Coming home from work, I want nothing more than to pour a huge glass of wine and take a bath. This has been a hell of a week. But as soon as I walk through the door, I am bombarded with 5000 questions.Where are my keys? Did you buy me deodorant? What's for dinner? And on and on... After answering questions all week at work, I just can't answer my family. Frustrated, I squeeze through them, walk quickly to my bedroom and slam the door. This isn't enough as echoes of "Mom" follow me through the door. Retreating further, I hide in my closet with the door closed and sit down to cry. Can't I just have a few minutes to myself?
It doesn't take long before my husband comes in to check on me. He doesn't say anything, just sits down and puts an arm around me and pulls me in close. After a few moments, I hear his coaxing voice, "Talk to me."
I'm still crying, but calmer now. "This week has been the worst.That promotion that I was hoping to get? Today I found out it went to someone else. Rumor has it she got the promotion because she's sleeping with the boss. I don't know if that's true, but I feel like I was better qualified and know that I will end up doing most of the work for her anyway. I was hoping to just decompress from that when I got home today, but instead I got bombarded."
Pulling me in close, he kisses my temple. "I'm sorry about the promotion, babe. It sucks. But I agree that you need some time to decompress from it. Two options: I can send you away for the evening tonight and the day tomorrow by yourself, or I can call Mom and see if she can watch the kids and I will come with you. Either way, you are getting some kid free time this weekend."
I begin to argue, "I can't do that. There are so many things the kids have to get ready for school next week. How will they ever -"
He cuts me off, "Stop. You need this. Remember what you've been telling me? You can't take care of everyone else if you don't take care of yourself. You are going. The only question is if you want me to come with you or not?"
Dumbfounded, I just sit there for a moment. He's rarely this forceful with me. I can see that I don't have a choice on this, so I think for a moment. We've not had much time to ourselves lately; I'd like him to come with me. "Do you really think Mom would be able to stay with the kids this weekend? I mean, its really short notice."
"Only one way to find out. Let me give her a call," he says, dialing her number. He steps out of the closet and I can't hear his conversation with his mom, but a few minutes later he peeks back in, "Pack an overnight bag. Mom will be here in 30 minutes."
Something tells me this was more than a spur of the moment thing. Mom lives 30 minutes away, so unless they had this planned there is no way she would be able to pack a bag and get here in that amount of time. I'm tempted to question him, but decide against it, since I really do need this time away. I know I should get my bag packed. There's just one problem; I have no idea where we are going.
"Where are we going? I need to know what to pack."
"Nothing fancy. I've rented a cabin down by the river. Jeans will work, but maybe something a bit nicer than a t-shirt. The weather is supposed to be clear and warm tonight."
Thirty minutes later we are headed out the door, practically pushed by Mom. As we begin to drive out of town, my husband takes an unexpected turn. We've been to the cabins on the river before and this is not the way. Catching my questioning look, "We are making a stop for dinner on the way." Wherever he is taking me, it's not a place I am familiar with, as I've never been down this road before.
Pulling into the wooded parking lot, I see the river behind the building. Walking in, the building is dimly lit and there is soft instrumental music playing in the background. Greeted by the host, my husband mentions that we have a reservation. Now I know this was planned. The restaurant is busy, and I know from the name on the menus this is one of the highly rated places on the river. There is no way he was able to get a reservation in the last hour. I'm even more surprised when the host tells him the other person in our party is already here.
"Who are we having dinner with? You already had this planned with Mom, didn't you?"
Smiling slyly he says, "I knew you needed a night out, whether or not you got the promotion this week. You'll see who is meeting us for dinner in a minute."
We follow the host outside to the seating on the deck.When we get to the table, there is a well-endowed woman with light brown hair sitting there. She stands and gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "My God, Lynn, you look gorgeous!" she exclaims.
I've not seen Elle in several years. She's one of my friends from college, and while we still keep in contact, she doesn't live close by. I return her hug. "Elle! What are you doing in town? I didn't think you'd be able to make the trip this year!"
A giant grin spreads across my husband's face as Elle responds, "I didn't think I would be able to either. But when I talked to you last, it seemed like you needed a night out. I found a way to make it work and called Mike. I wasn't sure if it would be just you or Mike too, but I am so glad to see both of you!"
We all sit and strangely I see food coming to our table, though we haven't ordered yet. "Mike asked me to order for all of us," she explains. "He wanted to give us as much time this evening as possible since I have to leave at noon tomorrow."
"So soon?! How will we ever catch up in that short time?" I exclaim. But there is nothing to be done for it.
For the next hour, we eat, drink and talk. We reminisce about old times and fill each other in on current events. Meanwhile, Mike sits back with a smile on his face, watching us both intently. At the end of the meal, we order a dessert to go. It has gotten quite loud, even out here on the deck and we are eager to get to the cabin where it is quieter so we can talk some more. I'm a bit concerned though, as we are all 3 drinks in already.
My concern is quickly alleviated when we head down the steps toward the river instead of toward the parking lot. About 200 meters down river, there is a bridge that crosses to the other side. We make our way down the path, through the cypress trees, and finally across the river. The cabin we are in for the night is another 200 meters down, away from the restaurant. Elle has already checked into the cabin and has the key, a relief for me as I really hate waiting.