Page 13 of The Moon Sister
‘You don’t meantheElectra? Like, the one who’s even taller than me and is always on the front of the papers half-naked and hangin’ on to a rock-star?’
‘Yup, that’s the one,’ I confirmed.
‘Wow, Tig! You’re a wee bundle o’ surprises, aren’t you?’ He studied me closely. ‘Nope, you don’t look anything like her.’
‘We were all adopted, if you remember, Cal,’ I giggled. ‘We don’t share an ounce of blood between us.’
‘Aye, o’ course,’ he said. ‘Well, tell Electra that if she ever fancies visiting her sis, I’d be happy to escort her down tae the local for a few drams o’ whisky.’
‘I’ll tell her next time I speak to her,’ I replied, and seeing the stars in his eyes, I briskly changed the subject. ‘So, what are you doing at Christmas?’
‘What I do every year. I’ll be with my family in Dornoch. You’d be welcome at ours, Tiggy. You’re hardly going tae hog all the turkey, are you?’ he chuckled.
‘That’s really kind of you, Cal, but I still haven’t made a final decision. I feel bad that none of us will be there for Ma, the lady who’s taken care of us since we were small. Maybe I should invite her over here,’ I mused.
‘Was your “Ma” married tae your daddy?’
‘No, though she might as well have been. Not in an intimate sense,’ I explained hurriedly. ‘She was employed by him as a nanny for us all when we were growing up and she’s never left.’
‘You have an odd family set-up, if you don’t mind me sayin’, Tig. At least, compared tae me.’
‘I know I do, but I love Ma and Claudia, our housekeeper, and my sisters just as much as you love your family. I really don’t want Pa’s death to break us all up. He was the glue that held all of us together,’ I sighed. ‘We always tried to get home for Christmas.’
‘Aye, family is everything,’ Cal agreed. ‘We might hate their guts, but if an outsider hurts them, we’ll defend them tae the hilt. If you want tae ask your ma tae come here, that’s fine, and we’ll do our best to make Christmas as . . . Christmassy as we can. Now, I’d better be off back tae my fences.’ He stood up and patted my shoulder as he passed me.
I called Ma later that morning and made the offer of a Scottish Christmas, but she declined.
‘Tiggy,chérie, it’s so sweet of you to think of me, but I feel I can’t leave Claudia by herself.’
‘She’s very welcome here too,’ I offered, ‘although it might be a bit of a tight squeeze.’
‘As a matter of fact, we’ve already invited Georg Hoffman over. And of course, Christian will be with us too.’
‘Right. Well, if you’re sure,’ I said, thinking how sad it was that Christmas at Atlantis would only comprise the staff, rather than any family members.
‘I am,chérie. Now, how are you? And how is that chest of yours?’
‘It’s fine. I’m getting buckets of fresh mountain air, Ma.’
‘Make sure you keep wrapped up warm. You know your chest does not take well to the cold weather.’
‘I will, Ma, I promise. Bye now.’
*
A few days later, I called Margaret to see how she was, and she invited me to have Christmas lunch with her, an offer which I gratefully accepted. Relieved that I wouldn’t have to disturb Cal’s family Christmas, or to be more truthful, deal with the mound of dead roasted bird that would be their lunch, I took Thistle for a walk around the estate. He seemed to have attached himself to me, much to Cal’s amusement, following me around like a witch’s familiar whenever he wasn’t needed for a shoot. I’d even occasionally smuggled him into the cottage when I knew Cal wasn’t there. He’d toast himself by the fire while I brushed burrs and knots out of his rough coat, hoping his master wouldn’t notice. I’d always longed for a dog of my own.
When I got back home, I opened the door to find Cal positioning a small Christmas tree in the corner of the sitting room.
He looked up and frowned at Thistle, who had followed me to the door and was now sitting at the threshold with a pleading look in his eyes.
‘Now, Tig, I’ve told you time and again, he’s not supposed tae come in. It’ll make him nesh.’
‘“Nesh”?’ I queried, wondering guiltily if Cal already knew I’d been disobeying his orders.
‘Aye. You’ll turn him soft. You leave him outside.’
Reluctantly, I scooted Thistle out into the courtyard, whispering that I’d see him later, then closed the door.
