Fraser laughed hard. ‘You crack me up, Liv. You’ll be missed.’
What did that mean? ‘I’ll miss you too.’ Fraser seemed surprised, which probably indicated he’d only meant it in a general way. Ugh how humiliating. She turned to Ginger. ‘I’ll miss you too,’ she repeated in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. Ginger wasn’t falling for it and eyed her suspiciously. ‘I had better get going,’ said Liv. She stood in front of Fraser for a fraction longer than was necessary. What was she waiting for? Him to gather her up in his arms and declare his undying love for her? Not likely and did she even want that? This was excruciating, and she needed to end it and run. But as Liv went to give him a quick hug he went for the handshake and ended up stabbing her in the stomach – oof!
‘Hell, I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Fine,’ she squeaked. ‘Bye then.’ She rubbed her middle as she made a dash for inside.
When she came into the hallway there was a bit of a gathering: Dolly and Jock’O, Effie and Robbie were all waiting for her. It made her smile at the sight of them but her smile was soon raced away when Robbie pulled out his bagpipes and an awful din echoed off the walls. Jock’O yelped, jumped off Dolly’s lap and ran upstairs. Dolly was grimacing but Effie was swaying from side to side as if she were listening to lift music. Liv feared her ears were going to bleed. Thanks to the bagpipes she didn’t hear Fraser join them but she felt his arm brush hers and every hair stood on end. They looked at each other and smiled but then Robbie hit a particularly high note and they both winced at the same time. Fraser started a round of applause, Liv joined in and thankfully Robbie took the hint and stopped playing.
‘We wanted to give you a bit of a send-off,’ said Dolly.
‘You certainly did that. Wow. Thank you.’
Robbie seemed coy. ‘It needs some work but I’m sure you could tell what it was.’
Liv had no idea but she nodded earnestly. ‘Definitely a classic.’ She so hoped he didn’t question her any further.
Dolly put down a mug of tea, wheeled over and handed her a package. ‘That should keep you going. You drive safely now,’ she said giving her hand a squeeze.
‘Thanks, I will. My sister would kill me if I didn’t.’
She turned to Effie but before she could say anything a puffy-eyed Effie pulled her into a bear hug, which she reciprocated. Effie had the purest heart of anyone she’d met and they’d grown close. ‘You take care and please keep in touch,’ said Liv.
‘I wondered if in the new year I might catch a train to Blackburn.’ Effie sounded very unsure and sunk her teeth hard into her bottom lip at the end of the sentence.
‘That would be brilliant. I’d love to see you and you’re welcome any time.’
‘Bye,’ said Fraser. ‘Can I just check? Are we doing a handshake or a hug?’
Something inside her said she was going to miss this bear of a man the most. ‘Hug?’
He held out his arms and she tentatively stepped into them. He gave the best hugs and with the whiff of cologne and a few added pheromones it was all a bit much. She had to pull away. Fraser was the one who never was and she was a little sad about that, but she was taking home a renewed sense of self-respect and a feeling of victory in that despite it being misplaced she had stood up for herself. Also unexpectedly she’d fallen in love with the beauty of the Scottish Highlands. She let out a breath. She was in danger of getting emotional so she grabbed her bag and pulled back her shoulders.
‘You’ve all been marvellous. Thanks for everything. Have the best Christmas. Bye!’ Liv couldn’t look at Effie or Fraser so she turned away, but as she did something caught her eye. She stepped between Robbie and Effie, took Effie’s arm and moved her closer to Robbie. ‘Now look up,’ she said. Everyone did and as they were all contemplating the mistletoe above them Liv walked away as fast as she could without it looking like she was running.
37
The journey home was just as tedious as the one up to Scotland. It was such a long way. Liv sang and shouted at the radio depending on what the programme was, rationed her drink intake and made one scheduled stop at one of the bigger services. When she got back in the car she decided to see what was in the package Dolly had given her, although she was pretty sure she could guess. She was right: it was Scottish tablet. At least the sugar high would help her stay alert.
Liv replayed all that had happened in the last six days. It seemed like she’d been there a lot longer and had come away feeling like she’d known the people forever. She finally pulled onto her sister’s driveway at a quarter to eight at night. She was tired but oh so pleased to be home. That feeling didn’t last long when she saw her sister’s angry face as she stormed outside. ‘Where the hell have you been?’ she asked her through the driver’s window.
‘Scotland,’ said Liv.
‘We thought you’d emigrated!’ Charlotte did a good impression of an angry person but there was something about sisters – however cross they were you knew deep down that they loved you and you were family, so they were stuck with you. Liv got out of the car and opened the boot. ‘Where’s the damage to the car?’ asked her sister as she stalked around it like a rooster in a henhouse, her eyes homing in when she thought she saw something of interest.
Their mum came running out of the front door doing up her jeans. ‘You would arrive when I’m having a wee,’ she complained as she threw her arms around her youngest daughter.
‘Eww too much information, Mum. I hope you’ve washed your hands.’
‘You cheeky wotsit! Let me look at you.’ She held her at arm’s length and Liv felt like she was at primary school again. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine. All in one piece.’
‘Come inside. It’s blooming cold out here,’ said Charlotte.
‘Cold, you southern softie – this is nothing. It was minus twelve in Scotland.’
Her mum and sister looked suitably shocked.
