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A Cabin In The Woods

We love our boys a lot! Don’t get me wrong. But if you’re a mum of three hyperactive boys you’ll understand what it takes to love them and be there for them every day.

By Ewuranna Smith-QuaysonPublished about a year ago 10 min read
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A Cabin In The Woods
Photo by Lili Kovac on Unsplash

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin at the top of the hill. A place too familiar to us; a breath of fresh air even on this cold night. In the first year of our marriage, before the kids, we swore to make it a tradition to take a weekend off every year to ourselves. 5 years and three children later, we’re here like clockwork, in the last week in December to spend time away from the kids. Yet in the last three years, it’s been more about getting away from the endless activities with work, our business, and the kids than it has been about spending time with each other.

We love our boys a lot! Don’t get me wrong. But if you’re a mum of three hyperactive boys you’ll understand what it takes to love them and be there for them every day.

This year I had an exciting weekend planned. Why would we make our time away as routine as the rest of our lives? Sleep half of the time, and crash together on the couch to see a movie that we hardly get to finish because we’re so tired from a year of non-stop activities and we have zero energy to “do something fun”— not happening this year. Not on my watch! I was bent on showing Zeke a good time. It took all of three months to plan this. Who knew planning a vacation could be so exhausting yet exhilarating?!

The sight of that cabin sent chills down my spine because we were about to have the most fun we’ve had in …. What the ..?!  Why is there a man in his birthday suit in front of the cabin?

Zeke pulled over and walked out of our SUV as soon as he saw “Mr. Birthday Suit”. “The kids should not be scarred like that.” Zeke whispered “Let me go first”

Obviously, he was more concerned about me than the kids! He didn’t want this to be a part of our memory. And that’s one of the things that drew me to Zeke. He’s so thoughtful and mindful of how I feel. And I’ve seen this in his relationship with the kids too. It’s beautiful.

Zeke walks over to talk with Mr. Birthday Suit and he frantically grabs a real suit he had hung on the front porch and starts to cover his nakedness. The kids, all fast asleep in their seats, had no clue what was going on. Fresca was late again but I wasn’t going to let her mess with my plans this year so I carried the kids with us. Well, she already tampered with it a bit. Zeke and I were supposed to drive to the cabin in a Tesla, Zeke’s dream car. Fresca was to pick up the kids and drop them off at my mum’s for the week. But she was late. Again. Even after hours of pitching to me a month ago about how she really wanted to help make this a great time for her brother and about how reliable she was. I should say she makes a fine salesperson but delivering on her promise was always the problem.

Our Airbnb host was waiting on us at the cabin. She was getting restless and had to leave. Zeke called Fresca one last time and when he got the voicemail again, we packed everything in the SUV and headed to the cabin with no plan. “We could just spend the weekend with the kids too! It wouldn’t be so bad. Just not what I had in mind but that’s okay. It will still be great “, I consoled myself as we drove away from the neighborhood. About an hour into the trip Zeke’s phone rang. I checked the caller id and it was Fresca. I swiped to answer and raised the phone to my ear. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry Zeke! I’m almost there. I overslept. Had a long day yesterday.“ I saw that coming already. “No we’re not home Fresca. We left an hour ago. You can pick up our rental car from Shuga’s Garage and meet us at the cabin.” I responded emotionless. “Oh, Mima! Babe, I’m sorry for disappointing you! Hope I can make it up to you.” She responded. “Getting the rental car to us and sending the kids to my mum should do the trick. Thanks, Fresca! We’ll be at the cabin waiting with the kids.”

I saw a Tesla pull up behind us through the side mirror. Fresca stepped out of the car and walked straight to the SUV and blurted out “Girl I now understand why Zeke is mad about the Tesla engine! It was a smooth ride here. Where’s Zeke? And why are you out here?”

Before I even had the chance to respond Zeke walked up to us. “Hi, Fresca! You made it. Thank you!” He hugged her and turned to me “I took care of the intrusion babe. Let’s go in now”

He hadn’t seen the Tesla behind us just yet. And when he finally did….” Whoa! That’s a …a…” he said as he walked up to the Tesla and sat in it, touching the wheels as though he was just given a new toy. After a few minutes of bewilderment, he asked if he could drive that to the cabin while Fresca drove me and the kids in the SUV. Though predictable, his reactions to the Tesla warmed my heart. I love seeing Zeke happy. That was the goal of this time away. To spend time with my baby and make it count.

We sighed as we dropped tired on the cozy couch in the living room of our cabin. It had been an eventful day already. Fresca took the kids in the SUV to my mum’s and finally we were all alone now. It was only noon but that seemed like the perfect time to regain all the sleep we lost in the year. I ran the water in the bathtub and mixed it with nerve-calming sleep-inducing essential oils so we could soak in. Zeke and I took off our clothes and sat in the tab; Zeke listening to a podcast and I finishing a book I’d been stalling all year. “This is nice”, Zeke smiled. All I could do was admire the way he glowed when he was happy and relaxed. The day was just perfect!

From the bathtub, straight to bed! The oils understood the assignment; and so did this bed! It’s no wonder we would spend our days sleeping. This bed was made for us. No doubt! We had a full-blown 4-hour nap which was only interrupted by the annoying whirring sound of a chainsaw against the wood. Who would be cutting down trees at this time of the year?! It’s freezing outside. The Tesla is parked in the cabin garage and we are locked up inside. There was no need to go snooping outside. All was alright with the world.

I walked up to our cabin fridge to make supper. I hired a sweet lady, Grace, to help with a few things like the cooking and some of the shopping so I wouldn’t have to do too much in the kitchen this weekend. Grace had stocked us up with all of our favorite meals, drinks, and snacks. I grabbed a casserole of lasagne, dished some of it out into a plate, warmed it up, and set it up on the dining table. After we had supper we played one of our favorite games, Scrabble. Zeke let me win as always.

Then we moved into the living room. This was the coziest next to the bedroom. All the furniture was made of neatly polished high-grade timber that gave a rustic feel. The fireplace was well positioned in the corner of the room providing all the warmth to fight the chilly weather this year’s winter came with. We sat together on the couch across the wall that the 45” tv was mounted. Covered in a blanket to keep warm, it was time to “Netflix and chill”. Today it felt different; I was positive we’d actually watch the movie this time. Before he hit the play button, Zeke wrapped his arms around me, nudged me closer to him, kissed me on the forehead, and said “I love you, babe. Never forget that.” He felt it too. Today was different. Just like I wanted it to be.

When you’ve woken up at 5 am every morning for 4 years at least, it’s harder to stay in bed in the morning. Your body just doesn’t understand why you are rebelling. But I was hell-bent on sleeping in; and so was Zeke. We held each other close. These rare moments we hardly get at home. There will be one, two, or sometimes all three boys cuddled up in between us as if they owned the bed.

We finally got out of bed at 5:30 and went to the gym for our morning yoga and workout. I would normally do a little yoga but Zeke did both yoga and some cardio. Zeke joined me in the gym and got on the second yoga mat. Following me every step of the way, doing exactly what I was doing. This whole cabin was made for two. Right down to the gym. It was a simple and small room with two treadmills, two dumbbells, and two yoga mats. Zeke led the cardio session and I followed his every move, laughing and teasing each other like we were in our twenties all over again!

We hit the showers after workouts and before long the masseuses were here. She set up two massage tables in the gym and lit some candles to set the mood. We lay flat on the table and availed our bodies to the hands of these women hoping they would take away any ounce of pain in our bones and make. us feel as young as we’ve been feeling all morning. We had breakfast and played so many games together. Zeke’s favorites and mine as well. Today I wanted us to have a good time with each other indoors, just us. Just like it used to be in the early years of our relationship. We enjoyed each other’s company a lot.

Our favorite band was playing at 4 pm at a park nearby and I had tickets for us to go see them. So we had lunch, got dressed, and headed out in the Tesla. It was a fun night! We felt like we were twenty again! The adrenaline rush of seeing your favorite band play live, getting an autograph, and screaming your head off on a roller coaster ride after taking cute photos in a booth made for two. We sure did feel young again!

We drove back to the cabin satisfied. As I stood in front of the mirror getting ready for bed, doing my usual nighttime routine, Zeke walked up to me wrapping his arms around me from the back, and kissed my neck gently. I cozied up and melted in his arms; my legs could no longer hold my body. He brought his lips close to my ears and said in a gentle voice “Remember that one fantasy I’ve always had? The one about the Tesla? ” I nodded vigorously. Then Zeke slid his hands underneath my thighs, lifted me up into his arms, and carried me all the way to the garage where the Tesla was parked. The car doors were already open, the sunroof open all the way and the back seat laid flat and covered with a soft smooth duvet. My man laid me gently on the duvet and reached into the cabinet in the garage for a bottle of our favorite wine. He poured me a glass and lay next to me. We stared up into the glass ceiling of the garage that gave way to the beautiful skylights. We sipped on wine, watched the stars and spent the night just talking. Something we hadn’t done in years. The last day went even better than I planned!

Short Story
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About the Creator

Ewuranna Smith-Quayson

I create stories in my head all day about major things and really simple things; from things i learn and see and from things I experience.

I'm here to share all those stories with you😄

Walk with me 😉

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