Lost in Scotland

by Hilaria Alexander

  When we were finally getting Hugh and two more actors ready, I noticed a weird expression on her face. Hugh was cracking jokes as usual, but the smile on her face was strained. She wasn’t as relaxed and playful as she usually was, and even Hugh started noticing, since everyone in the room except for Margaret was laughing.

  She stopped what she was doing and covered her eyes with her hand.

  “Mags, are you okay?” Hugh asked her.

  “Yeah, just give me a sec. I think my blood pressure is a little low.”

  “I’m going to get you something to eat. I’ll be right back.”

  “There’s no need,” I heard her say before I left the room.

  It took me no time at all to grab a few crackers and a banana.

  “Please eat. I can finish up here,” I told her. “Why don’t you sit on that chair over there? You should really just be supervising us anyway, not doing all the hard work,” I said, pointing to a folding chair that looked a lot more comfortable than the stool she had been sitting on. Thankfully, she listened to me.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, giving me a small smile.

  I looked down, and blue eyes were staring at me.

  “Hey.” I smiled.

  “Sam,” he said with a nod, and that was all he had to say to make me smile.

  “I’m going to finish up Margaret’s masterpiece, okay?” I said with a wink. I dabbed the sponge with the foundation Margaret was using and applied it all over his face, making sure the coat was even and spotless all over.

  I kept an eye on Margaret as I applied some brown eye pencil on Hugh’s eyes and smudged it around the corners. She had eaten a couple of crackers and taken a bite of the banana, but she didn’t look any better. In fact, her face seemed even more tense, and she stopped eating altogether. She placed the rest of the food in her lap and kept massaging her belly.

  “Mags…are you feeling okay?”

  “Yes,” she said as she stood up slowly. “I just need to use the restroom.” She got up from her chair, holding the bottom of her belly. She noticed me staring at her, so I looked away and turned my attention to Hugh.

  She walked out of the room, looking for the restroom.

  “Should one of us go after her?” Cecilia asked. “I’m done here with Marcus anyway,” she added.

  “It’s probably not a bad idea. Go check on her,” I replied.

  “What’s going on?” Hugh asked.

  “She’s been acting weird all morning. I’m just worried, that’s all. She still has eight more weeks to go, but has been acting really strange. I just want to make sure she’s okay.” I glanced down at him, and he gave me a worried look as I fixed his eyebrows.

  “Cecilia, I told you, I’m fine!” Margaret said, exasperated. She walked back to her chair as Cecilia followed her closely. We exchanged a look, and just as Margaret was sitting down on the chair, she let out a sharp cry, clutching her belly.

  We all ran over to her and she said, “Either I just peed my pants or my water broke.”

  Sam

  We wasted time trying to decide if we should wait for the ambulance or if we should use one of the buses to take Margaret to the nearest hospital, which was in Edinburgh.

  “Just call the goddamn ambulance. I want to make sure she’s properly taken care of!” yelled Nora, making her way through the crowd of people that was surrounding us and Margaret.

  “Everyone! We’re going to have a baby! Now, please resume your duties or the light is going to change and we’ll have to have this field trip all over again.” She commanded the crowd and, with a smile, gestured for everyone to leave the room.

  Everyone had left, and it was just me, Nora, Margaret, Woody—an executive producer—and Hugh. Nora knelt in front of Margaret.

  “You’re going to be okay, sweetie,” she told her with a smile. “How do you feel? How far apart are your contractions?”

  “Not sure. Not that close, though…I think. Every few minutes, maybe.”

  “The ambulance is going to be here in thirty minutes. The hospital is forty minutes away,” said Nora’s assistant Ian as he barged into the room.

  “See? You and the baby are going to be okay.” Nora kissed Margaret on the head.

  “Hugh, I think we’re ready for you. Is he ready?” Nora asked, turning in my direction.

  “He is,” I replied.

  “Sam, please go with Margaret to the hospital.” I nodded. I had already decided I wasn’t going to leave Margaret’s side until she could get ahold of her husband. “Mags, do you want us to call your husband?” Nora asked.

  She shook her head and smiled. “No, thank you. I’ll do it.”

  Thirty minutes later, the paramedics were ushering Margaret into the ambulance, and I took a seat next to her. Even though Nora had told everyone to resume their duties and take their place, there was a small crowd waving us good-bye. Even Hugh came to see us off, and before the paramedic closed the doors, he jumped in the van.

  “Good luck, Mags. I can’t wait to see the little brat!” he told her with a grin, squeezing her hand.

  She smiled back and said, “Be nice or I’ll send you a picture of her covered in blood and birth goo!” He smiled brightly and nodded. He then turned to me and tipped my chin up with his finger. My eyes widened, and my breath hitched. His gesture shocked me.

  “Take care of her. I’ll call ye later.” His eyes pierced mine with their intensity, and I couldn’t manage a single word. All I could do was nod. My eyes widened even more when he kissed me on the forehead, but my brain was still processing what he’d said about calling me.

  He’s going to call me?

  We had never exchanged numbers.

  He jumped out of the van, and the doors closed. Soon we were moving, heading toward the hospital.

  “Boy, you pulled quite the stunt to get out of work today,” I joked, stifling a yawn. “You owe me some coffee, woman.”

  “I think you’ll end up owing me, lass,” she joked, rolling on her side, trying to get comfortable on the stretcher. “I’m getting out of your way just in time for you to make your move,” she said with a smile, and I frowned. What did she mean? Did she think I was gunning for her position? That I was glad she was having this baby early so I could take over?

  “What? Mags, no. I have no desire to take your job.”

  “I’m not talking about my job, although I already told Nora you should take over my responsibilities for the rest of this season. I’m talking about Hugh, silly. This way you can stop dancing around each other like fools.”

  “What? No! You’ve got it all wrong.”

  “Sure.” She smiled, and then her face contorted. She was having another contraction.

  “Breathe. Inhale and exhale slowly. Isn’t that what they tell you to do?”

  “I don’t know,” she confessed. “I was supposed to start some online Lamaze classes in a couple of weeks, but I guess it’s too late for that.”

  I smiled at her, trying to reassure her. “You’ll be okay. You’re getting to meet your baby early, that’s all.”

  “So, you and Hugh…”

  “You’re mistaken. We’re just friends.”

  “Sure, because friends touch friends like this,” she said, stretching her arm across to tip my chin up the same way he had. “And friends kiss friends on the forehead. I saw that. Don’t bullshit me.”

  “Seriously, there’s nothing going on. We’re just friends.”

  “Has he kissed you yet? I’ve been told he has mad kissing skills.”

  I pressed my lips together, hoping to hide my embarrassment. “Would you stop? No, he hasn’t kissed me, and he probably never will.”

  “Oh, he will. It’s just a matter of time. I’ve seen how he looks at you. I’ve noticed how he lights up when you’re around. He might not have made a move yet, but he likes you.”

  “Shouldn’t we be talking about your baby right now? Shouldn’t we be calling your husband?”

  “Fine. Oh, shite. Becket
t is going to be pissed off. Or excited. Or both. Would you pass me the mobile, please?”

  I looked in her bag and placed the phone in her hand. She wrapped hers around mine.

  “Tonight.” She pointed her finger at me, eyebrows raised, a playful smirk in place.

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “I bet you twenty pounds he’s going to kiss you tonight.”

  I stayed with Margaret in the room and held her hand as her contractions got stronger and stronger. Beckett, her husband, was in London and wouldn’t be arriving before late afternoon.

  “I am fine, Beckett. They said it’s going to take hours, so don’t you bloody rush with that damn car. Yes, someone is here with me. I’m in good hands,” she said, glancing my way. “I will see you later.” She hung up the phone and tensed up as another contraction ran through her body.

  “Breathe,” I reminded her, and as the pain got stronger, the nurses gave her some pain meds, and I massaged her back, trying to relieve the tension.

  I didn’t know how strong the drugs were, but soon she started blabbering, telling me how much she loved me and how she couldn’t wait to meet her baby. She also kept talking about how Hugh and I would make a lovely couple. I played along, occasionally laughing at her silly predictions.

  When Beckett finally made it to the hospital, Margaret was dilated almost seven centimeters. She had asked for an epidural, and they had given her one. She said she could only feel a little pressure, nothing like the pain of earlier in the day. She was mostly herself now, but at times she still talked nonsense.

  “Sam is going to get kissed tonight,” she told her husband as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

  “What?” Beckett asked, confused.

  “It’s nothing…just an inside joke. I’m going to wait outside so you two can have some privacy.” I hugged Margaret and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s almost over. You’ll do great, Mags.”

  “He’s going to kiss you tonight,” she whispered in my ear.

  “Okay, okay.” I laughed.

  Beckett pulled me into a hug.

  “Thank you for being here with Margaret.”

  “It was my pleasure,” I replied.

  I left the room and checked my phone. I had shoved it in my backpack and completely forgotten about it.

  I had messages from Cecilia and Hugh, asking about Margaret and the baby.

  Judging from Cecilia’s last message, they were almost done in Gullane. In all the commotion of the day, I hadn’t had time to think about how I would get back to St. Martin, but now I had to come up with a solution. It would have been nice if someone were going to send a company car to pick me up; it had been a long day, and I was worn out.

  A few minutes later, I got a message from Cecilia.

  We’re sending someone to pick you up in a little bit.

  She added a winky emoticon at the end.

  Thanks. I don’t want to leave until the baby is born, anyway.

  You’ll like your driver. He’s hot.

  I rolled my eyes but played along. I looked like crap, and the last thing I wanted was a really hot driver I’d feel uncomfortable around.

  Really? Please, do tell.

  Oh, you’ll see for yourself soon enough.

  Tease!

  A couple hours later, Posy Lake was born in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

  Beckett and I hugged again, relieved and happy. Unfortunately, Margaret barely had the time to hug her daughter before the nurses took her away and placed her in an incubator. Posy wasn’t presenting any serious issues, but because she was premature, they had to keep her in an incubator for a few weeks. A while later, Beckett pushed Margaret to the neonatal intensive care unit in a wheelchair, and I followed them. I watched Margaret hold the hand of her preemie, and for a second, I felt as if I were intruding on a family moment.

  “Sam,” said a deep voice behind me. It felt like a caress, and I smiled and bit my lip before I even turned around. I knew exactly who it was. Cecilia’s messages made sense now. Did this mean Cecilia was trying to tease me just as Margaret had been?

  “Hey.” I turned around to look at him, and he smiled.

  “I saw you guys walk down the hall, and I followed you here. Is the baby okay?”

  “She’s fine. They have to keep her in the incubator as a precaution, something about her body temperature with her being a preemie.”

  “She’s a wee bairn, isn’t she? What did they name her?”

  “Posy.” I smiled. “Her name is Posy Lake.”

  “Posy,” he repeated. “I like it.” He took a step forward and stood right beside me, watching the brand new parents interact with their baby.

  I looked at Hugh. “So, are you here to pick me up?”

  “Aye.”

  “Cecilia said my driver was hot.” I gave him a flirty smile, and he grinned.

  “Aye, that’s me. I hope you weren’t expecting someone else.” He had missed my gist completely. Men.

  “I was not. I was trying to pay you a compliment, by the way, and you totally missed it,” I joked, bumping my shoulder against his.

  His eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly, but he didn’t say a thing for a couple seconds. Then, his shock turned into a cute, uneasy smile.

  “Ah! I get it now. Long day, ya ken.”

  “I ken,” I replied, smiling. He did look tired. He was even talking like his character. We stood in silence, watching Margaret and Beckett for a few more moments.

  “I have to confess something,” Hugh said. I turned my head in his direction and looked at him curiously. The smile on his face was loaded with mischief. “I might have volunteered to come pick you up. I wouldn’t do it for just anyone, you know.”

  I smiled and looked up at him through my lashes. “Is this your way of telling me I’m special? You came because of me?”

  He nodded. “Well, the official story is that I came so I could congratulate the new parents.”

  I breathed out a laugh. “Of course.”

  “Nora said you’ll be taking over for Margaret. Sorry to break it to you, but you’ll have to work with me a lot more,” he joked.

  “That’s what Margaret said.” I tried to sound as neutral as possible, as if it didn’t matter to me in the slightest. I glanced his way again, and he looked like he had expected a bigger reaction from me.

  “Is that all you have to say?”

  I closed my eyes and smiled, looking down. When I opened them again and turned to look at him, he was grinning. Were we really doing this? Was he really flirting with me? Maybe Margaret was right.

  “Well, what I really wanted to say was, ‘Yeah, that sounds bloody awful,’” I joked and rolled my eyes.

  He smirked. “Awful, you say.”

  “Bloody awful.” I matched his smirk with one of my own.

  “Oh, I’ll show you bloody awful.” His eyes were bright and excited at the opportunity to tease me some more. He wrapped one arm around me and started tickling me around my waist with the other hand. I squealed, and it must have been loud enough for the parents to hear it because Margaret and Beckett looked our way. Shit. I hadn’t meant to be so loud; we were in a hospital, after all. However, neither Margaret nor Beckett seemed too concerned—they just waved at Hugh, and then Margaret gave me a not-so-subtle thumbs up and a wink. Seriously, Margaret? Not helpful. I could feel Hugh’s eyes on me as soon as she did that.

  “Okay, let’s lay down the law here, mister. You are not allowed to tickle me—”

  “In public.”

  “In public,” I repeated. Wait, what? I looked at him with a confused expression, and he laughed in my face.

  “That look is one of my favorite things,” he said as he put his index finger between my furrowed eyebrows.

  What in the world is going on? I shook my head and decided to dismiss his words, at least for the time being.

  “Really, let’s be serious for a moment here,” I said, turning around to face him. “You better be ver
y nice to me, mister,” I teased, giving him a look and raising my eyebrows.

  “Oh, I plan to,” he said in a low, gravelly voice that sent a shiver down my spine. He leaned in closer, his face just a few inches from mine, close enough that I could raise myself on my tiptoes and kiss him. “I’m going to be…verra nice to ye, Sam,” he said, his accent stronger than usual. His eyes were dark for a couple of seconds, long enough to stir my insides, long enough for dirty thoughts to send a wave of heat between my legs. Then, he turned the smolder down and winked at me, reaching out with an arm and hugging me closer to him in the process.

  He was so damn dreamy, even after a whole day on the set, and I seriously could have fainted in his arms. I realized I must have looked like a mess. I’d had a super early morning, a long day, and no makeup on my face whatsoever. Yet, he was here, hugging me, and I hadn’t even asked him to. Maybe he did have a crush on me. I relaxed in his embrace and leaned my head against his shoulder.

  Did he know I liked him? Did he know how much? Did he know I wanted to be around him all the time? As I started thinking about all the questions I didn’t have answers to, my head started spinning, and I felt like I might really faint.

  I placed my head against the nursery’s glass window.

  I was exhausted, but more than anything I knew I felt faint because I was thirsty and hungry.

  “Sam, are ye okay?”

  “Yes…just give me a second.”

  “Are you tired?”

  “Y-yes…no. I’m not tired…I’m starving,” I said with a laugh. “I didn’t have a chance to eat anything.”

  “Let’s go, then,” he said, touching my elbow. “It’s late, but this place I know should be open.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked, turning my head to face him.

  “I’ll take ye to the best kebab place in Edinburgh.”