“I couldn’t visit empty-handed,” said Amelia with a hesitant smile.
Kate looked at her properly and even though Evie had told her the two of them looked alike she was shocked by theresemblance. Amelia was smaller and thinner and her hair was jet black, but they could have been separated at birth.
“It’s lovely to see you, Amelia. Come and meet everyone,” said Kate. Amelia found herself welcomed into the circle of friends. Andrzej gave her a hug and three kisses on the cheek. Sophia told her she loved her shoes. Maureen said how lovely she looked and Edwyn almost spat out his fourth sausage roll at the sight of her. “It’s uncanny.”
“I know. We could be twins,” said Evie and Amelia together. They looked at each other and laughed nervously.
Evie watched as Amelia talked to her friends. Even the hard-to-please Patsy was charmed by her bright-eyed enthusiasm and interest in their Orkney home.
Evie remembered how keen and interested Amelia had been when she’d talked to her and Freya about their lives. Yet something about how quickly she’d left the gallery the other day still rankled. Amelia could switch her enthusiasm on and off like a cheap lamp.
Evie could see Andrzej was beside himself at having someone who wanted to know all about Orkney’s rich history. Amelia looked up at him with seemingly rapt attention, “I’ve been reading a bit about Orkney, and it is so fascinating, especially the stuff about the wars. It would be so good to talk to someone who really knows their stuff.”
Andrzej almost spontaneously combusted in delight. He may have only been living in Orkney for a decade but he was fiercely proud of his adopted islands, and considered himself as much Orcadian as Polish.
He had met and married the love of his life and his construction business was thriving. He was one of the most contented people Evie had ever met, always finding hope and light, even when his Maureen was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Andrzej was just about to launch into a detailed rendering of one of his favourite stories of how Lord Kitchener, famous for pointing his finger in the World War OneYour Country Needs Yourecruitment poster, was drowned off the northern coast of Orkney in 1916 when a German mine sank his ship, when Maureen gently interrupted and said, “Amelia. My Andrzej can, and indeed given half a chance he most certainly will, chunter on about this for hours. So, I think a good idea would be for you and him to spend some time, just the two of you, going for a long drive to see all the sights and hear all the stories. But only if you want to.”
“I’d love to,” said Amelia. “I really do want to know everything.” Andrzej beamed.
“Amelia, it would be my honour to show you round and I promise not to bore you to tears because I do not want to face the wrath of my dear Maureen.”
Andrzej had never actually faced Maureen’s wrath, nor was he ever likely to. Partly because she was incredibly easy-going, but also because this kindest of men would never do anything to upset or hurt her. Their love for each other had grown even stronger after their wedding. Living through Maureen’s cancer treatments had forged a link between them of unbreakable steel. They tried to squeeze every last drop of joy from every single day.
Maureen found herself delighted with Amelia. Andrzej loved to share his knowledge and she was soaking it up like a sponge and asking all kinds of questions. She’d given him her number and made him promise to set up a date as soon as he was free to meet up, so she could see all of the wonderful sights Orkney had to offer.
After they had all stuffed themselves with food, Amelia helped Kate clear the table and followed her into the kitchen,exclaiming, “Oh Kate, you have an Orkney chair just like the one Evie has in her kitchen.”
“It’s not quite the same” Kate replied. “Ross Isbister repaired Evie’s chair and he is in a class of his own, but this one has been in our family for years. Edwyn’s great aunty gave it to him when he was a peedie boy.”
Amelia was in raptures. “I’d love to get one just like this and ship it home. It would be a proper connection with Orkney.”
She went on excitedly, “Maybe Ross could make me a chair. I met him at Evie’s gallery, you know. She told me he’s single. I can’t believe such a handsome man hasn’t been snapped up years ago.”
“He’s single alright,” said Kate. “He runs away from women so fast no one has been able to catch him. I was sure he had a thing for Evie, but she says they are just friends. It’s a shame. I think they would be good for one another.”
“Oh, Evie’s so lovely, and they would be a sweet couple. I’m just surprised she hasn’t met someone here. I’m sure she would have had plenty of offers.”
“I don’t think she’s ready for all that. Evie had a very bad experience, which I am sure she will talk to you about in her own time. It’s not my story to tell, but it has definitely put her off men for the time being, anyway.”
Amelia nodded. “She did mention something about that. Maybe when we all get to know each other better?”
The two women went back into the living room. There was a kerfuffle outside and the sound of a baby crying. Jack burst into the room with Hari in a car seat bawling his lungs out, followed by Delima holding Ola’s hand.
“I’m sorry we are so unforgivably late,” said Jack, “but trying to get out of the house with these two is a nightmare.”
“Actually,” said Delima calmly. “Ola and Hari are no trouble at all. It was Jack who made us late.”
She took off Ola’s pink coat and deftly lifted Hari up into her arms where he instantly stopped crying and just hiccupped gently. “We were all organised and heading out the door when Jack decided we had to turn back for Hari’s toy penguin, and then he couldn’t find it.”
Kate smiled. “I hear you. My Louise had a disgusting rubber giraffe she chewed to bits but she just wouldn’t go to sleep without it. We ended up buying about half a dozen and locking them in a drawer and replacing them when they got too revolting. Edwyn used to chew their ears off so she wouldn’t get suspicious.”
“The thing is,” said Delima, “Hari isn’t all that bothered about the toy, but Jack just wants him to like penguins.”
“Well, they are adorable,” said Jack defensively. Delima patted him on the arm. “They certainly are, my love.”
You would never guess this calm, serene woman was the mum of a toddler and a demanding new baby, with the added responsibility of the ongoing refurbishment of their old house, as well as running the animal sanctuary. On top of that, she had to manage her husband. She often said she had three children and Jack was the most demanding of them all.
