‘Oh, what a lovely wee family,’ an elderly lady’s voice said.
Caitlin opened her eyes and shielded them from the sun to see the grey-haired woman smiling down at her.
‘I’m just having a wee walk to see the dinosaur footprints. I bet your wee girls would like to see them if they haven’t already. Sorry for interrupting, I just felt I had to say it’s so nice to see you all together and having fun when so many families are broken apart these days.’
Caitlin smiled. ‘Thank you.’ She didn’t bother to correct her and say that what she was actually witnessing was the blending of two single-parent families, and unusual ones at that.
Once the lady had walked further up the beach, Archie sat up. ‘Did you know her?’
Caitlin shook her head. ‘Never seen her before in my life.’
‘Hmm. She had a point though, didn’t she?’ Archie said as he propped himself on his elbows. ‘We do look like a family.’
Caitlin smiled. ‘I suppose we do from the outside looking in.’
He sidled closer to her. ‘I think we do from the inside too. Sophie clearly thinks of us that way. You heard what she said when we went for fish and chips. And the way she hugged your legs earlier.’
Caitlin fell silent for a moment letting his words sink in.
‘Shit, I didn’t mean… Don’t worry, I’m not going to do a Lyle or anything like that.’ She felt a little sad on hearing his comment. And as if he read her mind he frowned. ‘Unless… you want me to do a Lyle?’
She snickered. ‘Can we maybe not call it doing a Lyle and it may be easier to think about?’
He sat upright, his eyes wide. He ran his hands back, roughly, through his shaggy hair; hair that she loved to tangle her fingers in. ‘Caitlin… are you… are you saying you’d think about it?’
She tilted her head. ‘Think about what exactly?’
He swallowed hard. ‘About… about us becoming a family… properly.’
Her heart leapt. Was he hinting at a proposal? Was it crazy that she was hoping he was? She shook her head, feeling a little light-headed suddenly. ‘I don’t… I mean… what would that entail… exactly?’
He fixed her with an intense gaze. ‘You, me, Grace, Sophie, Cleo and Bowie… all living in one house… maybe there’d be a band on each of our ring fingers…’ As if thinking he’d said too much again, he added, ‘Some day of course… I mean, I don’t want to rush you. I totally understand how crazy this must sound, and I’m not expecting you to be on the same page as me. But is there a possibility that you might be, some day?’
So, he was on that page? Caitlin’s heart pounded at her ribs and butterflies took flight inside her. She gave a wry smile. ‘You’d have to ask me to find out.’
A handsome grin spread across Archie’s face, and she waited for the words to come. But, on that occasion, and much to her disappointment, they didn’t.
30
The next two weeks seemed to fly by, and now they were heading towards the end of August, Caitlin wondered if Archie had changed his mind about their conversation at the beach. No proposal had materialised, but she couldn’t really be disappointed, considering their relationship was still in the very early stages. It just felt like they had always been together. Perhaps he had been joking? Perhaps it had been a question he had hinted at to see how the land lay for future reference? Whatever it was, she had put things to the back shelves of her mind… well, she had tried to, at least.
Grace was back to school and Sophie had started her new school too. Archie confided in Caitlin that he was worried about her settling in, but after the first day, she’d asked if she could go back again. They took that as a good sign. Their time had been split between their two houses and they had settled into an easy routine. Not that it was boring, not in any way. Archie was such good fun and when it came to night-time… let’s just say Caitlin was enjoying being a more nocturnal creature these days.
Friday night had been fun, and it started early with them watching the firstCaptain Americamovie, with some parts skipped in case they terrified Sophie. But the little girl had been mesmerised when a short and skinny Steve Rogers had become Captain America and had asked if it was just the big machine that had caused it.
‘No, no, Soph, he ate his veggies too. It was the veggies that made him big and strong!’ It was a ploy, seeing as they had been struggling to get the child to eat anything green. It worked though.
On Saturday morning as Caitlin prepared a picnic to take on their trip, Sophie asked, ‘Cakelin, could we have some cumber and letters on our samiches?’ Of course, she meant cucumber and lettuce, but with a shared triumphant gaze, Archie and Caitlin agreed wholeheartedly.
Isla was working in the bakery, so they had made plans to take the girls and the dogs to the Fairy Pools. AfterCaptain America, they had watchedTinkerbelland Archie had told Sophie a story about the vibrant blue waters of the little pools at Glen Brittle at the foot of the Black Cuillins, and how it would be the perfect location for Tink to live. He had promised he would take them someday soon, but of course Sophie and Grace had convinced him that Saturday would be a good day to go, although it hadn’t taken much convincing. Once the picnic was ready – their favourite way to dine – they had set off nice and early to beat the rush of tourists, considering it was such a glorious day.
The view from the path that led down and away from the car park was truly spectacular. It was a bright day and visibility was incredibly clear. The sky was a vivid cornflower-blue and the mountains that provided the stunning backdrop to Glen Brittle were haloed by the golden glow of the sun. The light of which picked out each indentation and striation of the rock face, like lines on an elderly person, telling their life story. It was clear why so many cinematographers chose Skye for their movies, as the rugged peaks of Bruach na Frìthe and Am Basteir really were otherworldly. The path that wound its way from the car park went on for what felt like miles, but the views at the end were worth it.
The waters were a vibrant turquoise and, of course, the girls were mesmerised by the magical location. They took off their shoes and socks and dangled their feet in the freezing-cold pools and explored the many waterfalls, not really caring about getting soaked in the scorching temperatures of the day. Even Bowie and Cleo paddled to cool off. People of many nationalities were visiting, and each wore a smile inspired by the enchanting place.
It was well before lunch when they sat and ate sandwiches just off the path and admired the view of the Black Cuillins. But the girls were apparently starving after their early start and the one-hundred-mile walk – Sophie, it was decided, liked to exaggerate.
‘This is one of my favourite places in the world,’ Archie told Caitlin as the girls chatted happily, allowing their bare feet to dry in the sunshine. The two dogs were panting and lay on the soft, green mossy ground beside their humans. ‘It’s one of those places that takes your breath away regardless of the weather.’
