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  Return to Oban:

  Anna’s Next Chapter

  Ruth Hay

  Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Afterword

  Also by Ruth Hay

  About This Book

  Return to Oban: Anna’s Next Chapter is the seventh story in the Prime Time series.

  * * *

  Anna Mason Drake has seen many changes in her life. She returns to Oban once more, expecting a peaceful time among her friends.

  Will she find the respite she longs for, or another set of demanding challenges to be faced?

  * * *

  ______

  “Anything is possible. Stay open, forever, so open it hurts, and then open up some more, until the day you die, world without end, amen.”

  George Saunders

  Chapter One

  Most days it was all right; or almost all right. Most days she could forget the loss and concentrate on the many gains. After all, whether she was in Canada or in Scotland, she could count on old and beloved friends for company and support. How many women of her age could say the same? She was blessed in so many ways. Except one.

  Lawren was gone and the loss was just as huge now, as on the day, years before, when he died.

  Of course, she could not go around moaning and complaining about the loss when so many others in the world had much more to worry about. When so many had lost children, or jobs, or their very homeland from wars and disasters for which the sufferers were never to blame.

  Anna Mason Drake acknowledged all this and kept her mouth shut and her head up. Most days.

  But in the dark, lonely night when she awoke and turned to seek warmth and comfort and found only an empty space, she lay awake and bereft.

  How could it be that she had found the perfect man after giving up all hope of a fulfilling relationship and then lost him too soon?

  Why did she hesitate to commit to him and waste all that time they could have spent together?

  What difference had it made in the end that Lawren was several years her junior?

  Why didn’t she jump into his arms the first time he made his feelings known to her?

  Was it her failure with Richard that had caused such caution? If so, who cared? Richard was part of her youth, her inexperience, and he too was gone.

  In the darkest moments she dreaded the thought that she would never again feel the strong arms of a man who loved her above all things. And yet, when the sun shone and the day was clear and cool with trees and flowerbeds in full bloom, she knew how lucky she had been to be loved at all by a man as special as Lawren Drake.

  The world knew him as a consummate artist. A painter who could draw out of his human subject’s feelings and emotions they hardly knew existed. A portrait painter whose work had spoken to Anna’s heart the first time she saw it on the walls of a legal office boardroom in London, Ontario. She had not realized it then, but she later discovered his psychic ability to see the future in the faces of even young children. Liam and Annette were evidence of this. The children were now verging on their teen years and yet, the McLennan family portrait Lawren had completed when they were little ones, contained the essence of the young adults they were becoming in the present.

  Anna had the ultimate evidence of this magical ability in her bedroom upstairs in the McCaig Estate Farmhouse in Oban. Lawren had created a large canvas showing three generations of McLeod women arranged in such a way that they were interconnected even although he had not met two of the generations and never knew the places he had hinted at in the background.

  It was the one solace Anna had. She wished she might have it with her wherever she went but it was perfectly placed above the fireplace in their Scottish house and it would have risked damage to the priceless work to trail it around the world whenever she went on a plane.

  And yet, the impulse to re-visit the portrait grew stronger the longer she was in Canada. It felt like coming home to be within sight of it again, but there was a reverse side to proximity, for this room was where they had lived and loved together in their happiest hours and there, eventually, was where she felt the most alone.

  There was no answer to this quandary. The bottom line was simply that she missed Lawren Drake and always would.

  Chapter Two

  “All right then, Anna. I know what’s going on. I may not be able to see perfectly, but I can always tell when you are getting itchy to go back to Oban again.”

  Alina crossed the floor of her immaculate sitting room, kept clear of obstructions by her watchful husband Philip, and stood in front of Anna so she could not be ignored.

  “I don’t know where you get this idea from, Alina. I thought I was disguising it very well but I guess you have known me the longest of anyone and that gives you privileges, in addition to keen insights into my habits. What do you think about the idea?”

  “I think, I wish I could come with you to Scotland again but Philip has work here in London advising the local council on the plans for the renewal of The Forks of the Thames River. He won’t budge till he is satisfied the plan is good enough in all respects. I can’t leave for several months, I suspect, and I don’t think you will wait that long. Am I right?”

  “Possibly. Is the house occupied at the moment?”

  Alina turned to the desk where her computer stood at the ready. Its enlarged screen and extra-large print enabled her to keep track of the family members, or the renters, who stayed occasionally in the charming estate house when Anna did not need it. Alina also supervised operations of their business,

  A Plus Knitwear; an online shopping experience supplying a wide variety of knitted goods to customers all over the world.

  It took only a minute before she responded. “No occupants at the moment, Anna. Jeanette is scheduled to do a house inspection in a week or so but I doubt she’ll be able to manage it with the move to their new house imminent in about a month. They need more space now her mother, Jean, is coming from Vancouver to live with them. Jean will help out with the children since Jeanette’s Design business has grown. Jeanette will probably ask one of her employees to do the inspection instead.”

  “So I could go any time?”

  “If you want to be there for the birth of Fiona’s third it would be good timing, I think. You could hardly miss that big event. Now Gordon is the Laird of Glenmorie it will be a feather in his cap if they can produce another son.”

  Anna laughed out loud. “The Border Campbells will be green with envy! All Gordon’s sisters can produce are girls, and more girls, but perhaps our Fiona would rather have another girl in the castle this time, for company?”

  “You can ask her by phone, of course, but I feel sure you would rather be there.”

  Anna smiled and nodded her head. Then she became serious and it showed in her voice at once.

  “Alina, I know you can’t travel without Philip or me, and I am truly wondering how much longer I can do that flight across the Atlantic. Surely, by now, the airlines should have a faster method to power their engines. I thought the age of the Jetsons would be here by now and save us all the time and trouble
of airports and overnight flights.”

  Alina chuckled. “Dream on, my dear! Just be glad you won’t have to pack more than a carry-on for your trip. That’s the advantage of having your own house to go to, with extra clothes stored in the locked cedar closet above the main entrance.”

  “I suppose you’re right. It’s easier for me than for many others I see on those planes with children and toys and piles of extra luggage to deal with. At least I can get out of the plane and on my way quickly once I get there.”

  “And don’t forget how lucky you are to be able to afford to travel First Class nowadays. That really makes a big difference.”

  Anna agreed. She knew if she ever needed a substantial amount of cash she could sell one of Lawren’s paintings. He had not lived long enough to supply the art world with hundreds of pieces, so demand was high for those that remained in Anna’s care. The trouble was that she thought of these as his children and was reluctant to part with any one of them.

  A silence fell, and both women knew the unspoken question was whether Anna would decide to live out her last years in Canada, with her oldest friend and her husband, Philip, who was Anna’s half-brother, or in Scotland with three other Samba members and a large contingent of friends and knitters in the area, not to mention an entirely new branch of McLeods now centred in Glasgow.

  It was not an urgent predicament as long as Anna was hale and hearty. Alina’s vision problems had impacted her life, although the Macular Degeneration Research Program from London’s Ivey Institute had lessened the effects of her disability. And yet, an enormous and vital part of her life would disappear if Anna decided to stay in Scotland beyond the point where she could comfortably travel back to Canada again. There was nothing to compare to the companionship of old friends who knew each other’s lives and troubles and who could often finish each other’s sentences.

  Both women had been born and raised in London, Ontario. In their foreign travels they had come to appreciate the convenience and ease of Canadian living. In recent years, seniors’ retirement homes of various kinds had sprung up nearby, providing an alternative to living alone in their advanced years should the need arise, but this had to be an individual and last-ditch choice.

  Alina knew this, but she would never put any pressure on Anna. That was not the role of an old friend.

  It had taken Anna Mason Drake many years to come into her own and to make good decisions for herself. Alina must trust in these decisions and be content with whatever happened.

  It’s not going to be soon! She reassured herself. Take each day as it comes and be grateful.

  * * *

  With this admonition in her head, Alina turned the conversation to other matters.

  “So, Maria and Paul have bought a big home in Andover Trails? It was always a dream of theirs to watch the geese return each evening to the big pond and to be able to walk around the pathways throughout the subdivision.”

  “The location suits them very well. It’s so close to major shopping outlets now. Southdale Road is a great, fast road to downtown or White Oaks Mall but the traffic noise is dampened by the number of trees and plants around their subdivision. Maria seems happy with the choice.”

  “I think she wanted a big yard for her grandkids to play in and also a lower level office so she can watch them while she keeps an eye on her fashion business.”

  “Don’t you love how things work out, Alina? Who would have predicted young Lucy would have made such a name for herself in the film industry? She’s out in Vancouver again doing costumes for some science fiction/fantasy series. She really does have her mother’s and grandmother’s skills at her fingertips. I imagine Hollywood will be calling before long. Any word of a romance?”

  “Not that I have heard. I’m sure Maria would be on the phone as soon as that news broke!”

  They laughed together in a comfortable way as friends do who know the peculiarities and hopes of their other friends. The Samba group had been a stalwart support over many years. Now that Susan was on her own, the three remaining London originals met frequently to check up on each other. There was a special sympathy between Anna and Susan because of their shared widowhood although both acknowledged the difference between the long goodbye of Susan’s Jake, compared to the very sudden loss of Anna’s Lawren. None the less, they each had to adjust to the ‘empty house’ syndrome and often commented on ways to fill their time and their space.

  Anna had emptied Lawren’s old downtown studio and taken his paintings to the Rosecliffe condo where they were now displayed on every wall that could accommodate them.

  When Philip had pointed out how this made her condo a target for thieves, she had installed a state-of-the-art security system that not only alerted the security company and the police of any intruders, but also sent a signal to Alina and Philip just two doors away. Their home had an outdoor camera tied to the system which would capture the image of a stranger even if he, or she, had managed to disarm the main system at Anna’s.

  Susan had decided to remain in the house she had shared with Jake despite the memories that haunted her. She had signed up with the local hospital to offer temporary accommodation to out-of-town patients who required wheelchair access during treatment. There was one proviso. She still had one large retriever dog at home and he had his own space near Susan upstairs. As it turned out, this became an advantage since Dominic was trained by Jake to provide help to a wheelchair occupant and he often assisted in pulling a heavy chair up the outside ramp during icy weather.

  Anna did not have the same space to fill in her condo. It had only two bedrooms, one of which was now an office. The space she needed to fill was in the area of time; long days without a purpose lay heavy on the heart. Too much time to regret her losses was damaging to her self-esteem and she did not want to be required to re-establish her sense of self, so hard won many years ago when Helen Dunlop had come into her life.

  Anna had tried returning to her Public Library work at the Central Branch in a downtown Mall but the staff had changed in the intervening years and she felt too old to start making those connections all over again. Her knowledge of current teen reading habits had lapsed and she was not willing to read the vast quantity of zombie, werewolf and vampire novels that would have brought her up to speed.

  Reluctantly, she began to download the books she wanted from Amazon. It was easier and cheaper and since she spent a good amount of time on her computer, it was also convenient. Of course, sitting in bed with an e reader or smartphone in her hand did not have the same comfort as the solid feel of a book, but she could always re-read her old favourites whenever she needed a change. It was another way of vanishing into the past and she was sufficiently aware of the danger so that she rationed her ‘old’ titles and made a pencil note in the title pages whenever she returned for a reading revisit.

  Her current computer targets consisted of sourcing ideas for A Plus knitters. More than once when their business was in its infancy, Alina and Anna had managed to jump ahead of the fashion trends and supply their customers with well-made versions of styles that were just coming into public attention.

  At first this was luck, but experience had taught them the value of scouring the internet for popular blogs and online designers who created most of the trends. Anna was amazed at how many teenage girls were online with make-up, hair and dress tips. They had astonishing numbers of adherents who followed their advice with enthusiasm.

  Despite the age disparity, Anna enjoyed the sheer versatility and ingenuity of these fresh-faced girls who knew their audience well and catered to the lack of money of most of their followers. Watching the bloggers convert older garments into new styles was the inspiration she needed to recommend ideas to Alina and the bands of knitters they maintained on both sides of the Atlantic. It had even become the ‘in’ thing for young people to knit for themselves. Hollywood actors and actresses began the trend and many now swore by the relaxing feeling of knitting. The click-clack of needles was popula
r, also, in waiting rooms and hospitals across North America. What these beginners lacked, of course, was the expertise to incorporate patterns and designs into their knitting. For the present, at least, experts like the Scottish Fairisle knitters could devise and adapt patterns and complete new items at incredible speeds the newcomers to the craft could never surpass.

  Anna was able to take a quick photo from the internet on her smartphone when she saw an innovative idea and pass the photos on to the knitting teams. With their approval, the automatic knitting machines could be programmed for the less complex parts of the style and hand-knitted designs could be grafted on to complete the effect. It was a winning combination. As long as they could provide new products A Plus would continue to be a viable source for the fashion-conscious woman of any age.

  This research required a great deal of Anna’s time and for that she was pleased. Sinking into bed at night was satisfactory when her mind was tired from seeking and searching, and sleep came easily most nights.

  * * *

  Alina kept track of Anna’s work hours and often protested that she would grow fat and unhealthy if she did not balance her sedentary activities with something more active. She tried to accustom herself to a standing computer desk but found it distracted her from the screen. It went back to the big box store within a week and Alina’s next idea for Anna to work while on a moving treadmill was discarded without a trial. The concentrated work of checking into many different blogs online did not allow her to divert her attention to how her feet were performing. She knew she would promptly fall off the moving device and break an arm or leg.