‘And who’s this?’ Shelley bobs down to greet the excitable collie.
‘That’s Stan.’
‘He’s beautiful!’ She laughs as the blur of fur and tongue flings himself at her.
‘Stan, hey. C’mon now,’ Michael says firmly, and they all head into a cosy dining kitchen.
‘How long’s it been since we last saw each other?’ Pearl asks him.
‘Oh, well over twenty years. Closer to thirty, I reckon.’ He shakes his head. ‘Terrible, isn’t it?’
‘It really is. But you’ve hardly changed at all.’ It’s true. His mid-brown hair is flecked with a little silver and he’s more powerfully built than Pearl remembers. His life up here clearly involves a lot of physical work. But that aside, he doesn’t look so very different from the last time she saw him.
‘And neither have you,’ he says.
Pearl laughs off the compliment, her gaze skimming the bluey-green Aga, the softly worn oak table and shelves neatly stacked with crockery and cookware. Stan has already installed himself in a basket in a corner. Although the kitchen feels rustic, there are contemporary touches in the form of abstract paintings in muted greens, and a sparkling beaded curtain hangs in a doorway. Eclectic is how Pearl would describe it; a favoured magazine term back in the day.
‘Your place is beautiful,’ Lena announces.
‘And Ilovethat curtain!’ Pearl indicates the glittering beads, red and orange and gold, like a sunset.
‘Oh, that?’ Michael shrugs. ‘Rona wanted it, but then she decided it really belongs here. We bought it in India,’ he adds.
‘It’s all so homely,’ Shelley enthuses. ‘I bet your guests love it.’
‘They seem to,’ Michael says lightly. ‘I just want people to kick back and feel at home here. They’re mostly walkers and outdoorsy types and they don’t expect luxury. Let me show you your room,’ he adds.
As Michael leads them out of the kitchen and along a short corridor, Pearl senses relief settling in her chest. She hadn’t known for sure how it would be to arrive here en masse. The adult Michael is a little shy, she surmises. Or perhaps over the years he has developed a way of dealing with guests when they arrive. Welcoming, yes – but in the manner of a professional host. That’s fine, she decides. They’ll respect his space and take care not to create extra work for him.
Michael stops, looking apologetic as he shows the three women into a spacious room with a double and a single fold-out bed. ‘I’m sorry the three of you are all crammed in here together,’ he says. ‘It’s not what I’d planned. But I had a last-minute booking and they wanted the family room. I could let you have the bigger room tonight, and then move you into here when they arrive tomorrow?—’
‘All that extra work?’ Pearl exclaims. ‘This is fine, Michael. Honestly, there’s plenty of space for us…’
‘Two of you don’t mind sharing a double?’
‘Of course not,’ Lena says firmly.
‘We’ve had holidays when all three of us have crammed into a bed together,’ Shelley adds. ‘And this isbeautiful.’ She looks around the simply furnished room, taking in the whitewashed bare stone walls, the soft mohair blankets and sheepskin throws.
‘Well, if you’re sure. It’s a couple with just the one child,’ he adds. ‘So it shouldn’t be too rowdy…’
‘It’ll be lovely to have people around,’ Pearl says. ‘We’re just grateful to be here, like you wouldn’t believe.’
‘Great.’ Michael pushes his hands into his jeans pockets, seeming relieved. ‘So they’re arriving tomorrow afternoon. There’ll be another guest too, in the smallest room. All staying Saturday and Sunday night…’
‘So there’ll be a houseful.’ Lena turns to him with a smile.
‘Yeah.’ He nods. ‘But I always kick them out straight after breakfast and they’re not allowed back in until five.’
‘Really?’ Shelley blinks in surprise, and he chuckles.
‘No, not really. That was the old-fashioned way of doing things…’
‘You’d be slung out all day, whatever the weather,’ Lena agrees. ‘I remember that. We stayed at a place in Skegness when I was a kid. We’d all be shivering on the beach, desperate to be let back in.’
‘Things are a bit more modern now,’ Michael explains. ‘Guests are welcome to come and go as they want, and there’s always a fire on in the lounge. Plenty of books and films and games in there if the weather’s bad. Which, to be honest, isn’t unusual up here. Anyway,’ he adds quickly, ‘would you like some time to settle in?’
‘That’d be great,’ Pearl says, turning to her friends as he leaves. ‘This place,’ she murmurs. ‘I can hardly believe it.’ She rushes to the window and stares out into the moonlit night. The sky is scattered with stars and the loch gleams like silk. ‘Come and see this,’ she says, and her friends cluster around her as they all gaze out.
