it but to no avail; all four of them were on her case, even Dot was in on it.
“Don’t be a wet towel, girl.” It was an ambush.
She looked at Michael, her eyes pleading with him. He just smiled that mischievous smirk of his, which made her blood boil. Why was he doing this to her? He seemed to enjoy her discomfort.
“You can’t come to the cottage and not swim,” he told her. “You knew there was going to be a lake, didn’t you?” he teased.
“Of course I did,” she said, quite annoyed. “I’ll go put on my bathing suit.”
She reluctantly walked to her cabin wondering all the while if he hadn’t come to her defense for the soul reason of seeing her in her bathing suit.