He thought that maybe they could help him. Evie had known Sophia for years and Freya was the wisest woman he had ever met, but deep down he thought it was too late, and it was all his fault.
Finn split his time between his messy flat in Stromness, which Sophia referred to as ‘the love nest’, and a no-frills bothy on Hoy where he spent happy hours monitoring sea eagles and chatting with fellow twitchers and amateur birders.
He thought he’d been happy in the past, having a succession of flings with female tourists, bowled over by his Irish accent and prowess in bed. Sometimes they would have vigorous sex outdoors on the soft grass or on the beach if the weather was fine and he built a fire. Finn had learned an awful lot from one particular German girl who had done several things to him that he thought would be considered illegal back home in Ireland.
He’d never wanted to settle down and maintained the very idea of weddings, babies and mortgages would bring him out in hives. And then along came Sophia and his heart was no longer his own. He loved her so very much, and if he was honest that was part of the problem.
The depth of his love frightened him. He was terrified of being hurt and broken by his feelings for her, which is whyhe had been so pig-headed about visiting her in London. He knew he was pushing her away, but he couldn’t stop himself.
He headed to Evie’s with a bottle of whisky, still not having heard from the woman he adored and feeling as though there was no hope. He was given a huge hug from Freya, who then gave him a slap on the hand as though he was four years old.
“You absolute bloody idiot. Why are you still here? You should be on a plane down to see Sophia, full of apologies and an engagement ring in your pocket.”
She snatched the bottle of whisky from his shocked grasp and told him to sit down. Finn did as he was told.
A drink was thrust into his hand and both Freya and Evie drew up their chairs to look him in the eye. “You are both scaring me more than a bit,” he said, cowering into the back of his chair.
“Good,” said Freya. “You should be scared. You are in danger of throwing away the best thing that has ever happened to you. That poor girl deserves better. I’m so cross with you, Finn, I’d dearly like to kick some sense into you.”
Finn looked really worried now. He felt sure Freya could kick like a mule and do him a fair bit of damage. Evie said soothingly, “It’s not going to come to that. We just want to help you.”
Freya grumbled, “We want to help him alright. We want to knock some bloody sense into him.” Finn was totally on the back foot with this ‘good cop, bad cop’ act, and he wailed: “I just need you both to help me. I don’t want to lose her but I don’t know what to do. I can’t imagine a world without Sophia, but she will never come here to live, and do you honestly see me in a suit and tie working in London?”
“For the love of God,” said Freya, “would you listen to yourself. No one wears suits and ties anymore. Most peopledown south are working from home and when they go out they wear shorts and football tops.”
Freya knew that wasn’t exactly true, but she had no intention of letting Finn off the hook. She went on, “You are just being pig-headed. All Sophia wants is for you to go down and visit her for Christ’s sake. She thinks so much of you that she wants you to meet her family. I can’t think why you are being so stubborn.”
Finn looked tortured, “I know I’m not being fair, but I am just worried when she sees me down there, she will compare me with all those sophisticated fellas and I’ll be found wanting. I won’t be polished enough and she’ll think I’m a culchie.”
Evie and Freya looked at him with exasperated affection. “Do you honestly think a woman like Sophia would ever be as shallow as to worry about fancy clothes and affected manners?” said Freya.
He sighed. “I know. I am being ridiculous but apart from Sophia there is nothing there that interests me, and I feel safe here. I’m part of a community. I’d be a square peg in a round hole down south.”
Evie said, “You know, Finn, I don’t think you have thought this through. I’ve been doing a bit of research on your behalf, and I had no idea that there’s so much wildlife to see down there, and such interesting projects going on.”
He looked at her doubtfully. “Like what?”
“Well,” said Evie artlessly, “Did you happen to know that they have reintroduced wild beavers in Essex?” Freya snorted and almost choked on her whisky.
Finn said, “What’s so funny about that? I love beavers. It sounds brilliant.”
Freya looked at him innocently and said, “Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing funny at all about wild beavers rampaging though Essex, no doubt on the look out for hard wood to gnaw on.”
Evie began to splutter with laughter, which set Freya off again. “Oh I get it. Honestly. What age are you two?” said Finn, exasperated. He added primly, “I have actually read a wee bit about it, and it sounds like interesting stuff. It might be good to see what’s going on for myself.”
Evie hadn’t expected him to fold quite so fast. He was obviously just looking for an excuse to climb down from his self-appointed high horse. She added, “Even if it meant having to go to That London?”
“Well,” he replied, “I do feel bad that Sophia is always the one having to do the commuting. She’s been really good about it, but it costs her a fortune and she’s always exhausted when she first gets here.”
Evie thought she might as well push her luck. “Why don’t you check a few other projects when you are south? There’s all those red kites that have been reintroduced. They are as common as sparrows there now.”
Finn interrupted her. “Actually, sparrows are quite rare now. It’s a terrible shame.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “There you are then, go and see the endangered cockney sparrows while you still can. You can spend some time with Sophia at her place, and you know it might not be as bad as you think.”
Finn smiled at them and looked relieved. “I see exactly what you both did there. You’ve tucked me up like a kipper. You are right, though. Thanks both of you. I’ll call Sophia right now.”
When he left, Freya and Evie looked at each other in triumph and guffawed again. Freya wiped her eyes.
