Jonathan and I had been friends since childhood. I was the sensible one, I had a proper job, a smart haircut and a wonderful loving partner, Alice. Alice and I had been together nearly 10 years and had a pretty great suburban life. Jonathan on the other hand had always been the wilder one leading me intro adventures and sometimes trouble. He'd drifted from job to job and never seemed to want to settle down with anyone while I loved my stable relationship. In many ways, he was my escape and I think I was his grounding. What kept us as great friends all these years though was our mutual love of hiking and mountain climbing.
The 'wild' Jonathan I knew, however, seemed to be in transition. A few months ago he'd met Rani, a high-flying corporate consultant who seemed to have stopped my friend in his tracks. She was direct, full of confidence and always seemed in command. What she was doing with a wastrel like Jonathan was anyone's guess? He did have a roguish charm, maybe that was it.
So when Jonathan suggested we go away for a couples weekend of hiking in the Scottish mountains, I was intrigued. Alice was not always a fan of Jonathan, suspecting he led me astray, but seemed enthused to join us once she found out there would be another woman there. I won't lie, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing myself. Rani seemed very intimidating and with Alice there was I really going to be able to let my hair down like I did when it was 'just the boys'?
Jonathan had booked the cabin that we would share which apparently was pretty remote and he warned us that there might not be all the 'mod cons'. He and Rani did get there early and we could see a cozy looking column of smoke coming from the chimney and a warm glow at the windows in the fading light.
Alice and I got our bags out and went inside, calling out for Jonathan to let him know we were there. We found that the cottage was essentially one large room with a kitchen at one end and some bed/sofas at the other.
"It's, errr, pretty cozy" said Alice with a little uncertainty, realising that this really was it.
"It's great, so rustic, you're going to love it!" said Jonathan, clearly very enthused.
Rani rescued things by offering us a large glass of red wine each and gesturing to the sofas next to the fire.
I had met Rani a few times before, but not really had a chance to talk much. She and Alice, however, seemed to bond fairly quickly, and were soon chatting away.
Jonathan got some dinner on the go and was telling us about some hike options we had for the next day.
As the evening drew on, Jonathan broached the subject he seemed to have been dreading.
"I think I've made a bit of a mistake with the cabin," he said, "the sleeping arrangements are not what I expected"
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"Well, there's just this big room with all the beds in it."
"No problem," Rani said, "it's like a dormitory."
"No, that's the thing," Jonathan said, "they're opposite each other with no divider between them, so there won't be much privacy."
Alice and Rani looked at each other again. It wasn't really a problem for me, but I wasn't sure how comfortable Alice would be with this arrangement.
"I'm sorry, it's only for a couple of nights." He pleaded
Alice looked at me and I shrugged.
"I don't mind if you two don't," I said, "but maybe we can use a blanket or something to make a curtain."
