It was uncomfortable seeing him out of the blue.I guess that was always going to happen in Loch Cameron eventually, she thought. It wasn’t an anonymous city where you could never see the same person twice.
Deb knew that things were difficult between her and Kyle, but she didn’t want them to be. She wanted to be friends again, at the very least. All right, if she was honest – more than friends. But she also couldn’t reconcile the Kyle that gave her The Feelings with the Kyle who didn’t appear to care about her grandmother being made homeless on the very land that he now owned. Was it his fault? Of course not. Could he have seemed more sympathetic and interested? Yes. A lot.
‘Indeed. Anyway, better be off.’ He nodded curtly and strode towards the Post Office door.
What? Was that it?Kyle was acting as if they were strangers. The very least he could do was to be civil and have a polite conversation.
How are you? Fine, thanks, and you? You’re looking well. Ah, thank you! The weather’s been fine for the time of year. It has, hasn’t it? Anyway, must dash!It wasn’t hard. Everyone knew the drill. You’d have that level of polite conversation with the bin men, never mind someone you’d kissed. And when that kiss had been as good as it was with Kyle, then…
The lady behind the counter called Deb forward, so she had to return her attention to her packages for a moment.
‘I’m picking up four boxes, I think? Deborah Sutherland,’ she said, getting her phone out. ‘I have a code to scan here. I think delivery was attempted a couple of days ago.’
‘Right you are, dear.’ The woman behind the counter was middle aged with two auburn plaits arranged in buns at each side of her head. She wore a sweatshirt that bore the picture of a famous actor’s face poking out between the broken boards of a door, and the words HERE’S JOHNNY! in black capitals underneath it. It was a famous horror movie; Deb supposed she was a little surprised that the postmistress in Loch Cameron was also, apparently, a horror movie buff.
‘Over in the corner. I put them to one side,’ the woman explained. ‘Bit big, you see. Everyone was trippin’ up on them.’
Deb looked over at the corner where four huge boxes were, indeed, piled up. They were much bigger than she’d been expecting, and she had a moment of sudden panic, wondering how on earth she was going to pick up even one of them, never mind all four. AND get them to the car outside.
Gingerly, she went over to the boxes and pried up one corner of the top one. It wasn’t too heavy, but it was bulky and almost aslong as she was, and Deb could see that getting it out of the Post Office was going to be a performance. She sighed, and picked up the top box as best she could, angling her body in such a way that she could hold it sideways and shuffle it along the narrow corridor.
‘I’d give you a hand, but I’ve put ma back oot,’ the postmistress called after her.
‘No worries,’ Deb replied, with gritted teeth. She dragged the first box to the entrance and laid it on the floor so that she could open the door. Carefully, she edged it outside and onto the pavement, until she felt her fingers suddenly lose their grip on the box. She grappled with it for a moment, but it was no use.
The box fell flat onto the pavement outside with a flat smack.
Deb let out a loud exclamation and jumped backwards. It was an over-reaction, because the box was nowhere near her feet, and it also wasn’t heavy enough to hurt her if it had landed on her boots.
Outside, Kyle stood next to the red pillar box, frowning at his phone. He looked up in surprise.
‘A little help?’ Deb said, knowing that her tone was sardonic, but she really couldn’t help it.Don’t worry about me, I’m just struggling over here.
‘You seem to have it under control.’ He narrowed his eyes slightly and put his hands in his pockets.
‘Wow. Thanks.’ Deb bent over and picked up the corner of the box, dragging it to her car which was parked on the kerb. She blipped her car key to open the boot, and started manoeuvring the box into it.
‘Oh, for the love of… let me do that.’ Kyle came up behind her and took the box, expertly slotting it into the limited boot space. ‘There.’ He nodded.
‘There’s three more, actually.’ She looked up at him, combatively, although she was also aware of everyone in thePost Office seeing her with Kyle, the least popular man in Loch Cameron.
‘Are you asking for my help with them?’ He returned her gaze, not smiling. ‘Not what a rude person would do, probably. Help a lady in distress.’
‘I’m not in distress. I just have four large boxes I need to get in the car. Help or don’t help, it’s up to you.’
‘Well, obviously I will help,’ he muttered.
‘Fine. Come on, then.’ She went back inside the Post Office and pointed to the pile of boxes in the corner. ‘You get one side, I’ll get the other.’
Kyle nodded, and picked up two of the boxes. ‘You get the door,’ he said. Deb, not knowing what to say, turned around and opened it as instructed. Kyle carried both boxes out to her car and added them to the boot. ‘The last one’s not going to fit in there. You’ll have to put it on the back seat,’ he said. Deb realised that he was dressed in a sharp black business suit with an immaculate white shirt underneath: Kyle looked like he was on his way somewhere, and, now, she realised, he had gotten box dust all over his jacket.
He went back into the Post Office and returned with the final box. Deb opened the back door of the car and Kyle slid the box in without any apparent difficulty.
‘Thanks.’ She smoothed her hair and wished she was wearing something nicer than a pair of jeans and a T-shirt under her parka. Not that she was interested in impressing Kyle anymore, but she had standards, after all. You never wanted to see anyone you had been on a date with, with your hair in a tangle and no makeup on.
‘No trouble.’ Kyle brushed the dust off his suit.
‘Going somewhere?’ she asked.
