Page 14 of Purple Scales & Coffee Tales

Maeve: I finally got around to setting up my new phone and decided you deserve the first message

Maeve: Thank you again! I really love it.

His reply followed promptly.

Taran: I’m glad you do!

Taran: They told me it’s the best smartphone on the market.

Maeve: It sure is! It feels so high-end.

Maeve: What are you up to today?

Taran: I am on a walk around the loch. What about you?

Maeve: Oh that sounds lovely (as long as it’s not raining). Can I see?

Maeve: I’m on my way to visit my parents.

Taran sent a picture of a dramatic Highland loch with a gorgeous castle on the far left.

Taran: I hope you’re not driving!

Maeve: Nope, I don’t have a car. I always take the train, it’s not too bad.

I snapped a quick photo from the window and uploaded it in our chat.

Taran: Oh yes, that doesn’t look too bad.

Maeve: Doesn’t beat a Helix and a driver lol

Taran: Next time you can tell me and I’ll have Stuart take you to your family.

Maeve: I appreciate it but I don’t think that’s a good idea. My parents would have heart attacks.

Taran: Why?

Maeve: I come from a working-class family. People like us don’t have drivers.

Taran: Well, you should. I’m sure your family would need Stuart way more than I do.

Maeve: Running errands would have been a lot easier when I was a kid.

He went on, asking me about how I’d grown up and sharing stories from his own childhood. My siblings and I hadn’t had it easy but for no castle in the world would I have wanted to swap with Taran. There was nothing wrong about growing up with a single parent, but having that single parent leave when you were thirteen, and being raised by your driver?

Ugh, poor baby.

Maeve: I’m off to lunch now. I’ll text you later!

Taran: Enjoy the time with your family,

Maeve: Thanks!

I exited out of the conversation and walked a few minutes from the station to my parents’ flat through a steady drizzle.

“Hen!” my dad greeted me when he opened the door. Tiny and balding, he looked the same as ever.

“Hi, Dad.” I pressed a kiss on his head, took off my shoes, and went to wash my hands.

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