Page 23 of From Scotland with Love

“Have you done it before?” Lori breathed out, becoming comfortable just listening to Callum’s familiar voice, and felt her hands loosen on the paddle.

“Oh aye. Done it twice, there’s nothing like it!”

“Not bungee?”

“That’s completely different! Have you done it? I would’ve thought you’d be doing all that well before me!”

“I never got round to it. I started a good job in Brisbane, which got transferred to Melbourne, which then got moved to New York! I didn’t really have time to explore the actual place itself.”

“Well, I’m sure you crammed in a lot of worthwhile-” Callum abruptly stopped talking and put his finger to his lips, pointing over to an area a short distance in front of them. “Follow me,” he whispered.

Lori diligently followed until Callum suddenly pointed over to a patch of water that was marked by ripples, Lori saw a pair of fins emerging slowly. She gasped: “Porpoises?” Callum nodded, and paddled further out, following the movement. Lori kept up as best she could, but couldn’t match Callum’s fast paddling. He glanced back to her and opened his mouth:

“Lori... stay still... ”

“What?” Lori froze in fear, staring at Callum’s silhouette ahead; was there a shark? No you dumbo, that’s only Australia and America! Lori’s heart pounded. But what if by some freak of nature a great white shark had managed to adapt to the cold waters of Scotland and…

“Look around you!”

Lori lifted her paddle above her head and looked around. What she was confronted with was not what she had perilously imagined. Fins rose above the water on either side of her kayak; there must have been about twenty Porpoises circling and twisting all around her; their grey curves rising gently above the surface, and their backs shining bright in the setting sun. Lori’s fear disappeared immediately, and was replaced by an unfamiliar pleasant tightness in her chest.

“Oh my god, that is... the most beautiful thing-!” The words caught in her throat and to her utter surprise she began to cry.

Callum moved back to her. “What’s wrong?”

Lori did not want him to see her like this, what was wrong with her? She was behaving like a silly emotional wreck, unable to be around Callum without crying or seizing up in panic or anger. “No, I- I’m fine! D-don’t come any closer!” She tried to wipe her tears away, and in her confusion let go of her paddle, which floated away on the water out of her hands. Panicking, she somehow managed to lose her balance, and just as suddenly, before she realised what was happening, her kayak capsized and spun her upside-down underneath the water. Frightened and dazed, she pushed herself, moving her body desperately to try to escape the boat, but she was fixed tightly inside. Terror seized her as she gulped in water, unable to breathe, she panicked again: Oh god, is this what it was like for Mum and Dad? But then, coming to her senses, she reminded herself that it was only the slim rubber ring around her waist that was securing her in, so she felt around the opening of the kayak, and pulled her spray skirt open. Lori was plunged immediately into the cold sea, and kicked hard to reach the surface. She shook her head like a dog, clearing her eyes and breathing in the fresh air as Callum called down to her.

“OK Lori, I’m holding your kayak, I've got you!” Her kayak was upright again in it’s proper position, and Callum had his arms wrapped around the nose. “Can you try to get yourself back in?”

Lori looked around deliriously, and wondered how the hell she had managed to almost drown herself. She tried to scrabble up the smooth side and grip the rubber rim again, but her body was so heavy, and her hands so cold that she struggled to get over the seat opening, and the kayak began to rock violently.

“It’s too heavy! I can’t!” she shouted, and Callum came closer in to the kayak, tightening his grip.

“I’m here, I'm holding it, you just focus about getting back in. I’ve got you!”

Lori closed her eyes, muttered something to herself and pushed her whole body out of the water with one huge effort, very ungracefully scrambling her body over the back of the kayak, and finally pushing and pulling herself into the seat again.

“Are you OK?” Callum had his hand on her kayak and waited for her response.

“Yes” She coughed out the salty water that she’d swallowed earlier.

Callum manoeuvred around her and went to fetch her paddle before it floated away for good.

Lori tried to smile “What a bloody fool I am”

Callum kept close “It happens, don’t worry. I should have told you the safety precautions, some guide I am! I just presumed you had done this a lot. I’m sorry Lori. Let’s get you on dry land, that’s quite enough excitement for one night”

Once back at the beach, Lori sat down on the sand, exhausted. Callum, pulled the kayaks away and went to his van, to return moments later with a big towel and a flask. He wrapped the fluffy white towel around her shoulders and gave her a cup of hot tea.

“You’re prepared!” She sipped the sweet tea gratefully. “It’s like you knew I was going to fall in the water?”

Callum sat down next to her on the sand, wearing his shorts and t-shirt. “I’m a guide, I need to be prepared for every scenario!” He shook his head and buried it in his hands momentarily. “But I didn’t prepare you for capsizing – I should have reminded you what to do if that happens!”

“I can’t believe I did. I’m mortified!” Lori found herself cringing at the spectacle she had made of herself earlier.

“Hey, why are you so hard on yourself. Stop it!” Callum frowned at her. “But you’re OK now, right?”

“Yes, thank you. The tea is good.” Lori drank deeply, realising she hadn’t drank much at all that day.