“It’s beautiful out this way.” Hannah mused.
“Mm.” He answered as he navigated the long road to the cabin. When they finally drove past the gate leading to the cabin, Samuel sent up a prayer that his plan would be successful. It was a pretty bold move considering he set all of this in motion with the thought, ‘it was better to ask for forgiveness than to ask permission’.
“Okay, we are here.” He announced as he stopped in front of the cabin.
“Oh good. I need to go to the washroom.” She was already opening the door. He smiled at her action, but as he came around to her side of the vehicle, he grinned as she fidgeted, doing the adult equivalent of the pee-pee dance. He’d seen his niece and nephew do it.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
He used the code the owner had sent him to open the door. “If I remember correctly, the powder room should be…” Opening up the first door on the left, “…here.” She rushed past him, into the washroom, and shut the door.
“While you are in there. I will unpack the SUV.”
Samuel made quick work of unloading their bags. On his final trip, he found Hannah standing in the foyer. “This place is beautiful. Let me help you finish unloading.”
“I’m all done. Why don’t you decide which room you’d like, and I’ll put your bag in there.”
Hannah laughed. “So, we are just going to take whatever rooms we want because we beat everyone else up here.”
It’s time to man up.“No.”Don’t drag this out. Rip it off like a band aid.“It will just be us.”
Hannah’s smile crumbled. Thank goodness he had the sense not to laugh as her expression transformed into the little guy from that eighties show. Even her comment was very much like his catchphrase. “What are you talking about, Samuel?”
“No one else will be joining us. This cabin is ours for the next several days.”
She placed her hands on her hips. Her tone was so frosty it dropped the temperature in the room. “But you said we were going on a retreat.”
“We are on a retreat.”
“Not alone. In this cabin. With no one else around! You said—” Her words died on her tongue as the realisation hit her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. “Lord, how did I let you trick me?!”
“Now, Hannah, I didn’t trick you. I suggested we get away from everything. I believe my exact words were.‘We should get away on a leadership retreat.’Isn’t that what I said?”
Her hands dropped from her hips as she marched towards him. She poked him in his chest, hard, sending a nasty glare his way. “Are you insane? You call us— being away, alone! In a cabin, a leadership retreat!?” The screech she let out was enough to pierce his eardrums.
“Take. Me. Back. Now.”
“Now Hannah?—”
She poked him again. This time, it was harder.
“Ouch. I just drove for almost four hours. There is no way I will be repeating that drive anytime soon.”
“You are impossible!” Hannah screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. She stomped away from him. Then left the cabin in a huff. He gave her a moment. Looking out the window, he could see her sitting on the top stairs of the porch.
Samuel hadn’t lied to Hannah, nor said anything, or led her to believe there would be other people joining them on the leadership retreat. However, he was aware she had that impression, and he did nothing to correct it. He grabbed a bottle of water and joined her on the stoop. Sitting beside her, he remained silent. Hannah didn’t acknowledge his presence. She looked ahead into the woods. The offering of the bottle of water was refused as she pushed it away.
After a few moments, she finally spoke. “How could you put us in such a position? Me, in such a position?” She turned and looked at him. For the first time since he thought up his plan Samuel had a moment of pause. “We are two unmarried people alone in a cabin. It will cause a scandal!”
“We don’t have to be unmarried.”
She swung her head so quickly he feared she would get whiplash. “I couldn’t possibly have heard you correctly. Tell me you didn’t say what I thought you did.”
“You heard me correctly.” He sounded calm, but he was far from it. “If you are so concerned about the scandal of this situation. We can get married.”
“You and I?” She shook her head not waiting for an answer. She placed her hand on his arm. “Why didn’t you tell me you were unwell?”
“What? I’m not sick.” He answered in confusion.
