Maddy’s Christmas Wedding (Little Duck Pond Cafe #37)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

‘There’s so obviously something on Maddy’s mind,’ murmured Jaz an hour or so later, as we all lay around steaming gently in the lakeside sauna.

‘Yes, she really hasn’t been herself, has she?’ I agreed, feeling more than a little worried about our friend.

Outside, darkness reigned and it was well below zero, an icy breeze sweeping across the frozen lake. But here in the sauna, with the coals sizzling, we were so warm and relaxed.

We’d been greeted by a lovely Sámi couple called Jovvna and Elssá, who ran these lakeside trips. They’d explained everything and shown us the cottage where we’d have dinner later, and it looked so cosy and inviting inside, I could have just curled up on the sofa with a drink and been very happy indeed. But of course we were here to enjoy the sauna (which I’d been looking forward to) and the icy plunge (the less said about that the better).

I’d found the lake, a sheet of ice, hauntingly beautiful but a little eerie, and – despite the cheery fairy lights strung up everywhere like sparkling chains of tiny stars – I still couldn’t imagine plunging into it willingly. And Jaz’s gentle teasing wasn’t helping.

Now, relaxing in the sauna, we could smell the delicious aromas of our traditional Lapland meal which was being prepared in the little cottage nearby.

‘Maddy was worried about her dad, of course,’ Laurel was saying. ‘When she thought Barry might have something seriously wrong with him.’

‘Yes, but it turned out it wasn’t what she thought,’ said Katja.

‘So what else can be worrying her?’ I wondered.

‘The wedding?’ Jaz sat up, reached for her towel and gave her face a rub. ‘Perhaps it’s just wedding nerves.’

There was a murmur of agreement.

‘You don’t think Maddy might be having second thoughts, do you?’ murmured Katja.

‘No!’ said Jaz firmly.

‘No way,’ I echoed. ‘She’s crazy about Jack. Everybody knows that.’

Katja nodded. ‘Of course she is. And he loves her to bits. They’re made for each other, those two.’

We lapsed into silence for a while, and I thought about Maddy and how lacklustre she’d been since we’d arrived. Instead of going all out celebrating the festive season like everyone else here in Rovaniemi, she seemed irritated by the throng of happy Santa fans milling about the place.

But maybe, like Jaz suggested, it was just wedding nerves. I’d been a bundle of anxiety myself when I walked down the aisle to meet Rob. My bouquet was trembling so much, it was a wonder the flowers had any petals left on them by the time I got to the altar!

Katja, who was lying flat on the long wooden seat below me, raised her hand and touched my arm. ‘Changed your mind about a dip in the lake, Fen?’ she asked. ‘Are you going to take the plunge with us, as it were?’

Through a stretch and a yawn, I murmured, ‘But I’m so lovely and warm and relaxed. I think I might just stay here while you go off and do the brave thing.’

‘You’ll regret it,’ warned Jaz, ‘when we come back with tales of how a dip in the freezing water made us feel so alive and exhilarated.’

‘If your extremities don’t freeze off first,’ groaned Katja. ‘I have to say, I’m coming round to Fen’s way of thinking. We’re supposed to be having fun so why would we willingly jump into an icy lake? It’s madness. This sauna and the prospect of a scrummy feast cooked for us is quite enough for me.’

I chuckled, glad to have an ally. But knowing I wasn’t the only one to be wary of doing it made me rethink. ‘I suppose . . . I guess we could both be scaredy cats together, Katja.’

She looked up at me with a shocked smile. ‘Seriously? You’d do it?’

I laughed. ‘Well, it’s just a thought. I won’t feel such a coward if I know you’re there feeling the same.’

‘But I thought you said you didn’t want to do it?’

‘No, I do want to do it,’ I explained. ‘I’m just a bit scared, I suppose. But in a strange way, knowing you feel the same is kind of giving me the courage to go for it. Which is a bit weird.’

‘It’s not weird,’ said Jaz. ‘It’s courage in numbers.’

Laurel nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

Katja frowned, thinking. Then she stood up and reached for her towel to drape around her. ‘Okay, Fen, you’re on. We do it together. Yes?’

‘Okay.’ My insides rolled over queasily but I was suddenly determined.

‘So . . . are we all ready to . . . well, take the plunge?’

For just a second, my body recoiled at the idea. Then I thought how great it would be to go home to Rob and show him all the photos from our trip. Imagine if there was actual physical proof of me overcoming my fear and taking a dip in that icy lake! Also, I’d never live it down if I was the only one of us not brave enough to do it.

So I grinned at Katja and unfurled myself from my lovely relaxed position, adjusting my one-piece swimsuit so that my bum cheeks weren’t on display. ‘Okay. Ready. Lead the way.’

At the door, the icy sub-zero air rushed in, temporarily stealing my breath and making us all gasp. If I was going to do this, there was only one way to go about it: no hesitation whatsoever. No time to think about it. Just pick my way over the snow in bare feet and lower myself into that lake!

So that’s what I did. Shrieking at the feel of my feet sinking into the freezing snow, I started ploughing my way over, wrapped in a big fluffy towel over my swimsuit, to the sheet of ice that was tonight’s bathing pool. I smiled at Jovvna, the lovely man in charge. He was obviously waiting there as a precaution, just in case we should collapse with fright when our toes touched the icy water!

It was surprisingly light out here on the snow, considering the sky was black by now. The reflection of tonight’s full moon on the vast snowy landscape played its part, of course, as did the beams from uplighters which had been placed at intervals beneath the surrounding fir trees.

I dropped my towel and stood by the edge of the frozen lake trying to rub some warmth into my arms and psyching myself up to do this thing. Pointing at the lake, I indicated to Jovvna whether I should just go in, and he smiled and said, ‘Yes. Enjoy!’

I could hear the others following behind me, laughing and exclaiming at the cold, but with the adrenaline flowing through my veins, I was a woman on a mission, focusing on the task ahead.

I’d show Rob that I wasn’t always the shrinking violet among the group.

I was going to do this!

The ice at the edge of the lake had been broken up, although I could see some floating around as I took a breath and prepared to step in. As my foot made contact with the sub-zero lake water, the shock made me draw in a huge breath, which whooshed straight into my lungs, and as the icy air hit, tears sprang to my eyes. Laughing and blinking, and amazed at myself, I inched into the water until it was up to my thighs. I felt a bit like a swizzle stick being plunged into a chilled vodka and tonic, massive ice cubes swimming around my legs!

Did I dare to immerse myself completely?

Shivering, I stood where I was for a moment, hugging myself and staring out across the lake at the full moon. I was proud of myself for making it this far.

Could I go even further?

And then I did it.

Taking a deep breath, I ducked down so that my whole body was under the freezing water. Gasping and spluttering with the shock of it, I felt a huge sense of exhilaration rushing through me as I bobbed up and down. Exhilaration because of the physical effect of the icy water, which was meant to be really beneficial. But also because of the triumph I was feeling at having pushed through my fear.

Turning around, the water at waist-height now, I was expecting to see the others wading in behind me. But to my surprise they were just standing there in a row at the edge, wrapped in towels watching me. And just then, they all started clapping and whooping, including Jovvna and his wife. They were shouting things like, ‘Go, Fen! Bloody hell, fearless or what? You were straight in there, no messing about!’

I was bobbing up and down in the freezing water, laughing and calling between gasps for them to join me.

‘Come on in. The water’s lovely.’

‘Liar,’ laughed Katja.

‘No, it’s true.’ Not that I was going to be able to stay in for very much longer. Probably about three seconds at the most.

‘Oh, someone take a photo, please, so I can show Rob I’m not a total wimp,’ I shouted, as my brain began getting over the shock and functioning semi-rationally again.

Katja fumbled in the waterproof bag at her feet, pulled out her phone and took a few quick snaps of me holding my arms up in triumph.

‘Right, that’s it,’ she called, putting the phone away. ‘If I don’t get in now, I never will.’ And she waded right on in, shrieking and laughing as the Arctic lake water engulfed her previously warm, sauna-kissed legs.

I clapped her and whooped, expecting Laurel and Jaz to do the same. But after dipping her toe in, Laurel only managed up to her ankles before groaning and retreating hastily.

Katja was beside me now, the two scaredy-cats together, bobbing up and down and laughing at the madness of it.

I grinned over at Jaz, expecting her to plunge in and start swimming around, putting Katja and I to shame by not shrieking at all. So I was a bit bemused when Jaz shook her head. Very firmly. She didn’t even attempt the toe-thing. She didn’t even remove her towel.

‘Sorry, girls. Can’t do it. I’m going back to the sauna.’ And with that, she turned and picked her way across the snow, followed by Laurel, and as we pleaded with them to come back, Jaz turned and gave us a wave and they both disappeared back into the sauna . . .