“Anna, it’s Philip here.”
Anna had to smile when her half-brother introduced himself in this way. She always knew when he called, as his English voice, with more than a touch of Manchester, was easily identified.
“Great to hear from you, Philip! Don’t tell me you are calling from Egypt?”
“No, no. I have been home for a month or so now. The spring and summer are no time to work there. The heat is oppressive.”
“Does that mean the hotel project is on hold until the weather cools down again?”
“Well, there are site managers there, of course, but the truth is that nothing more will happen until I return in November.”
“Will you get some time off, now, Philip? I know you have been working very hard lately.”
“That’s what I am calling about, Anna. Is there any chance you will be in Scotland in the next few weeks? It’s really time we had a decent visit together and I missed seeing you when I met Simon’s family in Canada last year.”
“Oh, Philip! That’s what I want too! We have a lot of catching up to do and we’ve only spent minutes together so far. We need a good spell of time to get to know each other.”
“Agreed! What about it? Will you be in Oban at all?”
Anna groaned inside. The timing was bad for her. She had stuck close to Alina all winter while they worked out how their A Plus business could be adapted to Alina’s new circumstances and now that summer had arrived, it was their first chance to relax and enjoy the sunshine with Susan and Maria.
“I really wish I could travel Philip, but I need to be with Alina at the moment and I really wasn’t planning to go to Scotland until late fall, at the earliest.”
“Ah, I remember your friend has eyesight difficulties, Anna. I understand your concern. The fall is too late for me to meet up with you as I will be heavily into plans for the next stage of the hotel development.” Philip paused for a moment.
“Unfortunately, the summer is out of the question for me also. I have a number of UK-based projects I must attend to.”
Silence fell over the line as both Anna and Philip absorbed this information. Anna recovered first.
“Philip, I am increasingly conscious of time passing as I get older and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to meet with you. Both our lives are busy and complicated but there must be a way to solve this problem.”
“I am sure you are right! Let’s give it some thought and talk again when either of us can see a way.”
Before Anna could say goodbye, the line went dead. She was not surprised. Philip’s social skills were not the most advanced she had ever encountered. He seemed more comfortable when talking about architecture. Suddenly discovering a new Canadian family when he had been estranged for years from his own sister, Lynn, and her family in Sussex, was probably a bit too much for him.
Simon had reported to Anna that his visit with Philip had been cut short. Simon thought his children and grandchildren were more than Philip could take all at once and he had fled the scene before he was overwhelmed.
Although she wondered what would happen on an extended visit with Philip, Anna was determined to see for herself if Philip’s attitude was based on his nature or just the fact that he had spent many years estranged from his parents and sister and removed from normal family life.
She remembered James and Caroline’s account of their first meeting with Caroline’s great-uncle Philip in the Lake District hotel. Neither one of the teenagers was impressed by his attitude to them. He seemed to have some strange and negative ideas about young people and it wasn’t until Caroline stood up to him and attempted to correct his behaviour to James that things had settled down and he had agreed to accompany them to Anna’s house in Scotland.
“Well, I’ll let the situation rest for now,” Anna concluded. “Perhaps something will occur when I sleep on it.” She was a believer in the power of the unconscious mind to continue to work on problems during the night. More than once she had awakened with part of a puzzle resolved that appeared intractable when she went to sleep.
With this decision made, she ceased to worry.
In late May, the weather finally settled into a pattern of fine days and warm nights.
Anna and Alina were early risers and both loved the peaceful mornings in the garden. Their condo was situated on a ravine and the trees provided a gentle background murmur as the breeze rustled by.
Around seven o’clock, the sun shot through the tree cover and bathed their patio in bright sunlight. Both women put down the morning newpapers they had been reading and saluted the day with tall glasses of orange juice, settling back in their matching padded loungers to appreciate their good fortune.
Alina was the gardener and she gazed around the shady flower beds to see what plants had flowered overnight. Anna just looked and enjoyed the view without worrying about weeds or watering. It was a special time for them to talk about the day and make plans for the evening.
“So, any further thoughts about meeting with Philip?”
“Not really, Alina. I can’t see a way to do it. Maybe now is not the right time.”
“Listen here! I do not want you to miss a chance because you are worried about me. I am perfectly fine on my own. Go to Scotland and see Philip or join him in Manchester if that is easier.”
Anna felt a jolt of guilt as she realized Alina had read her mind again. There was no point in denying it. She was worried.
“I know I have been hovering over you lately. I‘m sure it’s annoying at times but you have been there for me so often that I need to return the favour, if I can.”
“That’s just the thing, my dear. There’s nothing you can do. You had the CNIB check out the house for hazards and they gave me many good tips for improving my vision, if it comes to that.
We’ve talked at length about how to continue the business with me in an advisory capacity.
I am taking all the steps the research lab suggested. The rest is in the lap of the gods now.”
Anna took a sip of juice to allow herself a moment to compose the next question.
“There is another related issue we need to discuss. Do you remember the movie we saw where the two old guys were talking about their bucket list?”
“Wait just a minute, Anna! I am not about to kick the bucket! I may have an eyesight problem in the future but that certainly is not the end of my life.” Alina sat up straighter in her chair and looked accusingly at Anna.
“Good heavens! I didn’t mean to suggest such a thing. I only wanted to ask you if there is anything you want to do now, while your eyes are in fairly good shape, just in case you have less sight later on, which God forbid!”
Alina was mollified by this response. The truth was that she had been thinking along these lines herself. Anna’s adventures in Scotland had given her some insight into how insular their lives had been prior to the inheritance of the property. The entire enterprise had opened so many doors for them that Alina had begun to wonder what else they had been missing.
“Calm down! I am sorry I jumped at you again. It’s a reasonable question, after all. There are places neither one of us has seen. Our travels were confined to North America for many years and the whole European continent is unknown to us, not to mention other parts of the world.”
“I must admit, when I heard Susan talk about the villa in Italy, I had the urge to go there and see it all for myself.” Anna’s voice had taken on a dreamy quality that told Alina she was on the right track.
“Why not? That’s what I mean. We should go exploring and see what’s out there. We can afford to take some time off. Where could we go?”
“It’s your choice, Alina. I insist on it. What have you always wanted to do? We could go on a cruise and do several countries in one trip, or rent a house in France, Spain or Italy and explore the area or....”
“Hold on there, we need to prioritize. Let me think for a minute.” Looking around the garden, Alina wondered what in the world would be worth leaving this lovely place for.
They had the weather, the perfect location, and a house with every comfort right there to be enjoyed. It would have to be somewhere exceptional to tempt her away from all this.
She thought of the amazing programs they had watched on TV; so many wonderful places with history and geography to challenge the imagination. How could she choose?
Just then her eyes fell on the front cover of the Globe and Mail. There was another article about Egypt and the Arab Spring. Egypt.
Suddenly two things clicked together in her mind and the solution to Anna’s dilemma appeared.
“There’s one place I have always longed to see but never thought it would be possible.
Anna, my dear friend, let’s both go to Egypt with Philip!”