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‘Of course. The water looks perfect for it,’ said Kirsty.
Steve was learning the sport and definitely spent more of his time in the water than on the board. Their seventeen-year-old daughter, Becky, who was brilliant at it, was mortified that her dad had taken it up and warned him not to be out there if she was. This spurred Steve on to make sure he did arrive when she was with her friends as he loved nothing more than embarrassing his children. Although to be fair, nothing embarrassed Tom, Becky’s twin brother, who was as laid-back as his dad.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Kirsty’s phone pinged. She pulled it from her pocket and read the text. She groaned.
‘What’s up?’ Steve looked at her in concern.
‘Just a message from Emma saying Dad called her earlier and sounded confused.’ She shook her head. ‘I think he’s getting worse, Steve . . .’
‘Remember, though, this isn’t a good time of year for him.’
Kirsty nodded. That was true. They all tended to feel a bit wobblier in spring.
‘Your sisters will be home soon for the wedding, and it will probably be good to get their thoughts then on how he is. Especially Amy as she hasn’t seen him since the funeral.’
Amy was the youngest of the sisters and still lived in Vancouver. Kirsty couldn’t wait to see her; she really missed her company.
Emma was the middle sister and an ambitious lawyer in Edinburgh who was always working. When she and her fiancé Max announced their engagement, she’d requested a very low-key wedding at home and so Kirsty immediately blocked out the diary to make sure the house was free of guests for Emma’s big day. Somehow Kirsty had also ended up organizing the wedding. She felt it was her responsibility as the oldest and it was the sort of thing their mum would have thrived on doing. She felt a stab of sadness when she thought of how much she missed her mum who she used to see every day.
‘You’re right. I’m sure I’m worrying too much. One step at a time.’
He reached for Kirsty’s hand and drew it to his mouth and kissed it.
‘Hello there,’ shouted a voice. ‘We’re back.’
It was Trudy and Chuck.
‘Already?’ Kirsty muttered.
‘It’s okay. I’ll go and see to them,’ said Steve.
Kirsty swallowed the rest of her tea, stood up and stretched her neck. Regardless of what Steve said, shewasworried about her dad, among other things. She glanced back at Emma’s text and frowned. She also needed to call Emma to talk about the wedding. There was always something to do. She looked at her watch. But in the meantime, she had better go down to her dad’s house, a five-minute drive away, and check that he was okay.
Chapter Two
As Amy neared the townhouse across the street from the park and tennis courts, she momentarily wondered how she had ended up living in the suburbs after being happy in downtown Vancouver for so many years. It was a lovely area and close to the beach and Ross’s two-bedroom home was beautiful; it had an open living and dining area with a wood burning fireplace, cosy for wet and cold winters, and a spacious patio which was great for BBQs and stargazing late at night. Amy even had a walk-in closet in the vast upstairs bedroom which had views over the tree-lined street. However, her belongings scarcely filled a third of it. She’d never been one for having lots of stuff.
Amy unlocked the front door and dumped her yoga mat in the hallway and went into the modern kitchen with its custom millwork storage, stainless steel appliances and huge breakfast bar. Yet today it looked as though a small army of toddlers had rampaged through it. Which they almost had. Ross’s six-year-old son, Caleb, was staying with them this week and there were trails of cereal and puddles of milk on the counter. Her heart sank as she felt her feet crunch over food on the floor. She had always been tidy and houseproud and she couldn’t help but sigh as she began straightening things out. Wiping the surfaces down, she finally rinsed the cloth at the sink and wrung it out to dry. Then she bent down and opened the cupboard below, grabbing the dustpan and brush and quickly swept the floor.
What was she doing? It was a question she was starting to ask herself more regularly.
She fixed herself a mug of tea and then perched on a stool at the counter and opened out the magazine article that she had started reading earlier.
Help! Need a Change but Don’t Know Where to Start . . . Should you move house, change career or end your relationship? Follow our simple chart to find out . . .
Amy exhaled quietly as she traced her finger under the words ‘Feel it’s time for a new job?’That was easy to answer. Definitely not. She loved her job as a yoga instructor and massage therapist. She leaned forward and looked again at the page. ‘If you answered no, then that’s great. Turn over, you don’t need this feature.’ She frowned. What about the rest? Come on, she said to herself, pushing the magazine aside. She was determined to face up to the other questions the magazine had asked, and which had been rattling about inside her head for the past few weeks.
Do you need a change?Yes.Do you have a clear idea of what you want to do?No.
Are you a risk taker? She didn’t know. Kind of yes, but also kind of no. She had taken a risk when she decided to stay in Vancouver six years ago when she came for a working trip. That had been a huge risk. Back then she had a well-paid, but very dull, job in accountancy in Glasgow. She worked hard but also had a busy social life, but she had started to feel a bit empty. She saw the same people at weekends, in the same bars and restaurants. It was all a bit ‘samey’. The trip to the west coast of Canada had piqued her interest again in travel, especially as she had always told her sisters she would live there one day. So, she quit her job, packed up her things and flew back from Glasgow to Vancouver. Then she had taken the ferry from Horseshoe Bay over to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and booked herself into a three-week yoga teacher training course in the village of Tofino. That had been a big risk and she smiled as she thought about how carefree she was back then and how happy those three weeks were.
Tofino wasat the western edge of Vancouver Island overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As soon as she arrived, she knew she had made the right decision. It had a charming harbour and some cute shops and galleries. However, most people visited for its stunning wildlife and scenery, including the rainforest and hot springs. There were some beautiful beaches, where she practiced yoga, and also learned to surf. Because she was there in spring, she even saw the migration of the grey whales travelling between Alaska and Hawaii. It truly had been a magical time.
At the end of the course she had almost stayed there instead of returning to Vancouver. However, things started to fall into place as someone on the course mentioned his friend, Josh, had a room to rent in downtown Vancouver. It couldn’t have worked out better. Josh was also a yoga instructor and he helped Amy get started and grow her business, as he had too many clients and was always looking for someone to refer students to. So yes, she was a risk taker. Or perhaps shehad beena risk taker.
But now, six years later, she felt stuck in a rut.
For the past few months, she had been thinking about home, prompted by her sister’s up and coming wedding. Then she had started to make pros and cons lists of the reasons she should extend her visit back to Scotland.She made sure her reasons for and against were always on scrap bits of paper which she had to hide in the recycling box.She had embraced meditation and in her balanced moments reminded herself to trust her intuition and that the universe would take care of her. She always told everyone else to trust that things would unfold the way they were supposed to. Why couldn’t she take her own advice?
