The Man from Cabin A

Hannah hauled her suitcase up the last step and took in the sights.  It surely was a beautiful place, just as Edmund, her Airbnb host, had promised.  Trees surrounded the area and, although she could see a few other cabins nearby, it felt secluded.  Hannah considered having some company during the summer to prevent loneliness.  

She hoped Edmund might be nearby, but when he sent the code to the cabin instead of a face to face key handover, her hopes had dwindled.  She had gained a bit of a crush on her host, sending borderline flirty messages back and forth for the past few months as she planned her getaway to these secluded mountains to finish her newest project.  She wondered about Edmund’s appearance and personality, given the small, grainy picture on the site.  But she didn’t need the distraction. 

From her vantage point on the porch of the cabin, when she turned around she could see the lake beyond the line of trees and she devised a plan for the next hour: she would unlock her cabin from the lockbox, immediately change into her swimsuit, and head to the lake for a quick dip.  Once she was done, she could come back and start her writing.  Her purpose for being here was to finish her book on time.  Having just five pages, she had to make substantial progress to meet her deadline next month.

Hannah bent down to the lockbox and unlocked her phone to retrieve the code to the lockbox.  She scrolled through her messages with Edmund, smiling a bit, before she found the code.

“4358,” Hannah said under her breath and typed the code.  She clicked the silver button on the box but it didn’t release.  She must have keyed in the wrong number.

“4358,” Hannah repeated, looking at her phone again and back to the lockbox, making sure each number was correct, but when she tried the silver button again, it didn’t release. 

Hannah took a breath, closing her eyes and putting her key entering fingers to her head.  She bent down and tried once more.

“Mother fucker!” Hannah said to herself. 

“Can I help you?”

Hannah glanced behind and noticed a tall man standing.  He had a towel slung over his shoulder, exposing half his washboard abs and one mound of a shoulder.  He ran a hand through his wet, dark hair, dropping liquid down his unblemished forehead and into his blue eyes.  

“No, you cannot.  I’m trying to access my Airbnb, but this stubborn lockbox won’t cooperate,” Hannah said.

“What number cabin are you staying in?” He asked.

“I am in cabin B.”

“I don’t think this is cabin B.” 

“Sure it is, it says it right…” Hannah cut herself off as she swung herself to view the wood post holding the roof over the front porch of the cabin.

“See, it says ‘A’ right there.”  Hannah wanted to smack the smirk off this stranger’s face. “B is over there.” He pointed towards a cabin about fifty feet away.

Hannah gave a huff before lifting her large purple suitcase to take it down the four steps leading up to the cabin.  

“Let me help you with this.” The man leaned forward with his hands stretched out as if to catch the large object.  Hannah wondered if this man was her Edmund.  But it couldn’t be good-looking men were never as sweet as the guy in the messages.

“I can do it myself.” Hannah wrestled the purple mass down to the dirt floor.

“I see that.” 

“I’m fine.”

“Do you want help to get up to your cabin?”

“No, I can do that too.  You go do whatever you need to do.  Crunches or situps or whatever washboard abs are things you need to do.” Hannah pursed her lips.  She didn’t mean to say that, but half of her hoped that this man was Edmund.

“Okay…” He smiled at her with closed lips.  “I’m Teddy, by the way.  You can find me here.  At cabin ‘A’.  The cabin I am staying in.”  He raised his hand, gesturing to the cabin Hannah was standing in front of moments before, dropping his hand so it hit his buff thigh.  

Teddy’s remarks disappointed Hannah.  Not only was this man a guest, he was not Edmund, after all.  It made sense to Hannah.  Men this beautiful could never be as charming and caring as the Edmund she exchanged messages with on the app.

“I’m Hannah.”  She said, in between huffs of picking her suitcase up stair by stair.  She dropped the suitcase, found the lockbox immediately, punched in ‘4358’ and the button released.  When she looked up, Teddy was gone. 

–

Hannah dried her hair with the provided white towel.  It was not white anymore, but at least it smelled clean.  She had finally gotten the dip in the lake that she desired and it felt just as good as she imagined.  She then came back to the cabin only to stare at a blank screen before realizing how gross she probably was from the lake water.  Hannah took a shower and now, with a logical mind, she was ready to write.  But was she ready to write?  

She was feeling hungry.  Her mind wandered to the cafe she saw down the road when she arrived.  What was it called? A quick Google search led her to Finigan’s Bar and Tavern and she made a mental note to install an app she heard about that would keep her from using Google while she worked.  But if she was going to develop a routine in the month she was here, she may as well figure out what Finigan’s Bar and Tavern were like.  She needed to discover her favorite seat, her favorite meal, and, for the poor writer’s block days, her favorite bartender. 

Hannah dressed swiftly and swiped a coat of mascara across her lashes.  A quick re-look at her previous Google search told her that Finigan’s Bar and Tavern was about half a mile down the only road in town.  She determined which way to walk and started off.

A short ten minutes later, Hannah muscled the door to Finigan’s Bar and Tavern open.  It was heavier than it looked.  Once inside, it was darker than she had imagined too, with small windows at the back of the long restaurant facing the lake.  This place must have been a million years old.  A long wooden bar ran along the length of the restaurant and ended in a few tables against the windows.  The place was empty except for two men sitting at the bar and a family of four with two young kids sitting at a booth in the middle of the restaurant.

“One, please,” Hannah said, putting up one finger for the woman with an apron, looking up at her in question.  The server’s greasy hair hung in a low ponytail at the nape in a middle part.  Despite her pruned skin, Hannah had guessed that she was younger than her appearance suggested.  She wore a maroon polo shirt with a logo for the restaurant in the corner. 

“Take a seat anywhere you would like.  I’ll be with you in a moment.” Her voice was rough.  Hannah figured that the skin and the rough voice may have had something to do with the outline of a pack of cigarettes in her back pocket. 

Hannah took a seat in a booth by the window at the far end of the dark restaurant.  If she was going to sit and eat alone, she may as well have the lake for company.  The server dropped a red leather book with metal clasps at the corners onto the table.  Hannah picked it up and started pursuing the options.  

“Is anyone sitting here?” 

Hannah looked up to see Teddy standing above her.  His white straight teeth, showing behind his upturned lips.

“I prefer to eat alone.” 

Teddy ignored her remark and sat in the seat across from Hannah. 

He lifted himself, turned away from the windows, raising an arm as though he was catching a foul baseball and loudly said, “hey Cindy!  Can we get a basket of fries?” 

“You got it, sugar,” the raspy voice came from across the restaurant. 

“The fries here are the best.  And so is the chicken sandwich.  But I love the burger.  Stu doesn’t use frozen patties.  He is picky like that and he adds a white cheddar to the cheeseburger that is out of this world.  The fried artichoke hearts are pretty good too…” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“I live here.” 

“I mean at my table.”

“Yeah, I don’t live at your table, but I live in town.  At cabin A, like I said.  I don’t get very many interesting people coming through here.  Let alone people who are staying for a month.  It is mostly families and retirees trying to get out of the city and they only come for a week or less.”

 “You live in cabin A?  Next to where I am staying?  And how do you know I am staying for a month? ” 

Teddy held up his phone, showing her Airbnb profile. 

“I am your host, Edmund.  Teddy for short for Edmund.  You knew that right?”

As Hannah’s thoughts tumbled through her head, she knew she would not get much writing done here like she had planned.  She would need to call her editor tomorrow.