Golden Luckenbooth

Twenty-Seven

Elspeth stares between Harry, me, the dogs, and the scone on the plate at the spot where she'd been sitting. Harry has sat at the table, ignoring his tea while I brew some coffee for him. He tears off a piece of the scone, picking up his knife.

"No jam?" His eyebrows draw downward, and he looks confused.

Rolling my eyes, I march to the refrigerator, withdraw a jar of blackcurrant preserve, and gently place it on the table next to him. With extreme conflict to what I'm feeling, I calmly and politely say, "Here you are."

"Ta."

Elspeth grins.

"What are you smiling at?" Harry prompts.

"My mum does the same thing when she's annoyed with my dad."

Ha! She's already seeing us as a couple and doesn't realise it. Success!

"Harry, this is Elspeth. She's a fan, but her best friend is ill at home in Glasgow, so we were hoping you might FaceTime her. You know, lift her spirits." I cross my fingers, hoping he receives the message I'm trying to send without explicitly saying it.

"Of course. Happy to help. Let me just freshen up a bit." He grins, the left killer dimple appearing, and Elspeth melts.

"You look amazing," she sighs dreamily.

"But my hair..." His hand sweeps his fringe, and he seems exasperated with it.

"...is perfect."

Oh, she's got it bad. Not that I blame her. I mean, I fell for that humble, shy boy act too.

"Okay," he agrees, "let's do this." Moving to stand behind her, he glances at me, and he appears angry with me. His forehead creases as his eyes narrow, and his glare could peel paint off the cupboard doors. When he leans down enough to be in the frame of the video, his face changes magically, his Cheshire grin solidly in place. "Hi!" He waves.

"See?" Our guest laughs. "I told you that the rumour was true. Here he is. I'm in her house behind the – the offices where she sees animals."

"Clinic," I mouth.

"The clinic," Elspeth corrects herself. "And Harry and I were just sitting here having breakfast."

"What's her name?" Harry whispers.

"Lucy."

"Hi, Lucy! I hope you feel better soon."

"For real? Holy shit. So not fair!"

"Hey! I called you. I could have just met them and not called."

"Is anyone else there?"

"Duh. She's here. Anna." She gestures for me to come over, and I move between Elspeth and Harry.

"Hello! I'm Anna."

"Yeah, hi." Her voice turns cold, and I have to force myself not to shiver at the tone. Especially since it was expected. "That's it? No one else?"

"Anna has two dogs," Harry chimes in. "They're here."

"They're the cutest," Elspeth raves. "I got to play with one of them. I threw the ball for her to fetch, and she brought it back to me."

"Oh," Lucy says, and I can't tell if she's being rude or if she's disappointed. "Well, that's cool, I guess."

"I'm gonna leave in a few minutes, but...Hang on." She rises and steps away from Harry and me. Turning away from us, she continues talking in a near-whisper. "I'll call you on the way home, but I'm starting to think that we're wrong."