“Have a good time at your retreat, and if you want to talk about it, I’m always here waiting with open ears.”
“Good to know,” I reply, hanging up on her. I look at the oven and then exhale, picking up the phone and bringing up his name.
Me:
Fine, I’ll go.
“What are you doing?” I ask myself as the oven beeps, telling me the pizza is done. I open it and see how sad it looks and then take it out, leaving it on the counter before ordering sushi.
Five days later I’m zipping up my bag, the nerves in my stomach on a whole other level. I’m expecting him to call me when he’s downstairs, but he’s Knox. Instead of calling me, he’s at my door, ringing my bell. I shake my head, walking to the front door and opening it. He smiles so big as soon as he sees me, coming right in and grabbing my face in both his hands. “Hi,” he says right before he kisses me.
“Hi,” I reply when he lets me go. It’s been a week since I’ve seen him, between him going on a road trip and then having his kids. Along with me working extra to make up for the days I am taking off, we’ve been busy on both ends.
Plus if I’m being honest, I was ghosting him just a bit, tying to come up with excuses to not go on this retreat.Even until I opened the door I was thinking about ways to back out. But with one stupid-ass kiss I forgot all my excuses, including the one where I have to watch my brother’s cat.
“Are you packed?” he asks and I nod my head.
“My bag is on the bed,” I mention and he walks right in. I check out his ass in the track pants he’s wearing.
“This is a big bag for three days.” I hear him say and then see him walk out with the bag in his hand.
“I had to pack a couple of evening outfits since you won’t tell me where we are going.” I fold my arms over my chest.
“Let’s go.” He stops in front of me, kissing my lips quickly as I grab my travel bag.
“Are you excited?” he asks and I shrug.
“I would be more excited if I knew where we were staying,” I state, getting into the elevator and then pressing the lobby floor.
We get in the car, stopping for coffee before he puts the address in the GPS, and I see it’s about two and a half hours from here. The drive up is so peaceful and serene, neither of us says anything, but it’s not uncomfortable. I fold my leg under myself, and he leans over and drapes his arm over me, while I hold his hand with both of mine. The window is cracked open a bit as the wind comes in and makes my hair fly around my face. The sun keeps us just warm enough.
We drive through the gates and under the sign that says Wellness Sanctuary. “Um.” I look over at him. “What is this place?” I ask as we drive down the road with trees, hills, and so much greenery all around us. The gravel crunches under the wheels as he pulls into the parking lot. We both get out of the SUV, and I put my hand over my eyes to see the big L-shaped old house. There is a sign at one of the doors that says Welcome. There is not a sound to be heard besides the crunching of the rocks under our feet.
Stepping into the lobby, I see a desk on one side and then it opens up completely in the middle where there are tables and chairs scattered about. Then there are a couple of couches that face the windows in the back. “Hello,” the woman behind the counter says, “welcome to Mindful Moments.”
“Hi,” Knox replies, “we are checking in.” I look around, seeing people walking in the distance.
“We have you here for two nights. Leaving Wednesday morning,” she says. “We have your itinerary ready for you.”
“Itinerary?” Knox asks, confused.
“Yes,” she confirms, handing him the sheet of paper and I walk next to him to look at it.
“Is that 5:00 a.m. wake up?” I ask and then the girl behind the desk smiles and nods.
“It’s called the sunrise hike.”
“Yeah,” Knox says, “I think there is a mistake. We’re here to rest and rejuvenate.”
She nods her head. “That’s correct.”
“How are we resting if we are up at 5:00 a.m.?”
“It’s lights out at nine,” she mentions. “Our days are pretty full, so by nine you are ready to call it a night.”
“But this is a very full schedule.” I scan it seeing that every single hour is accounted for.
“Is that a four-hour hike?” I ask of the second day from eight to noon.
