Winter's End (20 page)

“Morning Gran,” he
said, kissing her cheeks before taking seat next to her at the breakfast table.

“Hmm…,” she said,
observing his knitted blazer over his grey tee-shirt. “You look smart. Too bad
she’s not around to see it.”

His heart clamped.
“Where is she?” he asked, carefully.

“In the kitchen with
the rest of the brood,” Ethel answered.

“In the kitchen? Why?
She doesn’t like what Nancy puts on her plate?”

Ethel frowned.
“You’re quick to pass judgment. No. In fact, she wants to serve her kids
breakfast, herself. If you ask me, that’s not a bad thing at all.”

“Well, she and the
kids should have been here with you,” he complained. “What is the sense of
getting married when they won’t spend the time with you?”

Ethel put her toast
down and cut him a sharp glance. “Don’t you dare tell me that you married to have
your wife keep me company. I have my pooches for that. And if I ever even hear
the slightest that you reprimanded Emma for being in the kitchen, I’ll pull you
by the ears. You may be famous, Christopher, but you’re never too big for me.”

He grinned.

She continued. “That girl’s the best thing that’s happened to you,
Christopher. You just don’t know it yet.”

He scowled.

She growled. “You
know, you’re one
helluva
stubborn kid.”

“Probably, a quality
I inherited from you.”

“Watch that smart
mouth, Christopher. I’m not too old to give you a whacking.”

“Well, weren’t you
horse stubborn on me marrying Emma?”

“Yes. But my
dadaidh’s
 
long buried to give me a spanking,” she grunted.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m still here.” She paused and breathed out a tired
sigh. “
Aaahh
…isn’t it good to hear the sounds of
children and family resonate against these old walls again. Brings back old
memories. You have made me happy Christopher. So happy in fact I could die of
it right now.”

“Now don’t you go
doing that anymore,” he growled, playfully. “Isn’t that why I got married in
the first place? So you’d put an end to all your dead dog tricks.”

She chuckled. “I was
good, wasn’t I? As good as you? What do you think?”

He looked at her,
concern clouding his face. “Seriously, Gran. Don’t do that anymore.”

She stirred her tea
and then took a sip. “This house is a little too big for Emma. She likes to do
all those good old homely stuff for the children like cooking. Why don’t you
all move into the boathouse while you’re here?”

“Wouldn’t it be easier
if I just moved into her house instead?”

“Rubbish,” she
growled. “Women like the idea of their man providing for her. Brings out all
that love hormones. It all comes from those primeval instincts, men being the
hunter, bringing home the bacon and all.”

He raised his eyebrow
at her and then spurt a small chuckle, shaking his head.

“But it’s true. It’s
scientifically proven,” she insisted.

“I’m sure it is. You
just validated it by adding “it’s scientifically proven,” he said, standing up.
He gave her a kiss on her head. “I’m done for breakfast.”

“But where are you going?”
she called after him.

“Hunting,” he shouted
back. “Bringing home the bacon.”

*****

He opened the door to
his boathouse. It was as he had left it six months ago other than a thin layer
of dust coating everything that was in it. He hated the idea of anyone else in it
while he was away. It was his one recluse and was repulsed at the thought of it
being encroached even for that occasional cleaning.

His thoughts wandered
to how he had stood outside the kitchen of the mansion this morning, listening
to the sounds of chatter and laughter coming from it. He also heard Vivaldi,
sounds alien to that part of the house. He remembered how his footsteps almost
faltered, eager to peer into the room. Yet, he stayed grounded instead at the
door, hypnotised by their cheeriness escaping through it.

He strolled
instinctively to the kitchen of the boathouse. He ran his hand over the
stainless steel stove tops and imagined Emma baking and cooking, serving their
tea while they would sit at the balcony overlooking the bay. He imagined Hannah
curled up on his lap as they would be entertained by Jai’s wild jokes. He dreamed
of Emma tucking the children into their beds and then returning to their master
bedroom, dressed in a night slip, reminiscent of a bed’s flat sheet. His mere
thoughts of her was like an aphrodisiac, heightening his senses to what his
body recognised as primarily male. His heart clenched in a single, tormenting
ache for her.

The cook top of his
stove broke him free from his wild thoughts of her. He frowned as he studied it.
It was too clean and new. He never remembered using it. He corrected himself.
No, it had never been used. His guests preferred the microwave oven or the food
Nancy would bring down from the main house.

He heard his front
door open and the patter of feet on his timber floors.

“Hi,” said a voice.

He turned. It was
Jai, panting as he bent down to catch his breath.

“What are you doing
here?” Chris asked, curiously.

“I followed you,”
said Jai. “From
waaaay
up there.”

“From the house?”

“Yeah,” said Jai.
“Man, cool boathouse. How come nobody told us about this?” His small,
inquisitive eyes scanned the living room quickly.

“Because I don’t like
it that anyone is here without my knowing.”

“Oh, okay,” said Jai,
slightly embarrassed.

An awkward silence
lingered between them.

“Does your mother
know you’re here?” Chris asked.

“No. But she’s not
gonna mind.”

“You better tell
her,” he said, pulling out his phone and handing it to the boy.

Jai looked at it,
nervously.

“Go on,” Chris said,
nudging his phone in the air towards the boy. “She’ll be worried and if she is,
so will I. You don’t want me getting into trouble with your mother, do you?”

Jai chuckled and took
it. He punched in his mother’s number as Chris opened the windows in the house.

“Hello, Mum,” Chris
heard Jai say into the phone. “Yes, it’s me…I’m at the Kinnaird’s
boathouse…well, they have one…ask Nancy or Theodore…down the house, at the
bay…I’m with,” his voice dropped, his hand covered his mouth as he whispered,
“I’m with, you know…Pa…okay, I will. Bye.”

Jai bit his lips
handing back the phone to Chris who was smiling.

“You heard,” Jai
said.

Chris nodded and then
walked towards a door to the balcony.

“You don’t mind?”
said Jai, following him. “Calling you Pa?”

“I’d be honoured,”
said Chris.

“I just thought it
would be easier with Hannah calling you that as well,” Jai said, trying to
explain himself.

“Sure,” said Chris,
dismissively. It was clear that the boy was embarrassed and he didn’t want to
make the matter any harder for him. He dusted off two reclining chairs and
slumped into one of them.

“Wow, this is
awesome,” the boy exclaimed in wonderment as he pranced wildly around the
balcony overlooking the sea. “So where do keep her?
Lady Loch
?” he
asked. “Is she below?”

“
Lady Loch
?
How do you know her?”

“Gran took us out to
the Black
Cuillins
on her almost two months ago. So
is she here?”

Chris shook his head.
“No, that’s
Gran’s
old boat. She prefers to keep that
at the main house for inland rivers and lakes. Grandpa Arthur bought
Lady
Loch
for Grandma a long, long time ago. It was supposedly one of a kind
back in those days. Mines though is much bigger. It’s a yacht.
Wanna
see it?”

Jai nodded profusely,
beaming.

“Come on then,” said
Chris, jumping out of his chair. “The garage’s this way.” He walked swiftly to
the back of the living room. He opened a door to a string of stairs leading
down to the bottom of the boathouse. With Jai following close behind him, they
bounced down the stairs which opened to yet another furnished living area of
the garage.

Towering the centre
of the garage was a white yacht, resting on its waters.

“What is she called?”
said Jai in amazement.

“He actually,” corrected
Chris. “So discriminatory. Why are all boats and ships called ‘she’?” he
teased. “But yeah, she is called
Bran, Son of
Llyr
.”

“Who was he?”

“Bran was the son of
sea-god
Llyr
and king of Britain and Wales. He was so
tall and massive that the tallest building could not shelter him nor any ship
could carry him. It was told that he waded through the seas.
Bran
here, however,
is not as large as her name sake, but her spirit is. So whenever I take her out
into the water, on the seas, she soars.”

He climbed onto the deck
and then helped Jai onto it.

“Want to help me
clean her up?” Chris said. “We could take her for a spin after.”

Jai broadened into a
wide smile. “Yes,” he replied, excitedly.

*****

After having spent a
couple hours cleaning the dust off
Bran
, Chris pulled the yacht out into
the bay. They sailed into the open waters, Chris at the helm and Jai, leaning
over the bow rails, watching it cut through the deep, blue sea.

Chris smiled as he
looked over at the boy. “Hey,” he called out. “Do you want to hold onto the
wheel for a second?”

Jai’s eyes twinkled
excitedly. “Really? Cool! Yeah!” he fisted into the air.

Chris laughed,
ruffling the boy’s long, blonde locks.

After an hour of
sailing around the bay, they were now both back seated on the balcony of the boathouse,
watching the foams gathering on the waves.

“So why are boats and
ships always called ‘she’?” asked Jai. “Just doesn’t seem fair that
Bran
has to be a girl.” He scrunched up his nose at the thought.

Chris chuckled. “I
know. But why are boats and ships called she, that I don’t quite know. I
suppose there is a whole lot of bustle around her, she has a waist and stays
and when she is reaching port, she’s always heading for the buoys. Also someone
once did say that a ship is always referred to as ‘she’ because it costs so
much for one to keep in paint and powder.”

Jai giggled. “Yeah, I
guess so. It makes sense.”

Chris paused before
asking cautiously, “So, did you and your dad spend a lot of time together?”

“No,” said Jai,
leaning over the rails of the balcony, facing the sea.

“No?” Chris repeated.

“Dad was always busy.
You know work and stuff. Uncle Richard took us out most of the time to places
like aquariums and things.”

“Did you spend a lot
of time with Uncle Richard? You sound real close,” said Chris, surprised by his
sudden jealousy at the thought of Jai at an exciting boy’s day out with Richard
Winston.

“Yeah,” he replied
casually. “But we spent most of it at home.”

Chris leant back into
his chair, thinking. Sea gulls soared and skimmed over the surface of the waters.
Waves sauntered lazily into the sands of the bay.

“I was looking for
someone to share this boathouse with,” Chris said, watching the boy from the
corner of his eyes. “Do you know anyone who might be interested?”

Jai turned, his eyes widened
with excitement. “Like for free?”

“Yeah, free,” said
Chris. “For company.”

“Can… I… share with
you?” Jai asked, hesitantly.

“You’re interested?”
Chris said seriously, his lips upturned in pretentious thought. “Yeah okay. But
its life term membership, just so you know before you accept.”

“I accept,” said Jai,
beaming. “That means I have half a share to the boathouse?”

“Yes,” said Chris,
smiling, closing his eyes.

“Like an equal
share?”

“Yes.”

“And I can come in
here anytime? Even if you’re not around?”

“Yes.”

“So we’re like
partners?”

“Yes,” said Chris,
tiredly and then added quietly. “And I’m regretting it already.”

*****

Emma turned right on
the hallway, just as Theodore had told her. She heard the running of the
treadmill even before she reached it. The door was open. She walked into the
gym and saw Chris at the end of it.

His eyes were focused
on the screen monitor before him. His strong legs beat heavily on the
treadmill, powering over the belt. Beads of sweat formed on his temples,
breaking into rivers, cascading down his face. She watched him briefly,
hesitating to disturb him. Mesmerised by his powerful form, she admired his
physique and his strong profile. She felt a variety of senses pulsating in her
body, blushing as she became aware of the heat flooding through her. This was
her husband.