Page 7 of A Bridge Through Time
Heading down for dinner, Ashley grabbed the postcard. She'd need a stamp, and thought that perhaps she could buy one from Edna.
The dining room was filled tonight and so was the bar. Ashley looked around and again found Teddy at his corner post, staring at her. She would take Edna's word for it, and accept that he was harmless. Maybe she should try being a bit friendlier. She smiled and waved to him, and he immediately looked away, as if he could disappear by doing so.
"There you are!" Edna Campbell bustled towards Ashley, taking her hand and guiding her to what was fast becoming her place by the fire. "Would you like some wine tonight, Ashley, dear?"
"I'd love some."
"Red or white?"
"Red, please."
Edna hurried off to the bar on the far side of the room and returned with a bottle of cabernet and two glasses. "I hope you don't mind if I join you. Angus won't be down tonight, he's caught a bit of a bug and wanted to get to bed early.” She noticed the postcard Ashley had placed on the table. "Would you like me to post that for you dear?"
"Could you? That would be wonderful. It's a note to my best friend back home. I wanted her to know that I'm okay."
"I'm sure she'll be pleased to hear from you."
"She's very protective of me. We've been friends since we were toddlers."
"Really? That says a lot about you both, that you've remained so close even after all these years."
Ashley sipped her wine and gazed into the fire.
"I haven't asked about your plans, how you find yourself in Glendaloch of all places. Do you have Scottish ancestry?" Edna questioned.
"Possibly, but I’ve never looked into it, and as to why I'm here…you'll think I'm weird."
"I would never think any such thing! Coming to our small village you might find any number of characters who could be considered weird."
Ashley thought Teddy would definitely fall into that category. Taking a deep breath, she decided to dive right in. "Okay, well, I've been drawn here. I don't know how else to put it." She told Edna all the details of her life in San Francisco; her breakup with Dax, her inability to find someone new, how all her friends were engaged or married, and lastly, how she followed her heart and left everything behind. She carefully left out her sightings of Grey Eyes, not wanting to appear crazy. She thought she mighthave said too much, but Edna – with her motherly demeanor – had somehow managed to draw it all out of Ashley.
"My days of dog sitting, baby sitting and house sitting are done,” Ashley concluded. “I'm going to focus on getting myself a life. I just wish Jenna wasn't married. We'd have so much fun doing this together."
"I'm sure you would, but then you might not find what your heart is leading you to." Edna gave her a knowing smile. "Let me go get our dinner." She was off before Ashley could respond.
Dinner was amazing, starting with a delicious beet salad and followed by a perfectly cooked filet mignon with root vegetables and potatoes. "The food here has been delicious," Ashley said.
"I'll let our chef know. He went to culinary school in France, you know. Then he came back home to share his new skills with all of us. We’re very lucky to have him."
"I agree. He must really love it here. I'd imagine he could get a job at any five star restaurant in Edinburgh or London if he wanted to."
"Those born in Glendaloch don't usually roam too far and when they do, they always come back,” Edna stated proudly. “What are your plans for tomorrow, Ashley?"
“I'd really like to go for a hike into the countryside. Maybe you could give me an idea of which way to head." Ashley didn’t know what had gotten into her, but ever since she’d arrived in Glendaloch, she’d felt a compulsion to go hiking.
"Of course, of course. I'll put a bag together for you…lunch and some other goodies, so you can take as much time as you like on your hike."
"Sounds good. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow."
"I'm sure it will be."
Ashley got to her feet. "I'm going to head up to my room, I'd like to get an early start in the morning. Can you put the dinner on my bill, Edna?"
"Dinner was on me tonight. Thank you for keeping me company."
"It was a pleasure, I enjoyed it very much. Tell Angus I hope he'll be better soon."
Edna smiled. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow then."
