“Lawren, what happened at the hospital last night? “
A groan was the reply to Anna’s question and she immediately realized she must have woken him up from a sound sleep.
“Oh, I am sorry, my darling! I’ll call back later in the day.”
Before she could put the phone down she heard a throat being cleared and the words, “No, wait, Anna!
I was working all night but I need to see you today. Unexpected things have happened. Give me an hour to get myself together and I’ll meet you.”
“Do you want me to pick you up at the studio? I think you should come here and have a meal and then we can talk privately.”
“I have some phone calls to make first and I would rather cycle to Rosecliffe. I need to clear my head.”
“That’s fine. Just be careful on the roads. I’ll have food ready whenever you get here. Are you all right, Lawren?”
Anna could not stop herself from making the last enquiry. She knew he did not like too much female fussing but sometimes a quick answer prevented hours of worry.
“I’m fine. I’ll see you soon.”
She would have to be content with that response for now. She went into the kitchen and began to put a simple meal together; fresh bakery bread, eggs, grated cheese and sliced vegetables for a quick omelet, coffee and tea at the ready. Sometimes Lawren preferred one and sometimes the other. She unearthed, in the freezer, a bag of the cinnamon donut centres he liked and put them out to defrost.
It was a fine September day and perhaps they could eat outside. She always found bad news to be more acceptable in the outdoors. She quickly chided herself for presuming the news was bad. Yet, his tone of voice clearly betrayed concern and anxiety. She hoped his father was improving. She well knew how upsetting it was to watch a parent deteriorate. She had not yet had a chance to meet his father although he knew about her.
Fortunately, Alina was at the warehouse this morning preparing for the busy Christmas season online. She liked to supervise operations although the new manager was more than competent. Alina often said no one could appreciate how important it was to photograph knitwear effectively, better than the creator of that knitwear.
Anna was well aware that Lawren was not always comfortable when Alina was present. She and Alina had talked about this endlessly and Alina had made every effort to excuse herself when Lawren came over to spend the night, but he was a sensitive man and alert to atmosphere in a way Anna had never encountered before. She thought it was part of what made him such an outstanding artist. She blushed when that thought led to his comparable ability as a lover as well.
She knew it was the honeymoon period for them, marriage or not. She had already determined never to bring up the subject of marriage. She was quite content with their present arrangement, other than the fact that getting time to be together was becoming more difficult rather than easier. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, she reminded herself, but the corollary; out of sight out of mind, was a warning.
She was ever conscious of her age. How many years might they have together before illness or weakness would affect either one of them? Secretly she expected the deterioration to be more likely for her. Lawren was remarkably fit for his age as evidenced by his ability to cycle several miles after very little sleep. She could not say it, but she did worry about him whenever she drove in London. The streets were increasingly busy with vans and trucks and, nowadays, the whole length of Wonderland Road had streams of traffic at all hours. She was much more aware of cyclists on the road now and hoped other drivers were equally cautious.
How would she cope if he was ever involved in an accident? It would be as if she had been granted a vision of heaven and then had it snatched away from her.
Don’t be such a silly woman! Her practical Scottish mother used to say there was no point in borrowing trouble. Anna gave herself a mental shake and remembered Susan’s advice also. They were two mature adults. Whatever problems presented themselves, surely they could solve them, one way or another.
She had reason to remind herself of this decision an hour and a half later when Lawren showed up at her door. He was windblown and somewhat more breathless than usual so she refrained from questions until she had ushered him inside and heated the pan for the omelet while he relaxed on the sunny patio.
Glancing through the plate glass windows she could see how restless he was. He fingered his shoulder-length hair and pushed strands behind his ears, then jumped up and walked the garden as if his thoughts had taken over his body. He was about equal in height to Anna but his physique was fit and honed to perfection. She could have stood there admiring him for hours but curiosity made her hurry with the food.
What now?
She waited impatiently until all the plates were emptied and he finally sat back with steaming coffee in the large mug he preferred. It was known already as ‘Lawren’s mug’ and kept for him.
“Damn, Anna! That was good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
She reached over and rubbed his shoulder. “I am glad you feel better. You are beginning to look more relaxed. Now, please tell me your news. What could have kept you up all night?”
“It was the gallery show and the paintings I needed to finish. I decided to include the one you saw in the studio the first time you came there. Remember?”
“I certainly do! I still think it is one of your best but what was the rush to finish? Don’t you have several weeks before the show?”
“You are right, of course. It wasn’t the prime reason.” He sat up straighter in the lounge chair and Anna knew the main topic of the conversation had arrived.
“I saw my father last night, as I had mentioned. He told me a number of things that shocked me. He has made arrangements to go from the hospital to a residential home for seniors.”
“But, that is good news, surely? You were concerned about where he could go to recuperate.”
Anna was even prepared to offer Lawren’s father a place with her, temporarily, if necessary, but now she was glad that complication in her life would not be required.
“Absolutely! That was just the beginning, however. He made a request that floored me completely. He wants me to seek out the Drake estate in England and bring back information about the family.”
“What? I thought you were permanently cut off from the family many years ago.”
“I thought so too. Now he says he regrets this and wants to introduce me to the family heritage …….. and, he wants me to do it soon!”
Anna sat back and tried to absorb this news. Now she understood the urgency of completing the paintings. It was obvious that Lawren took his father’s request seriously and had every intention of meeting the obligation that had been thrust on him.
She deduced at once that he would be leaving for England and their lives would be separate again. Coming fast on the heels of this conclusion was the thought that he was doing the right thing.
If someone in her own family had ever had this impulse to re-establish connections across the Atlantic, her own life might have been very different and Helen Dunlop might not have been a relative she never met face to face.
“You must go, Lawren. I will check out travel arrangements for you, if you like. Do you know where you are heading? We can look for accommodation and transport links online. I can do all that for you and you can finish your gallery work. When do you think you will be able to leave?”
There was a silence that stretched out for a minute. Anna saw Lawren’s face dissolve into tearful relief despite the hardening of his jaw in a vain attempt to control the emotion.
“I could not have expected you to be so understanding, Anna. My dear Anna! Since my mother died I have never known the comfort and sweetness a woman can bring to a man’s life. Come here!”
She held him in her arms until he had gained control then briskly kissed him and pulled him into the small office where the computer and internet awaited.
After an hour researching the county of Wiltshire and exclaiming about its ancient history and amazing old towns, houses and gardens, Anna could see that Lawren was wilting with fatigue and they were no closer to the actual location of Hartfield Hall.
“Look, my dear, you had best go to bed and sleep for a couple of hours. I’ll continue with the search and find a travel plan to suit you.”
Lawren nodded in reply and needed no further persuasion. After tucking him into her bed, Anna kissed his forehead and tiptoed back to the computer.
She had an idea of where the estate might be located but maps were notorious for changing scale so that places looked much closer than they were in reality. The best she could come up with was a village in the Nadder Valley in the west of Wiltshire where there had been a railway station for well over a century and a half, making the trip from London by rail an easy connection for Lawren. From there he would be on his own, exploring the local area and asking the kinds of questions that should provide the information his father was no longer clear about. Tisbury would have country hotels or pubs where Lawren could stay while he ventured into the countryside. It was impossible to guess how long it would take for him to find what he was looking for and there was always the chance that it was a fool’s errand and age had dimmed his father’s memory.
Anna wished she could go on this adventure with Lawren. It was tempting to leave Canada behind and escape to a place where neither of them was known and their current problems might be forgotten.
She soon rejected this impulse. It was a very personal odyssey he was embarking on; one that would require an adjustment and re-evaluation of his family history. It was best that he take this journey on his own and return to her once he had gradually incorporated his new understandings into his personality.
She accepted this necessity, but, at the same time, she found herself thinking about something she had promised to do for herself in deciphering her own family secrets. A trip to Glasgow where her mother and father met and married might help her find out the whys and wherefores in her parents’ decision to leave their Scottish life behind in such a final way.
There were unanswered questions on both sides. Lawren’s father wished he had not waited so long. Anna did not want to face the same regret one day in the future.
While she was still coming to this conclusion, she heard Alina’s key in the door and rushed to meet her with a whispered warning that Lawren was asleep nearby. Alina said she was aware that he was inside as she had spotted his bicycle in the driveway.
“What’s up?” she asked. “Have you two resorted to daytime assignations to avoid interruptions?”
Anna could not summon up a smile at this feeble joke and Alina soon saw the serious look on her friend’s face. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you by that tactless remark. Tell me what’s been happening.”
They headed for Alina’s suite at the other side of the condo where their conversation would not be likely to disturb Lawren. Anna wanted him to sleep until he woke naturally, knowing this would help him to deal with these rapid changes in his life.
It took a full ten minutes to give Alina an outline of the events of the last twenty-four hours. To Anna’s surprise she grasped the implications at once and encouraged Anna’s idea to do her own family research in Glasgow.
“Don’t worry about me,” Alina added. “This gives me the opportunity to do something I have been thinking about. I want to invite Philip to stay here with me for a trial period. After all, I have seen him on his home ground in Manchester and I think it’s time he saw how I live here in London, Ontario.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Alina! Philip will take good care of you, and the condo and business will be in safe hands while I am away. You should have told me you had this in mind.”
“No need to fret about it now, Anna. Everything has fallen into place perfectly for all of us. Philip is badly in need of a break since the Olympics ended and I have another good idea for you.”
“You are full of surprises today, my friend!” exclaimed Anna. “What is it?”
“Well, when you have done your research in Glasgow, why don’t you and Lawren meet up in Oban for a week or so. Is the house free in September?”
Anna was delighted with this suggestion and hurried to the office to check the website where all the bookings for the McCaig farmhouse were kept up to date. She scanned the month of September and found her brother Simon had booked the second week for himself, Michelle, Donna, their older daughter, and one of the grandkids. There were no further bookings until October.
She rushed back to inform Alina and grew more and more convinced this was an excellent idea.
“If I time it right, “she exclaimed, “I can see Simon and Michelle, and my niece and her daughter before they leave. I have not been out to Alberta for years and I miss them. They can meet Lawren, too!”
“You see! A good plan works for everyone,” Alina agreed with a touch of smugness. “It looks like we all have plenty to do in the next few days but before you run off, Anna, there is something important for you to consider first.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you are ever going to have success in finding out about your Scottish family, you need to write down everything you know about them from your parents or from other sources.”
“Oh, I see what you mean. I can hardly arrive in Glasgow with nothing and no place to start the search.
I will do this as soon as Lawren has decided when to leave for England. Thanks, Alina. Smart thinking, as usual!”
Lawren slept until the skies had darkened. He proclaimed he felt much better but Anna insisted he join she and Alina for a meal. While he was enjoying a second helping of pasta and chicken, Anna carefully lifted his bicycle into the back of her car and returned to the condo to prepare a folder for him of the results of her online investigations. She had included all the relevant price options as she did not want to volunteer to fund the expedition and insult his independence. His first trip to Scotland was a business expense for Helen’s painting. She doubted she could persuade him to accept an air fare again.
Lawren hardly complained about the car ride home to his studio and Anna was relieved that he did not need to tackle the cycle journey in the dark.
“It’s good to have even this short time alone,” he admitted, once they were on their way. “We haven’t managed a night together for far too long. It’s my fault, Anna. I don’t want you to think I am not keen to make love to you again. I love you so much; more than I can say. Every day adds to the feeling I have that you are the best thing in my life. I want to give you everything and I am counting on the art show to make that wish a reality.”
Anna knew he was watching her profile as he spoke to gauge her reaction. She desperately longed to stop the car and cover him with kisses but dared not lose her concentration on the road ahead. A brief flash of insight made her grin as she imagined what she would say to a police officer after they had caused an accident in the middle of a busy road.
“Lawren Drake, I am having serious difficulty keeping my eyes on the road here. You know how I feel about you. You have already given me more than any man has ever done. I feel such joy just knowing you are in my life and that has nothing to do with proximity. No matter where you are, that closeness we share is real and immediate.” She swallowed and was glad the dim interior of the car hid her blushes. She was not used to fulsome expressions of her emotions any more. It was another thing she needed to adjust to in this new shared life she had acquired so unexpectedly.
A low throaty voice emerged eventually from the seat beside her. “Anna Mason, I know the location is not the most glamorous, but you will share my bed in the studio tonight before I let you drive home. Put your foot down woman, and get us there fast.”
If anyone had been watching, they would have seen an unremarkable automobile suddenly moving into top speed and heard the sound of laughter floating behind it like strains of loud music from a car stereo.
“Silly young fools!” the observer might have concluded, and for a few wild minutes Anna and Lawren might well have agreed with this assessment.