Page 25 of Common People

‘Just you and me?’

Max looked at Bethan, and she looked back at him with a smile.

‘Yes, just me and you. Is that a problem?’

‘No, no, definitely not a problem,’ Max replied, while squatting down on the ground.

‘Good, I’ll book it up then. Say, ten o’clock?’

‘It’s a date,’ said Max, and he looked across at Bethan, who was in a similar squat position, and she was blushing, and so was he. Although they both knew that it definitely wasn’t a date, but just the mention of it, and they both felt the spark between them. The scintillating tension of two people who found each other attractive, but were in no fit emotional state to take it any further. Max was excited to spend some time alone with Bethan, and maybe he could learn more about Jake, and what had happened. Perhaps he might share more stories of his parentswith her too. It was a chance for them to get to know each other better, while being freezing cold and then far too hot, one after the other for a full hour. Perhaps in the physical and emotional discomfort of the cold plunge and sauna, it would give them the chance to be less uncomfortable and guarded with each other. It wasn’t a real date, but Max couldn’t wait for it.

You just have to breathe

Max slowly lowered himself into the cold plunge tank, feeling the now familiar intense freezing cold water. In the tank next to him was Bethan, in a black one-piece swimsuit, breathing in and then out deeply. This was a tricky balancing act for Max, who was torn between swearing quite loudly at the glacial water, while trying to keep it together in front of Bethan.

‘You just have to breathe,’ said Bethan, who seemed far more composed and in control.

‘R-r-r-right, yes, b-b-breathing,’ said Max, trying to stop his teeth from chattering. Once he was all the way in, Max closed his eyes and began focusing on his breath. He breathed in deeply and then exhaled out in one long, slow breath. After about thirty seconds, he managed to open his eyes and look across at Bethan, who smiled back at him.

‘You see, it’s all about the breath.’

‘It is a little easier than last time,’ replied Max. ‘With the emphasis on little.’

‘I think you’re doing great.’

‘Thanks,’ said Max, and he had so many questions and things to ask Bethan, but they would have to wait until the sauna. As much as it was a little easier than the last time he had a cold plunge with the group, if he stopped focusing on his breath, the pain became unbearable again. Max and Bethann sat in the cold plunge tank for as long as they could, before they got out and headed, dripping wet, into the sauna.

There were two other people in the sauna, sitting on the higher benches, and so Max and Bethan sat on the lower bench together, and after the cold plunge, it felt incredible.

‘This was good,’ said Max. ‘Thanks for inviting me.’

‘I thought it would be a good place for us to chat, while also doing something good for our bodies and minds. Hope’s right, you know. Hot and cold therapy is so good for you.’

‘I don’t doubt it,’ replied Max, before he said a little gingerly. ‘Is there something you wanted to chat about?’

Bethan looked across at him, smiled, and Max felt the attraction between them. With beads of sweat slowly sliding down her face, her hair damp from the heat, Bethan had never looked more beautiful to Max. He couldn’t help how he felt about her. Just being so close to her in that sauna, it felt like a physical object between them. It jostled and nudged them, and made them take notice of it. The attraction was a thing, but then he thought of her fiancé Jake and the pain and heartbreak she must have gone through, and it was unbearable. He just wanted to hold her, and tell her it was going to be OK.

‘Actually, there was. After our talk at the pub, and what happened after, I just wanted to make sure we were OK.’

‘We’re fine. If anything, we’re better than before,’ said Max before he left a pause. ‘In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you and Jake, and everything you must have been through the last year.’

‘Ditto you and your parents.’

‘I just, I can’t get it out of my head that meeting you, and knowing you, albeit briefly, how together you seem considering what happened.’

She laughed nervously. ‘I’m good at masking, Max. I, umm, don’t tell everyone this about me, so, God, it’s like I’ve told you about Jake, so now I feel compelled to confess everything.’

‘It’s OK, I want to know everything about you.’

‘I have ADHD. I didn’t always know I had it because when you’re at school, people assume it means that you’re hyperactive and disruptive, but in girls and women it’s so often different. Growing up, I was disorganised, overly emotional, shy because being social meant being exhausted afterwards, and so for years and years, I masked. I don’t think I was even aware that I was doing it at the time because it was just a part of who I was. It wasn’t until I met a girl at university with ADHD, and we started talking that I realised, oh yeah, that’s me.’

‘That must have been hard, but you’re obviously successful in your career, doing well, and you’ve overcome a lot.’

‘I have, and yes, thank you. I managed to get through university, I moved to London, and from the outside it might seem like I have everything together, but trust me, on the inside, I struggle. It’s like I have a bucket that’s constantly, slowly filling up, and I’m always waiting for it to overflow. It’s why running helps, and the cold plunge and the sauna, it all keeps me together. Routines and knowing when I need a break. Jake was also a huge help because he knew and understood me. He would know when I needed space, or a break from London.’

It was heartbreaking for Max to hear her talking about herself like that, and he had no idea she had ADHD. It was like she said, in girls and women it can show itself in vastly different ways to boys and men. He would have put an arm around her, but given their location and the fact she was just in a swimsuit, he decided against it.

‘So, you’ve been dealing with Jake’s death by running, masking, and trying to keep the bowl from overflowing?’