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Well, if it’s a work thing,I really should go,she thought.
‘In that case, then okay.’ She stood aside. ‘But give me a minute to get dressed. Okay?’
‘Just so you know, the fluffy pink robe look is in around Loch Cameron this season. But, sure. If you want to get all formal about it.’ Ben shrugged.
‘Such a comedian. Come in and wait. I won’t be long,’ Liz instructed him, ushering him into the cosy sitting room. ‘Read a book while you wait,’ she called over her shoulder as she went to the bathroom, waving her hand at the cute white rattan bookshelf that Gretchen had left stacked with paperback romances. ‘Or, the business plan’s on my laptop, on the bed.’
‘A book is just fine, thanks,’ Ben replied, standing with his hands clasped behind his back and his head on one side, reading the spines of the books. Liz noticed that he was whistling quietly under his breath, and that he was wearing a brown corduroy jacket with leather patches on the sleeves.
If the elderly professor look was acceptable in Loch Cameron, then the fluffy robe probably wasn’t as much of a fashion faux pas as it might have been elsewhere, Liz thought playfully. Still, she thought for a good few minutes in the shower about what she was going to wear.
She wanted to look nice. It wasn’t a date. But she had to make a good impression nonetheless. What outfit said “laid back Saturday smart” as well as made her look good?
What does it matter what you look like, Liz?she asked herself, and had no good answer.
It just does, okay?she answered herself, mulishly.
She absolutely wasn’t dressing for a date.
Was she?
ELEVEN
‘So, this is Myrtle’s. I’d say it was famous, but that would be overstating the truth a little.’ Ben gestured to the small café in front of them both. ‘But only a little. Myrtle does some amazing scones, if you like that kind of thing.’
‘I do.’ Liz took in the unusual exterior of the café, which was made up of remarkable stained-glass windows.
She didn’t think she’d seen anything like it before. The wooden café door was painted red, but boasted a glass panel featuring a rising sun over water, and a rainbow beyond it. The café windows were a patchwork of coloured squares of glass, joined by black lead piping: cornflower blue, rose pink and bottle green glass reflected the loch.
A chalk board next to where they stood advertised:
COFFEE – TEA – SANDWICHES – CAKE OF THE DAY
‘What a remarkable place,’ Liz commented.
‘Yeah. A real one-off. Myrtle took the place over years ago, from when it was a barber shop. Hence the windows.’ Ben looked up at the façade, shielding his eyes from the sun.
‘It’s gorgeous.’ Liz loved the look of the place, and when Ben ushered her inside, she loved it even more. Inside was a cosy café with four sets of mismatched tables and chairs – the tables were a scrubbed pine, but the chairs were a mix of wooden dining chairs painted white or red. A couple of upholstered stools sat at one table, and three 80s-style metal dining chairs surrounded another.
An aged leather recliner sat in the corner of the café next to a small side table:that was the best place to sit, Liz thought, as it was next to the window. She imagined sitting there with a cup of coffee, watching life in Loch Cameron go by, albeit at a snail’s pace, and tinted blue through the glass.
The walls were filled with shelves carrying knick-knacks, plants and books, and there was a welcoming smell of coffee and baking. Liz felt instantly at home.
‘Mornin’, Ben.’ The woman behind the counter looked up from cutting some sandwiches. ‘And who’s this? Come in, dearie!’
‘Liz Parsons. I’ve just moved to the village,’ Liz replied, returning the woman’s friendly smile.
‘I’m Myrtle McGarry. A pleasure tae meet ye, Liz.’
Liz’s gaze travelled over the walls, which were thoroughly covered in a variety of keepsakes and odd items. One wall was completely covered in postcards. One wall held bookshelves, with a hand lettered sign: BOOK SWAP: TAKE ONE, LEAVE ONE. Liz thought that she might bring down some of the romance novels stuffed onto the shelves at the cottage and swap them for something else. It wasn’t that she disliked romance, but she wasn’t exactly in that headspace right now.
The third wall showcased a shelf of male and female mannequin heads wearing a variety of hats. Bonnets, military-looking caps and a formal trilby sat on their respective heads, alongside a mannequin head with a beard wearing a straw boater, and a large teddy bear at the end of the row who wore a French beret.
Welcome to rural Scotland. Liz smiled to herself.Adorable, but also a little eccentric.
‘Liz has just joined us as Sales Director at the distillery,’ Ben explained. ‘She’s going to turn the company around.’
‘Er… well, I don’t know about that, but…’ Liz demurred.
