Meet cute madness #2
The moment the piercing call of the bagpipes rang out, all conversation fell silent, and Shona had the full attention of her guests.
“Is the auction starting already?” called a fidgety reporter, trying to balance his precariously full plate while positioning his camera.
“No, don’t worry,” Shona spoke into the microphone.
“The auction won’t start for another two hours.
But I want to bring forward another highlight because it involves my sister Isla, and she will have to head off soon.
I learnt all about how to make great whisky when I trained with Gibbs, and of course I also know how to make a decent gin.
But decent isn’t good enough for what I want to do here.
That’s why I asked Isla for help. For those who don’t know, Isla is a Michelin-starred chef and knows more about natural flavours than almost anyone else.
Thanks to her, our Alpaca Thistle is not just a decent gin, but a phenomenal one.
You won’t find anything like it on the market. ”
“Thank you,” Isla took over when all the applause and cheers had died down.
“Picture the scene: my baby sister put the bug of creating a thistle gin in my ear mere weeks ago. As you may know, the thistle is not only the national flower of Scotland but also features in the names of my restaurant and our brother’s eco-lodge.
Shona said verbatim that she wants a gin ‘that tastes fantastic and reminds people of the beauty of thistles’.
Easy, right! The beauty of thistles … What on earth does the beauty of thistles taste like?
I’ve actually eaten my fair share, but I can’t say I’d recommend the taste for a drink.
Anyway … long story short, I experimented and tested and experimented and tested and eventually I came up with a recipe.
Shona assures me our gin conjures thistles, heather and Highland mist. How that tastes ... ” She stopped and looked at Shona.
“You can find out right now. The gin bar is open!” called Shona, hugging her older sister and smiling as they posed for the cameras as the crowd made its way towards the bar.
“I would say this day has been a complete success,” Isla said good-naturedly and shook her head as she pointed at the mobile bar, run by three of Jon’s handsome bartenders who were handing out gin and tonics to the guests. “Give it two hours and they’ll all be wasted.”
“Nah, it won’t be that bad, but a bit of a buzz before the auction can’t hurt. I can’t wait to see how much people are willing to bid!”
“Hopefully a pretty sum for those charity barrels,” Isla surmised and checked the time again. “Sis, I really better get going. I can’t leave Tom and Grace to do all the prep without me. Especially not after I dashed out on them right after we served the mains at lunchtime.”
“I’m sure they’re managing just fine. But I get it: it’s your restaurant and all. Thanks for being so generous with your time today.” Shona gave her sister a peck on the cheek.
“Always happy to support my favourite sister,” Isla replied and jumped off the stage. “Have fun!”
What a beautiful summer day, thought Kendrick McIntosh and regretted that he was driving a van when it was clearly convertible weather.
Driving a car with the top down would be the dream right now!
Just imagine cruising the Highlands in a little vintage MG ...
He scoffed at the thought. How often was the weather in Scotland nice enough to justify having a convertible, and a classic car at that?
Besides, the local farmers would hardly take him seriously if he showed up in one of those!
No, clearly not an option, more’s the pity.
Instead he had made the sensible choice and bought a one-year-old Sprinter.
Now that he had converted it into a mobile veterinary practice, he had all the equipment he needed on hand at all times and could carry out procedures right where his patients were, sparing their owners a trip to the veterinary hospital.
Kendrick was looking forward to this new chapter – and to having his own place in Kirkby.
He had practised in and around the Highland village on the west bank of Loch Ness for almost five years.
But up to now, he had always driven up from Inverness to look after animals, which frequently involved annoying nighttime trips back and forth, especially in spring during lambing, calving and foaling season.
Occasionally, he wouldn’t even get there on time.
How often had farmers complained to him and his sisters that they wished they had a vet nearby?
For him, it had been once too often. Of course, he had enjoyed working at the veterinary hospital he ran with his parents and three sisters in Inverness.
Thanks to some hefty investments in state-of-the-art equipment, their operation was almost on par with the university’s veterinary department in Edinburgh.
His sister Finola specialised in eye issues and was considered the top veterinary ophthalmologist in the country.
He himself was more of a generalist who enjoyed treating all animals and diseases equally, but in recent years he had focused mainly on horses and farm animals.
This division of labour had come about rather naturally because his sisters felt less comfortable driving to lonely Highland farms at all times of night, and he wasn’t going to complain.
He enjoyed the peace and quiet of the countryside and working by himself.
When a few weeks ago, Collum McDonald, the mayor of Kirkby, had asked him if he would consider relocating permanently – with the offer of a nice, affordable cottage on the outskirts of town to sweeten the deal – he hadn’t thought twice about it.
Previously owned by an elderly couple who were moving ‘down south’ to be close to their grandchildren, the house was in immaculate condition and had a beautiful garden as well as a large annex which had served as a garage for the old gentleman’s three classic cars.
Kendrick was planning to remodel it as a small vet clinic if he got round to it in the winter – and had replenished his savings by then.
Right now, having purchased a house and converted the van, his budget was exhausted.
But he was sure things would work themselves out.
Only five more miles to go! Excitement and nerves got the better of him as he approached his new home. What would it be like to live by himself for the very first time?
He rolled his eyes. That sounded ridiculous!
At thirty-two, he should have had his own place before, shouldn’t he?
But the fact was that he had always lived with at least one of his family members.
Even at university, he had shared a flat with three fellow students, among them his twin sister Kyleen.
The McIntosh’s veterinary hospital on the eastern outskirts of Inverness was right next door to his parents’ home, and in recent years he had lived in a flat above the surgery wing with his girlfriend Glenna, who – naturally – was also a vet and led their surgery.
Ex-girlfriend, he corrected himself. Glenna and Kendrick had started dating in their first term at university, and he still loved her – but no longer like a romantic partner and more like another sister.
She felt the same way about him and probably had for a few years.
It had been painful to admit to one other that, while they were still good friends and colleagues, that was it.
Even worse was the moment three months ago when Glenna had told him that she had fallen in love with Davina, their veterinary cardiologist – and his older sister.
That still got to him. In a relationship of ten years, shouldn’t he have realised that his girlfriend was interested in women?
Shouldn’t Glenna herself have realised it? And what did it say about him as a man?
No, he was not going to head down that rabbit hole again.
He was about to start a new chapter in his life – far enough away from the veritable matriarchy the veterinary hospital had become.
Usually, it was only nurseries and primary schools that could boast a female staff share of eighty-five percent.
And while he certainly hadn’t minded working with lots of women, at this point in his life, it sounded rather tempting to carve out a new existence as a lone wolf in the wild.
Maybe he would get a dog to keep him company.
Silent company. Aye, that sounded like a good plan!
He smiled happily as he drove at a leisurely pace towards Kirkby.
To the right of the road stretched the paddocks of Rupert Fraser’s stables, and Kendrick saw some of the older man’s magnificent Clydesdales grazing contentedly.
A little later, he passed the turnoff to the Frasers’ resort hotel and restaurant.
A few sheep populated the meadows, as if placed there to make the view particularly quaint.
All patients of his, but apparently in good health at the moment.
The village square looked deserted, which didn’t surprise him given it was a Sunday afternoon.
Then again, even the pub was empty … and that was certainly odd.
Through the open car window, he heard music from somewhere and immediately felt the urge to start tapping his toes.
Besides his job, his greatest and potentially only passion was dancing.
He likely had his sisters to thank for that; they had dragged him along to their Highland dance classes when he was a child.
Should he stop and check out where the music was coming from?
He dimly remembered Collum mentioning a distillery opening, but he couldn’t remember the date – or the place for that matter.
Probably somewhere near the Old School, the local community centre, because the sound of bagpipes was getting louder as he approached.