1. Camping

Monday 2nd July 2018

Glasgow

Scotland

I came downstairs for breakfast to join my mum and stepdad, having packed my canvas holdall the previous evening and taken it downstairs. I’d been in two minds about what to pack, and I’d needed to make a decision and get the task out of the way. I paused in the hallway where all the luggage had been, but it was gone.

My mum said, “Come and get some breakfast into you, Darren. We’re aiming to be on our way before the school runs and the commuter traffic hits the road.” She nodded to my stepdad. “Bruce packed the car with the main baggage a little while ago, so all that’s left is for us to prepare the house and go.”

I nodded to her and my smiling stepdad. “I was just doing a last-minute check of my emails, which was just as well.” I took a seat at the dining table. “The landlord in Edinburgh said that the accommodation will be available on the third of August.”

Bruce said, “That’s great news, so if your uni course starts on Monday the sixth, it gives you the weekend to settle in.” He sipped coffee. “How many of you are sharing the flat?”

“There are three rooms, and at the moment, one is mine, one is taken by my friend, Ian, and one is up for grabs. The landlord is confident he has an occupant for the third room.”

My mum said, “Does that mean the third room will go to someone neither you nor Ian knows?”

“Yes, but it will be a fellow student, and that’s all that matters if the rent is being paid.”

She said, “When Natasha moved into her accommodation, she knew both of the other girls, but that was only because they’d all been flat-hunting together.”

I finished a mouthful of cereal. “Has she said what she’s doing for her two-week break?”

“I suggested that she catch a train and spend a couple of days with us in Balloch.”

“What?” I said. “Surely, she wouldn’t consider catching a train to Loch Lomond … she won’t be interested in a family holiday now.”

Bruce said, “It wouldn’t be that much of a hassle for her, and besides, she’s your sister—you should be pleased that she’d want to spend some time with us.”

I had to think fast. “I am pleased. I just wondered, because I thought she had some plans to go somewhere with a friend.”

My mum nodded. “When she was last in touch, she did mention visiting the Isle of Skye for a few days, but you know what Natasha is like.” She laughed. “She loves to squeeze as much as possible into her free time.”

“If they use a hotel or bed and breakfast on the Isle of Skye, it will be expensive.”

She laughed. “I got the impression she’d be coming here first anyway to pick up her sleeping bag because they’d be camping.”

*

Balloch

Loch Lomond

After my dad left the family home, the three of us continued using a large ridge tent. It had been sufficient for Mum, Natasha, and me for a couple of holidays, and then Natasha left to attend university in Edinburgh.

Bruce moved in with my mum and me, and after about two months, he told us one evening that, like us, he enjoyed camping holidays. The one thing he suggested, which I had to agree was a good idea, was that we change the tent. I was pleased to be part of the brief discussion, and I reminded them that once I left for uni, they wouldn’t need a big tent. It was at that point that Bruce said it might be a better idea to invest in a touring caravan. In the meantime, for this brief holiday, we’d be renting a self-catering cottage for a few days because they both needed a break from work.

When we arrived at the small street in Balloch, Bruce parked his Volvo Estate in front of the building. It had a small garden with flowerbeds and a wooden bench. While Mum and Bruce looked around the accommodation, I got to work unloading the car. When I’d gotten everything indoors, I put my mum and Bruce’s baggage into the room on the left, as directed, and the room on the right was for me. I had more than one reason to be pleased with the ample space and privacy I’d have, apart from the double bed.

While I’d been busy inside, Bruce unloaded the garden furniture from the small shed and set it up in the back garden, which was screened by a high hedgerow on all three sides. There was plenty of space for the four folding chairs, the table, and two padded loungers.

Appropriately, it was about lunchtime by the time we’d completed our setup, and we were ready for a bite to eat and a mug of tea. I sat reading a story on my Kindle while my mum and Bruce cooked a simple meal and fixed a brew.

When the idea of a holiday with my mum and Bruce was first mentioned, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but my mum quietly assured me that it would be fine. My dad had disappeared from our family life almost two years earlier, but I’d still enjoyed it when it was my mum, Natasha and me. I considered that it was different in more than one way. Neither my dad nor Natasha was with us, and it would help Bruce and me to get to know each other.

Although Bruce had moved into our house, it was clear that neither he nor my mum wanted to marry. They’d joked about it, but both had said they’d rather be happy partners than maybe become miserable spouses. I could see their point because they’d both been left in the lurch by their previous spouses. Bruce had lived with us for a couple of months, but his work and my part-time job at a supermarket meant that we were sometimes like passing ships in the night. We hardly saw each other, but at least we got along when we did.

After lunch, in the privacy of the back garden, I took all the dishes and utensils indoors and cleaned them. It wasn’t a big deal, but I knew that having made the meal, my mum and Bruce would appreciate the gesture. When I’d finished, the three of us went for a walk together. None of us had been to Balloch before, so it was decided that, because it was such a small town, it wouldn’t take long to find our way around.

Bruce said, “What we need is a cosy pub with a beer garden on such a lovely day.”

“Over there,” Mum said. “The Lochside Inn.”

A few minutes later, we were seated in the pleasant beer garden, where my mum had a strange mix of alcohol and fruit juice, while Bruce and I enjoyed chilled lager.

Bruce turned to my mum. “What’s caught your eye apart from this lovely place, Megan?”

“I quite fancy taking one of the cruises up the loch, and several quaint little shops are begging to be visited. Apart from that, Helensburgh is only a fifteen-minute drive or bus ride, and it’s been a long time since I saw the place.”

He turned to me. “What about you, Darren?”

“I noticed that there’s a bike rental place, and a hut near the bridge advertising canoe hire, so I’d like a day at both of those. Besides that, there are several forestry walks that would provide a pleasant day out.” I paused. “What about you?”

“I’d be happy to accompany either of you by the sound of it.” He smiled. “I’d like to accompany your mum, relaxing away from it all, but on the other hand, a cycling or canoeing day would be a good way for you and me to get to know each other better.”

My mum turned to Bruce. “You and I can relax together anytime, and since Darren heads off to uni in a few weeks, the cycling and canoeing trips would be a great idea for you two.”

He enjoyed a mouthful of lager. “Tomorrow, we could check the weather forecast for the remainder of the week and perhaps plan a couple of days.”

“That sounds good,” my mum said. “We’re here until ten o’clock on Saturday morning.”

“Two days planned, and the rest spontaneous,” I said and swallowed a mouthful of lager.

We spent the entire afternoon in the beer garden, and it was early evening when we set off back to the cottage. Bruce and Mum didn’t seem the worse for wear, and though I’d had more to drink than usual, I felt okay.

Bruce said, “Instead of going back and cooking a meal, how about eating out on our first night?”

My mum laughed. “I’m all for that idea.”

I wandered up the road nodding and smiling, happy to go along with any decision they made.

“Chinese?” My mum pointed to a place that was ahead of us and on the way back.

“Great,” Bruce said.

We settled down to an excellent meal and washed it down with wine. Until I was outside in the fresh air again, I hadn’t properly accounted for how I’d be affected by a couple of glasses of white wine on top of the lager I’d been drinking.

We arrived back at the cottage, and I couldn’t believe my eyes as we approached the door.

“Hello.” Natasha waved from the front garden, where she got up from the wooden bench.

“Natasha, darling.” My mum hugged her excitedly. “When did you get here?”

“Only about twenty minutes ago by train.” She turned to hug Bruce, and then me, before continuing. “Kirsten is helping with a family crisis, so she has to be in Glasgow for a couple of days. We’re taking a small igloo tent so we can go camping during our break. I stopped off at home to grab my sleeping bag and a few essentials. If I may, I’ll stay with you guys until Thursday morning.”

Bruce said, “Are you meeting up with Kirsten on Thursday?”

“Yes, I know the train she’ll be on, so I’ll need to be in Helensburgh for ten o’clock. We’ll catch a train together from there to go north.”

My mum said, “Are you still going to the Isle of Skye?”

“Yes, if we travel up on Thursday, we’ll still have ten days there, and we’re booked into a Youth Hostel for the first night.” She tapped her large Bergen with the sleeping bag strapped on top. “I’ve packed enough changes of clothes to see me through.” She glanced at me and arched an eyebrow, and I was pleased that neither Bruce or my mum noticed.

Bruce said, “I’ll move my baggage and move in with Darren for a couple of nights, and you can sleep with your mum.”

“I’m sorry for messing you all about—”

“Nonsense,” Mum said. “Bruce is right—we couldn’t expect you and Darren to share.”

Natasha turned to me and grinned. “Can you imagine, Darren, you and me sharing anything?” She laughed and held my gaze as the other two joined in the laughter.

When things settled, we sat out in the back garden for a while as Natasha told us how well things were going at university, and she had a range of questions about what we had planned for our week. It was quickly decided that Natasha and Mum would be happy heading off together on a couple of the days, which would leave Bruce and me to do what we’d discussed earlier.

It was late in the evening when we started our visits to the bathroom before returning to our respective rooms. Mum and Natasha went first, followed by me.

I hurriedly finished brushing my teeth and waited until Bruce left the room before quickly pulling off my sweater, trainers, jeans and socks. I didn’t know how long Bruce would take to do his bathroom routine, but I paused for a moment and looked at the big bed, wondering how strange it would be sharing it with another man. I’d expected to be sleeping alone, so I hadn’t packed pyjamas. My hesitation at undressing and pondering the situation was my undoing.

I was lying on my back on the bed, gripping the waistband of my purple lace panties, when the door opened. I quickly reached for the duvet, but before I could pull it up to cover myself, Bruce stepped into the room and smiled.

He quickly closed the door, turned the catch, and partially opened the blind to let moonlight illuminate us.

I looked up at him. “I … please ….” I mumbled and lowered my head as I felt a rollercoaster of emotions. Apart from the purple panties, I was also wearing sheer black tights.

“Your sleeping attire looks interesting,” he whispered, as he placed his toiletries bag on the dresser. He flicked the duvet down off my legs. “Sexy.”

***