There was no way she’d let Mac and Hannah’s rows or Jessica and Mac’s animosity towards each other spoil things. This holiday was precious and she was determined to make the most of it.
Hannah and Jessica were deep in conversation when they approached the steep steps that led down to the village. Edie heard Hannah say, ‘Wow!’ and ‘Amazing!’ a few times and decided to hang back, keen not to get sucked in.
At one point they both stopped while Hannah took a look at Jessica’s fitness watch.
‘I’ve no idea how many steps I do, but nowhere near as many as you,’ she said. ‘You must be so fit. Well, of course you are, that’s why you’re so slim. I wish I had a figure like yours.’
Jessica seemed to have an extra bounce in her stride as she carried on down the stone stairs. No wonder. All the compliments must be terrific for her ego, Edie thought, before chiding herself for being mean-spirited.
Once they reached the bottom, Jessica announced she wanted to start at the far end of the high street and work her way back, browsing in the shops on the way.
Edie, who had her eye on a store to her right selling local herbs and honey, said she’d rather go in the opposite direction and they agreed to meet in a café somewhere near the middle in about half an hour.
She was rather hoping Hannah would stay with her, but Hannah made up some excuse about not wanting to ‘go against the flow of people’ and stuck with Jessica instead.
As she watched them head off, Edie felt slightly miffed and had to tell herself once again not to be petty. They weren’t schoolgirls, for heaven’s sake. Back then, friendships could be so intense, picking someone other than your bestie for almost anything would be considered a shocking betrayal. Thankfully, adult friendships tended to be more sensible.
Even so, after that she found she was less interested in browsing and wasn’t inclined to buy anything, not even more honey.
There were so many different types, some with nuts, some a dark, amber colour, others yellow, whitish or even almost black. Overwhelmed by choice, she smiled apologetically at the young man behind the counter before moving off.
He looked a bit dejected and she hoped he’d get more customers soon. He’d have to sell an awful lot of honey and herbs to make a decent living, she reflected, deciding to make a point of coming back when she was in the right mood.
As she made her way up the street, just before reaching April’s mini-market she spotted a woman in tight jeans, high heels and a leopard-print top admiring herself in a mirror, which was propped up against a wall outside one of the clothes shops. She looked so different from everyone else round here, you couldn’t miss her.
Tall, slim and striking, with bright red hair tied up in a high, perky ponytail, she was shimmying from side to side, trying to see herself from different angles.
As Edie drew closer, she couldn’t help noticing the woman’s permanently surprised expression. Her lips were also curiously full, her cheekbones unusually high, her eyes remarkably wide and her lashes extraordinarily long, black and thick.
Not wanting to appear rude by staring, Edie would have walked past without stopping, but the woman spun round and tapped her on the shoulder.
‘Are you English?’ she asked uncertainly, in an unmistakable Glasgow accent, and Edie nodded. ‘I hope you don’t mind. Do you think this suits me?’
She pulled on the hem of the leopard-print top, which was sleeveless and hugged her body like a second skin.
Edie frowned, thinking she might be taking the mick. But the woman seemed so shy and hesitant, crossing her ankles and looking down, she must be serious.
Unsure how to reply, Edie glanced round, hoping to pull some other unsuspecting person into the discussion, but there was no one close by.
She wouldn’t have chosen the top for herself, because it was too tight and revealing and not her style at all, but didn’t want to lower the woman’s confidence.
‘You look great,’ she said at last. ‘You can certainly carry it off. You’ve got a fantastic figure.’
Although the woman was unable to smile properly because her lips were so big, Edie could tell she was delighted by the sparkle in her eyes.
‘Do you think so? Really?’ she said breathlessly. ‘Thank you. I can never decide on my own. I need someone else’s opinion.’
The shop’s grey-haired owner, in a colourful dress and chunky silver jewellery, seemed to appear from nowhere and hovered beside them, waiting to hear the verdict.
‘I’ll have it,’ the red-haired woman said suddenly, pulling a silver purse from her bag and handing over some cash.
The shop owner nodded and unzipped the small leather bumbag round her waist before shoving in the money.
‘I’m Anthea, by the way,’ the red-haired woman told Edie, while she stripped off her new top and handed it over to be wrapped. She was wearing an even smaller, tighter, scarlet-coloured vest underneath.
Edie, amused, introduced herself, too. ‘Are you here on holiday as well?’
Anthea shook her head. ‘Oh no. I came here twenty years ago to be with my former partner, Alexandros, or Alex. Big mistake.’ As she couldn’t frown, she rolled her eyes instead. ‘He was a waiter. He worked at one of the restaurants up the road.
