Page 33 of Wishing Under a Starlit Skye
‘I don’t doubt that for a second. You’re a tough woman.’ His eyes widened. ‘I don’t mean that in a negative way though,’ he insisted. ‘I’m not trying to say you’re butch or anything. Far from it.’
She gave a small laugh. His way of covering his tracks was quite endearing, if a little cringeworthy. ‘No, I got you.’
‘Right, well I’ll be off. Any more problems, just give me a call.’ He climbed into his car and before he drove away, he leaned out of the car window. ‘How are things with you and Lyle?’
‘Oh, really good!’ she said a little too enthusiastically, considering the truth of the matter. There had been a few light-hearted text conversations between herself and Lyle since their first date, and although she was still a little wary, she was hoping that seeing him again would be good.
She thought she saw a hint of disappointment in Archie’s eyes. ‘Good, good. You deserve to be happy, Caitlin.’
‘Thanks… how about you and Rosabeth?’
He frowned for a split second. ‘Oh aye… grand… grand. Well, I’d best be off. Bye just now.’ And with that, he pulled his car back into the road and set off towards Glentorrin.
A little perturbed by Archie’s reaction to her question, and her almost lewd thoughts about him, she climbed into her car, started the engine, and headed home to drop it off before going to Jules’ to collect Grace.
* * *
‘I’m so excited about camping, Mum. I don’t know why we’ve never done it,’ Grace said as they walked across the village towards home.
Caitlin knew exactly why. She was more of a glamping type. She liked her luxuries too much. ‘Oh, I think holiday cottages are more practical, don’t you?’
Grace pondered this for a moment. ‘I mean… I like cottages, but from what Evin and his dad have been saying, it’s good fun to sit around a campfire and toast marshmallows and then sleep under the stars. And I love looking at the stars.’
Caitlin was reminded of the Christmas when Grace was ten and she had asked for a telescope. They had spent an hour on Christmas night in the back garden looking through the lens and consulting the book that came with it to figure out the constellations. Caitlin had been freezing, but Grace had loved it, so it was worth being so cold. ‘I know you do, sweetheart. You’ll have a lovely time.’
‘Did you know that Archie knows all the constellations? And obviously he knows all about camping and tents. He’s like some kind of outdoor genius! He came round to Evin’s when I was there the other night and was telling me about how he’s been to lots of different observatories all around the UK, including one called Jodrell Bank where they have the Lovell Telescope that looksdeeeeeepinto space. It’s been there since the olden days, you know!’
‘Really?’ Caitlin grinned, loving her daughter’s enthusiasm and making a mental note to thank Archie. Along with this, however, returned the impure thoughts that had entered her mind when he had rescued her from the roadside. She shook her head trying to dislodge them.
‘Yes! Like the nineteen fifties or something!’
‘Wow! That’s a long time ago, eh?’
‘It is. Archie was telling me about the constellation called Cassi… erm… Cassa… something… Anyway, she was a queen in Greek mythology, and she was totally in love with herself, I’m talking full on Kim K. So, she was cast into space by… the boss, I think. But he put her in her chair upside down in the sky to teach her to not be so vaunty! He’s so funny, Archie. He makes me laugh.’
Caitlin glanced down to find Grace smiling as she recounted her conversation. ‘Does he now?’
‘Yeah. He knows all sorts of stuff. Like… did you know that it takes years for starlight to actually reach earth? So, if you see a star shining at night, there’s a chance that star might not even exist any more!’ Her eyes were wide and filled with wonder.
‘Wow! I didn’t know that.’
Grace beamed. ‘Neither did I until Archie told me! Isn’t he a genius?’
Caitlin cuddled her daughter to her side. ‘Maybe he is, honey.’
* * *
Archie had definitely sparked Grace’s love of the solar system all over again. On Saturday morning whilst Caitlin was working in the bakery, Grace sat in the back garden under a parasol with Cleo surrounded by the books about space that she had received the same Christmas as the telescope.
Around lunchtime, Archie called into the bakery. ‘Hi, Caitlin. I’m after some more of your delicious rolls again please. Another barbecue I think, seeing as the weather is so nice.’
‘Coming right up,’ she replied as she packed the bread into a paper bag. ‘Grace has been filling me in on your chat about the stars.’
Archie smiled. ‘Aye, she’s a bright wee lass. Keen to learn, that’s for sure.’
‘She’s sitting in the garden with her books just now. Although I think maybe they’re a bit young for her. I bought them for her when she was around ten, so I might need to get her some more advanced ones.’
Archie tapped his chin and narrowed his eyes. ‘Now I think I might have just the thing. I’ve a few books at home that I got from the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh the last time I visited. I’ll drop them around.’
