Page 8 of From Scotland with Love

“Well yes, you certainly have our family’s redder features - from your father and myself.” She touched her own white hair, once a vivid shade of red. “But all women end up like their mothers in the end!” She stretched her arms above her. “Oh, I’m as stiff as a board, I need to get back to my yoga!” She selected two yellow cups from the colourful collection on the shelf next to the window.

“You do yoga?” Lori sat at the breakfast bar.

“Aye, down at the hall on Tuesday nights” She boiled the kettle and popped two teabags into a blue-spotted teapot.

“Well, you look amazing Gran!” Bracken slowly walked up to Lori and draped his furry side against her high chair. “Oh Bracken, you are the biggest sook aren’t you?” Lori jumped down and petted the old dog once again.

“He’ll be spoilt rotten with you around my dear. Just make sure to walk him, he’s getting lazy in his old age.” Gran poured the tea and leaned against the worktop, cup in hand. “How long are you here for?”

Lori stood up, leaving a huffing and puffing Bracken on the floor, whining softly for more attention. “I’ll be away two days after the wedding. I have a big promotion coming up around then, at least I think so, and I need to be in the office to make sure it all goes okay.” Lori took a sip of her tea and sighed with delight; her gran made the best brew in the world.

“But you were promoted? You’re already a high-flying buyer now!” She raised her cup in congratulations.

“Yes, I know. Thing is, my boss kinda said I could maybe work up to manager, and potentially I could take her job some time down the line.” Lori couldn’t really believe the words that came out of her mouth; she was still excited about the proposed promotion, but not nearly as much as she thought she’d be. “Oh bugger!” she pulled out her phone from her side pocket, hastily switching it on and waiting impatiently for the home screen to light up. She had come to the realisation early on in her career that most women’s clothing didn’t have as many pockets as the opposite sex, so had commissioned a dressmaker in Manhattan to alter all her dresses, tops and skirts to include pockets. That way she could always have her phone on her, even when her bag wasn't to hand.

“Hey hey, a lady doesn’t need to swear!” Gran raised one eyebrow, which made Lori draw back like a timid teenager.

“Sorry Gran! I just remembered I’ve had my phone off for hours!” Lori glanced at the screen, but there were no missed calls from Julian or the office; that was strange. Maybe it was the time difference? Lori anxiously weighed up the possibilities in her head, the prickle of panic darted down her spine at the thought of the office. Maybe she had turned off her answering machine and Frankie had been trying to reach her all this time? But before Lori's anxiety could get the better of her, she found the problem at the top of her screen: she had no reception for calls. “Where can I get signal?”

Her gran pointed behind Lori. “At the end of the lane, and if you don’t get any there, then it’s down by the pier. Honestly Lori, it's the same as last time, nothing's changed” Gran sighed and poured out the last dregs of tea from her cup in the sink, watching her granddaughter leave the house, absorbed in her phone.

A few calls to the office to iron out some issues and a text to Michael to say she was home safely, then Lori could finally relax. Gran had shown her to her old room, now the guest-room – with an en-suite and fluffy double bed. An improvement from the time Lori was a teenager, where a single bed and wall to wall posters of boybands Take That and Backstreet Boys were the principle features. Her gran seemed to have a bit of a seaside theme throughout the five bedrooms, and Lori applauded all the work she had put into making the whole place so warm and stylish.

“Seriously Gran, you should let these rooms out in the summer months, you’d make a fortune!” Lori placed her luggage down and spread out on the comfy bed.

“Oh no, I couldn’t do that – I wouldn’t even know how! Besides, it’s you girls' home, and I want to keep all the rooms available for when any of you visit.” She waved her hand and lead Lori back through to the kitchen, where she began preparing the meat for their imminent barbecue.

“Where is everyone anyway?” Lori sat at the kitchen counter and chewed on a piece of cucumber from the salad bowl. She hadn’t seen either of her two sisters in years, and still felt a little hurt that neither had made an effort to welcome her home. Or truth be told, even visit her in New York for that matter, one of the most exciting cities in the world - and both had ignored her invitations to stay with her.

“Jean is at work, she’ll be over with the girls soon. You’ll not recognise Maggie and Anne, they are turning into little ladies, wee bairns no longer!” Gran took out some hand-made burgers, and more dishes of salads from the fridge, placing them on the counter before Lori. “You know you could give your old gran a hand?” She looked down at her granddaughter with a wry smile, the contents of the salad bowl rapidly disappearing under her gaze.

“What? I’m hungry, and I’m jet-lagged!” Lori giggled at Gran's outraged face. “OK, OK, what can I do?”

Just as her gran handed her a fresh loaf of bread to slice, the hum of cars arrived outside and there were calls at the door. “Anyone in?” Tammy shouted, and seconds later almost leaped into the kitchen. “Lori!” She ran up to her elder sister, hugging her tightly.

“Argh, I need to breathe!” Lori laughed, instantly forgetting her misgivings from moments ago.

“You look amazing Lori, New York agrees with you!” She grabbed the hand of the tall man behind her, his blonde cropped hair and blue eyes shining brightly.

“So nice to see you Lori, been a long time!” Alan grinned.

Lori lent in for a hug, but Alan picked her up and twirled her around, making her cry out laughing.

“I was not expecting that kind of warm welcome!” She smoothed her hair, composing herself as Tammy wrapped her arms around her soon-to-be husband. Lori beamed at them, Alan towered above Tammy, resting his chin on her head. They looked so blissfully in love. Lori felt a small pang for Michael.

“We’re so happy you’re here, and we definitely need all the help we can get!” Tammy admitted with hands raised up in front of her.

“I thought as much!” Lori rolled her eyes. “We’ll get there, starting first thing tomorrow morning.”

“We have plans for tomorrow: picking the bridesmaids dresses, my wedding dress, and Alan’s kilt – and one for his best man too!” Tammy said quickly, and squeezed Alan's hand.

“Who’s the best man?” Lori narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “And where exactly are the bridesmaids' dresses coming from?”

“We’ll head to Inverness, I’m sure we’ll find some there!”

“Tammy, I’ve just come from there!” Lori felt light-headed at the thought of having to undertake the winding trip all the way to Inverness again in less than twelve hours' time.

“Aye, well, we have appointments at a few boutiques!” Tammy folded her arms “Don’t look at me like that Lori, I can’t help it if we need to go tomorrow, and we do – so we are all going to make a trip of it.”