Page 31 of From Scotland with Love

Lori turned around to see the two girls picking up some very expensive ceramic cups and saucers to her horror, and the decision was made for her instantly. Callum’s small apartment was across the road, and up a few flights of stairs. They all ran through streams of water that flooded the street and dried off on a couple of clean tea-towels in his warm home. The girls sat on the sofa, damp from the rain as Callum fiddled with the electric heater to warm them all up further.

“Now girls, would you like a cup of cocoa?” Callum knelt down by the TV and switched it on, handing Anne the remote control. “Put on whatever you like, I have Netflix there.”

“As long as it’s for kids!” Lori said in an authoritative voice.

Their two innocent faces nodded and expertly selected yet another Disney film. Lori was always astounded at how easily children took to technology; it was instinctive for them in ways she would never understand.

She followed Callum into his small kitchen and watched him heat up milk in a saucepan. He searched around in the cupboards, opening up every last one until he found an old tin of cocoa. Lori smiled and stayed quiet, observing him. She peered over to the next room to see her nieces engrossed, Anne sat on the sofa and Maggie lay on the floor next to the heater, with head in hands, both watching the movie in appreciative silence.

“They’re great girls.” Callum pulled out four cups and spooned a little cocoa into each one.

“They are.” Lori smiled. “Jean has done a good job raising them. It’s not been easy for her.”

“She has. And she’s back to school the day after the wedding? That sister of yours is a hard worker all right.” Callum shook his head in amazement.

“Have you recovered from last night?” Lori grinned.

“Well... a lot better than your new brother-in-law, I’ll give myself that! I gave him a call this morning and let’s just say he was a bit short with me!”

Lori watched Callum carefully pour steaming milk into each cup, mixing and stirring each one with concentration.

“Tammy wanted to have the day to themselves to recover, she was probably right to suggest it!” Lori offered, thinking that besides a husband with a hangover, her sister had gone through quite a lot recently and needed the rest, particularly in her condition.

Callum took the cups through to the girls, warning them to blow on the cocoa carefully before taking their first sips. Lori grinned; he had quite a way with kids, a natural. It must come from working on tours with all those families. They both leaned against the kitchen counter and drank their cocoa, talking about each other’s work, and the various contributing factors to their current lives. Callum confided in her about ideas of eventually selling up and having a new adventure elsewhere.

“I wouldn’t say no to some more traveling,” he ended, draining his cup. “What about you?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed, looking over at her nieces who were laughing at a funny moment in the film. “I honestly don’t know what I want.” She looked down at her feet “I’m going back to New York the day after tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Callum folded his arms nodding.

“Yeah, I need to get back to work. I hate to think what I’ve been missing and what I’m going back to.” She gritted her teeth. “I think we need a bit of a revamp with our collection. It seems our sales are deteriorating, though no one is really talking about it in the office - but I overheard my boss Frankie on the phone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Callum spoke quietly. “Do you think it’s that bad? Isn’t that just how things are in fashion?” He laughed. “Not that I know anything about fashion!”

She smiled warmly at his standard t-shirt and jeans ensemble. “Yeah, some years can be better than others, but according to Frankie it’s gone downwards consistently over the last five years.”

They both stood in silence as the girls continued giggling at the TV, both wishing secretly that life could be that simple once again, and feeling the weight of the knowledge that it never would be.

Lori drove the girls back to Jean’s, and spent some quality time with her big sister when the girls were tucked up in bed fast sleep.

“Out like a light, they’re jiggered! Whatever did you do to them, Maggie always asks for a story, but tonight she ordered me out of her room, announcing: “‘I need to sleep mummy!’” Jean chuckled, looking relieved to be sipping wine on the sofa instead of trudging through another chapter of Harry Potter.

“Gran and I baked with them, then we went to look for fairies in the wood, up to the old clearance village, and then Callum came into town with us, and we narrowly escaped being washed out to sea in that downpour!” Lori listed their activities and breathless, lay back on Jean’s sofa. She scanned the cheese platter on the glass coffee table near them and wasted no time in tasting.

“Oh aye?” Jean pouted her lips and nodded.

“Oh aye what?”

“Callum again? You’ve been seeing a lot of each other recently. And I couldn’t help but notice you were making eyes at the wedding… most of the night!” Jean moved the stem of her glass a little, swirling the wine around in a circle, giving her sister a suspicious look.

“Oh don’t be daft!” Lori sighed. “Nothing’s happened - besides, I’m going back to New York in two days!”

“Well anything can happen in that time!” Jean pressed. “You both seem a bit smitten”.

Lori shushed her sister, and soon diverted their conversation to the Maggie and Anne and Jean’s ex. Jean shifted in her seat and chewed her lip as she asked Lori to look after the girls the next day. “It’s just... Douglas wants to meet up...”

“Of course, I’ll mind the girls, it would be my pleasure! What does Douglas want?”