I waited for a reply…. nothing. Come on Scott, we are wasting valuable time here. Twenty minutes later, well, it felt like twenty minutes later, but was in fact only one minute, he finally replied.
It’s a bit early for a steak out, I’ve only just had breakfast, and I couldn’t stomach a steak at this hour anyway. LOL.
No, a stake out. As in ‘a place from which surveillance is carried out.’ I explained.
Oh, that kind of stakeout, why didn’t you just say so? Who are we performing this stake out on anyway?
Sophie, but I will explain everything when you get here, can we take your car?
Yes, sure.
Great, pick me up at zero nine hundred hours. Oh, and dress for the occasion.
Roger that.
Fifteen minutes had passed since the last text when I heard my phone beep again. I had just finished getting dressed into my black skin tight jeans, black flat knee high boots – just in case I need to run away or chase someone – and my black beanie. I picked up the phone and read the text, it was from Scott again:
Just to make sure you did mean 9am didn’t you? I’m not very familiar with military time talk.
Yes, 9am and it’s 8.59 now, I responded straight back.
Well, lucky I’m walking down your path now.
The next thing I heard was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Scott standing there wearing a black top, army pants, a black beanie, and binoculars around his neck. I looked at him and said, “Glad you received the memo, although I didn’t think people owned army pants anymore, not in this day and age.” “I will have you know, I have had these pants since the late nineties. I could never quite get the courage to throw them out, I always knew an opportunity would present itself one day where they would be needed.”
“Enough fashion talk,” I interrupted. “Let’s go.”
We made our way up the path as if we were already on a mission, stepping quietly and looking around at our surroundings as if somebody was after us and were going to jump out of the bush and attack us at any minute. As we approached the road, I looked around for Scott’s car.
“Scott, where is your car?” I asked.
“I left my car at work last night, I have the catering van.”
“Okay, it will have to do,” I said. “Although it’s not very practical for a stake out, it has your business name all over it.”
“What do you mean Letticia? ‘Scottlander’s Catering’ is a great name, it’s perfect for a stakeout. We can be totally undercover as business owners in the catering industry.”
“Yes, well, it would be, if we weren’t caterers, but we are. So, it’s not really undercover, is it?”
“Well, when you put it that way. By the way, we need to discuss your contract and job during this stakeout.”
“Yes, Master,” I replied.
As we drove out of Queen Street towards Time Twisters, I started to explain the situation with Sophie, and how I needed to find out what she’s up to and why she is using my children as sidekicks. “Fair enough,” he said, and didn’t ask any more questions. Gee, this guy is just too good to be true, he joins in with all my crazy ideas. I have never known anybody in my life who would just drop everything for me, and encourage and support my wild ideas. Then, at the next moment, he skyrocketed even more in my ‘Friend Richter Scale’ by putting some music on, but it wasn’t any old song…. Here we were, driving to our very first stake out together, singing at the top of our lungs to my favourite song, The Skye Boat Song.
Yeah, we really know how to go undercover and not draw attention to ourselves.
We finally pulled up to the car park of Time Twisters and the only space left was right outside the doors. Trust that to happen, the only time you don’t want the most convenient park in the lot and it’s right there, waiting for you.
Scott backed in. Wow, this guy has skills, reversing such a big vehicle. I imagined it was equivalent to ‘Jamie’s’ horse-riding skills. The way Scott used his mirrors with such trust and precision. If it was me, I would have swung my whole head around to guide myself in, I just don’t trust mirrors.
We finally came to a stop, and it was quiet for a minute or two, neither of us said a thing. Either we were working out what to do next, or we were giving our throats a rest from all that singing. I don’t know about Scott, but mine felt raw. Then, Scott was the first to speak,
“Well, on ya feet soldier! It’s not a stakeout without coffee and donuts, and how convenient that there is a bakery right across the road.”
“What? You want me to cross that road? That means I have to run past that massive window of Time Twisters, that by the look of it, is a one-sided one where people can see out but we can’t see in.” “Aye, that’s correct. You can do it; it’s your shout remember?” “Fine, anything for my master,” I said sarcastically. And with that, I got out of the van, crouched down at the front of it and assessed my best option. I could sprint as fast as I could past the window, or I could walk past ever so slowly, like I was just an everyday person – dressed in black from head to toe – going on a Saturday morning stroll. The latter option should hopefully not draw attention to myself.
Well, of course I didn’t choose the sensible option, instead I sprinted past those windows like I was Usain Bolt, well, in my own head I was like Usain Bolt, but I was more like Forrest Gump. Scott must have read my mind because I heard him yell out, “Run! Run!” I turned around, forgetting that I had not yet fully passed the window. I stood there with my hands on my hips, and yelled back, “Jesus H. Christ! Scott, we are on a stakeout, keep it down!” He did the thumbs up and yelled back, “Copy that!” He then lifted the binoculars up to his eyes so that he could enjoy some more free entertainment as he watched me run for my life.
As I returned with the donuts and coffee in hand, I surprised Scott as I opened the door.
“Holy crap, you scared me! Where did you come from? I didn’t see you running back past the window.”
“Well, I took a different route; the route I should have taken on the way over to the coffee shop. I ducked and weaved through all the cars parked alongside us, avoiding the window completely.” “Gee, Letticia, why didn’t you just do that in the first place?” “Gee, Scott, I don’t know. You demanded coffee and donuts and left me with little time to plan out my route.”
“Oh, well. Welcome back, glad you survived going over the enemy lines. Now it is time to talk contracts.”
As we talked, we kept our eyes fixed on the door of Time Twisters.
“Right, so here is the menu.” Scott explained as he pulled out a sheet of paper from a folder. “You will need to have this all cooked by Monday morning. You will lead a team of five catering assistants, at my catering kitchen, which is located down Princes Street, of all places. I believe you know Princes Street quite well now, after almost dying on the park bench there?”
“Oh, yes. That is a very fond memory,” I said as he continued.
“You will need to be at work by 1pm tomorrow to start prep. Everything on the menu needs to be packed and ready to be transported out to set by Monday morning. You and I will be doing the delivery, and we will need to stick around for the day refilling empty trays of food and making sure there is always hot coffee available for the actors and crew.”
As he talked I listened, but I was also reading the menu. He must have seen my face, as he said, “What? You don’t like the menu?”
“It’s a tad boring, but hey, I’m the new girl. I will do as I’m told.”
He went on, “This contract is for four months. Your hours and days will be different every week, depending on when and where they are filming.”
“Yip, sounds good. Although I have one question: will I actually be cooking for all my idols on the show?”
“No, you will be cooking for everyday people, actors you know, people just like us,” he corrected me.
“Yeah, doubt it,” I said. He looked at me like I was a tad crazy.
“Right, all sound
s good to me. It will be good to get back into a kitchen.” I said, “Where do I sign?” “Just here, sign your life away,” he said.
“Whatever you say, boss.”
“That’s master to you,” he replied.
“Anyway, let’s get back to this stakeout, can we?” I said.
We had been sitting in the ‘Scottlander’s Catering’ van for over an hour now, with no sign of Sophie. Scott said to me, “You know, you could just walk in and say that you finished the meeting with me early and decided to come and join in the fun with them.”
To which I replied, “I could never do that, and I will do no such thing. She would totally see through me and think I didn’t trust her.” This stakeout was beginning to feel like one big fail, for all we knew, they might not even be in there in the first place. I decided to have a quick look through the window to see if I could see that they were even there.
I told Scott, “I’m going out, cover me. Damn, I should have brought along walkie-talkies. Oh, well, we will put them on the list for next time.”
“Next time? You mean there will be a next time? How many stakeouts have you been on Letticia?”
“Only this one silly, but we make a good team. I’m sure we will find more opportunities, especially working on set. Ohhhhh, we could totally stalk, I mean, follow all the hot Scottish actors. Now that would be an awesome stakeout!”
Scott said, “Letticia, I think you’d better read your contract about professionalism, and this is quite a big one in regards to the LAW!!!!”
“Scott, have you put on your sensible pants? If so, I would appreciate it if you took them off right away.”
“As you wish Master,” he replied, and went to undo his top button.
“No, no, no! I was only joking!” I said.
“So was I,” he replied.
“Right, as I was saying until I lost my focus; I’m going out, cover me. Oh! I have a great idea! We need a warning word! If you see them coming, and I don’t, you can yell it out to me. Any ideas?” Then, before Scott even had a chance to share his ideas, I had already decided on the word.
“Right, the word will be ‘Highlander,’” I announced
“Okay, so if you hear me yell out Highlander, you run back as fast as you can, it’s dangerous out there Letticia.” Scott warned me.
He grabbed hold of my hand and said, “If you don’t make it back, I just wanted to say…”
There was a long pause as he looked into my eyes and brought my hand up to his heart.
“I want you to know, you’re crazy, but I like you.”
“Right back at ya,” I said.
I then opened the door, and slowly climbed out of the van.
“You don’t have to do this. I won’t take my eyes off that door until you return.”
“Oh, how very ‘Jamie’ of you Scott, but it’s okay. I’m not jumping ship to attend to sick sailors, I’m just going up to the window of a building full of screaming and laughing children, who are probably coughing and sneezing all over each other, sharing their germs. I will return, probably infected, but I will return nonetheless,” and with that, I was making my way over to the window.
My heart was beating hard, I felt like I did in my dream, my feet were heavy and every step was hard. As I lifted each foot it felt like they were made of concrete. I knew I shouldn’t be here, I should just trust Sophie and let her be. But no, I had to know what my children were involved in.
Before I knew it, I was at the window with my face pressed hard up against it and my voluptuous bottom sticking out. I was squinting hard but couldn’t see a thing, I was right that this was a one-sided window. As my face was still pressed up against the window, I heard somebody yelling and it was getting louder and louder, they were yelling out “Highlander! Highlander!”
‘That’s strange,’ I thought. ‘Why are they calling out Highlander? Oh, crap, Highlander, that’s right! Oh, crap, Scott must see them somewhere!’
My only thought then was to get back to the van as fast as I could. Everything was a blur, I turned without even looking where I was going. Leaving my face and hand prints all over the freshly cleaned windows, I ran for my life, but before I knew it, I ran straight into the back of a man and felt the thud of impact. This man’s back was firm, with no fat at all to sink in to, instead my head rebounded off him: he was built like a plank of wood. His toned back didn’t do much for my poor head, and as I fell to the ground the last thing I saw was a head covered in red hair. As I came back around, I was lying in the middle of the Time Twisters car park. I opened my eyes and saw all these faces looking down at me, some I recognized as my children, along with Sophie, and Scott. I had no idea who the other faces belonged to.
There was the man with the red hair and two other children about the same ages as my own two. Sophie had her arm around the redheaded guy. I was confused and tried to work out why her arm was around him. I felt a familiar person’s hand pull me to my feet, it was Scott and he looked concerned for my welfare. As I looked at
Sophie, I noticed she now looked a tad pissed off. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Oh, hi guys! I finished the meeting with Scott early, so thought I would come and find you to join in the fun.”
I then looked at Scott; he rolled his eyes. I do think it would have been more believable if he and I weren’t standing there in the middle of the car park in our stakeout clothes and Scott with binoculars around his neck.
“Anyway, are you going to introduce us to your new friends?” I asked Sophie.
Leah was the first to talk, “This is Archie, he is eight, and this is
Bella, she is six, just like me and Polly are.”
“Oh, isn’t that funny,” I said, “Well, nice to meet you two.” I then moved my attention to the guy from whom my head had rebounded off just moments before. “And this is?” I asked as I looked straight into the mysterious man’s eyes, thinking that Sophie would do the introductions, but no, it was Polly’s turn, “This is James, he’s a man nanny.”
“A man nanny, what is a man nanny?”
James now spoke, “Well, a man nanny is just like a nanny, but I’m a man.”
“Oh, I see. Well, nice to meet you too, I’m Letticia, the girls’ mum, and this is my friend or partner in crime, or more like my Robin. His name is Scott.”
“You can just call me Scott,” Scott said as he reached out to shake James’s strong hand, I think he almost broke Scott’s hand in the process. I examined James from head to toe – he had orange hair that was rugged and not brushed, but it wasn’t in a dirty, unkempt way; it was his style, and he wore it well. He was wearing green jeans and a black jacket, and a tartan scarf the same as the one that Sophie was wearing. He looked about the same age as Sophie, and at that moment I put two and two together, and figured out why Sophie had been acting so different, why she was so happy and had brought colour back into her life.
Damn, she had met her very own Scottish Jamie, a dream I had been chasing, a dream that she had not but had achieved anyway. I stood there unable to speak; was I happy for her or was I jealous of her? Then, after a few moments of working out my emotions, I realised I was actually happy for her. I was no longer on a quest to find myself a Jamie, I was happy finding myself again and learning to love myself.
Scott then decided he needed to intervene, as there had been a long silence while I was working out what was going on and how I felt.
“Right then. Who is up for hot chocolate at a great café I know?” he said.
All the kids yelled at once, “Me, me, me, me!”
“Right then,” he said again as he did a quick head count.
“Perfect,” I added, “we have enough seats. Jump into the
‘Scottlander’ van everyone, AKA Robin’s get-away car!”
Scott looked at me with ‘Really, I’m your Robin now?’
Everyone headed over to the van. The kids ran off in front and Sophie and Jamie, I mean James, who walked hand in hand in front of us. Scott a
nd I followed behind – I was still a bit dizzy and had to take each step slowly, as I felt like I might lose my balance.
“Do you think we need to go get your head checked out at the hospital?” Scott asked.
When he realised what he had said, he let out a little giggle, “I think we both know the answer to that,’ he said.
“Ha, ha, ha,” I replied, “but, no seriously, I will be fine once I get a cup of hot chocolate inside me.”
When we were almost at the van he said to me, “But really Letticia
– Highlander! I called it out quite a few times, ‘Highlander, Highlander, Highlander,’ how did you not hear me?” I didn’t answer.
Well, true to my word, after I had finished a big cup of hot chocolate and it had warmed the inside of my belly, my head started to feel much better.
“How’s the head now?” Scott asked.
“All better, no need for a head examination for this lady,” I replied.
“If you say so,” he said with a cheeky grin planted on his face.
I ignored him and instead turned and focused my attention on the new guy. Jamie was his name, I mean James, I must stop doing that, but he was the spitting image of him. I thought, ‘Well done Sophie, you did well. Bet you have forgotten all about your last love that apparently had broken your heart forever.’ I hope she remembers my wise words, which were: ‘Time heals everything.’
I think James caught me staring at him while I was deep in thought. Oh, crap, I’d better say something.
“How’s your hot chocolate going there Jamiessssss?” Good save! I almost said Jamie, but recovered nicely, just in time.
“It’s great, even these two have empty cups,” he answered, pointing to the two children he was a man nanny for.
“So, tell me, how does one become a man nanny?” I asked. I didn’t want to sound rude or belittling, I was genuinely interested, “It’s not a career that most males would choose.”
“Well, it’s not actually a long-term thing, these two are my niece and nephew. I live in Glasgow normally, but my aunt and uncle live here in Edinburgh. They have just started up an online business that requires them to travel a lot for the next year, so I decided to take a gap year to move in with them and be their man nanny. I actually just finished university in Glasgow last semester with a history degree, I’m looking at getting into becoming a Heritage Manager if all goes well.”
Scottlander Page 8
