Chapter 18
18
A s per usual with Cally’s body clock she’d woken very early and it was chilly. Not freezing wrap-yourself-head-to-toe-in-a-duvet chilly but Logan’s-jumper-over-your-pjs chilly. Unlike the other mornings when Cally had woken up before Logan and crept downstairs in just her pyjamas, this morning, because she’d been prepared the night before, Cally had laid out one of Logan’s jumpers to deal with the cold.
After tiptoeing down the creaky old stairs, she flicked the kettle on and stood looking at the mist hanging over the beautiful old conservatory adjacent to the garden. Then, after putting the jumper on over her pyjamas and with a mug of tea in her hands, she opened the back door, stood for a bit watching the mist and padded down the path in the direction of the conservatory. Morag had told her to pop in at any time, and with the foggy morning casting the whole garden in a sort of ethereal shroud, she was feeling its pull. In her slippers, she trudged along the path with the morning air nipping at her exposed skin. Despite the warmth of Logan's Fairisle jumper, she shivered as goosebumps rose on her arms. She clutched her steaming mug of tea close to her chest, felt the heat in her palms, and took in the mist hanging low over the landscape.
As she approached the conservatory, it seemed to emerge from the fog as if materialising from a dream. Pausing at the door, she inhaled deeply and took in the heavy-with-moisture air and scent of early morning dew. Somewhere in the distance, a bird called out and little droplets of condensation clung to the window panes, glistening drops catching the light and sparkling like diamonds all around her. A sudden rustle in the nearby bushes made Cally turn and look over to her right. Expecting to see another deer, she strained her ears as the sound came again and a rabbit emerged from the undergrowth. It froze as it spotted Cally and looked at her as if to ask her who she thought she was to be out so early. Its ears twitched, and as quickly as it had arrived, it darted away, disappearing into the mist. Deer, rabbits, eagles, she’d seen them all.
A few seconds later, Cally strolled through to the end of the conservatory, and sat precisely in the little spot Morag had told her about. Not quite Marbella. Much better. Sitting lost in thought with her tea, she pondered about how the Scottish estate had surprised her and how much she liked it. Her mind wandered to her thoughts the night before and all the conversation about Alastair and Octavia taking off for a year to travel the world. She imagined what it would be like to go off into the sunset without a plan to follow with no real destination in mind. How strange it would be to her to have a no-plan plan.
The more she thought about it the more she didn’t like the idea at all. She thought about how excited Alastair’s face had been when it had lit up at the prospect of trotting off on an adventure without a plan. She realised, as she stared at the leaf of a philodendron, that she didn’t want that at all. What she wanted, in fact, was probably the opposite: a comfy blanket of stability and familiarity that would allow the rest of her to thrive. What she truly needed was to feel safe, to settle down and to build a life in Lovely, to further put her feet under the table of the community that had welcomed her. In fact, the thought of gallivanting here, there, and everywhere didn’t really fill her with glee at all. In a funny sort of way it was the stay in the cottage in Scotland that had shown her that. For sure she wouldn’t mind a trip to New York one day, ditto any other major city in the world. A nice little Greek island wouldn’t go amiss, an Italian beach, perhaps a road trip across the USA. But really, what she wanted was to feel secure. She’d be quite happy living in Lovely Bay and getting on a train once a year to take her to the other end of the country to stay on the estate and spend a few weeks in a wax coat tramping around the countryside in wellies.
As she sipped her tea and pondered, Cally got lost in a world of her own as a drip of condensation from the leaves of a few exotic-looking plants plopped onto the ground beside her. Gorgeous early morning light filtered through the glass panes, and a few dappled shadows danced here and there on the tiled floor around her chair. A thick, earthy, damp soil smell filled the air, and a quiet so dense it was almost hypnotic surrounded her thoughts.
Thinking about what had happened the night before and how it had cemented her thoughts on what she wanted in life, she pondered being offered the promotion. The more she thought about it the more she realised that it was exactly what she wanted; it had just taken her a while to realise it. Just as she didn’t need to be scooting around the world on a jet plane, the same was true for what she did for a job. She didn’t need a power suit and a big career. She would be quite happy doing her thing with Birdie, in fact, it suited her down to the ground. The weekend at the estate had somehow shown her that as clear as day. She nodded and made up her mind. She would message Birdie that she would love to take the job. Sorted.
Just as she was thinking about going back into the cottage to make a hot blackcurrant and have a little read in the sitting room, a crunch of gravel outside the conservatory caught her attention. Leaning on a potting table she craned her neck to see one of the old Land Rovers pulling up outside the conservatory. She leaned out further to see a figure approaching through the thinning morning mist and realised it was Morag, the estate's head gardener. She was bundled up against the early chill in a thick jumper under dungarees, a green estate cap pulled low over her ears.
Cally looked down at the state of herself; old pyjamas with Logan’s jumper over the top, slippers and bed hair. Not the best look. She tugged self-consciously at the hem of the jumper as she stood up when Morag entered the conservatory.
Morag beamed, her breath fogging in the cool air. 'Oh, hiya! I didn’t expect to see anyone up and about after last night. You're up with the lark today.'
Cally smiled. 'Morning. Yes, I'm a bit of an early riser.'
Morag's eyebrows rose in surprise. 'Really? Not many of the lot that come up from down south can drag themselves out of bed at this hour.'
Cally chuckled. 'Force of habit, I'm afraid. My body clock's set to getting up for work these days.'
'Ah, that's right. You mentioned you work in a chemist. Must keep you busy.'
'It does, but that’s not what I get up early for. I do some online work too, for a retail chatbot. It means early mornings or late nights. Usually mornings. I do the super early shifts to get it done and dusted.'
Morag whistled. 'Right, so you're up with the birds. You have two jobs do you? You must be busy.'
Cally chuckled and rolled her eyes. ‘Actually, I have three.’
‘Ah, well, no rest for the wicked, I always say. Better to be doing things.’ Morag tapped the side of her head. ‘No use in keeping this idle as far as I’m concerned. Asking for trouble if I sit around doing nothing but that’s just me. This place sorts out my mental health.’
‘I know, right? It’s good to be busy.’
‘Mmm. As long as you get the balance right. Anyway, how did it go last night over at the main house there? Fun evening, was it?’
‘Really good, actually. The food was fantastic. Yes, I had a nice evening.’
‘Excellent. I hear there was a bit of an announcement.’
Cally smiled. ‘News travels fast up here.’
‘That it does. There aren’t many of us so we gossip, ha! Alastair is off on his travels, then?’
‘Yes.’
‘Alright for some. How about that then? A year off globe-trotting…’
‘I know. Have you ever travelled much? Outside of Scotland, I mean.'
Morag straightened up. 'Can't say that I have. Since I’ve been up here, I’ve more or less stayed put. Can’t be bothered with trekking all over the place when I’ve got what I want right here on my doorstep. You know? I mean, what’s the point? I’ve been to London once or twice for gardening shows. I took a wee trip to the London Flower Show a few years back and that wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But other than that, I've stayed pretty close to home. Yeah, it sounds a bit boring, but there you go. I’m not trying to impress anyone.'
'And you're happy with that?' Cally asked.
'Aye, that I am. As I said, I don't see much need for gallivanting about when I've got all this beauty right here.' Morag gestured around the conservatory and beyond to the mist outside. ‘I don’t really want anything much these days either.’
‘I hear you.’
‘Yeah, it’s not for everyone living here, but it works for me. I’ve never really understood the need to travel to far off lands. It’s a thing though, for sure. I mean, who doesn’t want a week in the sun every now and then, but going off for a year and that whole van life thing? Nah, not for me, thank you. Van life? Pah!’
‘I haven’t quite had the opportunity.’
Morag chuckled. ‘Ach, I don’t reckon it’s all it’s cracked up to be. Some folks, like young Alastair, need to roam a bit to find themselves. Others don’t need any of that. They find themselves by putting down roots. At least, that’s what happened to me.'
Cally nodded. 'That's it exactly. I've spent so much of my life feeling unsettled. Now that I've found a place in Lovely Bay, the thought of leaving it behind just doesn't feel right to me. Does that sound a bit bonkers?'
'Not at all. There's something to be said for knowing where you belong. For building a life somewhere, becoming part of a community.' Morag winked. ‘Ask me how I know. I won’t be leaving this place anytime soon.’
'Mmm, interesting. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Paris or somewhere like that someday.’ Cally wrinkled her nose up. ‘But the idea of constantly moving and never settling. I don’t know, it's just not for me.'
Morag’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled. 'Sounds to me like you've got your head screwed on right, lass. There's no shame in wanting to build a life in one place. And who says you can't have both? A home to come back to, and the occasional adventure to broaden your horizons. If you ask me, that's the way to do it.'
‘You're right. That's exactly what I want. A home in Lovely Bay, with maybe a trip here to Scotland now and then, and the odd holiday abroad. That would suit me well enough.’
Morag nodded. 'You can do a lot worse, I do believe. Half the problem in life is finding out what you actually want.’ Morag swept her hand around the conservatory. ‘Messing about in here all day with plants works for me.’
Cally nodded as she picked up her mug from the table and little dust motes danced in the air as Morag started to fuss with a plant. She didn’t need to gallivant all over the show, nor did she want to. She did want to throw herself into finding her own little flat and accepting the promotion at work. Yes, that was what she wanted. Her heart was set on cultivating her own little corner of Lovely. That was an adventure in itself. Too easy. What she didn’t know was that in her little corner, there were still a few more surprises for our Cally to come.