Page 38 of From Scotland with Love

“How is Lori?” his mother suddenly asked, and it occurred to Michael he hadn’t told them of their break-up. After his conversation with her the previous week he had been sure the right decision had been made, and had felt comfortable with it. He had already taken some of her things to her apartment, and had left his keys. But now, sitting there at the family table, he didn’t know how to even answer the simple question.

“Is everything alright between you two?” His mother looked at him intently. “You’ve not spoken about her recently.” She sipped her wine, waiting for a reply.

“We just -” He broke off trying to find the words, was it too early to let them know? He should have prepared his answer before that night, but seeing Marcie struggle had shaken him in a way too difficult to put into words. He laid down his knife and fork and looked up at his parents, who were chewing expectantly.

“You have haven’t you? You’ve split!” his mother exclaimed.

“Now Katherine, let him speak.” His father’s look was one of support, but his mother was almost beside herself, unable to wait for an answer.

“I knew it, I knew she wasn’t the one for you! Oh darling, don’t you worry!” She swirled her glass of wine. “It’s just as well it happens now, you’re still a catch, and -”

“Mother!” He hadn't meant to raise his voice, but this was just like her - to control the conversation, to control his life.

His mother continued on, unaffected by her son’s tone: “I know some very fine ladies, who have delightful daughters. I will call and arrange a meet. It’s really best it ended my darling. Lori was nice, but..” She stopped, trying to find the words politely. “She just wasn’t one of us, our kind of person. Our way of life is different to that of so many people. You deserve the best of everything.” She nodded meaningfully as her mouth curved upward.

Michael knew she was enjoying this. She held no loyalty to anyone, aside from herself, and her own way of life. Michael couldn’t eat another bite. The rising irritation was such that he could no longer ignore it. He glanced over to his father for support, but he sat there, eyes carefully on his plate. Well, he would not give in to them. He needed to be himself. Create his own life, and make his own mistakes, away from the golf course, this house and the family name. This whole time they had merely pretended to like Lori, just to humour him! Michael didn’t know if it was the alcohol, or the feelings of betrayal his mother had provoked. All he knew was that he didn’t want to see that knowing smirk on her face ever again. He and Lori had been happy, he had been sure she would make a good wife, and maybe he had been too hasty in taking this break from her. When he thought of it now, he wondered what had made him so sure about ending things. Uncertainty, difference, and a change in direction? They were strong together before his hesitations got the better of him.

“Lori and I are still together mother. I’m sorry if that makes you unhappy, but there you have it. We are in love, and I don’t want a girl of your choosing – I want her. And I don’t want you to interfere again.” Michael tried to keep his voice as calm as possible, but his hands were shaking slightly.

“Michael, you have no intention of marrying her. People will talk if you persevere with such a casual relationship. Our family does things properly.” His mother tapped her index finger on the table, his father nodded in agreement.

“Well mother, if you must know - I am going over there to surprise her with an engagement ring next week. I thought a proposal with her family around might be a lovely idea.” He almost bit his lip at the declaration, but his hands held his cutlery firmly now.

“Well... that’s... good news! You’re getting married!” His father raised his glass with a smile and looked over to his wife, who sat still.

“Mother?” Michael could actually feel the tables turning, the power returning to his side of the game. He tried hard not to smile at his victory.

She nodded in a daze. His father piped up again: “It’ll take you a while to get to Australia son, when are you planning to go?”

Michael swallowed. Yes... this.

“It’s not too far actually. She’s from Scotland.”

22

Lori had gone through all her notes and photographs she had taken at Aunt Betty’s. She felt good about things, and couldn’t wait to show Frankie and the team, she just needed to send over the videos to Julian ahead of schedule, so she decided to check in with him. When she eventually got hold of her assistant she couldn’t believe the transformation.

“Hi Lori! Yeah sure I can compile the videos. Are you having a nice time at home?” he asked in a breezy manner, so unlike his usual panicked tones that Lori wondered where the ever-questioning, unsure young man had gone. “It’ll be so nice to see you, Frankie has been telling us all about your adventure - discovering heritage weaving - sounds pretty exciting!” Julian rang off and Lori felt a wave of reassurance that things were running smoothly in her absence after all. She clearly didn’t need to panic about cleaning up issues on her return to work, which was great, but in some ways, if she admitted it to herself, it also made her feel a little unwanted. Lori pushed the uneasiness away as she passed the bakery, where a queue of customers had formed out the door as usual. She popped her head in to see Tammy already run off her feet.

“Did you have a good honeymoon?” Lori hugged her, aware of hungry customers waiting for them to finish their meet.

“The best! We got home last night.” Her face was covered in more freckles than usual, and she glowed, Lori wasn’t sure if it was from the pregnancy or the sunshine.

Without any encouragement from Tammy, she slipped on an apron and started taking orders, then with ease began packing cakes and pastries for customers. Lori reflected about the beauty of this type of job. She was able to chat to all sorts of people, promote the bakery with every sale, and catch up with her sister before heading back to the city. In between customer orders she stole glances at Tammy, and could see a little bump now forming below her belly button. She hoped that she and Alan were going to be kind to one another, and thought to herself that if she ever did see Hector in New York, she’d give him a piece of her mind.

Tammy put a sign over the door to indicate an early closing time. “The games are on!” She announced to the alarmed-looking customers crammed inside the shop. “But don’t worry - we’ll serve you all first!” She chuckled but Lori groaned inwardly:

“I said I’d do tug of war today, can you believe?” She placed three iced buns into a bag for a woman with two small boys.

“That’ll be fun, won’t it?” The woman with smiling eyes nodded and then suddenly put on a higher-pitched, formal voice: “Well, Loretta Robertson I don’t believe it, do I look so old that you don’t recognise your old friend?”

“Oh my god, Rhona!” Lori ran around the counter, and the two women hugged and squealed together.

“You look so fancy! Look at that hair, look at those nails!” Rhona grabbed Lori’s hand, cooed at her manicure and sighed, looking down at her boys. “Something I could only dream of!”

“You haven’t changed one bit!” Lori laughed. “Well, no actually - you have kids! That is different!” Lori bent down to the small boys, handing them a couple of the sweets used to decorate the gingerbread men from a box on the counter.

“Yes - and they can be a handful, especially after sugar – so don’t be fooled by their quiet innocent faces and give them any more of those jelly tots!” Rhona shook her head. “I have a daughter too, but she’s fishing with her daddy today. These rascals are a wee bit young for that, so I have the pleasure of taking them to the Highland games instead!” She gave a mischievous giggle and a hoot. “Oh Lori, remember all the things we’d get up to!”