Shelby approached the car rental desk at the airport.
“I called to book a four-wheel drive” she said to the young woman.
“My name is Shelby Hadley”.
“Yes of course Ms Hadley, the car is ready and waiting for you, just sign here please”.
Shelby signed, took the keys and was about to leave when she turned back.
“I believe that my husband Jason also hired a car from you yesterday. Is that correct?”
“I am sorry Ms Hadley, but we are not allowed to give out any information about our clients” the young woman said with an apologizing smile.
“That’s ok,” Shelby smiled back and left.
Turning onto the Highway Shelby settled down for the long drive. ‘Of course Jason must have gone to cabin’ she though ‘just would have been nice to get a confirmation from the car rental desk’.
She started to think about the amazing times her husband and her had spent at the cabin, away from everything and everybody. No distractions, no phones, no radio, no TV, only the two of them. It was romantic and had strengthened their love. ‘Until’ she shook her head ‘everything went wrong and Jason began to withdraw from me. I still don’t know the reason’.
‘Our life will change for the better from now on’ she vowed to herself. ‘I still do love him so very much. We will have to work through some issues and whatever it is that has divided us and overcome it’.
These thoughts made her feel like a weight was lifted from her shoulders, a dark cloud from her mind. She just knew now that nothing that had happened before will destroy their love and get in the way of the two them being together again.
Shelby eased her foot from the gas pedal and squinted through the misty windscreen into the relentless rain. Black clouds kept rolling in over the already dark grey sky.
The Highway look quite deserted, there was no other traffic.
She kept on thinking about how it would be when she will arrive at the cabin, Jason welcoming her with open arms and showering her with his wonderful kisses.
They will cuddle in front of a blazing fire, candles will be flickering with a soft light and her and Jason will be safe from the intruding world, all their problems will disappear.
‘Stop dreaming girl and watch the road’ she reprimanded herself ‘you nearly missed the turn ‘.
Shelby swung the car carefully onto the unpaved road and realized that the drive up to the cabin will be challenging to say the least and difficult. They had never arrived in weather like this before and she will have to apply all her skills to navigate what looked now not like a road or even a trail, but more like a quagmire.
She estimated that she had about ten miles to drive under those bad conditions, but there was no turning back now.
Shelby engaged the four-wheel drive, held on tightly to the wheel and began the treacherous ascent.
Over an hour later and wondering if she might have gotten lost, she spotted some faint lights shining through the trees up a slope on her right.
She remembered the steep approach and getting closer Shelby caught sight of the familiar log-cabin and the dark shape of a Jeep parked next it.
Jason is here, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
‘It was the right decision to come up here after all’ and with that happy thought in mind she opened the car door and rushed towards the covered porch of the cabin, towards the welcoming candle light shining through the windows and towards her husband’s arms.