Daphne leads a stressful life. Between her job, family and friends it was bound to happen. One day it did. She snapped. At work. She had one too many projects thrown at her and when her boss told her to do yet another project that was supposed to be done by someone else. She threw her computer on the floor and walked out.
Daphne's boss told her she would have to see someone to control her anger before she could return to work. She would still have a job waiting as long as she could get her anger under control.
At the first appointment, Daphne told Dr. Delegon all about her life—the extra demands put on her shoulders at work, the joys of being a working, single mom, and she even mentioned being undersexed. Dr. Delegon listened intently to all she told him. He took a few notes here and there. At the end of the hour he gave her his initial diagnosis.
"Daphne. I believe you are the victim of a nervous breakdown," he began. "I am therefore ordering you to take a one-week vacation. I don't care where you go or what you do but you will find someone to care of your kids and do your job. At the end of the week, you will come back and visit with me and we'll go from there."
"But..." Daphne began.
"No buts," said Dr. Delegon. "If you want to go back to your job, you will do as I say."
"Okay," Daphne said in a defeated tone.
She couldn't tell you the last time she went on a vacation much less one by herself. She called her mother and made arrangements for her to keep the children while she was away.
"Mom. Isn't 35 years old too young to be having one of these?" she asked.
"I think it will do you some good," Daphne's mother told her.
"You know. I do believe you are right."
Now she just had to figure out where she could go for a week. She got online and starting looking at all the usual getaways—Hawaii, Cancun, Jamaica—but no one was booking on this short notice. She logged into her email and saw a joke sent to her from her friend, Phil, and she remembered he told her anytime she wanted to come visit she could.
Phil had his own little paradise built right on his land. It came complete with a rustic cabin, boat dock, fishing and hunting amenities and just about anything else that wouldn't overstress her. It was perfect.
Daphne called Phil and told her what happened at work and the meeting with the doctor. He said he would be delighted to have her come and stay.
"You've picked just the right time," Phil began. "I had planned to have a small gathering for Earth Day this coming week but my work schedule forced me to cancel it. I've already prepared everything."
"That's great," Daphne responded. "It'll probably be too cold for me to swim won't it?"
"It depends on how cold you like your water," he said. "Our weather is supposed to be fantastic this week. I do have a hot tub that you can relax in if the water's too cold."
"Cool."
"I'm sorry I'll be working most of the time and I won't get to spend much time with you," he said.
"It's okay," Daphne said. "I think the doctor wants me to relax."
She got off the phone with Phil and printed out the directions to his house. She grabbed her suitcase and threw several outfits and a couple of swimsuits in it. She could at least work on her tan.
She decided to drive overnight and arrive in the early morning. It took just over eight hours for Daphne to arrive at Phil's.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "This really is Paradise."
"I told you that's why I nicknamed it that," he said. "Now if you'll follow me, I'll give you a brief tour before I have to head to work."
Phil showed her the beautiful and calm blue water of his lake. He had volleyball nets set up on the golden sandy beach. Up the shore a bit, she saw the hot tub steaming in front of a beautiful log cabin. In front of it was the boat dock.
"As you can see, I still have all my earth day party favors and decorations set up," he said. "I hope you don't mind but I am planning to have just one party on Friday to observe the special occasion. If you think you'll feel uncomfortable around my friends, I can always book you a room at the hotel."
"Who knows? After four days of sun and fun, I may want to party."
"I hate to leave you here on your own, but duty calls. There's plenty of grub in the cabin."
Phil gently pecked Daphne on the cheek before turning to leave.
"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. He knew she was 20 years younger than he, but he still loved to look at her curves. Watching her tuck a stray strand of her blonde hair behind her ear as the wind whipped it in her face, turned his insides to mush.
They had always had a playful relationship, but he didn't know if she wanted anything other than a shoulder from him right now.
Daphne stuck a toe in the water and felt just how cold it was. She decided to grab her two-piece turquoise swimsuit and tan for a while to see if the sun could heat her up enough that she'd want to jump into the lake.
