Page 26 of A Scottish Christmas Hideaway
‘Okay, love.’ She pulled a face. ‘I promised she could be a reindeer.’
‘Have fun. And I’ll see you Monday,’ said Jessica.
Gillian smiled. ‘Great. I’ll meet you in the Coffee Pot just after nine. Does that sound okay?’
Jessica nodded. ‘See you then. Bye, Millie.’ She couldn’t help but feel pleased when Millie turned round, grinned at her and waved. Then she glanced down at the table and saw Reuben’s bag of tablet. ‘Oh no,’ she said. ‘Iris. I’m just going to see if I can catch Reuben. He bought this for his dad and he’s left it behind.’
Iris winked at her. ‘Take your time. You know he’s single again, dear? He split from his wife last year.’
Jessica wasn’t sure what to say. Is that what he meant when he said it was complicated? And what on earth had happened to her sweet, old teacher?
Chapter Fifteen
As Reuben walked away from the village hall and towards his car, he definitely felt a little lighter in his step than he had earlier. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jessica and hoped he hadn’t been obviously staring at her. Although she seemed slightly harassed, her hair pulled back from her face in a messy ponytail, her face glowed and she did seem pleased to see him, which was a relief. He had managed a few surreptitious glances at her when she was speaking to other people and laughing with Iris. She had the most beautiful smile which lit up her whole face. He wondered why it had taken him this long to notice how pretty she was. He racked his brain, trying to remember the last time he’d seen her. It must have been that day at the airport a few years ago. That was in the early days of his marriage when things with Belinda were good. He wouldn’t have noticed how Jessica looked then. But he noticed now and couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Since the breakdown of his marriage, he hadn’t looked at anyone else. He just didn’t have the emotional capacity or strength to commit to another relationship again. Which made him wonder why his feelings were suddenly all over the place whenever Jessica was anywhere near him. He wondered if he should have told her about his marriage properly when they were tree shopping that day, rather than closing the conversation down. But the last thing he wanted to do was offload on her. To her, he was her brother’s oldest friend. Nothing more.
‘Reuben. Reuben, wait!’ called an anxious voice.
He turned round in surprise to see Jessica running towards him. ‘What’s up? Is everything okay?’ he said, urging himself to stay cool. But his mind whirred with thoughts.Was she missinghim already? Did she feel the connection too? Was he losing the plot?
Her eyes twinkled in amusement. ‘No, it’s not,’ she said, brushing her hair away from her face. ‘I’m glad I caught you.’
It was only then that he noticed the paper bag she was clutching. ‘Ah,’ he said, pressing his hand against his forehead. ‘The tablet.’She was just bringing the forgotten bag to him. There was no ulterior motive.
‘I saw it on the table and, well, I know you got it especially for your dad. I didn’t want you to forget it. Here you are.’ She thrust it at him.
‘Thanks,’ he said, unable to stop looking at her very kissable full lips. He was finding it harder and harder to remind himself that she was actually his best friend’s sister.
‘Anyway, I’d better get back inside before Iris sends out a search party,’ she said, wrapping her arms around herself. ‘She is taking it all very seriously. Gosh, it’s cold out here,’ she said as her teeth started to chatter. ‘Mind you, it’s really hot in the hall.’
‘Yes, I know. It’s like a furnace in there. But you’d better go back in before you get a chill and a row from Iris.’ He desperately wanted to slip off his jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. ‘And thanks for the coffee yesterday. I’m sorry it got cut short.’
‘No problem at all,’ she said with a nod. ‘I’m just glad everything was okay. I hope your visit goes well.’
‘Thanks . . . look if you’re not busy later then come over for the proper tour of the cottage I promised.’
Jessica smiled. ‘It would be nice to see it so I can tell Murray what a fabulous job you’ve done. I’ll see you later.’
As Jessica turned and walked back towards the hall, Reuben realised he had been holding his breath. This wasn’t a date. So why did he feel as if he’d just scooped first prize in the Christmas raffle. It was only when she reached the doors and glanced back over her shoulder that Reuben realised he was still staring afterher. He gave her a wave and then walked towards his car.What had happened to him? Why was he behaving like a love-struck teenager?
The care home was a thirty-minute drive away which gave him the chance to collect his thoughts and try not to think about Jessica, although she was providing pleasant distraction. He always found these visits really hard and the feelings of dread began as soon as he started the journey. He knew that feeling guilty about the decision to move his dad into the care home was a normal emotion to feel. But it didn’t make things any easier.
He thought back to this time last year when it was clear his dad wasn’t safe to live on his own any more. Although he had tried to support him at home as much as possible, Reuben had found it a huge strain, especially as he had been dealing with it on his own. It was times like this he wished he wasn’t an only child. He thought back to the night when he wasn’t there — he had been dealing with the fallout from his marriage. Angus had phoned him to say he’d found Dad in their back garden, wearing just his pyjamas with nothing on his feet. He had been shivering. Angus and Catriona took him home and put him to bed, sitting with him until the carer arrived in the morning. It was the final straw of a long list of incidents which meant he was no longer safe living alone.
Reuben still felt awful when he thought about the day he took him to the care home. His dad was so sad and distressed. The staff had been really kind and reassured him that they would look after him. Everyone kept telling him he had done the right thing — and the next time he visited, his dad had settled in and seemed happier. But this past year his dementia had deteriorated and he didn’t always recognise Reuben when he visited. He knew his dad was still there inside, but he felt so alone when he left him and bereft. He talked to Murray when he could. He was the only friend that knew his dad, but it was hardwith him in Australia. People were generally well-meaning, but their comments didn’t always help so it was easier to not talk about it and tell everyone that he wasfineif they did ask. Except for Catriona and Angus, who had been so kind and also went to visit his dad when they could.
He pulled into the gravel car park of the care home, which was a large, renovated Victorian mansion. Then he took a breath, grabbed the tablet and geared himself for seeing his dad. Buzzing the door, he was met by the manager, who always had a cheery smile on her face. ‘Nice to see you, Reuben. Come in,’ she said.
‘Thanks. How is he today?’
‘He’s actually been really good this week. We persuaded him to come down and take part in some of the activities. He seemed to really like the Scottish songs.’
‘Really,’ said Reuben in surprise.
‘I know, I didn’t know he was such a fan. It was great to see him taking part and enjoying himself. He seemed to really like “Bonnie Glenshee” and “I Belong to Glasgow”. We’ve got a new member of staff who is very enthusiasticand persuasiveand she seemed to talk him into it.’
He smiled. ‘Good for her. I’ll go and see if he wants to tell me about it. Thank you.’ He followed the corridor along until he came to his dad’s door which, this morning, was open. ‘Hi, Dad,’ he said, walking in and seeing him sitting at the window.
