Chapter Thirty-Four
Brodie had never been the type of guy to make a fuss about his birthday but he was grateful that Reuben had invited him round for the evening.
It would make a change from lying on his couch, flicking through Netflix trying to remember which shows had been recommended by friends and failing, which was usually all he had the energy to do after a hard day’s graft.
His face was streaked with mud and his body damp with sweat and he was glad to have a cool shower and wash it all off.
He dried his hair roughly with a towel and then walked through to his bedroom to find something to wear.
He picked up his phone to see a text from his sister, Charlotte.
She was older than him, by two years, and they had always been close growing up.
But her life was now very different to his, with twins who had recently turned four.
Happy birthday bruv. Come see us soon. Love Chaz xx
Attached was a picture of his smiling niece and nephew.
Charlotte had her hands very full with the kids at the age they were and he felt guilty that he didn’t see more of her especially as she lived in Crieff which was only about an hour away from Rowan Bay.
He hated that he hadn’t managed to visit for a few months and resolved to change that.
Thanks sis. I’ll come and see you very soon. I promise. Xx
He pulled on a pair of clean navy shorts and a white linen shirt, ran his fingers through his hair and then quickly sprinkled some aftershave on his hands and rubbed it on his cheeks.
As far as birthdays went it hadn’t been too bad — apart from the fact his age was creeping up on him.
Thirty-six. Where had the time gone? He’d been so touched when Iris and Flora had arrived back from the bakery with some cakes for him.
‘A wee birdie told us it’s your birthday,’ Iris said in her sing-song voice. ‘Go Brodie, it’s your birthday. We’re going to party like it’s your birthday.’
Brodie laughed when he saw Flora’s face. She was rolling her eyes in mock horror at Iris, then looked over and smiled at him, which always stopped him in his tracks. ‘You shouldn’t have,’ he muttered quietly but was so pleased they had. ‘Thank you.’
‘Not at all,’ said Iris. ‘If I’d known earlier then I would have even baked a cake, Brodie. And I don’t do that for everyone. If you come inside later, I’ll mention the birthday word to the boys and I’m sure they’ll treat you to their wee version of that special 50 Cent rap.’
Brodie hadn’t been able to resist, although when he did go inside later, the parrots refused to perform. They just looked at Iris as though she was talking in another language when she said, ‘Please sing the birthday song, boys.’
Now he looked at his watch, realising the time. It was just after seven and he needed to buy some wine and beer to take to Reuben’s. He grabbed his phone and keys and locked the flat, whistling as he went.
* * *
‘Hey, Brodie. Happy birthday,’ said Reuben with a grin as he opened the door of Primrose Cottage.
‘Thanks.’ He handed the bag of clinking bottles to him.
‘There was no need to bring anything. It’s your birthday, but thanks, man. Come on outside.’
Brodie walked through the lounge and into the kitchen, distracted by Reuben who was talking about the latest Scottish football managerial sacking which was a common occurrence.
They were so absorbed in their conversation that he didn’t notice until it was too late that there was a small gathering in the garden.
‘Surprise! Happy birthday, Brodie,’ they chorused.
He was momentarily stunned as he flicked his gaze around the garden, decorated with fairly lights and colourful streamers.
He spotted Jessica, Lily, Gillian and Hamish.
Then his eyes settled on Flora. The moment she looked back at him, with that smile, everyone else seemed to vanish into the background.
He couldn’t believe she was actually here.
This was the icing on the cake of what had been a very good birthday.
‘Beer?’ Jessica handed him a bottle. ‘The barbeque is on and the food shouldn’t be long.’
‘Cheers,’ he said, clinking his drink against hers. As the rest of the group wished him a happy birthday, he tried to be as polite as he could. But he could see Flora was now standing on her own, holding a glass of wine, and he was desperate to cross the garden to get to her.
Flora looked over at him and smiled as he made his way towards her. ‘Happy birthday, Brodie.’
He couldn’t pull his eyes off her — she was wearing an olive-green sun dress highlighting her tan — as he gestured around the garden. ‘Did you know about this gathering then?’
‘Well, yes, but only this afternoon and I was sworn to secrecy.’ She shrugged apologetically then chuckled.
‘I’m really glad you came,’ he said, fighting the impulse to lean in and kiss her. But now wasn’t the time or the place, especially with everyone around. Will there ever be a time or place, Brodie? he asked himself. She’s only here for the summer.
‘Me too. You’ve got such great friends here. And it’s good to do something different for a change. And to see you out of your work gear—’ She stopped her words on a blush. ‘Um . . . obviously I don’t mean it like that.’
He smirked and raised an eyebrow.
‘Right, girls and boys,’ shouted Gillian. ‘Grub’s up. Come on over before Reuben turns any more sausages to ash.’
Brodie longed to stay with Flora in that spot, under the dappled light of the apple tree, where it felt like they were in their own little bubble.
Reluctantly he took a step back and looked towards the others.
Then moved towards her again before he chickened out.
‘Look, there is no pressure at all, Flora. But I just wondered . . .’ He felt as though he was a teenager again, stumbling over his words.
Was this really a good idea? Probably not.
Yet he couldn’t stop himself. ‘Do you fancy . . . if you’re not too busy . . . going for another drink sometime?’
Flora paused. ‘Oh,’ she exclaimed, sounding startled.
There was an awkward silence.
‘Look, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.’ He started fiddling with the label on his beer bottle.
Had he read the situation completely wrong?
Maybe she was into Emmet. He was stupid to even ask her.
Yet his stomach was flipping more than an Olympic gymnast as he nervously waited for her to say something else.
She looked directly at him, her eyes shining and she smiled. ‘I’d really like that.’
A rush of excitement surged through Brodie — he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding his breath as he waited for her to answer.
‘Come on, you two,’ shouted Hamish. ‘Otherwise Lily and Gillian will have left us nothing to eat. They’re like a pair of locusts.’
Brodie burst out laughing. ‘We’d better hurry then. Come on.’ He tried not to beam too widely as they made their way to the table on the patio. This was turning out to be the best birthday he could remember in a very long time.