Page 15 of Sailing Free at Loch Tunnagan (Loch Tunnagan #1)
T he next morning Jess wandered into the foyer in search of Cal.
She wanted to ask if they could put another date in the diary to finish off their meeting about the boat race.
Cal had seemed enthusiastic the previous evening but Jess hadn’t had time to go through everything and get the official go ahead.
“Jess, Jess, over here,” she looked through to the dining room to see Edith and June signalling for her to come and join them at their table. They had already commandeered Cal who smiled up at her as she pulled out a chair to join them.
“We won’t keep you long. We just wanted to thank you both again for helping us last night, you have no idea what it means.
You’re a great pair,” Edith wrapped one arm around Jess and one around Cal before squeezing both of them to her chest in a hug.
With their heads squashed to Edith’s bosom Jess couldn’t help but laugh when she looked at the alarmed expression on Cal’s face.
Diplomatically she removed herself from the clutches of the overly enthusiastic Edith.
“It was a wonderful thing to be a part of…once we found out what was really going on,” replied Jess.
“What do you mean, what was really going on?” asked Edith.
“Well,” Jess wished she hadn’t spoken, “we kind of thought Derek was planning to have an affair with June. The letter said she could meet him but that he was to make sure you didn’t find out.”
Cal cleared his throat, “Ahem….we?”
“Okay, I thought Derek was planning an affair. Cal said there was no way Derek would do that,” Jess corrected.
Edith laughed, then looked at her sister, “Why did you not want him to tell me?”
“I wanted to speak to Derek properly and ask him about the best way to approach you.”
“I’m not a rabid animal,” scoffed Edith jovially.
“There’s something I’m curious about,” said Cal. “Nobody recognised the photo of June. You’d think they would have remembered your sister Edith?”
“June and I lived in Crieff. I only started hanging out at the loch when I met Derek but you didn’t come through this way much did you? She turned to her sister.
June shook her head, “No, me and my friends spent most of our time in the city. Perth had a cinema and a shopping centre. We felt very grown up going through on the bus.”
“When do you head back to Canada?” asked Cal.
“Oh, I’m here to stay,” replied June. “It’s taken me decades, but I’ve finally realised I need my big sister.”
“And I need you,” replied Edith, giving her sister a squeeze.
“We’ll leave you two to enjoy your breakfast in peace,” smiled Jess.
Turning to Cal she asked, “Could I speak to you in the office?”
Cal raised an eyebrow, “Now I feel like I'm being summoned by the Headmistress.”
Jess laughed, “I won’t be long, I know you’re snowed under with work at the moment.
I just wanted to see if you’re happy for the boat race to go ahead.
I can continue to get the majority of plans in place over the next three weeks before I leave and then I’ll pop back from time to time to help with anything major that comes up between now and the event. ”
Cal stopped for a moment and looked at her. “You’re pretty amazing Jess. Do you know that?”
Jess could feel heat rise in her cheeks, “I’m just happy that I’ve found a way to pay you back for helping me out so much. And anyway, I’m really enjoying doing it.”
“Well thank you,” replied Cal sincerely. “Of course I’m happy to go ahead with the event. You have the reins, let me know what you need me to do.”
“Fantastic!” squealed Jess excitedly. “Could you sort the insurance? I should be fine cracking on with most of the other tasks myself.”
Jess sent a quick text to Ryan as she walked down to Olivia’s Cafe that morning.
Hi, are you still able to bring some stuff out to me? Jess
She didn’t know what the protocols were for sending a text to the man you were in relationship limbo with. Signing her name at the bottom of the text felt very formal.
Her phone pinged and she swiped at the screen to read Ryan’s reply.
Hi, Of course I’ll bring your stuff to you. Just tell me what you need. I’ve got a few meetings today but as long as they don’t run over, I might be able to head out later this afternoon if that’s any good? Love Ryan x
The fact that Ryan had written ‘love’ didn't go unnoticed by Jess. Was it possible to cheat on someone that you truly loved? She didn’t know.
They messaged back and forth a few more times to arrange details of what she needed and when he would come out.
By mid-afternoon the sun was beaming through the large glass windows at the front of the cafe causing the whole room to heat up. It had been unseasonably hot for a day in March; drips of condensation trickled down her glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and onto the table.
The backs of her legs stuck uncomfortably to her chair.
“I’ve been sitting too long,” she exclaimed to Olivia, “I think I’ll go for a walk to the boat and see how the workmen have been getting on with the repairs.
They called earlier to say they’d sorted the damage to the bow but they're still waiting on materials to be delivered before they can fix the window.”
“They're making fast progress,” remarked Olivia. "You’ll be getting kicked out of that luxurious hotel room soon,” she flashed a cheeky grin.
Jess laughed, but as she walked down to the boats the reality of moving out of the hotel dawned on her.
She’d grown accustomed to eating breakfast with Cal each morning and chatting about their day before bed each night.
She was going to miss the easy companionship they had.
Hopefully they would still hang out as much when they went back to being boat neighbours again.
It was ridiculous but the thought of not seeing Cal each day bothered her almost as much as the thought of not seeing Ryan each day.
That couldn’t be right, could it? She’d been with Ryan for eight years and had only known Cal for about two weeks.
‘The Sauncy Lass’ came into view and to her delight, Jess could no longer see the deep crack etched across the front of the boat.
The workmen had worked their magic. The bow of Cal’s boat was repaired back to its former glory too.
Jess smiled, Cal would be excited to see it.
She sent a text to let him know the good news.
The walk had done Jess the world of good, she felt refreshed as she headed back to the cafe to carry on with more plans for the boat race.“Hi!” Jess startled as she rounded the corner and almost bumped into a breathless Edith.
“Oh, hi love,” smiled Edith. “I’ve just power walked down from my house. June and I were blethering for so long that I lost track of time.”
“Why are you in a rush?” queried Jess.
“I promised Olivia that I’d watch the cafe for her when she goes to pick Amelie up from school.”
The pace Edith set meant Jess half walked, half jogged for the remaining distance and they both arrived looking dishevelled and with a gleam of sweat on their brows.
“Everything alright?” asked Olivia curiously.
“Yes, just got a bit side tracked,” apologised Edith.
“No worries,” smiled Olivia as she swung a handbag over her shoulder and headed out the door.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Jess waited as Edith tied an apron around her waist.
“I brought you these. I thought you'd want them,” she took the letter and photo that had been hidden on the boat from her bag and handed them over to Edith.
“Oh, thank you dear,” smiled Edith clutching the bundle to her chest. “I have something for you too. June and I had a rummage through some old photos and came across these.”
Jess spread the photos across the counter, “These are perfect Edith, thank you.” She looked at the collection of images from the boat races that had happened decades previously. “Do you mind if I scan these? I’d love to use all the old images for posters and advertising on the hotel’s website.”
“Be my guest,” smiled Edith as she wiped down the counter.
A short while later the door to the cafe burst open and Olivia’s whirlwind of a daughter dashed in declaring she was bursting for the toilet.
Olivia followed two seconds later laden down with Amelie’s school bag, packed lunch and a giant paper maché octopus.
She slipped behind the counter and dumped the contents of Amelie’s school day onto the floor beside her.
“Everything been ok here?” she asked, moving a stray strand of hair from her face.
“All good,” smiled Edith.
Amelie reappeared looking a lot less frenzied. She greeted Edith and Jess in the non-traditional way of delivering some Octopus facts.
“Do you know Octopuses have three hearts and they have beaks for mouths?”
“Thank you for the octopus information,” exclaimed Jess. “I like your Octopus friend down there. Did you make him?”
“Yes, he’s called Dylan,” replied Amelie seriously. He is the exact size of the largest ever Octopus.”
“Very impressive,” praised Edith.
“Is that more photos of the boat race?” enquired Olivia peering at the pile of photos on Jess’ table.
“Are we having a boat race?” asked Amelie with wide eyes.
“Yes, Jess is organising it. We’re going to decorate the boats and race from one end of the loch to the other,” replied Olivia.
Turning back to Jess she asked, “Can I have a look at the photos? I’d love to see some of Edith racing!” “I bet you were really competitive,'' she chuckled at her friend.
“I’m going to get changed out of my school clothes,” yelled Amelie as she dashed upstairs.
“Wow, I normally have to bribe her with food before she’ll go and get changed,” laughed Olivia. “I’ll make her up a sandwich for when she comes back down.”
Olivia busied herself with sandwich making and Jess sat back down at the table. She spent the next twenty minutes or so event planning and then decided to make one last phone call before calling it a day. Plucking her phone from her bag she called Sam at the Water Sports centre.