‘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.’
Chapter Seventeen
Once I was installed on the pontoon, Harry helped me out of my cold wetsuit and wrapped me back up in my towelling coat, before pulling two thick blankets from the basket and wrapping one around my shoulders and one around her own. Her final touch was producing two oddly shaped bobble hats. I put one on, laughing as it flopped down in front of my eyes.
‘Urgh, another of my disasters.’
‘You made these?’
‘Tried to. I’m determined to get the hang of knitting. It was my New Year’s resolution, but I’ve not mastered it yet. I’ve set myself a rule that I have to wear everything I make. I’m hoping the humiliation will spur me on to improve.’ Harry grinned at me and pulled a flask from the basket.
‘When did you get all this ready?’
