Page 121 of Some Like It Scot
Dave:They’re not the same? Well, anyway, I hope you’ve been really considering the editing position, Katie. You’re anatural. The other writers love how you’ve taken a special interest in helping them grow. I knew you were made for this.
And Ihadenjoyed it. More than I thought I would. But enough to fully replace traveling to be with Graeme? He probably wasn’t even that serious about me, even if he wasn’t kissing Allison right now.
I cringed at the visual, along with the feeling of a fist tightening around my heart.
Dave:Well, enjoy your evening and plan to rest up on the plane tomorrow, because you won’t be taking a breath for a few days.
Oh no. What did that mean?
Me:Why did I just get a really bad feeling, Dave?
Dave:I’ve rearranged your schedule a little and booked an 11:00 a.m. flight for you out of Edinburgh tomorrow morning.
Eleven in the morning? It was easily over four hours to Edinburgh from Mull, and that’s if I caught the ferries at the right time.
Me:Dave, that means I’d have to leave Mull by four o’clock in the morning to even attempt to catch my flight.
Dave:It’s the only way you’ll make the awards ceremony in New York.
I groaned. The Vision Award ceremony. This was crazy.
Me:When will I sleep?
Though I already knew the answer.
Dave:Attend the ceremony tomorrow evening, fly to Kentucky for your next assignment, and then you have the next two weeks off.
This shouldn’t sting so much, but it did. I was hoping for a few more hours in the morning with Graeme and maybe Lachlan. Leaving at noon from Mull provided much more of a farewell cushion than before dawn.
Dave:You weren’t able to attend the ceremony last year.
Me:I was in the rainforest without phone reception, Dave.
Dave:Right, but you promised that if you won again, you’d accept in person. World on a Page gets great publicity from this. And it would be good for you too. You should be proud.
He was right. I’d promised. And Iwasso proud of my writing and the stories and the people I got to celebrate.
Me:I am proud.
Dave:And if you take up editing (which you should), it will naturally reduce your travel time so you’re less likely to be up for another Vision Award. Sleep afterward.
Me:I got it. Butt-crack of dawn it is!
Dave:That’s my girl. I’ll email you all the travel details. Can’t wait for the final Scottish installment. It’s been some of your best work to date.
I’d loved writing it. I wasn’t usually featured so prominently in my stories. My mishaps were more anecdotal to the stories I collected andretold along the way. But I’d lovedlivingout the adventures during my time on Mull, even if there were a few moments I wasn’t sure I’d survive. A smile pulled at my lips. They weremynear-death moments, part of my story here in Scotland. For a long time I’d skirted around being the focus of my own story. After all, I’d never really fit into my mom’s world or Sarah’s shadow, and social media gave me the unique vantage of redirecting the interest toward others.
That had worked. Because who would want to hear about me?
But maybe, when you start figuring out where you belong, you start falling in love with your own story too. Because... love does that. It changes everything.
My phone blinked with a message.
Dave:Your loyal fans want to know what happened with the #hotscot.
I released a sigh and stared over at the ball gown waiting for me to tuck, fasten, and squeeze into.
I wanted to know the same thing.
