The Little Gift Shop on the Loch

by Maggie Conway

  As it happened, she didn’t have long to wait. Within minutes the bell above the door jingled and the first customers stepped in. A middle-aged American couple, blissfully unaware their every move was being discreetly monitored by Lily trying to gauge their reaction, were curious as to what they might buy.

  After several minutes and much to Lily’s delight, they appeared at the counter with their selected goods which included a small glass paperweight and a hip flask engraved with a thistle design which they declared would make perfect gifts to take back to the States. Lily had been practising her gift-wrapping skills and felt a small glow of satisfaction as she handed over their prettily packaged purchases and waved them off.

  After that, there was a steady trickle of customers. Mostly they were tourists but also a smattering of locals, some quite brazen about not wanting to buy anything and only wanting a good nose around. Lily didn’t mind in the least, especially when they all seemed to have known her mother and were keen to introduce themselves.

  Being at the counter was a totally new experience for Lily and initially she was hesitant. But after the first few customers she started to relax, finding herself enjoying each little transaction and exchanging pleasantries. She soon realised the need for local knowledge when it felt like every tourist had a question about bus times, the weather forecast or the best place to eat and Iris was called upon several times to impart her expertise. Knowing Iris and Angus were on hand had made all the difference and Lily had loved having them there as much as they seemed to enjoy being there.

  Lily had spent time waitressing as a student and it had always surprised her how ready and willing people were to complain. But everyone had seemed relaxed and happy to spend time browsing and chatting, almost as if something about the shop seem to bring out the best in people. Either that or the incense sticks Iris had been burning all day really were having an effect.

  Whereas Lily had may the day considering the stock in terms of items to be sold, as the day drew to a close she began to appreciate them as gifts with meaning behind them. She was surprised how readily customers shared the reason behind their purchase; a scarf for a friend recovering from illness, a pair of silver earrings for a grand-daughter’s birthday. A newlywed couple en-route to their honeymoon at a remote castle, looking deliriously happy and loved up, had chosen a few body oils. Lily had wrapped them extra specially and had waved them off wistfully, her mind suddenly alight with the idea of honeymoon gift sets. She’d been doing a bit of research herself on the oils in case of questions, discovering rosewood, jasmine and rosewood were known to have Aphrodisiac properties.

  She mentioned the idea to Beth when much to her delight she came into the shop during the afternoon. Beth listened, her eyes sparkling and then revealed an idea of her own.

  ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said. I thought maybe it was time I gave things a real go with Highland Aromatics, look for more opportunities. So, I’ve arranged a meeting with the owners at the estate to see about supplying the holiday cottages with my range.’

  She looked at Lily expectantly. There was a brightness in her eyes Lily hadn’t seen before. Almost as if she was beginning to blossom in some way, find a new courage and confidence. Lily told her she thought it was a fantastic idea and had watched her go, amazed at the difference in the other woman.

  By the end of the day, any doubts about opening had been banished. Patty had never been far from her mind and Lily felt sadness ripple through her that her mother wouldn’t have the chance to live the life she was planning. Yesterday, she had gone with Iris and Angus and together they had finally scattered Patty’s ashes. It had been a beautiful day with only a few wispy clouds high in the sky. They’d taken the urn close to the water’s edge and gently released the ashes, letting them be blown away by the breeze and dispersed over the water. It had felt right and now her mother was at one with her beloved loch.

  Now she could only hope she’d be pleased with today. Lily wasn’t one for fanciful notions but as she locked the shop door, she felt comforted that she could feel her mother’s presence more than ever.

  ***

  ‘Fancy a drink?’

  Jack held up a couple bottles of beers and Lily lifted her eyebrows at him with a smile. As if she was going to say no.

  She started the ritual of emptying the till and tidying up, wondering where the time had gone. She could hardly believe the shop had been open for four weeks. This morning the air had been crisp and crystal clear and the water excruciatingly cold when she’d gone for her swim, reminding her that autumn was here and winter on its way. The days were shortening, the colours slowly turning to reds and golden-yellows, the sun blazing like a burnt orange low in the sky.

  Earlier there’d been a small surge of customers when a busload of tourists had stopped in the village. Lily tidied and refolded the cashmere scarves, noticing there weren’t many left. It wasn’t just the scarves, all the stock was selling. Beth’s products were almost finished, even with the new batch she’d brought in last week. She ran her hand over the cashmere, feeling its softness.

  The thought that the stock was almost all sold made her feel uneasy in some way. What would she do when everything was sold? There would be no reason for her to stay. A proprietary feeling was growing within her, the thought of selling the shop and the little flat beginning to sit uncomfortably with her. She never thought she’d allow herself to be sentimental about the shop but suspected that’s exactly what was she feeling. Once the shop was sold, every physical attachment to her mum would be gone forever and the thought of someone else moving in panicked her.

  The days had slipped into a routine and most evenings after Lily closed the shop Jack appeared. A couple of times he’d brought some food from the café at the centre for them to share and they would sit and chat for a while, tentatively discovering more about one another. She had started to look forward to this time of day, becoming used to his company and feeling comfortable with him.

  Sometimes he didn’t stay long if he had something on at the activity centre but always long enough to make her grateful for his company and feel a pang of regret when he left. When she returned alone upstairs she would feel restless. It was becoming more and more difficult to say good night, their goodbyes becoming longer and more lingering.

  ‘You should have one.’ Jack’s deep voice drifted over her shoulder now.

  Lily jumped. ‘What?’

  ‘One of the scarves,’ he said, appearing at her side. ‘What’s your favourite colour?’

  Lily narrowed her eyes, thinking. She’d never given it much thought and no one had ever asked her before.

  ‘Um, green I think. What about you?’

  ‘Purple.’

  She giggled. ‘Purple?’

  ‘What’s wrong with purple?’ he huffed, trying to sound offended. He lifted a scarf, holding it loosely against her cheek. ‘You’d suit this one,’ he said in a low voice, their eyes meeting. ‘It would go with your eyes.’

  Lily suddenly felt too aware of him, her pulse quickening. Their bodies seem to draw closer and the air between them suddenly felt heavy. Lily looked away quickly, flustered. ‘Maybe I will,’ she said lightly, turning from him. ‘Is that beer open yet?’

  He stood still for a moment then shot her a quick smile. ‘Sure is.’ He went through to the hobby room, dropping himself onto a chair and patting the seat beside him. ‘Come and have a seat, I’ve got something for you.’

  Grateful to get off her now slightly weak-feeling legs Lily sat next to him, taking the bottle he had opened for her. She swallowed a mouthful, her heart rate beginning to settle.

  ‘Hope you’re hungry,’ Jack said, lifting the lid from a food container.

  Lily held back her hair, leaning forward to see a rustic-looking pie made with golden flaky pastry. The most delicious savoury smell wafted its way to her nose, making her stomach rumble.

  ‘What do you think?’ he asked her eagerly.

  ‘Looks great,
where’d you get it?’

  ‘Made it myself.’ He grinned, looking pleased with himself.

  ‘You made this?’

  ‘Try not to sound so shocked.’

  ‘Sorry, I just think – I mean, I wasn’t …’ She shook her head. ‘I just wasn’t expecting it.’

  Lily felt her grip on the cold bottle tighten. The thing was, she wasn’t used to any of this. She was used to living alone and now she felt suddenly as if she had been alone for a long time. Jack was in very real danger of making her feel special and that was something she didn’t know quite how to handle.

  She blinked, focusing back on Jack who was now handing her a wedge of the pie which had already been cut into slices. He’d even brought a few paper napkins.

  ‘Susan at the activity centre café quite often gives me the leftovers – don’t worry, they’re not out of date or anything. She gave me some salmon so I rustled up this little pie for you.’

  ‘Well, thank you, I can’t wait to taste it.’

  Lily was surprised at just how good it was. ‘It’s really tasty,’ she said appreciatively. ‘A man who can make pastry – impressive.’

  ‘A man of many talents, that’s me.’ He winked, biting into his own slice.

  ‘So who taught you to cook?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Myself. It was either that or risk having my mother come round with food all the time.’

  ‘She worries you don’t eat?’ Lily really couldn’t imagine a more healthy-looking male specimen and her eyes rolled appreciatively over Jack’s body, her face reddening when she realised Jack had seen her eye-sweep.

  ‘What can I say? She’s overprotective.’ Se shrugged breezily. ‘Did your mum teach you to cook?’ he asked.

  ‘Not really, she didn’t tend to cook much herself.’ Lily brushed a little crumb from her lips, changing the subject. ‘So how was your day?’

  Jack lifted his bottle from the table, fixing her with a look before replying.

  ‘Great. Well, apart from the two lads who thought it was a good idea to have a sword fight with the canoe paddles and one of them ended up with a busted lip.’ He smiled with a shake of his head.

  ‘Ouch!’ Lily laughed. It was always the same, she thought. Whenever she asked about his day was, the response was always positive. She tilted her head asking, ‘Don’t you ever have a bad day?’

  He took a slug of beer. ‘Of course. But I try not to dwell on it. Suppose I’ve learnt not to stress the small stuff – at the end of the day most things aren’t that important.’

  Lily envied him his easygoing attitude. Although admittedly the last few days she had started to feel less restless and uptight than usual. As working days went, a day in the shop couldn’t be more different from what she was used to. And at first, she had missed the routine of her old job, remembered how adrift she’d felt without it. But here, there were never any deadlines or rushing, as if all those months spent hunched over a desk she could begin to feel herself unfurling in some way.

  ‘How was the shop today?’ Jack asked in turn.

  ‘Knitting club was this morning,’ she replied, her voice warm. It had become her favourite time of the week listening to their chat and laughter.

  He gave her a look. ‘Sounds like you’re enjoying the shop.’

  ‘I am,’ she responded truthfully. ‘I loved my job as an accountant but I’ll admit I’m surprised just how much I’ve enjoyed the gift shop being open.’

  ‘And not a spreadsheet in sight?’

  ‘Not strictly true,’ she countered finishing her last mouthful of pie. ‘Couldn’t help myself really, just to keep track of everything. Even managed to make a decent little profit,’ she told him, not without a certain amount of pride. But the thing she’d delighted in the most was being able to pay Beth.

  Lily stretched over to take a napkin at the exact moment Jack reached for his bottle, her fingers brushing against his forearm. ‘Oops, sorry,’ she murmured, every one of her nerve endings tingling at the touch of his skin. The air between them suddenly supercharged again and Jack’s gaze locked with hers.

  Lily could hardly believe it when just at that very moment her phone vibrated into life. They both turned to look at her phone which was on the table, Lily not knowing if she was relieved or not. She frowned at the number, mouthing to Jack she’d need to take it before hitting the accept button. Smoothing down her hair, she put the phone to her ear. ‘Hello.’

  Lily listened for a few moments, standing up to grab a pen and paper to scribble down a few details and then hung up, her heart thumping. Jack lifted a questioning eyebrow.

  ‘It was one of the recruitment agencies I registered with. I’ve got an interview.’

  There was a silence. Lily couldn’t work out what she was feeling but it felt equivalent to having a bucket of cold water thrown over her. This was what she wanted, she told herself. But for some reason a small lump of dread seemed to have lodged itself in her chest.

  The room had darkened suddenly and rain pattered against the window. More for something to do, Lily went over and switched on the lamp, a soft light illuminating the room. She turned, avoiding Jack’s eyes but could feel his gaze on her.

  ‘What’s the job?’

  She cleared her throat. ‘A financial company, just the usual accountancy stuff I should imagine.’

  ‘So … that’s good, right?’

  Lily swallowed, feeling a stab of disappointment she couldn’t understand. ‘Yes. Yes, of course,’ she said over-brightly. It was good, wasn’t it?

  She remembered how devastated she’d been after her redundancy and an inner voice was telling her it would be good to be back out there again. So why then did she feel confusion rain down on her?

  The truth was that for the last few days she had found herself dipping in and out of a daydream about staying in Carroch but the call from the recruitment agency had just crash-landed into that little fantasy. A job would mean leaving here and she wasn’t sure how that made her feel.

  So much about the past few weeks had been unexpected and good and when she was with Jack, the attraction was undeniable. She felt as if her body was waking from a long sleep and the desire she was beginning to feel for him was difficult to ignore. A few minutes ago, she’d wanted to kiss Jack so badly, to feel him kiss her back. But if they had, then what would have happened? Hadn’t he made it clear he was looking for a relationship? Warning bells were beginning to sound in her head. Maybe that call had come at just the right moment.

  She turned to him now to find his eyes on her, his expression unreadable. Never had Lily been so glad to see Misty stroll into the room and she shuffled onto the edge of her seat, bending to stroke her.

  ‘So when is it?’

  ‘Day after tomorrow in Edinburgh.’ An awkward sound came from her, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. ‘They sounded pretty keen.’

  The mood had shifted and the silence between them thickened, Lily desperately wanting to say something but didn’t know what.

  ‘I’m pleased for you then,’ Jack said eventually.

  Bored, Misty sauntered off to investigate under the table. Lily moved too and was treated to a wave of light-headedness as stood up. Jack was by her side in an instant, his hand on her arm and the concern on his face only succeeding in making her feel worse. Suddenly all her confusion weighed too heavily on her mind. She needed to be on her own to try and untangle her messy thoughts. ‘I’m fine,’ she said abruptly. ‘Just a bit tired, actually. I should probably think about an early night.’

  Jack gave her a look, his voice flat. ‘Of course.’

  She locked the door behind him, turning to the emptiness and not understanding why she felt so low.

  Chapter 15

  Lily sat slouched on the stool behind the counter. She drummed her fingers on the counter and let out a sigh, possibly the hundredth of the day. Last night she’d hardly slept, her body tossing and turning almost as much as her mind resulting in a thumping headache which had stubbornly sta
yed all day.

  She wasn’t even sure why she’d opened the shop today. There was hardly any stock left now and it was all beginning to look a bit sad. Nor was she really feeling in any fit state to deal with customers. Not that it mattered – there hadn’t been a single one anyway. Wisely, most people appeared to be staying indoors. Outside a storm seem to be brewing on the horizon, the sky and loch merging into one menacing mass of darkness.

  Logically she knew there was no reason to open anymore but some invisible thread had pulled her down to the shop this morning. Perhaps it had been to keep her thoughts at bay or perhaps it was because usually being in the shop made her feel better in some way although that certainly wasn’t the case today.

  With something of an effort, she hauled herself to her feet and locked the door, turning the sign to ‘closed’. She rested her head on the pane of glass for a few moments, staring out. The wind had picked up, whipping up small white peaks on the water and the rain was lashing against the window. For now all she wanted was to go upstairs, to the cosiness of the little flat, the feeling of being cossetted by it.

  She turned away from the window, catching the delicate herbal aroma from the Highland Aromatics oils. Her eyes travelled to the shelf where there were only a couple of bottles remaining of Beth’s oils. Perhaps a bath would be a good idea she thought. She picked up the geranium and rose bath oil – perfect for uplifting mood and spirits, the label promised. How could it possibly fail to work when it sounded so wonderful?

  The roll-top bath seem to take an age to fill but after several long minutes, Lily finally sank gratefully into the hot water. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, breathing in the aroma and allowing the oils to infuse her body. It felt utterly blissful.