“When do you think you’ll want to take the trip?”
“It’s August now, and it’ll take a little time to put everything in place. If she’s seventeen, would it be a problem if she misses some school?” he asked.
“Because of her health, her mother has homeschooled her. Sophia’s also already taken some college courses online.”
Darius considered his options. He was scheduled to take some time off after their big push this summer, but he needed to be back in October for the North American finals in New York City.
“She’d like to go to Edinburgh.”
“Scotland? What’s there for a teenager? Does she have a thing for William Wallace and want to see whereBraveheartwas filmed?”
“Actually, a lot of that movie was done in Ireland.” Eve pulled out her phone and swiped across the screen, showing him a list of sites in Edinburgh. “Sophia is a huge Harry Potter fan.”
“Have you already discussed this with her? I hope not, because what if I’d said I wouldn’t do it?” Darius leaned back in his chair, narrowing his eyes. More than one person he’d once thought of a friend had tried to con money out of him. “I’d hate to think you’d use emotional blackmail to try to coerce me into agreeing.”
“Aren’t we suspicious?” Eve shot him a flat look. “No, I haven’t talked with her at all about a bucket-list trip. I did, however, chat with her one day about what her dream trip would be. She was quite emphatic that it would be Edinburgh. I’ve done a little research since, and there are quite a few places within walking distance that I think she would enjoy and could handle. We’d have to be careful with her health, of course.”
“My bad. Sorry to accuse you wrongly. We’d need to leave in the next two or three weeks though, if we can arrange it with her that soon. We obviously wouldn’t be bringing just a teenage girl, so how many of her family members would accompany her?” Darius didn’t give Eve a chance to answer. “That’s something that would need to be considered for an ongoing program. Would it be fair to choose someone from a large family when only one and maybe a guest could come?”
“Kayn mentioned once that as much as he’d like to be able to help everyone, he couldn’t afford to,” Eve said. “I get that. You’d want to set limits. But would you bring only a child and a parent? It’d be lovely to include both parents and siblings to make it a real family affair.”
“True, and these are questions I’ll need to consider should I decide to set up the charity. Does Sophia have a bunch of siblings?”
“We’re lucky there. She’s an only child. They’re not affluent, so I’d have to check to see if both parents could afford to take the time off from work.”
“How long would the trip last that you’re considering?” Darius asked.
“Kayn’s was only three or four days there since it takes so long to travel to and from.”
“All right. You check with her family.” He pulled out his phone and opened it to his calendar. “If we went mid to late September, well after Labor Day, we might be able to deal with fewer crowds, but the weather should still be decent.”
“Well, itisScotland.”
“What does that mean?”
Eve held up her phone and turned it so he could see. The screen said that the average high was only sixty-two degrees in September.
“We’ll have to bring coats,” he said.
“And umbrellas.” Eve flipped the screen on her phone and held it up again. “It looks like the rain average in September is five or six inches, so close to twice what Boston receives.”
“But not much more than Boone gets.” Darius grinned, feeling a little excited about the trip for the first time. “I’ve never been to Scotland before.”
“Me either.” Eve’s voice was soft.
“But your father was born there. You’ve never visited?”
“Nope.” Eve’s expression had turned flat at his question.
Darius didn’t say anything but wondered what else was going on with her family that she’d never mentioned it. He’d been to Greece as a boy to meet his great grandparents, so he’d always assumed she’d been to Scotland.
“I’ll send you a list of the places she’d like to visit, so your staff can start making arrangements. Jo Rowling finished the series in the Barliamo Hotel.” Eve leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “If you could swing getting the same room Jo was staying in then, it could be the ultimate prize for Sophia’s trip.”
“How do you know that?”
“Potterhead here.” Eve leaned back and pointed at herself. “I’m a Ravenclaw.”
“Are you sure this isn’tyourbucket-list trip?”
