A Weekend for Love

Lindsay strained in her seat to get that first glimpse of the mountain cabin as Margaret slowed down to take the turn onto the long, narrow road. She and her friends have come to this cabin in the mountains around Asheville for a long time now...since graduating college. They tried to get here every couple of years and for the most part were successful. They had to miss now and then due to the birth of a child, and last year because of the death of Lindsay's husband, Bob. But on the whole, this was a yearly tradition.

Margaret felt Lindsay's body tense as she pulled onto the road. How was Lindsay going to handle being back here, she wondered. Bob had been to the cabin a few times over the years when the girls would bring their families up here for short vacations. Would Lindsay be reminded of Bob everywhere she looked?

*****

Ruth stepped on the brake pedal a little too hard, and the car skidded slightly as she made the tight turn onto the private road that would take her to what she and her friends now called their "home away from home." She had been so preoccupied on the drive here with all the last-minute crises that had kept her later than she planned, that she hadn't realized she was coming up to the road until it was almost too late.

She hadn't had much time to think of Lindsay and wonder how this trip was going to affect her. It's only been a year since Bob passed away. "Maybe it's too soon to be coming back here," she thought. Perhaps she shouldn't have insisted they come this year.

*****

It had been such a pretty drive, and the traffic so light, that Lucinda almost hated to reach the cabin. The drive along I-40 was spectacular this time of year with both the dogwoods and magnolias blooming. And those little flowering bushes in the median, the ones she can never remember the name of, are magnificent this year. The weatherman on the news the other night said the mild winter would make spring particularly gorgeous this year. He certainly was right about that! But here she is already, making the turn onto the cabin's roadway.

She's a little apprehensive about this year's retreat. She's not at all sure they shouldn't have skipped this year and given Lindsay another year to adjust to life without Bob before continuing on with their tradition of escaping from the real world for a few days.

*****

Margaret and Lindsay jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop in the little parking area next to the cabin. They hurried to the back of the car, pulled out their suitcases, and decided the rest of the stuff could wait a little while.

All apprehension about Lindsay's state of mind left Margaret as she watched Lindsay hurrying toward the cabin. She seemed genuinely happy to be here, same as always.

*****

No sooner had they gotten through the door and dropped their suitcases down, when Ruth pulled up, followed almost immediately by Lucinda. "Lucinda and Ruth are here," Lindsay yelled over her shoulder to Margaret. "Let's go see if they need some help," she said as she headed out the door.

"Right behind you!"

"Hi Lucinda, Hi Ruth," the women shouted, almost in unison.

"How was the drive? Did you run into much traffic?" Margaret asked as the four friends came together in a big hug.

They each collected their suitcases and retired to their rooms to unpack and get cleaned up. They agreed to meet back in the kitchen in about an hour to start preparing dinner. They had decided before the trip to each bring something that could be shared for their first night's dinner, figuring no one would want to get back into the car so soon after the long drive to go shop for groceries.

When Margaret, Lucinda, and Lindsay finished unpacking and went to the kitchen, they found that Ruth had the table set and dinner just about ready.

"Ruth," Margaret said, "how'd you get unpacked so quickly and have time to get dinner ready, too?"

"You know Ruth," Lucinda said, "she's always so well-organized and efficient. I've always wished I could be half as fast at things as Ruth is."

"Oh, come on! You're embarrassing me. Sit down and eat, everyone."

They enjoyed their hodgepodge dinner and got caught up on each other's lives as they ate. The topic of Bob's death was carefully avoided so as not to upset Lindsay. They'd have to talk about it sometime over the weekend, but it could wait until tomorrow at least.

They decided to play a game of Hearts before turning in for the night. They were all pretty tired and figured Hearts wouldn't take too long to play. About an hour later, the game finished, the women hoarse from all the chatter, they said their good nights and headed to their rooms.

The wonderful smell of coffee greeted Ruth as she opened the door to her bedroom and stepped out into the hall. She had taken just a couple of steps when Lucinda came out of her room, followed almost immediately by Lindsay, from her room. They exchanged "Good Mornings" as they headed for the kitchen.

"Um um, it smells good in here," Lindsay said as they crossed the threshold into the kitchen.

"It sure does," Ruth seconded.

"I haven't had pancakes in ages!" Lucinda added. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Good morning ladies," Margaret smiled as the women started seating themselves around the little table. "I love to cook and I know you're all so busy, so I thought I'd give you a treat and make a homemade breakfast for our first morning here.

"Fantastic," "Yummy," "Awesome," they said, in unison.

Margaret put the last pancake on the serving plate and brought it over to the table. She went to the counter where the coffee pot was finishing and emptied the contents into a carafe, and brought that over to the table, too. She cast a sweeping glance over the table to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, and once satisfied she had not, sat down at the empty place.

"Hey, remember how you burned the eggs on that first retreat we all took together, Ruth?" Lucinda chided.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" she replied. "That was awful. The smoke alarm went off and everything."

"It sure got you out of cooking duty for a while," Lindsay chuckled.

They reminisced and ate their breakfast at a leisurely pace. It was a welcome change to their normally hurried, half-eaten meals. When they finished, they insisted Margaret sit down and rest while the other three cleaned up and got the dishes put away.

With nothing to do, Margaret decided to have another cup of coffee. Since it was a sunny, warm day, she took it out to the deck to drink. She sat in the high-backed rocker and looked out toward the mountain peak in the distance. Surely this is the most beautiful spot in the world, she thought.

Lindsay seems to be doing okay, she thought, as she sat there rocking back and forth. Being back here in this cabin, where we all spent so much time as couples, doesn't seem to be depressing her. She seems to be remembering the good times the four of us have spent here over the years, more than dwelling about losing Bob. That's good, she thought; better to focus on the happy times.

Just then, the door swung open, and the other three ladies stepped out onto the deck, Lindsay with a fresh cup of coffee with her for Margaret.

"Well, thank you, Lindsay," Margaret said as she reached for the coffee mug. "I just finished mine and was going to go back in to get a refill."

"Well it's your lucky day, then. We saved you a trip."

"What does everyone want to do today?" Lucinda asked the group.

"We need to go into town to get some supplies," Ruth spoke up first. "We ought to get that done first so it's not hanging over our heads all afternoon."

"Ruth's right," Lindsay agreed. "It shouldn't take us long, and then we'd be done and free to enjoy the rest of the day. Maybe we could go horseback riding like we used to do when we were in high school. I noticed a stable on the way here yesterday, and it's put me in the mood ever since. What do you say?"

"I think we're too old for that kind of stuff," Lucinda said. "Count me out."

"I'm sorry, Lindsay, but I agree with Lucinda," Margaret added.

"Looks like you're on your own on this one, Lindsay," Ruth agreed. "You're welcome to borrow my car when we get back from shopping, though, and go horseback riding if you want."

Lindsay was a little disappointed she wouldn't have company, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. "Thanks for the offer," she replied. "I think I'll take you up on that."

As soon as the groceries were put away, Lindsay retrieved the car keys from Ruth, and with an excitement she hadn't felt in ages, headed off for the stables. During the short drive she reminisced of her high school days when she and Jeremy used to go riding on the weekends. She hadn't let herself think of him in a long, long time, but seeing that stable on the way in brought the memories flooding back. Oh, how wonderful their love had been!

She and Bob had a good marriage, it wasn't that -- and she genuinely missed Bob -- but she felt that her grief hadn't been deep enough for her love to have been real. That soul mates kind of love. She wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't so cruelly broken up with Jeremy and had married him instead.

She had loved Jeremy more than she loved anyone or anything else in her life. Her heart would ache when they were apart and pound in her chest when she caught that first glimpse of him each day. But like so many girls that age, she was very much under her parents' influence. She idolized her parents and respected their wishes so when they pointed out that it would never work out for her and Jeremy, she heeded their advice and broke it off. See, Jeremy had no intention of going to college and getting a degree. He was quite happy working at the stable and hoped to make it to foreman some day. She, on the other hand, planned to attend college, maybe even graduate school.

"Oh, I never should have broken up with Jeremy," Lindsay wailed to herself. "How ridiculous it all seems now, just because I would have a degree and he wouldn't. What difference does it make? At least I would have been genuinely happy all these years instead of just 'content'."

She shook herself out of her self-pity as she slowed down to pull into the stable's parking lot. "I wonder whatever happened to Jeremy," she thought as she glided into the nearest empty parking space.

He did a double take when he saw the woman getting out of the silver sedan as he was leading Crazy Legs back to his stall. "It can't be!" he said to himself. "What would she be doing all this way from home all by herself?" He hurriedly put the horse back in his stall then crept to where he could get a good look without being seen. He had to know if his eyes were deceiving him.

He made his way as close to the registration area as he could then ducked inside an empty stall. He had a good view of the entrance the customers used. He didn't have but a minute to wait and in she came. There was no mistaking it. It was Lindsay! His heart started racing, his hands got clammy, and he started to feel like he was in high school all over again. As hard as he had tried to hate her for breaking up with him, he never could. He never stopped loving her and wishing that someday they would be together.

Being rather a shy type, his first instinct was to lay low and hope she didn't notice him. But he decided to be daring this time. He went and rounded up Angel, the friendliest horse they had, got her ready and walked her proudly to the front of the barn to introduce her to Lindsay.

Lindsay couldn't believe her eyes. There, coming straight toward her, was Jeremy, walking the most beautiful mare she had ever seen. She stood in shocked silence for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds, then ran, full speed ahead into Jeremy's arms. Neither one spoke; they couldn't speak they were crying too hard, but words weren't needed. This time they weren't letting go.