Page 25 of A Summer of New Beginnings
13
The second night’s sleep was fitful to say the least. Clearly her first-day exhaustion had helped lull her off the night before but that wasn’t the case this time. She tossed and turned and almost tied herself in knots in the sleeping bag. She even dreamed that someone had stolen Silver Dickhead. Of course they hadn’t, much to her dismay.
After breakfast Zara was back on the road again prettyquick. Her porridge had been surprisingly palatable and she hoped it would give her the energy she needed for the morning’s route. The first stop on the seventy-five mile trip was to be Gairloch – a place she had read about and was keen to explore. Rumour had it, Gairloch was where rock star Nick Dacre from Sonic Idols had escaped to live incognito during the band’s hiatus. She wondered if shemight pass him on the street in some terrible disguise like a false nose and glasses. She loved Nick Dacre but scouring the people she passed was fruitless. Obviously his disguises were much better than she gave him credit for.
The day was a little cooler and there was a mist hanging over towards the coastline, but her view of Loch Maree was uninterrupted. A flat road that meant less abuse forSilver Dickhead was bordered on either side by a rugged mountain backdrop and a pallet of colours that ranged from grey to purple to green and brown. A bank of Christmas trees lined the road as she travelled further and she wondered if anyone had ever been tempted to come along at night and decorate them for a giggle. It was the kind of thing Marco and Shelley would do. She wondered what they weredoing and if Marco had rearranged her furniture whilst she’d been away. Admittedly it had only been a few days, but she knew what he was capable of.
She pulled over and fired off a text.
Hey you guys. Have I mentioned how I am selling my bike when I get home? Well I am. I have blisters on my arse! ON MY ARSE! Anyway, I hope you miss me as much as I miss you. Z xx
*
Once she arrived at Gairlochthe sun was beating down on the sea and a sense of nervous excitement gripped Zara. She was booked onto a dolphin watching cruise and the prospect of seeing the sea mammals at close range made her giddy.Josh would be so proud,she thought sadly. Lifejackets were handed out and the skipper made the necessary checks before they set off out to sea.
Once out in the open water, it wasn’t long beforea pod of dolphins joined their boat, as if escorting them on their sailing expedition. Zara had never seen dolphins in the wild and tears welled in her eyes as she watched them leaping out of the water and flopping back down again. Their skin was smooth and silvery and she longed to reach out and touch one to see what the texture was really like. They were playing and performing for their humanobservers and Zara stood there with a hand over her heart as she giggled through tear-fogged eyes. It was magical. There was no other word for it. She managed to snap a few shots on her phone and the grin on her face remained fixed in place for ages.
‘Isn’t this magical?’ one of the passengers said in an American accent as they watched. Zara turned to see an elderly lady smiling at her.
‘Oh,it really is. It’s wonderful.’
‘I live so far inland, in Kansas, that I never get to see the sea. My husband and I are here celebrating our anniversary and this has just made the trip even more special.’
‘Oh wow. You’ve travelled such a long way. Why did you choose Scotland and not somewhere warmer?’ Zara could think of lots of amazing places she had visited that would suit such an occasionbetter.
The woman smiled. ‘Ever since I was a teenager I’ve been obsessed with Scotland. Highlanders really, so romantic. My darling husband booked this trip as a surprise. We’ve been married forty years and this is the first time I’ve been out of the USA. I’d relocate over here in a heartbeat if I could bring my family and friends with me,’ she said wistfully.
There was a variety of accentson the boat now she really listened and she was taken aback by how many people had made this their holiday destination when she had been so reluctant to come. She was beginning to really question her opinions.
The boat sailed past a small clump of rocks jutting out of the sea and the skipper, a marine biologist, went on to explain about the seal-breeding colonies that surround the coastline.The closest Zara had ever been to a seal was the stuffed one that lay on her bed. It had been a souvenir from Margate when they had gone on a family holiday. These seals weren’t quite so clean-looking. But they had the cutest stubby faces and lay there on their sides – the skipper called ithauling out, but Zara couldn’t help giggling at the similarity to a phrase used on her dad’s favourite UScop show.The seals are hauling ass – I must remember to tell my dad. He’ll think it’s hilarious.
As they bobbed along the skipper talked to them about the conservation of the wildlife and the importance of recycling plastics – or, better still, not using plastics at all. Mid-sentence he pointed to the sky. Overhead a white-tailed eagle was hovering, its beady eyes trained on the water. It wassearching for lunch and at the thought of food Zara’s own belly grumbled. The trip had been a memorable one and she had loved chatting to the other occupants of the boat about their holiday experiences. It seemed she was the only one to have such negative feelings about camping. She decided she needed to be more open-minded.
The view of the little seaside village on the way back was like somethingfrom a postcard – and probably was. She snapped a few more shots of the row of white buildings edging the harbour and vowed to frame some of them for her walls at home. If something good was to come from this trip it might as well be artwork.
Once back on dry land she thanked the skipper and waved goodbye to her fellow passengers before deciding on lunch at a seaside-themed café just by the boat-tripbooking office. She was greeted by a very friendly woman with an unfamiliar accent.
‘Hi there. What can I get you today?’
‘I’ll have the seafood risotto, please. Everything sounds so delicious I was struggling to choose.’
‘Ah, well, you can thank my husband for the selection. He buys all the ingredients locally. Not a fried Mars bar in sight.’ The woman laughed.
‘Can I ask where you’re from?You have an intriguing accent.’
‘I’m from Czech Republic. Prague to be exact.’
‘Oh wow. How did you end up living in Scotland?’
‘I met my husband when he visited my country. He was on holiday and made me laugh a lot. And he was very handsome. He came back two months later so he could ask me out again. I moved to Scotland in 2012 and we get married.’ She shrugged as if it was the most naturalthing ever.
‘Prague is so beautiful though. Don’t you miss it?’
‘Sometimes. But I love my husband and we have our daughter and our business so I’m busy, busy in my wonderful Scotland life.’ She laughed. ‘I’ll go get your coffee.’ She smiled widely and walked away, singing to herself.
The meal was divine and all locally sourced, which seemed to make it taste all the more delicious. Zara satand lazily drank coffee, irrespective of her schedule, as she watched the world go by and let her food settle before setting off again.
A little bit of mobile signal served up a picture message from Shelley and Marco pouting sadly with a huge jug of cocktails and a message that said:
