Mallory burst out laughing at the attempt Sylvia had made to use modern vernacular. ‘My what?’ she spluttered, holding her stomach for fear of her sides splitting.
‘You know… they do it on theMTVprogrammes on the Sky, haven’t you seen them? Oh, you really should watch it, Mallory, dear. You need to stay abreast. Anyway, they all go around and look inside the grand homes of the rich and famous and see where the magic happens, darling. You should try to keep up with what’son trend, you know, young girl of your age.’ Sylvia didn’t crack a smile. She was unabashedly self-righteous in her explanation and subsequent dressing-down of her niece.
Mallory smirked. ‘Okay, Aunt Sylvia, I promise I’ll try harder. Come on in.’ They stepped inside the lounge which was still full of boxes.
Sylvia scanned the room almost with disdain. ‘Oh, it’s… um… compact… erm… delightful, darling, delightful. It’ll be nice when you get it all sorted and have been with your friends to that Swedish furniture place you youngsters can’t seem to avoid. Honestly it must be like walking into the same house over and over when you all visit one another.’ She looked to Mallory and her expression softened. ‘Sweetheart, you know you always have a home with me. Come back any time if you decide you don’t wish to be alone…here.’
Mallory saw a mixture of emotions behind her aunt’s grey eyes. Perhaps it wasshewho was concerned about loneliness; after all Uncle Harold had died three years previously and that manor house was so big.
She hugged her Aunt. ‘Come through, Aunty, and I’ll make tea. I have little china mugs that I got from that antique place in Marsden. You’ll love them!’
At the end of the visit, after she had waved off her aunt, Mallory found an envelope on the mantle. She opened it and inside was a card.
Wishing my dear Mallory a wonderful new life of independence, love Sylvia, P.S. don’t you dare eschew the enclosed gift. It is meant for you to invest as you see fit in order to make your new adventure a little more facile, much love.
Mallory rolled her eyes at her aunt’s formal tone. Sure enough, inside the card was a cheque with far too many zeros at the end for Mallory to fully comprehend right then.
*
April 2015
Back to her current moving day and with more than a little trepidation, Mallory said goodbye to her best friends who had arrived to move into the happy little house of memories.
She handed the house keys over to Brad who stood with his bulky arm around Josie. And the shop keys to the new manager who stood there, huddled into Brad’s side with watery eyes.
Brad flicked the keys up in the air and caught them. ‘You drive carefully, Mal. It might be snowing a blizzard up there. You never know with Scotland.’
Mallory smiled and hugged him. ‘I will. Enjoy moving in. I’m so happy you guys are taking the house on.’
Josie rushed forward and threw herself at Mallory. ‘I’m going to miss you so bloody much, you cowbag. I can’t believe you’re actually buggering off and leaving me.’ She coughed to try and stifle a sob. ‘Anyway, you can’t get shot of us, we’ll be up as soon as you’re settled, okay? And if you need anything…’ There was no need to say any more.
Mallory wiped at her eyes and glanced over to her car where Ruby sat peering out of the window. ‘I’ll get Ruby strapped in and then I’ll leave you to it. Long journey ahead. Sam might drop by before he sets off so tell him to get a move on.’
Josie sniffed and wiped her damp eyes on her sleeve. ‘Yeah we will. Now sod off will you. I’ve got tons to do. It’s moving day you know!’ She stuck her tongue out and Mallory laughed, knowing full well she was using humour to mask her sadness.
*
The little yellow car was stacked to the hilt and the engine was somewhat protesting at the extra weight. Ruby sat on the passenger seat, strapped in her doggy harness staring out the window whilst Mallory listened and sang along, emphatically, to the compilation CD of life-affirming tracks and love songs that Sam had presented her with the day before. Tears streamed down her face as she sang along to their song ‘Chasing Cars’. She missed him already even though she knew she was going to see him in a few hours’ time.
Just over an hour into the six-and-a-half-hour journey, Mallory gazed out of the window as she passed the large hotel at Scotch Corner. She smiled fondly as she remembered the first time she had been to Scotland for a hiking holiday with her parents when she was nine. She had been so very excited because they had reached this place and she’d presumed that they had arrived. She was very disappointed when she discovered the truth. Scotch Corner was nowhere near Scotland!What a silly place, she had thought sulkily.
Continuing her journey north Mallory glanced at the dashboard clock. She was expecting to arrive at the cottage around four o’clock, which was a long while away so she decided to make a brief stop further on at Annandale water services for Ruby to do what dogs do and to stretch her own legs. Whilst she was there she grabbed some chocolate and a bottle of water, from the shop and then they travelled on.
Glasgow was bustling by the time they were approaching the Erskine Bridge. The cosmopolitan city was bursting with life. People shopping; people dashing around in business suits, carrying briefcases in one hand, take-out coffee in the other; obvious tourists with their bags of souvenirs, silly tartan hats and ‘bumbags’.What is it about tourists and bumbags?Mallory mused. She chuckled to herself as she spotted an elderly couple gesturing wildly and fighting with a large, crinkled map that had, apparently, acquired a mind of its own and was flapping, kite-like, as they tried to tame it.
Further down the road, Mallory and Ruby had another brief sojourn at the well-known Green Welly Stop. It was always part of the journey whenever she and Sam came to Scotland. She felt like she was truly on holiday when they pulled into the car park and she glanced up at the cartoon green wellington boot with its smiley face.
Twenty minutes or so further on and they were past the Bridge of Orchy with its stunning hotel and out into Rannoch Moor. What Mallory could see of Rannoch Moor’s fifty square miles of boggy moorland and rocky outcrops was utterly breathtaking in its vastness and natural beauty; its muted colour pallet framed by the Black Mount in its severe, snow-capped splendour, reaching towards Glen Coe in the distance. Mallory’s heart leapt.
Almost eight hours after leaving her old life behind, she had collected the keys from the solicitors and had finally pulled up outside Sealladh-mara Cottage. It felt good to be here, but she really wished that Sam and she had made the journey in tandem as originally planned.
The slower moving, heavily laden removals van was going to be another hour or more and so she decided to open the front door into their new haven. The door was stuck, so she had to push it hard, with her shoulder. Once inside she found that the cottage was just how she had remembered it from their visit a few months earlier. It was clean and dry with mainly whitewashed walls.A blank canvas,Mallory thought to herself. She let Ruby out into the back garden to explore and watched for a few minutes as the little dog ran around, picking up new smell after new smell; her little stubby tail wagging frantically.
Mallory busied herself unpacking the few essential items she had prepared for their arrival. She plugged in the kettle and took out the mismatched china mugs in readiness. She made herself a quick cup of tea and went to stand in the front garden to admire the view. Just up the road was the beautiful little stone bridge she had fond feelings for. She remembered her first visit here, when Sam had regaled her with his knowledge of the locale.
‘This is the Clachan Bridge but it’s known as the Bridge over the Atlantic,’ Sam had informed her as they stood huddled together at the midpoint of the pretty little arched stone structure, admiring the view and watching the sun dance upon the water.
‘What? It can’t be! A bridge can’t span an ocean!’ Mallory had been totally befuddled by the fact.
