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Okay, maybe I was a bit premature with the ‘hope’ there.
“Thanks for comin’, Jack,” McTavish says gratefully. “He’s a wee bit confused right now, as ye can see, but I wanted him to meet ye, so he could know the man who saved oor hides.”
I glare at him, annoyed. So that’s why he wanted me to come with him today. Not so he could help me take my mind off Jack, but so he could force the two of us together.
Nice one, McTavish. And Frankie — because unless I’m very much mistaken, I’d bet she was the one who put him up to this.
“I’ll say he saved oor hides,” puts in Hamish, who’s quivering with the excitement of seeing his old friend again — or so he thinks. “If it wasnae for Freddie, here,Iwouldnae be here either. But howareye here, Fred?” His brow furrows with confusion. “I coulda sworn I saw that pier explode,” he goes on. “I didnae think ye’d have a chance, but here ye are, as large as life?”
Jack, McTavish and I exchange glances. Well, Jack and McTavish do, anyway. Jack’s still not looking at me. I tug self-consciously at the hem of my — his — jumper, wondering if I could sneak out without anyone noticing.
“It’s okay, Hamish,” says Jack gently, taking the seat next to the old man, who reaches out and clutches his hands, squeezing them as if to reassure himself he’s real. “It was a long time ago. You don’t need to worry.”
McTavish nods encouragingly.
“I always just humor him when he’s like this,” he says in a low voice. “I dinnae ken if it’s the right thing to do, but it seems cruel to tell him the truth. Every time is like the first time for him. I dinnae want him to have to keep re-living the war over and over again.”
“Once was enough,” agrees Hamish, whose hearing is clearly sharper than you’d think for a man his age. “And I was lucky to survive that one. If it wasnae for you, Fred…”
He turns back to Jack, his eyes watery.
“Douglas and Donald had already made it to the boat,” he says, his voice suddenly clearer. “And there was me, standin’ there like a numpty, too scared to jump.”
He shakes his head, as if the memory is too much for him.
“Everybody crowdin’ behind me,” he goes on, his eyes far away now. “Every one o’ them desperate to get to the boats. But you—”
He looks up at Jack.
“You wouldnae leave without me,” he says. “The Bay Boys stick together, ye said. And ye got me onto that boat. Me and the rest o’ them, until there was just you left. And that’s what I dinnae understand.” His expression clouds again. “If ye didnae get in the boat, then how are ye here? Am I deid?” He starts to struggle out of the seat in a panic, but Jack reaches out a hand and gently helps him to sit back down.
“You’re fine, Hamish,” he tells him soothingly. “You’re just fine. I promise.”
The old man nods and closes his eyes.
“It should hae been me, though,” he says, opening them again. “If I hadnae hesitated for so long. If ye hadnae had to try to save my stupid skin, ye could have saved yer ain. Why did ye no’, Freddie? Ye could hae just left me.”
Jack hesitates.
“You were worth saving, Hamish,” he says firmly. “You all were. You were a great friend to, er, me. You all were. The very best. The Bay Boys. We promised to stick together until the very end, didn’t we?”
Hamish nods, overcome. For just a moment, as he looks up at Jack, I can see the young man he once was, and how much this means to him. All of a sudden, I discover I’m actually quite glad that McTavish decided to bring us all here today.
“So that’s exactly what we did,” Jack says, his voice suspiciously shaky. “And look at… look at the family you’ve made, Hamish.” He glances up at McTavish, whose eyes are suspiciously wet. “Look at the fine grandson you have. The legacy you’ve left for him. Doesn’t that make it all worthwhile?”
This is what counts as a big speech for Jack, who isn’t exactly given to public shows of emotion. But Hamish is apparently happy with it.
“Aye,” he nods, satisfied. “Aye, he’s a good lad, my Alfie. I’ll tell ye one thing he disnae ken, though, Fred.” He chuckles wickedly. “He disnae ken I put that first blend we made in the auld barn. Ye remember, Fred? It was just supposed to be an experiment, to see if we could make it work. But we ended up with all those casks full o’ whisky, just lyin’ there gathering dust, back in that auld outhouse o’ yours. And it was good stuff, too. So me and Fraser and Steele, we a’ went back and broke in after the war, took it back. Took it tae the barn. We didnae think ye’d mind, Fred. Yer missus had shut up the hoose and moved to that Edinburgh by then, so it would just hae gone to waste. Will ye go and get some, hen?” He turns back to me again. “I reckon me and Freddie here should have a wee dram, seeing as he’s here. But howareye here, Fred? I dinnae understand?”
He looks from Jack to McTavish, his eyes wild with sudden panic. Jack takes his hand to soothe him, and McTavish leans forward, patting his grandfather on the shoulder.
“Ye, er, dinnae happen to remember where ye put the key for that barn, do ye, Grandpa?” he says, looking meaningfully at Jack.
“Of course I remember,” says Hamish, spiritedly. “D’ye take me for a fool, Alfie? I keep it in the cistern in the downstairs toilet. Where else would I put a key?”
Jack’s eyes widen. McTavish groans. Hamish’s eyelids droop closed again, and within seconds he’s snoring softly, all thoughts of whisky and long-ago wars forgotten.
McTavish stands up and carefully rearranges the blanket on the old man’s knee.
