The Little Gift Shop on the Loch: A delightfully uplifting read for 2019!. Maggie Conway

Чтение книги онлайн.

       Chapter 5

      In her memory, for some reason Carroch was always dull and muted, absent of any colour. But strolling along the main street now Lily could see tourists milling about, cyclists and hillwalkers with rucksacks hitched to their backs. Everything looked lively and vibrant and she realised the village of her recollections was very different to how it looked today.

      Whitewashed cottages with gardens in full bloom adorned the shoreline and wooden benches were dotted along the banks of the loch. Everywhere she looked, flowers burst from window boxes and planters, clusters of pink petunias and tiny white flowers spilling over the rim of hanging baskets.

      She passed a bakery, its window crammed with sugary shortbread, plump fruit scones and warm pastries. The pub looked newly painted, its chalkboard menu boasting fresh seafood and vegetarian options and Lily was also surprised to see an art gallery displaying a range of prints and colourful landscapes by local artists.

      Only now did it occur to her the impact of having an empty shop in the village. She hadn’t given it much thought – if anything she had thought it might be difficult to sell a little shop in a remote sleepy village. But putting together Iris’s earlier comment with what she could see now, perhaps that wouldn’t be the case at all. At least knowing the shop would sell easily was one less thing to worry about.

      As Lily left the main hub behind and approached the loch, memories of their holidays tumbled into her mind. She swallowed deeply, taken back to another time. A time of dipping toes into freezing water, of scrabbling over rocks and taking turns with the other kids for the single swing and rickety slide in the caravan park. And the most special times – now the most poignant to remember – when Patty used to take Lily down to the loch to watch the sunset. They’d sit huddled together and for those precious few moments Patty seemed at peace with herself and the world.

      Lily had been a teenager the last time she’d been here, her head full of plans to go to university. Her future was laid out before her, somehow golden and full of hope. Now, she wasn’t so sure about things, a feeling that something intangible was escaping her.

      Lily continued to walk, passing under a canopy of Birch trees where mosses and lichens clung to the trunks and carpeted the roots, making the earth damp beneath her feet. Bluebells and primroses lined a rough path which sloped downwards and then meandered along the shoreline. Now Lily was able to see the loch in all its glory, she let out a small gasp. The nine-mile stretch of sea water, surrounded by mountains and thick woodland, shimmered in the sunlight and looked breathtakingly beautiful.

      Recalling a walk she used to make with her mum, she decided to see if she could retrace their steps and headed towards the north end of the loch, following a path through the trees and over a boardwalk bridge where she could see glimpses of the river. Her walks to and from work every day meant she wasn’t totally unfit but even so she had to stop a couple of times to catch her breath. Finally, she was able to stand for a few moments, the reward for her aching calf muscles and burgeoning blister now being able to see the enchanting waterfalls as the river made its way towards the loch.

      Finding a secluded bay with a small gravelly beach she sat down to face the loch. She listened to the water gently lapping on the shore and lifted her face to the sun, breathing in deeply.

      Iris’s words circled around in her head. Just be. But she didn’t have a clue how to do that. She knew how to keep busy. Although if you did want a place to sit back and forget the world, you wouldn’t find a better place than this, she conceded.

      Lily stared out at the water, surrendering herself to its vastness and allowing herself to feel small and insignificant. A view like this made you think, made you reflect. And that’s what she’d been afraid of. The silence. No emails or no phones, no deadlines to meet.

      All the usual parameters of her life had been removed and she suddenly felt adrift. Her mind flitted to what she’d normally be doing at this time; every minute of her day was usually planned and she thought longingly of her desk, letting out a sigh. She really wasn’t very good at not having a structure to her day or not knowing what she was going to be doing next week. Her mother’s nonchalant attitude to life and disregard for any sort of routine had left Lily with a need for security and routine, both of which her job had provided.

      They had moved around a few times – a spell in Glasgow, a few months in Dundee, a year in Newcastle. Lily always sensed a restlessness from her mother as various jobs and relationships came and went, as if each time they moved she was looking for something.

      When Lily left school, Patty had made it clear she wanted her daughter to live her own life and had encouraged her to spread her wings, probably imagining a rucksack and a one-way ticket. But Lily, studious and with an aptitude for maths, knew exactly what she wanted to do. To study accountancy and get a job. To be settled and secure and be able to provide for her and her mother in the future. Her whole life Lily had lived with a vague feeling something would come crashing down and when it did she wanted to be in a position to help her mum, at least financially.

      Never interested in academic achievements, Patty had regarded her daughter with bemusement on hearing her plans. ‘Accountancy? Really?’

      When Lily had started her course at Edinburgh University, her mother had gone abroad for a while, only returning to move back in with her parents where they lived in the small town of Dunbar in East Lothian. Patty had never had an easy relationship with her parents. Seen through their well-meaning, safe suburban eyes, their only daughter becoming a single mother was disappointing if not scandalous. But calling a truce on their uneasy relationship, Patty had moved in to help look after her father who was now in the wretched grip of dementia.

      By this time Lily had started work at Bremners and was loving every minute of it, not least because of the security and sense of belonging it gave her, something she’d never experienced before.

      Lily was rudely jolted back to the present by the realisation she was under attack from a swarm of midges. The slight breeze from earlier had disappeared, making her exposed arms a prime target. She furiously batted them away, aware it was time to move.

      She stood up quickly, dusting down her jeans and began to retrace her steps, deciding to head in the direction of the jetty to see if she could find the old boating place she remembered.

      As she drew closer, Lily was surprised to see it had been totally transformed. What had once been basically a wooden hut with a few small boats for hire was now a fully-fledged activity centre. A large single-storey timber-framed building stood with huge full-lengths windows at the front facing the loch. There was an information board and an enormous map of the loch in a glass display case surrounded by people with bikes or in walking gear planning their day.

      A sign by the front door bearing the name Carroch Activity Centre listed the range of activities available including kayaking, canoeing and windsurfing. To one side there were now parking bays СКАЧАТЬ