Chapter Seven

Snow

I didn’t know what to expect as the car drove up the long, curving drive toward the Enchanted Woods retreat. I had planned on driving my own car to the retreat, but the day before I told them that I was going to arrive, I got a phone call letting me know that my ride would be at my door the next morning. Though I had tried to reject the offer, they told me that it was part of the experience and included with the cost of my retreat. I agreed, but I wasn’t prepared to see the long white limousine that awaited me when I walked out of my house the next day. A uniformed chauffeur approached me and took my bags from my hands, tucking them into the trunk before opening the door for me. He didn’t say a word as I climbed into the luxurious vehicle and in a matter of moments we were driving away. I had gazed around the cabin, discovering chilled champagne and strawberries waiting for me.

A touch cliché, but a nice gesture.

Now as we had driven past the large sign that said, “The Enchanted Woods”, I was starting to feel a little nervous. The truth was I didn’t really know what I had gotten myself into. I had snatched my phone from under my pillow where I kept it and called the retreat on impulse, not really expecting them to answer the phone in the middle of the night. When they had, I felt as though I was too committed to not keep going. I told them that a friend had given me the brochure and the woman on the other end of the line told me that I should feel very lucky to have a friend like that. What was that supposed to mean? I tried to get as much information as I could about it, but the woman would only tell me that the purpose of the Enchanted Woods was to be a refuge for those looking for something, and that if I was open to it, they would help me to find it. It wasn’t exactly what Robin had told me, but I was still intrigued. It was just what I had been thinking about and this seemed to be offering it right to me.

I tried to swallow down the feeling of anxiety and second thoughts that I was feeling as the limo wove slowly down the drive. I had eaten all of the strawberries and had two glasses of champagne, but my stomach was still fluttering as we approached. I still had the image from the front of the brochure in my mind, but I wasn’t entirely convinced that that was what I was going to see when we reached the end of the drive. I was in advertising, after all. I was accustomed to the little tricks that were used to appeal to targeted demographics. Not that I was dishonest. In fact, that was something that I was extremely serious about. I never lied. That didn’t mean, however, that there weren’t other advertisers, a particular evil president came to mind, who made a habit of stretching the truth and straight out lying in order to get a point across and lure in business for their accounts. The cozy little cottage on the front of the brochure was adorable, but it also looked like something out of a coloring book and I wasn’t really expecting that that was what we were going to find.

As we turned a corner and passed through a slightly thicker area of trees, however, I saw that exact image rise up in front of me. I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped my lips as I leaned against the window and stared at the cottage and the tiny, sparkling brook that meandered along beside it and curved behind it. The limo came to a stop and I waited until the chauffeur opened the door to step out. I was expecting him to go to the trunk to get my luggage, but when I looked at the back of the car I saw another man already standing there, pulling my bags out. I turned to thank the chauffeur, but he had already gotten back into the car and started driving away slowly as soon as the trunk closed. The man who had gotten my luggage started toward the front door of the cottage and I followed him, looking around me to try to take in as much of the serene surroundings as I could.

The door to the cottage gave a low, soft squeak as it opened, but I found the sound comforting, almost as though it gave the building more authenticity. As soon as we stepped inside, the man carrying my luggage turned down a narrow hallway and I heard a few hard footsteps as if he were climbing a short flight of stairs. I was left standing alone in a small room, the smell of coffee and burning wood filling the space from a fireplace in the far corner.

“Hello.”

I jumped at the sound of the voice behind me and turned to see a woman standing at the doorway watching me.

“Hi,” I said, more a reaction to her greeting than one in return.

“You must be Snow.”

“Yes.”

She came toward me, holding out one slim hand. I took it as I nodded.

“I’m Fawn. I believe we spoke on the phone.”

“Yes.”

I felt like it was the only word that I could come up with. She had seen me. My luggage had been whisked off into the distance. There was no escape.

“I’m glad that you chose to join us. Are you ready to start your retreat?”

She just got right to the point, didn’t she?

“I’m sorry, I’m still not sure what this is all about.”

“You,” Fawn said.

“Excuse me?”

“You,” she repeated. “This is all about you. This entire experience is about you. When you’re here, and when you return home, no one and nothing else matters. This is all about you and what you want and need.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“You read the brochure, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And I told you over the phone why we designed Enchanted Woods.”

“To help me find what I am looking for.”

“Exactly. So, what other questions could there be?”

She was right. I was done asking questions. Just like Fawn said, this was about me and for once, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass.

“Alright,” I said.

“Good,” Fawn said with a smile. “I’ll show you to your room. Freshen up and relax for the evening. Tomorrow we’ll make plans for your experience.”

I followed her out of the room and down the hallway where I had seen the man carry my luggage. We walked up a short flight of stairs and through a doorway into a beautifully appointed bedroom. I don’t know how the man managed to get out of the room without me noticing him, but he was gone. My luggage was sitting on the floor beside a tall, canopied bed elaborately made with white bedding accented by tiny purple flowers.

“This is lovely,” I said, stepping further into the room.

“I’m glad that you like it. The bathroom is through that door. Feel free to bathe, take a nap, read. Do whatever you like. I will have dinner brought to you. I will see you tomorrow.”

I nodded, so drawn in by the room that I didn’t even bother to turn around to watch her leave. When the door closed, I walked toward the bathroom. As beautiful as the bedroom was, the bathroom exceeded it. Huge and airy, the room had a rainforest shower in one corner and a massive garden tub tucked into a bay window along the back wall. I could see the thick woods beyond the window and immediately started to undress. One thing that the home I had finally been able to purchase a few years back lacked was a decent bathtub. It wasn’t something that I thought that I was going to need, but it hadn’t been long before I started to miss a good soak in the evening. Now that I had nothing but time and a bathtub deep enough that I could probably swim in it in front of me, I wasn’t going to waste it.

Several minutes later my hair was coiled on top of my head and I was neck deep in a mound of rose-scented bubbles, my eyes closed as I reclined in pure bliss against the side of the tub. Outside, the sun had started to slip down the horizon, the early winter days short enough that the twilight came well before I even got home from work most days. Being able to relax in the bath and feel the day winding down around me was a unique luxury and I knew that I could very easily get accustomed to this. I was very close to falling asleep when I heard a low sound like someone clearing their throat.

I opened my eyes and gasped when I saw a man standing in the bathroom with me. I sat up sharply, gathering the bubbles around me and wrapping my arms around myself. I hadn’t heard him come in and his sudden presence in the bathroom was unnerving. He didn’t seem flustered or uncomfortable, however. Instead, he simply looked at me. I looked back and realized that he was incredibly attractive. Thick, silky light brown hair hung to his collar and honey-colored eyes nearly took my attention away from his full lips.

“Hello,” I said, unsure of what else to say.

“Hello. I brought your dinner. It’s waiting for you in the bedroom.”

“Thank you.”

I noticed his eyes trailing along my face and down to the bath as if he could see through the bubbles, and I brought my arms closer around me. Without another word, he headed out of the room and a few seconds later I heard the door to the bedroom close. I dropped my head back against the side of the tub and let out a sigh. I could definitely get used to that kind of scenery.

I finished bathing, rinsed off, and dressed in the plush robe I found hanging in the bathroom before walking back out into my bedroom. An ornate metal stand had been placed in front of a davenport to one side of the bed and I could see a tray laden with a delectable-looking meal sitting on it. Two glasses stood on the tray, one with sparkling water and the other with a rich red wine. I settled onto the cushion and immediately reached for the wine. My first sip filled my mouth and seemed to waken my taste buds, making me realize how hungry I was. As I ate the array of delicious food I tried not to think about the man who had come into the bathroom without any announcement. As hard as I tried, though, I couldn’t get my mind off of the way that he looked at me, or the impulse that I’d had to ask if he was going to stay for dinner.

It was still early when I finished eating, but the combination of the filling meal and the long hot soak had relaxed me to the point that I felt like I could barely keep my eyes open. I changed into my nightgown and pulled back the corner of the bedding, appreciating how crisp and fresh the sheets looked. They exactly matched the color of the tiny flowers and something about that relaxed me even further. I slipped into the bed and reached beside me to turn off the lamp on the nightstand. I rested my head on the thick pillows and drifted away into sleep, the last thought that I had before disappearing into oblivion was about Fawn and what she meant by planning my experience the next day.