“Oh, that must be Freya.”
“Freya! I can’t wait to meet her. And then there’s the two little children you babysit for. They are just adorable.”
Evie felt a tiny twinge of discomfort – how did Amelia know all that about her? As if she’d read her mind, Amelia said, “I’m sorry, I’ve been stalking you and your friends on Instagram. I hope you don’t mind, but I am just so hungry for any information. You really do have a wonderful life here. So many friends and with such a successful business. I just want to know everything about you.”
Evie wondered why this made her feel so uneasy, after all she had tried to look Amelia up on social media, too, and she was being charming and friendly. Evie didn’t put much on Instagram – anything she did was to promote the gallery – but Freya, Delima, Kate and some of the others all followed her account, and she knew Freya loved posting colourful photos and sweeping landscapes of the island for everyone to see.
On the other hand, she was coming across as what Kate would witheringly call ‘full of herself’, but in fairness that could just be put down to an over-enthusiastic eagerness to please. Evie decided to change the subject.
“Well, if you’re sure you’re not tired, we can drop your bag off and then I can take you for a drive if you like and then you can come to mine for a bit of tea?”
Amelia said that all sounded absolutely wonderful.
“Alright,” said Evie. “Of course, at some point you need to meet Freya, who knew Sheila and Cara, and you’ll want to go to Hrossey to meet the cousins.”
“Ah, yes. Tell me, do they have red hair?”
“They do,” said Evie, wondering if Amelia had somehow managed to look them up too.
Amelia smiled. “Well we have something in common. I’m a carrot top too.” She flicked her long black hair and added conspiratorially, “I started dying my hair years ago. I got bullied at school and called all sorts of names. Of course, I should have just ignored it all but having no mom and such an ancient old fart for a dad, I was always being beat up on.”
There was silence. Evie wasn’t too sure how she felt about her own grandfather being called an ‘old fart’ even though she didn’t know him and he had never been part of her life, but that small glimpse into Amelia’s childhood made her feel sorry for her. It sounded tough.
Evie replied: “I’m sorry you went through that. My dad used to say that he would rather his daughters were being bullied than them being the bullies and I always thought that was very wise.”
“Forgive me, Evie, but that’s a crock.” She put her feet up on the dashboard and took out a packet of cigarettes.
“You don’t mind if I smoke do you? Filthy habit, but I’m down to a couple a day and I’m gasping after the flight.”
Evie did mind. She minded very much indeed, but she felt she couldn’t say anything to this increasingly unsettling woman who looked so much like her. She murmured “Of course not” feeling like a total blancmange.
“Want one?” said Amelia.
“No, thanks, I don’t smoke.”
At least Amelia cracked open the window slightly. “That’s OK. Now where were we? Oh yes, we were making a plan to go and see Freya and of course the cousins in Hrossay.”
She bombarded Evie with questions. “Is it easy to get there? What’s the island like? Do you have to get a fishing boat? Do they have wifi there? God, do they even haveelectricity?”
Evie felt a stress headache coming on. Maybe Amelia was just genuinely ignorant, but Evie’s voice was a few degrees cooler asshe said, “They have electricity and everything, Amelia. There’s a regular ferry or a plane. There’s a lovely hotel and a pub and shops. It’s a beautiful island and they will make you very welcome.”
Amelia made a gesture with her cigarette.
“Oh my God,” she yelled. “Look at that view! Stop the car, Evie. I have to get out.”
Evie pulled up sharply.
Amelia tippy-toed over the road on her high heels, making a car on the other side swerve to avoid her. Oblivious, she turned to Evie and exclaimed. “This is just darling. Look at the quaint little village and that cathedral in the middle! It’s just like Disneyland.”
Evie cleared her throat. “That’s actually our capital, Kirkwall, and it’s quite big really. I can show you around if you like. If you need anything at all there’s loads of shops.”
“I’d love to get a few selfies in there. But don’t worry about shopping for now, I’ve got everything I will need with me.”
Amelia’s phone buzzed. She read the text and pursed her lips.
“Actually, Evie, could you just drop me at the hotel after all? Turns out I have a few things to sort out.”
She tapped at her phone before adding, “Although I would still like to come and see you tonight but could we do it after dinner?”
