EPILOGUE ~ ABBY ~ TWO MONTHS LATER
“Your downward-facingdog is really improving,” Fern says, toasting me with her green smoothie.
“You mean now that I can hold up my own body weight without my arms shaking violently?”I ask with a dry laugh.
She bumps my shoulder with hers.“Progress is progress, right?I’m proud of you.”
As of the end of May, Fern is officially an Edinburgh resident and a paid yoga instructor.She went back to Kingston with Drew and Brodie at the end of April, where she applied for a two-year UK visa and packed up her life.Eager to help Ailsa get her yoga studio set up, she returned to Scotland a few weeks later, and worked behind the scenes while she waited for her visa to be approved.
“The first time I attempted downward-facing dog, Iliterallyfell on my face,” Nancy says.“I thought yoga would be an easy way for me to get a bit more toned before my wedding, but I almost quit after the first day.Now I’m glad I didn’t, and you will be too, Abby.”
After meeting Nancy on her wedding day in April, I sent her our selfie on BeSocial, as requested.She was thrilled to learn I was staying in Edinburgh with my hot Scot, and we became fast friends.We meet regularly for coffee or cocktails, and we have a standing date to attend one of Fern’s Saturday morning yoga classes, followed by smoothies and a walk.All that’s missing is Drew, but she and Brodie sold their house in mid-June, and will be arriving in Edinburgh tomorrow.
Nancy makes a sound of disgust as we navigate around a group of clueless tourists with their phones in front of their faces as they take videos.Graeme has joked more than once that I’m on my way to being an official local because of my irritation toward tourists who walk slowly and have a habit of stopping in the middle of sidewalks to take pictures.Every time it happens, I remind myself Iwasthat tourist not so long ago.It makes me extra aware of my surroundings whenever I stop to take photos, which still happens on a daily basis because I amobsessedwith this city.
Fern, Nancy, and I part ways when we reach North Bridge.I join the flow of foot traffic, letting it carry me along at a brisk pace.There’s already been a huge influx of tourists during my time here, but I’m used to the bustle of a big city after living in Toronto for so long.The funny thing is, while the hordes of people in Toronto were something I generally disliked about city life, and it often made me shrink into myself, it doesn’t bother me here in Edinburgh.
Graeme’s theory is that I was living in the wrong city, and now I’m where I belong.He also pointed out the vast difference between a city like Toronto—a noisy, polluted concrete jungle full of skyscrapers—versus a city like Edinburgh, which looks and feels like something out of a storybook.He predicts my rose-coloured glasses will come off somewhat next month when the population swells to its yearly high during The Fringe and the Military Tattoo.He’s already promised we’ll escape to the MacKinlays’ house on the Isle of Skye for part of the month, which I’m looking forward to.Even though I’ve visited the Highlands multiple times, my love affair with Edinburgh has extended to the rest of the country as well.
I let myself into MacKinlay Tower and start up the stairs.After two months of climbing these steps and the hills of Edinburgh on a daily basis—plus regular hikes with Graeme—my thighs and butt are more toned than I ever imagined possible.Graeme has developed a particular fondness for the sight of me in short skirts and has encouraged me to walk around the flat in nothing but my underwear.I’m happy to oblige, especially when he joins me.
Morna is leaving her flat when I reach the second-floor landing.Her face brightens when she sees me, and she gives me a one-armed hug so she doesn’t crush the flowers I’m holding.“Hello,a nighean.Did you buy yourself flowers?”
“They’re for Drew and Brodie, actually,” I tell her.“Graeme and I have been collecting things for a little welcome basket of sorts, and I thought fresh flowers would be a nice touch.”
“A wonderful idea.I’m off to collect the messages, but I’ll see you and Graeme tonight for dinner.”She kisses my cheek and heads down the stairs.
I watch her go, smiling to myself.The first time she used that phrase with me, I asked if they didn’t get their mail delivered to MacKinlay Tower.She explained ‘collecting the messages’ means running errands or going grocery shopping, and dates back to the days when ‘message boys’ delivered goods from the shops.
Graeme finds it amusing that I’m charmed by these things.He also proved how well he knows me when he gifted me with a beautiful notebook for me to keep a running list of Scottish sayings and slang, along with Scots and Gaelic words and phrases.
On the next landing, I let myself into Drew and Brodie’s flat to make sure everything is in order for their arrival tomorrow.Over the last few days, I’ve put clean sheets on their bed and filled the fridge and pantry with essentials.In a strange way, this place feels like it’s mine, even though I never ended up staying here like Drew suggested.
When I decided to stay in Edinburgh rather than return to Kingston with the others, Graeme assured me he was fine with wherever I decided to stay.I told him after spending so many years apart, I didn’t want to waste another second, and so with his enthusiastic approval, I moved my meagre possessions from the spare bedroom into his room that night, and now it’sours.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Drew and Brodie’s flat, though.The MacKinlays rented it out fully furnished since getting furniture up and down the curved stone stairwell is a nightmare, but Drew tasked me with decorating the place and making it feel homey.When they put their house up for sale, they sold and donated a lot of their things rather than attempting to move all their earthly possessions across the ocean.
