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"Hmm. Should I be on the lookout for your Scottish buddies trying to trick me that way?"
I shrug. "Never know what they might do."
Our food arrives, and we spend a few minutes discussing all the dishes. Rebecca is curious about everything, not just food, and I could spend hours just telling her about Scotland and especially the Highlands. But this is meant to be a lighthearted lunch, not a primer of my home country. Besides, I have more questions for the lass.
"You mentioned once that your children live in England. Are they at university? Or do they have jobs here? But you should try some of the food before responding."
She delicately picks up a bit of haggis with her fork and slides it between her lips. As she chews, her expression shifts from wary curiosity to definite interest before she finally smiles and hums with satisfaction. "That's much better than I expected. The way it looks didn't entice me, but I'm glad I tried it anyway. This is good stuff."
"I'm glad you like it. Now, about your children..."
"Awfully nosy, aren't you? Well, you did tell me about your family. It's my turn now." She daintily wipes her mouth with her napkin. "Both Courtney and Eric decided to go to college in the UK so they could see more of the world. Their dad offered to pay for their tuition since I couldn't afford to do that. Gary might have gotten tired of me, but at least he never let his feelings toward me affect his relationship with our kids."
"Sounds like your children are as clever as their mother. What sorts of jobs did they take?"
"They both stayed in the UK after graduation. Courtney is a robotics engineer at a tech startup in London, and Eric is a geologist."
I hesitate to ask my next two questions, but I doubt she'll be offended. If she is, I'll apologize profusely. Get down on my knees and kiss her feet, if necessary. Aye, I would do anything for this woman, despite not knowing her well---yet. "May I ask what your, ah, ex-husband does for living?"
"Of course you can ask. I'm not sensitive about that. Gary has been a personal trainer for as long as I've known him. When we got married, I was happy to work so he could build up his business. But then..." She twists her mouth into a lopsided frown. "Then I got pregnant, and everything changed. I wanted to stay home with the kids, but Gary insisted I had to support him until he had enough clients."
"If he's still a personal trainer, he must have started earning a living from that eventually."
She nods but then rolls her gaze heavenward. "Oh, yeah, he makes a good living now. But I worked my butt off for years to support him and raise our two kids essentially on my own. Once he finally had the clientele he'd always dreamed of, he divorced me."
"What? The bod ceann as no scruples, does he?"
She seems to be struggling not to laugh and winds up spluttering. "You're adorable, Thane. And I appreciate that you're offended on my behalf. But I got over my anger years ago."
"I hope your children don't know about how your husband treated you."
"They have no idea, and I want it to stay that way. Courtney and Eric have never been particularly close with their father, but I wouldn't want them to find out about Gary's behavior."
I lay my hand on hers. "I will never divulge that secret. You have my word."
"Thank you. My life must sound like a soap opera to you."
A bitter laugh spills from my lips. "You have no idea what sorts of tawdry things I've experienced."
"You can't tell me about any of that, though."
"Aye, I'm afraid I cannae share the details."
But I'm beginning to realize that I want to share everything with her. I need to do it. But I'm forbidden from doing so. How can I engage in a romance with Rebecca? I should walk away. Dinnae think I can, though. I'm not strong enough to push her away.
We return to enjoying our meal and chatting about which food items she likes. When I ask which ones she didn't like, she shrugs and admits she enjoys all of them. But she's unconvinced that the Loch Fairbairn spring water is the most wonderful water she's ever tasted. Maybe I should give her a taste of the river water from Beann Dealgach. I've never sampled it myself, but maybe it's true after all that fairies blessed the water.
No, that's rot. I'm so enraptured by this woman that I'm turning into a stark-raving bampot. Soon, I'll start seeing sith spirits dancing all around me.
We order more food, just so Rebecca can taste every Scottish dish on the menu plus Irn-Bru, a soft drink I've never enjoyed. Rebecca calls it "tasty but not something worth drinking every day." I agree with her assessment, except for the "tasty" remark. I think the drink is rubbish. Fiona likes it, but her sister Jamie absolutely loves it. Her husband, the American Gavin Douglas, cannae stand Irn-Bru. But being hopelessly in love with his wife, he tolerates her addiction to the soft drink.
For her final taste of Scottish food and drinks, Rebecca insists on trying Whipkull. It's a concoction of egg yolks, sugar, cream, and rum.
I lay my hand over the top of her glass. "If you're going to drink this, you should at least say 'slainte' when you do. And say it with enthusiasm."
Her eyes twinkle in the muted lighting as she smirks and tosses back a sizable mouthful of Whipkull. "Slainte!"
"Mhac na galla. I said you should say it with enthusiasm, not with earsplitting volume."
