Page 71 of Coming Home to Winter Island
‘He’s Miss Rubes’ man,’ says Hector, suddenly stirring. ‘She’s having his baby, you know!’
‘So let me get this right,’ says my mum, holding her hands round a cup of tea, laced with something stronger, I suspect, and leaning against the old range to warm her behind. ‘You’re Miss Rubes...but you’re not having a baby.’
‘No.’ Lachlan and I both laugh, and my insides flip at the memory of the kiss on Burns Night.
‘So you two aren’t...’ Jess points between us.
‘No!’
‘Good God, no!’ says Lachlan at the same time. ‘We can barely stand the sight of each other!’ He smiles at me and I tingle all over. ‘And, um, there was no one else on the ferry?’ he asks. ‘Just you guys and the care home party?’
‘That’s it,’ says Jess. ‘I mean, who else would be mad enough?’
Lachlan and I look at her.
‘What? I mean, it’s not...’
‘Tenerife?’ says Lachlan, with a smile in the corner of his mouth. And I wonder who else Lachlan was expecting?
I think about all the effort he’s put in to get to today, finding the ingredients, making batch after batch of gin until it’s just like we remember it from that Christmas Day on the beach and again last night, when everything was, well, just perfect. Every time I shut my eyes I can taste it. It’s a taste I will take with me when I leave. And every time I think of it, I’ll be able to see the island as clearly as if I was back here. I swallow, wondering how it’ll feel to be back in my own bed, back in my own little flat, closing my eyes and tasting and seeing the island in my head.
‘Right, let’s crack on,’ says Lachlan. ‘Let’s make this the best tea party we can...whoever turns up. Let’s do it for Hector. Jess, you help Ruby. And...Stella, is it? You can help me.’ My mum beams. ‘The rest of you, follow me.’
‘We’ll get Hector holding the bag of drawing pins when we put the bunting up,’ I tell Jess, who is looking at me totally bemused.
‘Ruby? What’s going on?’ she says as she follows me into the dining room.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You, this place...’ she nods her head, ‘Lachlan!’
‘Oh, there’s nothing going on with Lachlan.’ My mouth is dry, and I realise that more than anything I’d love to say therewassomething going on with him, but even if he is feeling the attraction like I am – and judging by the way he looked at me last night when he gave me the bottle of gin, I think he is – we both know nothing can come of it. We’ll be leaving the island after today.
‘So now that it looks like you don’t need to go to Tenerife, we can get straight back to gigging. There’s plenty booked in for the band, especially after the big gig yesterday. Loads of interest! And I’ve had a call asking if you’re available for saloon singing sessions. They have lots of slots if you want them. And...the big news!’ She claps her hands together. ‘I finally got hold of the A&R woman. She said she’d try and see us again. So with you sounding so great, the sooner we get back out there, the sooner we could get seen.’
We’re draping bunting between the curtain poles, Jess holding it, me reaching and draping.
‘That’s great news!’ I say.
‘So you’ll come back?’
‘Of course.’
‘When?’
‘Well, if all goes according to plan today, the house and the gin business will be sold and Hector will move into the care home. There’ll be no reason for me to be here after that,’ I say, whilst my heart says otherwise. Because I love it here, and because Lachlan is still here!
‘This is some house.’ Jess looks around. ‘It’ll probably be turned into a boutique hotel, with a Michelin-starred chef and its own distillery.’
‘It is beautiful, isn’t it?’ I look out across the bay as the snowflakes fall like glitter and wonder if the seals are out, and whether they’ll appear for the guests when Lachlan walks them down there.
‘It’s got to be worth a bit, what with the gin business as well. Even with paying for Hector’s care home, there’ll be quite a pot of money once you’ve sold it. You know, it would pay for us to take the band on tour. A European tour, do the festivals, really get our name out there.’
‘Jess!’
‘What? I’m just saying. If and when anything happens to the old...to Hector, you’ll be in line for whatever’s left, being the next of kin and all that.’
I shake my head. I don’t even want to think about it. ‘There’s no way I’m financing a European tour with Hector’s money!’
