The Little Gift Shop on the Loch

by Maggie Conway

  The interview had been yesterday. It had been exhausting but she’d made it to Edinburgh and back in one day. Not wanting to leave Misty alone overnight, she’d left out enough food and then crept out to the waiting taxi, an early morning mist still blanketing the loch.

  She’d dozed on and off most of the train journey and even though she’d arrived in Edinburgh after the morning rush hour everything had felt noisy and busy and she’d gone straight to her flat. After a quick chat with Mrs Robertson to collect her mail and make sure there’d been no problems while she’d been away, she’d headed up, opening the windows to let in some air and have a quick check around, something about it all feeling surreal. It all looked familiar yet she felt curiously detached from everything, almost like an imposter in someone else’s home.

  She’d dressed for the interview and examined her reflection in the mirror. Dark navy suit and cream tie-neck blouse. Heels and hair pulled into a neat chignon. It was like looking at her old self. This was the moment she’d anticipated but now that it was here, there was an inexplicable hollowness to it. Something had changed and she wasn’t sure she saw the same person staring back at her anymore.

  She’d smoothed down her skirt and brushed away an imaginary fleck from her shoulder and then with a measured breath and a final look in the mirror, she’d left. She’d quickly scanned the notes on her phone again. The offices of Abecon Financial Services were on the fourth floor of an office block a little distance from the city centre, she’d need to get a move on.

  And then it was all over. Before she knew it, she was back on the train gazing out of the window as it trundled its way out of the station and making its way over the Forth Bridge to join the Highland line towards Inverness.

  It had been a long tiring day, but Lily didn’t realise how much it must have taken out of her until she felt herself falling asleep now in the bath. She peeled open her eyes, aware the water was rapidly cooling and she was in danger of emerging looking more like a wrinkled prune than the sleek mermaid-like creature she had envisaged.

  Lifting herself out of the bath, she patted herself dry, her skin feeling sumptuously smooth. Her headache had subsided and she felt marginally better but she still felt a bit off.

  In the kitchen she rummaged in the cupboard for something to eat, not sure she was really that hungry. Reaching for a tin of soup she spotted Iris’s herbal remedy that she’d brought round the first day. Hadn’t she said it was for an off-day? Deciding today definitely fell into that category, she knocked back a couple of mouthfuls. The taste left a bit to be desired but Lily knew any of Iris’s remedies wouldn’t do her any harm.

  She finished her soup and washed up, wandering aimlessly around the flat as if she was looking for something. Even the flat didn’t seem to be working its magic; something didn’t feel quite right but she couldn’t put her finger on it, a feeling that something was missing.

  Pacing up and down Lily stopped suddenly, taking in a sharp intake of breath. Misty – where was she? She felt a prickle of alarm. She hadn’t seen her since the morning. She called out her name, running down to check the shop in case she’d somehow become stuck somewhere. But a search of all her favourite cubby holes proved fruitless.

  It was only now Lily appreciated how much she’d become used Misty’s presence, the way she silently padded around and – when she wasn’t being too haughty – was quite often prepared to be stroked. If Misty wasn’t inside, then it could only mean one thing and Lily really didn’t like the idea of her being outside on a night like this. What was she going to do now? She certainly couldn’t curl up and relax knowing Misty was out there. There was only one thing for it, she’d have to go and look for her.

  After throwing on a jacket and trainers, Lily set out with a feeling of hopelessness and no idea how you went about finding a cat. It wasn’t like a dog you could whistle for. Instead she attempted a few token pssst sounds between her teeth, hoping that somehow that would somehow summon Misty.

  She started close to the house then ventured further, crossing the road. She couldn’t see much, the visibility was so poor, but her eyes scanned up and down, hoping she might make the distinctive little patch of white fur on Misty’s chest. Even then she knew there was a slim chance of finding her.

  Scotland’s bountiful rainfall might keep its lochs overflowing and flourishing but tonight it was the reason Lily was drenched within seconds. The rain had suddenly become heavier and she was woefully unprepared for her mission, her torch phone not making much impact on the darkness. The deluge was relentless, battering onto the ground and now the wind had strengthened too. The ground felt sodden beneath her once-white trainers which squelched with each step she took.

  She kept on, heading down towards the loch. She remembered Jack telling her Misty very occasionally went to his place and her feet were already taking her in the direction of his house because realistically – and hopefully – she knew that’s where Misty might be. And as much as she didn’t fancy just turning up unannounced at Jack’s, her concern for the cat outweighed her own qualms.

  Wishing she’d put on more sensible footwear she trudged towards Jack’s, her eyes squinting against the rain until she could make out the house that until now she’d only seen from a distance. Set amongst trees with its own small pebble beach leading down to the loch, it was as close as you could get to the water and despite the circumstances and the foul weather, some part of Lily’s brain registered what an amazing spot to live, the views must be incredible.

  Drawing closer though, she could see it was ramshackle, clearly still needing work done. But there was one light on, a warm glow coming from a downstairs window. Shivering, wet and miserable, her exasperation at the situation made her hammer on the door with perhaps more force than strictly necessary. Still, at least Jack had heard because a few seconds later the door was answered.

  Jack opened the door, a look of puzzlement quickly replaced by one of a concern as he looped a hand under her arm, propelling her in. As she stepped into the warmth, her body suddenly started to tremble, her teeth chattering.

  ‘God Lily, what are you doing out in that?’

  He was wearing low-slung jogging bottoms and a snug fitting black T-shirt that showed off his physique, a towel round his neck which he had clearly just used to rub his damp and dishevelled hair. Lily felt her body tremble for a whole different reason now and didn’t like to think what she must look like, pretty sure her plastered hair wasn’t doing her any favours.

  ‘It’s Misty,’ she stammered. ‘I can’t find her.’

  ‘Ah, right – she’s here. I only came home myself a few minutes ago and found her on my doorstep.’

  ‘Oh, thank goodness.’ For someone who thought she didn’t care much for cats, Lily was inordinately relieved to know Misty was safe.

  ‘She was soaked,’ said Jack. ‘She must have been out for a good while.’

  Lily’s face crumpled. ‘Oh no. She never usually goes out and I didn’t notice she was missing until a few minutes ago.’

  ‘She’s fine, she’s sitting by the fire. Right now, I’m more concerned about you.’

  Lily looked down to the floor where she’d managed to create a small puddle on the floor, her trainers now sporting more of a mud splattered look. ‘Sorry, I’ve made a mess of your floor.’

  ‘Seriously? Come on, let’s get your jacket and shoes off for a start,’ he said crouching down.

  Her socks and trainers seem to be welded onto her feet. Jack had to wiggle them side to side to ease them off. By now Lily too miserable to feel self-conscious or embarrassed by the fact that he was holding her bare foot in his hand as he peeled off her socks.

  A sudden gust of wind roared from outside, howling through the house and Lily gasped, her eyes widening in fright.

  ‘Don’t worry, the roof’s only blown off once.’

  She met his twinkling gaze, not sure if he was serious or not.

  Jack disappeared for a moment, returning with a fresh, warm
towel which Lily took and began to dry herself off, grateful that her jacket had managed to protect most of her body.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said.

  ‘Come through,’ Jack urged, taking her by the elbow. ‘Still very much a work in progress,’ he explained, guiding her through the hall which had clearly not been touched decoratively in years. Lily had never decorated a house from scratch herself but would love to one day and she wondered what Jack’s taste would be like. Not that he appeared to have got round to doing much if the peeling wallpaper and bare lightbulb hanging from the hall ceiling was anything to go by.

  But when she followed Jack into the front room, Lily was amazed to find one of the loveliest rooms she’d ever seen and not what she’d been expecting at all. The walls were painted the palest shade of grey with two large slouchy blue-grey sofas sitting either side of a cast-iron fireplace. One wall was taken up with a large bookshelf and the floorboards had been beautifully restored.

  And there, sitting in prime position on a rug in front of the roaring fire, was Misty. Lily could hear her purring from here. She went over to greet her, rolling her eyes when she was totally ignored. ‘And to think I was worried about you,’ she huffed good-naturedly, stroking her ear.

  ‘A law unto themselves, cats are,’ Jack said following her into the room.

  Lily straightened up, gesturing a hand round the room. ‘It’s really nice,’ she said. ‘Stunning, in fact.’

  ‘Thanks, although I can’t take all the credit. My sisters are responsible for all the colour and stylish bits – I wouldn’t have had a clue where to start with any of that. I wanted to do the kitchen first but they assured me the living room was the place to start in case I ever brought a—’ He stopped suddenly, looking down for a moment and raking a hand through his hair.

  ‘A girlfriend?’ Lily guessed with a smile although the thought caused a little stab of disappointment.

  ‘I told them it wasn’t going to happen but they insisted anyway.’ He shrugged with a lopsided smile. ‘And actually you’re the first.’ He stopped again, realising what he’d just said. ‘Not girlfriend I mean. Person. Who happens to be a girl. That’s been here.’

  He shook his head with such a pained expression, Lily couldn’t help laughing at his uncharacteristic bashfulness. ‘I know what you mean. And your sisters clearly have good taste.’

  ‘I’ll tell them you like it, they’ll be pleased. I’ll, er, get something for us. Are you hungry?’

  ‘Not really. I had something earlier.’

  ‘I’ll get us a drink, then. Make yourself comfortable.’ He indicated with his hand around the room.

  Left alone, Lily wandered over to the window trying to imagine Jack living here. It suited him, being so close to the loch. Almost as if it was part of who he was. Outside was dark, the rain still heavy and Lily could hear the wind buffeting against the trees. She turned with a little shiver, still feeling a little damp.

  She went to one of the sofas, glancing at the half-finished cup of coffee and upturned book sitting on the low, dark wooden coffee table. She sat down just as Jack returned. He placed a bottle on the sideboard and then joined Lily on the sofa, handing her a glass. ‘This’ll heat you up,’ he said.

  ‘Thanks.’ Lily looked at the small measure of amber liquid and took a precautionary sniff, the fumes hitting the back of her throat and her making her eyes water. ‘What is it?’ she blinked.

  ‘Whisky of course, one of Dallochmore’s best bottles. Cheers.’ He clinked his glass against hers.

  ‘Cheers,’ Lily echoed, taking a small sip. Once she got over the initial shock, it went down quite smoothly.

  ‘Welcome to my home, such as it is.’

  Home, thought Lily, sinking back further into the comfy sofa. Such a safe solid word. ‘You’ve lived her a few years, you said?’

  ‘Yeah,’ he said with a rueful smile. ‘And long enough to have done more work.’

  ‘You’re doing it all by yourself?’

  He nodded. ‘Mostly. But I’m in no hurry, I’m not going anywhere. My brother comes and helps me when he has time.’

  ‘That’s nice.’

  ‘Yeah, it is. Apart from when he mistook my arm for a piece of wood and almost amputated it and we had to take an unexpected detour to the hospital – that wasn’t very helpful.’

  Lily let out a small gasp as he lifted his arm to reveal a jagged silvery line running along his forearm. The thought he could have been seriously hurt disturbed her more than she’d have imagined. Without thinking she reached over, her fingers tracing the scar tissue angrily snaking its way along his flesh. She lifted her eyes to find his gaze on her.

  She snatched her hand away, feeling her face flare with heat. ‘Looks quite nasty.’

  ‘I’ll live. Although sometimes I’m not sure if he and my sisters are more of a hindrance or a help.’

  Despite his grumblings Lily heard the warmth and affection in his voice and had little doubt they were a strong, loving family who looked out for each other. She stared into her glass. She had no idea what it was like to have siblings, annoying or otherwise, but imagined it to be lovely. A small silence ensued and when she looked up, Jack’s eyes were on her.

  He hesitated for a second and then spoke. ‘So how did your interview go?’

  Lily put down her glass, her spine stiffening. She’d started to relax, feeling better than she had all day. Now she knew where Misty was and being here in this lovely room with Jack, she finally seemed to have shaken off that black cloud that had been following her around all day. Thinking about the interview made it loom large again.

  Even now, twenty-four hours later she had trouble getting her head around the way it had unfolded. She’d got the shock of her life when she’d turned up at the interview to discover James there. It turned out Abecon Financial Services was a subsidiary of Dunn Equity, set up to focus specifically on small to medium size businesses.

  Recruiting for its management team, James had seen Lily’s name on the list of suitable candidates registered with the recruitment agency and had asked them to call her immediately. After being used and unceremoniously dumped, she didn’t see why she should listen to anything he had to say and had almost walked out there and then. But even though she’d hated herself for doing it, some compulsion had made her stay to hear him out.

  It hadn’t been so much an interview as an informal chat. James had been at his persuasive best, assuring Lily he’d done everything to try and save her job at Bremners. ‘You know the way these things work, my hands were tied. I always hoped we’d get a chance to work in the future again. As it turns out, I’d like to offer you something I think you’ll be very interested in.’

  She’d looked across the desk at James dispassionately. Now she could see him for what he was. Granted, he was a shrewd businessman but that’s where it started and ended. All he’d ever been was a safe option for her. It had been easier to imagine there was something between them than risk the real thing.

  Lily had almost gasped out loud when he’d offered her the role of an associate. It was the type of job she’d dreamed of, taking her career to a whole new level. But she knew she wasn’t hungry for it the way she once was. A few weeks ago she’d have jumped at the job but things had changed, she had changed. Perhaps sensing her hesitation, James told her he’d be away on business and had insisted she take a few days to think about it.

  She couldn’t deny she was tempted. Too much of her old instinct had kicked in for her to be able to reject the job outright. All her years of studying at university, passing exams to become chartered and all the hours she’s spent at work, it had been impossible for her to dismiss the offer outright.

  Since she’d been offered the job she’d felt a bag of conflicting emotions fighting within her and she strongly suspected the main reason for it was the man sitting next to her now. But she had her future to think of and couldn’t simply turn her back on her job and the security it provided. Her career mattered to her and she coul
dn’t throw it away because she was attracted to Jack. She couldn’t base any decisions on that, not at least without knowing how he felt.

  Lily was jolted back to the present, aware Jack was looking at her expectantly. ‘Um, it was all right. The job’s for a new financial company.’

  ‘Exciting.’

  ‘I guess so.’

  Jack watched her over the rim of his glass. ‘You don’t sound so sure.’

  ‘Oh, you know.’ She looked at him, then away again. ‘There’s a lot to think about. Misty, the shop …’ She took a sip of her dink and put the glass back down with a sigh. The real world had come knocking and she had a decision to make but all she wanted was to sit here in this little bubble with Jack for a bit longer.

  ‘Anyway, I won’t really know anything for a few days,’ she said evasively, deliberately leaning forward to reach for the book lying on the table. ‘What’s this you’re reading?’ she asked holding it up. As a diversion tactic it was fairly blatant but she really didn’t want to talk about the interview. She simply wanted to forget everything, at least for tonight. Funnily enough, the whisky seem to be helping with that.

  Jack continued to look at her for a moment before turning his attention to the book in Lily’s hand. ‘It’s all about whisky basically – everything from the process of distillation right the through to appreciating all the different styles and brands.’

  Lily flicked through a few pages, stopping to read a description of a particular 10-year old single malt. ‘It says it tastes like freshly chopped apples, rhubarb and gooseberries.’

  Jack listened as Lily flicked another few pages. ‘Ah, now I like the sound of this one,’ she continued. ‘Tastes like wet grass, butter, ginger and brittle toffee.’

  ‘What about the whisky you’re drinking – how would you describe it?’ Jack challenged her with a half-smile.

  She studied her glass for a moment. ‘I’m not sure I’d know how to begin.’

  ‘Here, I’ll help you,’ he said leaning forward holding his own glass. ‘First swirl it around a bit. Just notice the colour and then gently breathe in the aroma.’