Page 32 of From Scotland with Love

“I’m not too sure. I just hope it’s nothing to do with taking the girls out of school. They still have weeks before the summer holidays start.” Jean knocked back the rest of her wine. “Anyway, take me off the topic, I feel sick about what could happen with Doug.” She filled her glass with a top-up. “Now, I want to know more about Callum. Did you kiss?”

“No we didn’t, nothing’s happened Jean!” Lori yelled, exasperated by her sister’s nagging.

“Are you still with Michael? You’ve not spoken about him once since the first night!” Jean got up and closed the door, fearing her sister’s protests would wake up the girls, then she really wouldn’t be able to get any of the saucy details.

“No, actually. At least, I don't think so. He called me up, basically to say we were on a break, and he was taking some time out. Can you believe it? He just decided this himself! Bloody men! So, I decided to end it. At least... I told him I was going to make it a really easy decision for him, and threw my cell phone in the sea...? What’s the point? If a man who’s as steady and logically-orientated as anyone can get, thinks you need to be on a break, then something is terribly off! We all know 'a break' is one bus stop away from a breakup!”

“You’ve split up?” Jean leaned closer over the platter listening intently to every word.

“Yip. Well, unless he flies in tomorrow morning on a helicopter with a rose clenched between his teeth and a diamond ring, I'm not sure how we’re coming back from this. I just don’t really know who I am anymore. Michael, and our life together – it seems so far away. Like a distant dream, I just can’t imagine it moving forwards anymore. Oh, I don’t know what I’m saying... just that New York…and so much that I was sure about... is not certain any more.” Lori looked down at her empty glass. “More importantly... what does a girl have to do to get a drink around here!”

18

With an extremely sore head the next day, Lori found herself clambering out of Jean’s bed just as her nieces jumped onto the duvet shouting ,“Auntie Lori stayed over!” She shushed the girls as best she could, feeling as if a giant Clydesdale horse had been kicking her in the head continually the night before. Lori grimaced at the whisky and gin concoctions she and Jean had made, believing they had come up with the crème de la crème of cocktails, one that the world deserved to see. But now, with how Lori’s stomach felt this morning, she was sure she’d be the one seeing those cocktails again very soon.

Jean walked into the room, fresh faced and already dressed. She perched on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair. Catching Lori’s eye in the mirror, she winked. “Wakey wakey, lazy lump!”

Lori squinted in disbelief at her sister.

“Remember, you have the girls today!” She applied some lipstick, and with her leather jacket and skinny jeans, looked altogether gorgeous, Lori thought groggily.

“You’re still meeting Douglas?” Lori stood by the bed wearing a long grey t-shirt she had never seen before.

“Yes, I am,” Jean whispered, giving Lori the wide eye as the girls continued jumping on the bed.

“Oh god stop moving girls, you’re making me ill!” Lori pushed past Jean and ran to the bathroom.

After what felt like hours to Lori, she finally emerged shaken and very pale. She had put her head under the shower and raked around Jean’s cupboards for something to wear. Since Jean was more petite than herself, she had managed to only find a loose t-shirt and yoga pants. If she could just get through these next few hours, then she should be able to get back home to Gran’s, and sleep the remainder of the day until it was time to return to New York. Lori burped and to her horror felt ill all over again, dashing back to the bathroom as Anne and Maggie looked at each other with a shrug.

Lori and the girls ended up watching a movie together, lying on the sofa and eating buttered toast. Lori cuddled up with them, drinking her third cup of tea; she was definitely beginning to feel better. That meant, however, she couldn’t ignore her fidgety nieces, and their pleas of going outside into the sunshine any longer, something she would have happily forgone, and returned to bed. But she willed herself against the lethargy, thinking that in no time she would be back in New York and missing them terribly. She looked at their pleading faces and said something inadvisable for any hung-over adult to communicate to a child:

“OK girls, what do you want to do? Whatever you want, we’ll do it!”

The two girls looked excitedly at each other and shouted in unison: “Cycling!”

A modest lunch and two strong coffees later, Lori managed to summon up the energy to take the girls out on their Sunday ride. Jean lived on the outskirts of the main town, so they ventured through Morvaig and in the direction of Gran’s. Lori kept as focused as she could, with her nieces trailing behind her. Feeling a bit more like herself, the wind blew through her hair bringing fresh smells of the sea to her. She turned around to check on her nieces, to find two energised and content little girls; oh how Lori missed those days! She hoped her nieces would at least remember this small pocket of time she had spent with them, absorbing it as yet another loving part of their wonderful childhood. Lori smiled to herself and thought of all the bike rides of her past; cycling to primary school, then high school with her sisters, and occasionally to the shops to pick up supplies for the odd outing or sleepover. She could see her nieces were having a similar childhood to her own, and loved that she was able to be a part of it again, even if it was only for a few short days. Lost in her rose-tinted memories, Lori didn’t realise that the chain on her bike had come off several meters behind her, and almost crashed into a parked car at the side of the road.

Lori looked down at the chain which hung off the pedals, completely broken. “What the?”

Anne gritted her teeth. “Mum hasn’t used that bike in a while!”

“Yeah, looks like she hasn’t been giving it any upkeep either!” Lori looked back at the big hill they had come down; it would take them about forty minutes to walk home if they went back. Cars passed by but no one stopped; luckily, they were still in the town of Morvaig so they weren’t completely stranded. She groaned inside; going back up the steep hill was something Lori couldn’t face in her current state. If only she hadn’t thrown her cell phone into the sea...! Her insides tightened at the thought, but she knew Callum would be her best bet for help. So, with the girls trailing behind, she walked the defunct bicycle to Callum’s shop, which fortunately was open. Callum was standing over Karen, staring at a computer screen and when Lori walked in, Karen’s face beamed in welcome.

“Well well, I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon!” Callum nodded, with hands shoved into his pockets.

“I’m really sorry to ask you Callum, but my chain broke – are you able to fix it for me?”

He tutted looking down at pedals. “What do you think I am? A repair man?” he scoffed.

“No,” Lori said through gritted teeth, “it just happened, out there, and I thought you wouldn’t leave a damsel in her distress?”

“Well I’m not sure you’re that distressed!” He squinted at her with a playful smile, “or for that matter… a damsel!” He chuckled as Lori rolled her eyes. “Karen, will you be OK with these rascals for a few minutes?”

Karen had already befriended the girls, and showed them something on the computer. “Of course, they can help me!” she announced.

Callum led Lori to his apartment, but instead of going up the stairs he took her around the back where a couple of wooden sheds stood. He opened the door to the closest one, obviously not locked, thought Lori wryly, and started rummaging around looking for tools. Lori placed the bike against a wall and snooped around a little, seeing all manner of things – kayaks, tents, gardening equipment and endless odd wellington boots dotted about. The shed was packed with so much stuff, Lori wondered if Callum was a bit of a secret hoarder, and whether he managed to ever find what he was looking for! He searched, lifting up boxes and throwing them down, as jangling metal-upon-metal noises and thuds sounded.

Distracted by the commotion, Lori bumped into an iron structure. “Ouch!” There was a jaggy-out part that had caught her hip, and she wanted to kick it in frustration, but whatever it was felt incredibly heavy. A stiff, dirty blanket lay over the top, but something about the shape intrigued her. “What’s this?” She peeked under the blanket to find an old-looking machine, with polished knobs, a multitude of shafts, and several small pedals. Callum pulled off the blanket, fully exposing a magnificent machine.