‘Aye, whisky if you’ve got it.’
‘I’ve got Drambuie, is that any good?’
He nodded.
‘Right, go through to the lounge and I’ll bring it in.’ She dashed to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and the bottle of amber liquid from the cupboard, then made her way back to where Archie had slumped onto the sofa. She poured him a glass and handed it over.
‘Thanks, Caitlin. I really appreciate this,’ he told her in a quiet voice, his eyes staring as if in a zombified trance.
She regarded the usually jovial man who now looked broken. His unruly, naturally wavy hair was more dishevelled than normal, and his eyes were ringed with red. ‘You don’t need to thank me; I haven’t done anything yet.’ She smiled trying to lighten the mood. When it didn’t work, she said, ‘Come on, what’s happened?’ She sat beside him and fixed her gaze on his pale features.
He huffed out the air from his lungs and continued to stare ahead. ‘I don’t know where to start,’ he said with a hint of incredulity in his voice.
‘The beginning is a good place,’ she suggested softly.
‘Aye… aye… the beginning.’ He lifted his chin, suddenly a little more lucid. ‘Am I keeping you from anything? Are you meant to be with Lyle?’ His mention of the man confirmed that whatever it was, Lyle couldn’t be involved.
She smiled warmly. ‘No, you’re keeping me from nothing at all. Grace is in bed. Go ahead, how can I help?’
He cleared his throat and took a large gulp of his drink. ‘Right… so the beginning. It starts way back when I met two friends at university in Glasgow. Kris and Jackie. Great people. We became really close. Did everything together, in fact. We were the Three Stooges, the Three Musketeers. Always together and always laughing. Towards the end of our degree courses, they fell in love and got married. I was their best man, and it was such an honour.’ He smiled wistfully. ‘But then life took over. I didn’t know what to do with myself, couldn’t find work in IT as it was quite competitive, so I came back home. Started working in the outdoor shop for my uncle and time ran away with me. Kris and Jackie went back to Edinburgh to live and start their married life together and we kind of lost touch, as you do when you leave uni, you know?’
Caitlin had chosen catering college over university, but she too had lost touch with most of the friends she had met there, so she could understand what he was saying. ‘That’s just life really. No one’s fault.’
‘Aye, you’re right. But then… around six or so years ago they made contact with me again. It was completely out of the blue. I was surprised to hear from them, but don’t get me wrong, it was a nice surprise. So, I went over to Inverness to meet with them for drinks. It was great to catch up and reminisce. But then… what they asked of me was huge…’
Caitlin was confused. ‘What they asked of you?’
He took another gulp of his drink; his hand shook as he placed the glass on the coffee table. ‘They wanted to have a baby, but… well, there was the obvious issue.’
Even more perturbed by his cryptic tale and where it was going, Caitlin shook her head. ‘Obvious issue? What obvious issue? Have I missed something?’
He scowled then briefly closed his eyes. ‘Shit… I forgot to mention they were both women. I should have made that clear, eh?’ He gave a light laugh that tugged at his lips for only a split second. ‘Kris is Kristine König, she was German, and Jackie is Jaqueline Fraser.’
‘Ah, now it makes sense. Go on.’
‘So, they wanted to know if I would… you know… donate my sperm. They needed someone they trusted. Someone they knew. They knew I’d always been clean. I’ve never smoked, never done drugs. I kept reasonably fit back then. But it was huge, you know? Emotionally, I mean. I’d always imagined if I was going to be a dad someday that I’d actuallybea dad. Do you see what I mean?’
Caitlin nodded, intrigued. ‘Of course.’
‘So, I asked for some time. I couldn’t just agree to it, not without giving it some serious thought, so I asked for a few months. I know it seems selfish of me but—’
‘It certainly doesn’t. It seems like a very reasonable request to me,’ Caitlin insisted.
Archie smiled, this time it reached his eyes. ‘Thank you, Caitlin.’
He had such a handsome smile, she realised. She shook her head; this was not the time to notice such things. ‘Sorry, I keep interrupting. Go on.’
‘So, I took around three months to think about it and I did some soul-searching. I went back and forth so much. Could I know there was a part of me in the world but not be involved? Could I stand by and watch two people I’m not related to bring up what would, to all intents and purposes, be my flesh and blood? I changed my mind so many times but didn’t really have anyone to talk to who could advise me. Anyway, eventually I agreed.’
Caitlin huffed and widened her eyes. ‘Wow. Now I understand why you came to me.’
His smile was tinged with sadness this time. ‘I couldn’t think of anyone who would understand like you,’ he said, his voice breaking and his eyes glistening.
Caitlin remained silent and gave him the time he clearly needed. After a few quiet moments he continued.
‘So anyway, I met with them again and told them the news. They were so happy that I knew I’d made the right choice. I could imagine them with a little one running around the place. I suppose the strange thing was that I knew they would possibly look like me, but they would never know who I was. Not in the real sense.’
He cleared his throat again, whatever he was about to impart was evidently affecting him deeply.
