Hi readers, here is chapter 3. Thanks to the wonderful and helpful Angelicsounds for the lovely editing, and as usual I appreciate all comments and feedbacks. Thanks and hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 01
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Nicole started her journey early in the morning, but not as early as she would have liked. She had opened her front door twice, only to shut it immediately after seeing the falling snow and dank, gloomy sky. But the third time she opened it, the snow had ceased and the clouds were parting, giving way to a clearer sky. Checking the time, Nicole realized that she had delayed her departure longer than she should have and now she might encounter traffic on the way out of London.
She quickly grabbed her luggage and threw the bags into the car trunk, before getting in and starting the engine. She turned on her headlights and let the engine warm up for a minute and then eased the car from her driveway onto the road. Minutes later, she threaded her way through the light traffic with little spurts of speed here and there.
This journey, the day before New Year's Eve, was a premeditated act on Nicole's part. She had been devising a plan to get away from her mother ever since they had a fight a few days earlier, while Nicole was still in Jamaica. While speaking to her mother on the phone, Nicole had mentioned how they needed to find out where Lisa was living and see how she and the children were getting on.
Her mother had clammed up, refusing to talk about her eldest daughter. "Why should we try to find her? She's the one that left. She's no longer part of this family," her mother had said.
Nicole had buried her unhappiness and irritation at her mother's reply. She had sighed and gritted her teeth, pretending not to feel, as her mother often did, and allowed her mother to go on pretending that Lisa no longer existed.
Christmas Day in Jamaica had been a wonderful affair. Spending time with her father and her other relatives was a welcome distraction. She loved her mother, but all they did every major holiday was sit and eat a quiet meal. This year would have been no different.
There was going to be a great feast at her mother's house on New Year's Eve. Her mother would smile and be smiled upon by her guests, hiding her misery in the darkest corner of her heart. And instead of thinking of herself, she would focus her energy on Nicole. Her mother's New Year's resolution for the past five years had been for Nicole to find a man and settle down. The last time her mother had mentioned it, Nicole, in a fit of anger, had told her that she would sooner die than marry, get divorced and become a bitter old cow. Her mother hadn't particularly cared for her snide remark, and had told her as much.
The holidays, once upon a time, were all about celebrating love. Nicole wasn't sure how she felt about that emotion these days.
Easing from her thoughts, Nicole suddenly realized that she was hungry and needed to use the lavatory. She stopped at a diner called 'The Piglets' to quickly use the toilet then have a bite to eat, and rest herself for a spell. As she glanced out the window from her seat, she could see that snow was beginning to fall and the sky looked bleak. There was a lady and a young girl holding hands and heading toward the diner. They looked like mother and daughter. The bell on the door sounded as it opened and the two came in. They smiled when they saw Nicole, and she smiled back.
Nicole stared at them as her thoughts drifted to her own mother. Hyacinth de-Leon was a true termagant and had probably already called her father in Jamaica to tell him how she had chosen to be the servant of her boss by working over the holiday season, rather than being with family.
All her life, her mother had told her what to do. Nicole shook her head slightly as she remembered the day she had told her mother she wanted to study accounting as opposed to law. Her mother had responded with a simple, "No," but for a moment, she looked crazed, like a wild animal. Nicole had stared at her in fear.
"More coffee?" A voice suddenly snapped Nicole out of her reverie.
Nicole cringed at the coarse tone. She looked up to see the weather-beaten face of the waitress, giving her a cockeyed look.
"I- thanks, but I am okay," she replied, thankful that the woman just shrugged and walked away to serve another patron.
After paying, Nicole quickly got up to leave, but while she was making her way towards the exit of the diner, she decided to make an inquiry as to how near she was to the end of her journey. She walked over to an open door that led to the kitchen, as the waitress was nowhere to be seen. Through the door, she found a tired looking, middle aged man, who was busy flipping and frying various foods on a large stove.
"Excuse me," Nicole said firmly.
The man stopped, with a large greasy spoon in his hand, as Nicole suddenly caught his attention. He grumbled something unintelligible and turned around. Before she even had a chance to say anything, the man began to try and serve her. Sighing, Nicole hastily explained to him what she actually wanted. The disgruntled cook suddenly blushed and smiled a bit. "Oh! Oh, sorry- of course," he replied.
Information in hand, Nicole continued her journey on the winding country roads. She turned up her music, humming along with the songs of Adele and enjoying the scenic route. It was now noon, and by this time she was not far from Birmingham, but she wasn't familiar enough with the country lanes to know how close she actually was to her destination, despite the directions she had been given. So, she had to stop twice just to make sure she was on the right track. To add to her misery, it had begun snowing heavily, and she had to swerve on a sharp bend, narrowly avoiding a horse and rider.
But the worst part of the trip happened when she was only a mile or so out from Glasgow. Nicole was driving through the slippery, wet snow when her car suddenly skidded. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, certain she was going to crash. Though she eased up on the gas and steered into the skid, the car rolled into a small ditch.
As Nicole sat in her car, in a state of shock, a man who was driving by saw her. He stopped and got out of his car to help. He was the second driver that passed by, the first had just drove on. The man, Neal McDougal, was tall, with probing grey eyes, and later she learned he was also a recovering alcoholic. The Scotsman helped her negotiate her car out of the ditch and then checked her tires and brakes.
After getting through that disaster, she got back in her car and was soon making good progress through Glasgow with Neal's phone number saved in her phone. Neal had insisted on her taking it, telling her to call him if she ever needed any help.
Almost two hours later, Nicole arrived at her final destination, Colonsay. Nicole's hotel arrangements had been made by her boss, Ewan Kilpatrick. She was to stay at the Colonsay Hotel, which offered a self-catering accommodation. She had an estate cottage to herself, despite there being other empty rooms available.
It had been a long, tiring day. The minute she arrived, the proprietor, Cadha Alistair, a small, plump woman of an indeterminate age, was there to welcome her. Mrs. Alistair looked at her and catching Nicole's smiling, yet tired eyes, she rushed to embrace her like a long-lost relative. Nicole felt immediately at home and relaxed.
Nicole hugged her back and Cadha instantly began talking. Nicole was unable to respond while being crushed by the woman's hefty bosom. At least it took off some of the cold, she mused, chuckling softly. Cadha's husband, Walter, who wore a badge around his neck attesting to that name, took her bags.
"How kind of you. Thanks." Nicole gave Walter a tremendous smile as she dislodged herself from Cadha's arms.
Walter's face took on a deep shade of red, as he smiled softly and replied, "Bah! Dinna fret yourself, lass. It's me pleasure."
