The road was almost traffic-free, just the occasional car and the daily large rubbish truck, stopping and starting to empty the bins from businesses and villas along the route, and Helena and Lorraine were quickly on the deserted beach. Leaving their bathrobes a short distance from the tideline on the beach, the two of them walked into the sea.
‘Gosh, it’s freezing,’ Helena said, stopping as the water lapped her feet and ankles. ‘Was this a good idea?’
‘Keep walking and when it’s deeper quickly immerse yourself,’ Lorraine said, walking into deeper water. ‘It’s the only way. The wild swimming club I belong to at home taught me that. Come on. It’s deep enough where I am,’ and Helena watched as Lorraine threw herself into the water and started swimming.
Helena gritted her teeth and did as Lorraine suggested. The cold hit her body as she plunged her shoulders under the water, almost taking her breath away, but as she started to swim, the cold shock receded. Within minutes, she was doing a vigorous crawl and feeling buoyed up both physically and mentally. She turned and swam back to join Lorraine.
‘Feeling better about the cold now?’ Lorraine asked as they both floated on their backs.
Helena nodded. ‘It’s wonderful. It’s years since I’ve swum in the sea and I’d forgotten how different it is to swimming in a pool. I was hoping the villa would have a swimming pool, but with the sea so close, I can understand why there isn’t one.’
‘There’s nothing like wild swimming to wake you and make you feel energised,’ Lorraine said. ‘Time to go back now, I think. I’m starving.’
Five minutes later, they were both shrugging their wet bodies into their bathrobes, before making their way back over the beach and across the bord de mer.
‘Same time tomorrow?’ Lorraine said as they reached Villa Celestia.
‘Definitely. And I’m going to try to persuade Mandy to join us. Thank you for suggesting this morning,’ Helena smiled. ‘See you at breakfast.’
Back in her room, she jumped under the power shower and revelled in the hot water as it pounded her body. What a way to start the day.
* * *
Sandy, already seated at the table, coffee and croissant in front of her, looked up when Helena, followed by Lorraine, walked into the dining room. ‘You two are positively glowing.’
‘That’s what an early-morning swim in the sea does for you,’ Lorraine laughed as she helped herself and Helena to coffee. ‘Join us tomorrow?’
‘Perhaps,’ Sandy said.
‘It’s certainly made me hungry,’ Helena said as she placed croissants and pain au chocolates on two plates, handing one to Lorraine.
When everyone, with the exception of Becky, whom, they all suspected, was not an early riser, was sitting around the table having breakfast, Sandy asked if anyone wanted a one-to-one with her that morning with their work in progress.
‘Maybe next week,’ Liz said. ‘Right now I’ve just got the premise of a story, the main characters and a couple of scene ideas. Certainly not enough to show anyone – or even discuss it.’
‘I’ve brought a printout of what I’ve done so far,’ Helena said. ‘May I give that to you to read and have a chat later in the week please?’
‘Of course, I’ll put you down for Wednesday morning,’ Sandy answered.
‘I’d like to finish my edits and then have a chat about an idea for a two-book mini series,’ Isobel said. ‘So one day next week would be better for me.’
‘I’ve got a printout too,’ Mandy said, and Sandy wrote her down for Thursday morning.
‘I didn’t think to do a printout,’ Lorraine said. ‘Can I send you the file?’
‘Of course, so Friday morning for your one-to-one.’
Becky arrived at that moment, poured herself a coffee and joined them at the table, ready for the first informal session of the week to begin.
Sandy opened the bag at her side and pulled out some notepaper and several pens. ‘Help yourself to a pen and some paper. I won’t be setting many exercises, but I do like to do one on the first Monday of every retreat.’
Sandy waited whilst everyone placed some paper and a pen in front of themselves.
‘I never write by hand. I’ll use my laptop,’ Becky said.
Sandy looked at her. ‘In this instance, I would please ask you to join with the others and use pen and paper,’ she said, pushing both towards Becky. ‘Writing by hand connects to the brain in a different, beneficial way.’
Becky shrugged and reluctantly picked up a pen.
