Chapter 42
42
C ally stood in front of her wardrobe, feeling a bit perplexed. The Scotland trip had come as a nice surprise, but now it was upon her she found herself facing an unexpected dilemma: packing for a winter getaway in the Scottish Highlands. Not that she was complaining, of course. She was ready to grab it by the neck and enjoy every little bit of it.
She pulled out a thick jumper, held it up against herself, and then threw it onto a growing pile on her bed. It joined an assortment of thermal underwear, thick socks, and what she hoped were sufficiently warm jeans. The whole lot looked woefully inadequate for the icy temperatures Google had told her awaited her in Scotland at the time of year.
On hearing who she assumed was Eloise on the stairs up to the flat, then a knock on the door, she scooted out of the bedroom, across the sitting room, opened the door, and hugged Eloise.
'Hiya!’ Eloise beamed and held her hands in the air.
‘Hey. How are you?’
‘Good.’
‘You look good.’
Eloise blew a stream of air out of her lips. ‘Phew, those stairs! Killers! Thanks. I’m looking forward to tonight. It feels like ages since we’ve caught up.’
‘I know. It is ages. Drink?’
Eloise slipped her shoes off and hung her jacket by the door. ‘A bottle of wine or two will suit me unless you’ve made blackcurrant cocktails. If so, I’ll have six…’
Cally looked alarmed.
‘Jokes. I’ve had a busy week. I’ve been looking forward to this sleepover. I need friend therapy.’
‘Same. I’ve had a gutful of a week. Right, glass of wine coming right up.’
Eloise followed Cally into the kitchen. ‘What’s happened on the flat front?’
‘Nothing. I went to look at one recently but it was on the ground floor.’
‘Right.’
‘I want some sort of a view.’
‘I see. Makes sense.’ Eloise agreed.
‘The estate agent said it might be best to leave it until the new year.’
‘Hmm.’ Eloise wrinkled her nose. ‘I guess it’s a funny time of year with Christmas on the way.’
‘Precisely. She said there’s nothing coming on for the foreseeable. I think I’m going to park it, have a nice break, enjoy Christmas and then see what’s what in the new year.’
‘Good idea. Get to Scotland without any worries. I can’t believe we’ll be on our way soon.’
‘Indeed.’
‘Looking forward to it?’
‘I am, actually. The pictures look amazing. I don’t want to do much apart from relaxing, and you get lots of that up there. It’s stunning, Els. You’re going to love it.’
Eloise clapped her hands together. ‘It’s so exciting. I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland but never got around to it.’
Cally pondered as she took a packet of crisps out of the cupboard, pulled open the top, and shook its contents into a bowl. The trip had been planned very quickly. Logan had been surprisingly enthusiastic about it all, insisting on inviting not just Cally but Eloise, Nina, and Birdie as well. He'd even mentioned that some of his family would join them. It was all very exciting, but there was something odd about it too. Something in the way Logan had been acting since he'd brought up the idea. Little things, like hushed phone conversations that ended abruptly when she’d entered the room or the way he'd sometimes got a faraway look in his eyes as if he was planning something more than he was telling her. She had a horrible feeling that it was going to encompass some sort of a wake.
'Earth to Cally,' Eloise's voice broke into her thoughts.
Cally shook her head. 'Sorry, just thinking about the trip. Don't you think it's a bit, I don’t know what the word is… strange?'
Eloise raised an eyebrow. 'Strange? No, how?'
'I don't know,' Cally admitted. 'It's just that Logan's been acting a bit off lately. Secretive, almost. And this whole trip seems to have come out of nowhere. I don’t know; I just hope this is not something that is a homage to Alastair.' Cally swore. ‘That sounds mean, doesn’t it?’
A flicker of something – surprise? worry? – crossed Eloise's face. It was gone so quickly that Cally thought she must have imagined it. Eloise shook her head in quick little jerky movements and blinked. 'I'm sure it's nothing.’ Eloise batted her hand. ‘Nah. A homage? Nope. Not at all.’
‘I hope not.’
‘He probably just wants to do something nice for you. You've both been through a lot this year, what with, well, you know and you’ve started a new job...'
Cally nodded. It had been ages, but the loss was still raw for Logan. Maybe that was all it was – Logan's way of trying to end the year on a positive note. 'It's probably nothing. Do you think Logan might be planning something? For this trip, I mean. I really hope not. I’ve had a gutful of it if I’m honest.'
Eloise coughed and swallowed. It didn’t go unnoticed by Cally. 'What was that? You know something, don't you? You need to tell me if it’s some sort of wake. I’m not up for that.'
Eloise scrunched up her face. ‘No! I don't know anything. I’m as in the dark as you are. If Logan's planning something, he hasn't told me about it. I don’t think he would do that.'
Cally narrowed her eyes, not entirely convinced. ‘You would tell me, wouldn’t you?’
‘Of course! It’s just a trip to the snow, Cal. Nothing more, nothing less. You’re overthinking.’
As they sipped their wine, the talk turned to whether they'd see the Northern Lights, snow-capped mountains, and cosy log fires. Cally tried to put her worries about Logan and his grief behind her. Whatever happened in Scotland, she had a feeling it was going to be something to remember. The problem was she just wasn’t sure that the memories were going to be good ones. She’d have to wait and see.