The
audio version of this story can be found here
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I imagined she was a little surprised to see me sitting across the room as she woke up in the cabin.
I was as far away as the space would allow, but the cabin was only one room, bed in one corner and kitchen and eating area in the far corner. I had opted to sleep outside and to leave the cabin for Melissa and Jim - so they could have some together time if they were up for it. There was a loft with an extra bed, but the ladder pulled down right by the bed and privacy would have been non-existent.
I woke with the sunrise in my bevy by the fire pit at 5am and tried to snuggle into the down sleeping bag I camp with, but once I got up to go pee and the wind started down the mountainside, I was quickly seeking the shelter of the little cabin tucked into the woods.
I thought that with the sun out and the birds waking up, that the two of them would join me in the kitchen for a morning cup of coffee, but apparently we partied a little harder than they were used to last night and they didn't budge for the first hour.
I threw a blanket over my legs as I sat at the high top kitchen table and smiled at Jim's light snoring. He had an entire symphony of breathing noises that he brought out one instrument at a time as he rose and dove into deeper sleep or changed position on the bed.
Melissa on the other hand was silent and still, blankets pulled up to her chin and only the dyed blue of her hair peaking out of the blankets.
Last night we bonded, Melissa and I. Sitting around the fire, drinking, getting high. She tucked herself up under my arm and spoke of her childhood, her relationship with Jim, her hopes and dreams. Jim sat on the other side of the fire, talking it up with our other friends. In the dark, on the way back from saying goodbye to our friends and heading to the cabin, Melissa held my hand and cuddled close to my side - ostensibly to secure her footing in the dark - but she seemed reluctant to release my hand when we arrived at the cabin door.