Page 70 of Musical Games
Sam was grateful for Morag’s constant chatter. It was a soothing balm of white noise that required no input from either her or Jamie to keep it in perpetual motion. She was used to putting on a face, adopting a role, playing a part. However, trying to hide her thoughts and feelings when her body was still unsteady with pleasure was impossible. It didn’t help that Morag had cooked them the biggest sausages she'd ever seen. She couldn’t look at Jamie without blushing, and when she glanced at her plate, the fire in her cheeks only intensified. Suddenly she was aware of silence.
‘What do you think? You going to try them?’ Morag repeated.
‘Er?’
‘The sausages. I picked them up this morning from the butchers. They’re gluten-free.’
Sam cut the end off one neatly and put it in her mouth.
‘Robbie brought out two new varieties after Rory threw poor wee Brad in the loch. He’s made a turkey chipolata called “The Bauer”, and an extra-jumbo sausage with haggis called “The Earl”. What d’you both think of Rory’s sausage?’
Jamie dropped his knife and fork with a clatter and Sam started to choke. He leapt to her side and passed her a glass of water.
‘You okay?’
She nodded as she coughed. Jamie rubbed her back as his mother laughed. ‘Oh, I’ve been waiting to make that joke all morning!’
‘Mum!’
‘What? You need to try something new once in a while. You never know if Rory’s sausage is for you unless you try it.’
‘Have you been drinking?’
‘Och no, you’re just too easy to wind up. You youngsters are so straight-laced.’ Morag wiped the corners of her eyes with her pinny. ‘Have you told Sam about tonight?’
Jamie shook his head and sat back down. Sam looked at him and raised her eyebrows.
‘It’s the last day of the shoot and they’re having a ceilidh up at the castle to celebrate,’ he said.
‘That sounds amazing. Can we go?’
He nodded. ‘I, er, erm, wondered if you would be up for something?’
Her cheeks heated.
‘I thought, at the end as a surprise, maybe we could perform “The Heart of Scotland”? I know the band, so we could teach it to them this afternoon. If you like?’
Sam was stunned. ‘You’re actuallysuggestingwe perform?’
‘Well, you’d be out front and I’d be hiding at the back. I just thought it might be something people might, er, enjoy…?’ He trailed off, his face red.
She reached across the table towards his hand, then hesitated. ‘I think it’s a brilliant idea.’
‘Woo hoo! I can’t wait to tell everyone,’ said Morag excitedly.
‘Mum! How is it going to be a surprise if you do that?’
‘Ah, you’re right, son.’ She looked at their plates. ‘Are you both done?’ They nodded. She reached forward and grabbed the half-eaten sausage from Sam’s plate. ‘Well, you might not appreciate Rory’s sausage, but I certainly do,’ she said, biting off a chunk and giving them a wink.
* * *
They cleanedup the kitchen as Morag pottered around downstairs, doing laundry and vacuuming. Jamie was conscious of every moment, wanting to spend every second he could with Sam before she left. Tomorrow she would go back to her life and he would go back to his. She would be on the set ofElm Tree Laneand he would be on a building site with a bunch of clueless Neds. His heart ached for what could never be. How could anything ever work between them? Their lives were poles apart in every way.
‘Did your mum tell you what Brad wants?’ Sam asked.
‘She said something crazy about a hundred twenty grand for three songs?’
She nodded, her eyes sparkling. ‘Yes. He wants three songs, maybe more. And we get forty grand per song. That’s sixty grand each, Jamie.’
