Page 19 of Love Letters on Hazel Lane

Jo pulled the hard hat down onto her head, checked the strap three times to be sure, and walked down the steel steps and across the scaffolding to the waiting yellow chair. The seat of doom, she thought, wriggling into it. It was barely big enough for her arse.

One of the cavers helped her fasten herself in and checked the straps were secure. She glanced across at Ras, who was waiting at the top of the steps, and gestured to him to take a photo of her. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his phone.

‘Have fun, Jo,’ he called, as he took a snap.

She took a deep breath and gripped the chair as she began her descent. Looking up through the grey limestone rocks that formed the mouth of the hole, she could see blue sky and the face of one of the cavers receding into the distance. Below her was black. Endless black.

At times, the shaft was so narrow that Jo thought she might graze her elbows, but after a surprisingly short amount of time, it widened out and she reached the bottom. One of the caving team unhooked her and she climbed out of the chair, tottering a little on trembling legs. She blinked, her eyes not yet accustomed to the darkness, but slowly began to get a sense of her surroundings.

‘Amazing, isn’t it?’ said the caver. ‘You can fit the whole of York Minster in here.’

Jo had never been to York Minster but imagined it was pretty big.

The air inside the cavern was cool and fresh. A shaft of light streamed down from the hole a hundred metres above. There were a few electric lamps around, and other visitors were using the torches on their mobile phones, but even so, it was dark; Jo felt like she’d entered another world.

Another adventurer was strapped into the chair now, and it made its way back above ground to where Ras was waiting. Jo felt a surge of gratitude towards him. He was a quiet man, not her usual type at all, but bringing her here, planning this activity, because he thought she loved adventure was a thoughtful thing to have done. He wanted to please her, not merely sit across a table from her in some anonymous pub, boasting of his achievements like so many of her previous dates had. She couldn’t wait for him to get down here so she could tell him what an amazing time she was having.

She didn’t have to wait long. The chair was soon on its way back and Jo watched as the figure of Ras descended towards her. Looking at him from this angle, he seemed taller.

There was a reason for that, she realised as he got closer. He wasn’t Ras.

Another man, an older man, climbed out of the chair and seemed surprised to find Jo waiting for him.

Where was Ras?

‘I was expecting my… friend,’ she said to the new arrival. ‘I thought he’d be down next.’

‘Short bloke?’ said the man. ‘Scruffy?’

‘Yeah, that’s him.’

‘Lost his bottle. They strapped him in, but he changed his mind. He went a funny colour. Thought he was going to be sick.’

Poor Ras. Was he scared of heights? Odd that he chose this for their date if he was. Or perhaps he’d been taken ill? Something he’d eaten? She’d take a quick look round, then go back to him and tell him all about it.

She felt a pang of disappointment, wishing she was sharing this experience with him. It was like being in a cathedral, she thought, remembering what the caver had said about York Minster. She wished Ras could see this; much as she loved words, Jo knew that when she tried to describe this magical place to him later, words wouldn’t do it justice. She could never capture the mystery of it, how it felt to stand here, in this echoey, cavernous space, hidden away underground.

*

When she reached ground level, Ras was sitting on a rock, head in his hands. She put her hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

He looked up at her, pale-faced. ‘I’m sorry, Jo. I’ve let you down. I’ve always been afraid of heights.’

‘Then what made you bring me here?’

‘Two reasons. I’ve been having hypnotherapy and thought it would be a kind of test for me, to see if the hypnosis had worked. I was sure I’d manage it.’

‘And the other?’

‘I knew you’d like it.’

Her heart went out to him. He’d been willing to put himself through this ordeal for her? Well, willing to try, at any rate.

‘I did like it – I loved it, in fact. So thank you. This definitely ranks as my most unusual first date ever. Although…’

‘Although?’

‘I’d have enjoyed it more if we’d done it together.’