Thou Art With Me by Debbie Viguié

pre-nuptial bonding, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen a dating couple before,” Summer said as she shook hands with both of them.
    “We...have some issues we’d like to work through,” Cindy said, suddenly regretting that she hadn’t let them just pretend to be a married couple. By being the only dating couple to ever attend the retreat they were sticking out like a sore thumb instead of blending into the background. There was nothing that could be done about that now, though.
    “Well, this is a great place to do that,” Summer said. “I wish you both the best of luck.”
    “Thank you,” Jeremiah said.
    They moved down the line and introduced themselves to a tall, well-muscled man named Dimitri who turned out to have a thick Russian accent.
    “And what do you do here, Dimitri?” Jeremiah asked.
    “I am the ballroom dance instructor,” he said.
    “Excuse me?” Cindy asked, sure she couldn’t have heard him right.
    “I teach dance, the ultimate physical expression of intimacy and partnership between a man and a woman.”
    “Oh, okay,” she said, feeling a bit flustered. Jeremiah was a much better dancer than she was and she always felt a bit nervous at the thought of dancing.
    She hastily moved on to a short man with glasses and thinning hair. “Hi, Cindy,” she said, holding out her hand.
    “Dr. Carpenter, staff psychologist,” he said.
    His hand was limp in hers as she shook it which unnerved her more than the intensity of the ballroom dance instructor. He turned beady eyes toward Jeremiah. “And you must be the boyfriend,” he said, and the way he said it made it sound very unflattering.
    “Yes, I am,” Jeremiah said, a little aggression coming out in his voice.
    Dr. Carpenter did not extend his hand to Jeremiah, instead he deliberately put his hand in his pocket.
    Cindy was shocked at the display of rudeness. Dr. Carpenter didn’t know Jeremiah, they’d only just met. There was no need to be condescending and rude toward him. Plus, wasn’t the guy’s job to help all the couples deepen their relationships and smile while doing so? He couldn’t possibly be this way with everyone, could he?
    Jeremiah put his hand on her waist and gently pushed, signaling that they should move on. She did and they presented themselves to the next staff member, a woman with dusky skin, dancing eyes and a brilliant smile.
    “I’m Jasmine,” she said brightly.
    “Jeremiah and Cindy,” Jeremiah said, stretching out his hand.
    She rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m a hugger,” she said, stepping forward and hugging first him then Cindy. “Trust me, by the time I’m through with you, you’ll both be huggers, too,” she said.
    “What do you do here?” Cindy asked when Jasmine had finally let go of her.
    “I mostly run some of the small group sessions,” she said. “We focus a lot on communication and intimacy. Or, as my girl Ursula said, ‘the importance of body language’.”
    Cindy couldn’t help but laugh out loud when she realized Jasmine was quoting from the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid .
    “See, you know what I’m talking about,” Jasmine said with a mischievous glint in her eye.
    Cindy could have stood and talked with the other woman all night. She had a way of putting someone at ease even if she was a hugger. She kept in mind, though, that they needed to meet as many of the staff as they could to aid in their investigation.
    “I look forward to talking with you later,” Cindy said before they moved on.
    “I really hope she doesn’t have anything to do with it,” Cindy whispered to Jeremiah.
    “I would be genuinely surprised if she did,” he replied.
    They met five others before Arnold announced that it was time to head to dinner.
    In the dining room they discovered that there were three couples assigned to each table.
    Cindy was pleased to see that they were at a table near the door which was perfect if they needed to make a hasty exit. She was less thrilled to see that Jack