May 15th & 16th, 1970
“I think we did pretty good today.”
“I think so too,” I replied. Liliane and I had just exited a store, the fourth in an afternoon of shopping on and around Aberdeen’s Union Street.
My sister was still ogling the shoes she’d bought. “I hope I get to wear them before we leave.”
“You’ll be modelling them for Auntie later,” I reminded her. “She’s just like Gran that way.” I had shopping bags in both hands— as did Liliane— and kept a steady pace on the sidewalk to our great-aunt’s car. At the sound of a familiar laugh I turned my head, only to see Cameron and another man walking in the opposite direction as us on the sidewalk.
I discreetly motioned Liliane to look at the men, and she did. As they passed, I met Cameron’s gaze and he stopped still in his tracks.
“Emily? Is that you?” he asked.
“How funny,” I chuckled, then introduced Liliane to him. “I was just talking to my sister about you yesterday.”
Cameron gave me a brief hug and introduced us to the man beside him. “This is Dale.”
Dale began to speak to my sister so I turned to Cameron. “So, what have you been up to?”
“Some practice, mostly. Jamming,” he replied. “And you?”
“Shopping,” I said with a laugh, lifting my shopping bags a little higher in the air.
Cameron smiled and shifted a ring on his right hand. “I have a question, just if you don’t mind,” he asked shyly.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Well, have you got any smoke on you? Willie ran off with a French girl and all mine,” he explained.
I chuckled at the thought of a cigarette bandit. “No, I have none on me but… Do you know Duthie Park?” I asked, and Cameron nodded. “Meet me there at nine by the Winter Gardens.”
“You’re a God-send!” he grinned.
“Don’t worry about it! I owe you one. Or two,” I laughed.
Dale interjected to say that he and Cameron were going to be late for their meeting, if they didn’t get going.
“Please, don’t let us keep you from anything important,” Liliane urged.
“We’ll be on our way then,” Dale replied. “It was a pleasure to meet both of you.”
“Same here,” I answered. “Goodbye, Cameron.”
The men continued on their way and Liliane turned to me. “He’s pretty cute, Sis.”
“Who?”
“Dale.”
“He does have nice hair,” I admitted, though I’d barely noticed Dale. “Come on, let’s go back to Lily’s.”
Nine o’clock rolled around and I excused myself from my sister’s company, feigning a headache and the need for fresh air. I put my shoes on and headed out the door, a scarf around my neck as it was a bit chilly outside. I made my way to Duthie Park and saw a familiar head of hair sitting by the entrance to the Winter Garden.
“Hi there,” he greeted me as I approached.
“Hello,” I answered. “So, did Willie leave with all your pot or all your cigarettes?”
Cameron laughed, thanking me for meeting him. “I’ve got a few cigs left,” he explained. “Not many, though.”
“Lucky for you,” I teased, “I’ve got options.” I took the pack of cigarettes I’d bought earlier out of my back pocket and handed it to him, then passed along the small bag I’d procured only a few days earlier from a teen who seemed to enjoy loitering.
Cameron raised his eyebrows and laughed. “What haven’t you got in your pockets?” he sarcastically asked.
“A lighter,” I retorted. “I’ve got this, though,” I added, sitting down beside him and handing cigarette papers to him.
He began to roll a joint, mixing in tobacco from one of his cigarettes.
“You and your sister look nothing alike,” Cameron said quietly.
“Really? I’ve had people tell me that we look like twins.”
“I don’t see it.” Cameron finished rolling and licked the glue end, sealing up the joint. “Which one of you is the older one?”
“She is,” I answered as he lit the joint and took a drag. “There’s a little less than two years between us, so it’s not too bad.”
Cameron offered the smoke to me and I accepted, taking a haul. It mostly tasted of tobacco, so I didn’t worry about pacing myself; I’d only get tipsy with the ratio he’d used.
“I’m glad we stumbled into each other today,” I added quietly, handing it back to him. “It gives me the chance to thank you for what you did for me last week. I was pretty stuck and you really helped me out.” The incident at the creek was still fresh in my mind and the memories threatened to replay again.
“I was glad to,” Cameron said, a tentative smile on his face. “But don’t think too much. Let’s just talk.”
I looked at Cameron and this time I was the one to smile, seeing that he’d acknowledged my thanks. “Okay.”
I got back to my great-aunt’s house around six-thirty in the morning. I quietly opened the door and took my shoes off, heading upstairs. I snuck past Liliane’s door as I headed for the bathroom, desperately needing a shower after a night spent outdoors.
I heard a creak and turned around, coming face to face with my sister.
“Emily! Where have you been?” she whispered in anger.
I hesitated, not sure how much to fib. “I bumped into Cameron during my walk.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, he’s an insomniac apparently and—”
Liliane frowned. “Hadn’t Dale mentioned they were headed to Inverness?” She leaned against the door frame and peered at me inquisitively.
“Today, yes,” I answered. “Can I go clean up? I’ll see you at breakfast.” I shut down the conversation and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me.
My sister could be a nag at times, and probably felt left out that I hadn’t told her where I was all night. ‘Well, too bad for her. I can be my own person, too.’ I thought as I started to strip down and discard my clothes.
I wondered what had caused us to cross paths again as I looked in the mirror and brushed my hair. I’d been wanting to thank him, that’s true, but I had his manager’s number if I really wanted to make a gesture. It could have been luck that put him on the main street at the same time as me, or it could be plain coincidence.
I put the brush down and tried to clear all thoughts of serendipity from my mind. I showered thoroughly, taking my time and getting the grime of the night off of me. My blank mind became filled with images of last night.
We sat close by each other, thighs touching for warmth. I had spent little time with Cameron and even less alone with him but it felt as though I knew him well. Well enough to speak freely. Almost.
"What's been your favourite part of Scotland so far?" Cameron asked, putting out the joint.
I paused for a moment and caught myself. "The friendliness. And the generosity of the people. I knew my grandmother never wanted to leave Scotland, but she fell in love with someone from Canada and moved there," I explained. "I see why she always wanted to come back."
"Did she ever? Come back, I mean."
"No." I closed my eyes and willed myself not to tear up. "She died, not even two months ago. That's why I'm here. I'm here for her."
"My condolences, Emily. You must have loved her, to come all this way for her," Cameron spoke solemnly.
"I did. I do," I corrected myself. I couldn't speak any more about her without crying, that I knew. I sat quietly and waited for him to speak.
A few minutes passed in relatively comfortable silence until I shivered, making a little squeak as the cold flew through me.
"Come, let's go into the greenhouse. It'll be warmer there." Cameron led me into the greenhouse, whose door was slightly ajar. I found it odd that it wasn't locked, but made no mention of my observation.
Flowers and plants everywhere, there was a wonderful smell permeating the greenhouse. I took a deep breath and noticed that Cameron was looking at me intently.
"What is it?" I asked, a smile on the verge of coming out. "You're not going to tell me I remind you of the roses, are you?"
Cameron laughed, and I couldn't help but add to the sound.
“May I ask you something, Emily?” he asked through the ending laughter.
“Anything.” It was out of my mouth before I realized what I had said.
“Alright.” Cameron took a seat on one of the wooden benches meant for storage. “You know, I saw a child at that creek once. In Garlogie.”
I froze, not expecting the conversation to turn to the events of earlier in the week.
“I was walking, doing some thinking, when I saw a small child near the water’s edge,” he began, looking down at the dirt scattered on the concrete floor. “I approached her, talking, asking where her mother was. She stepped into the creek and just dropped out of sight.”
I came to sit beside him and put my hand on his arm to provide what little comfort I could.
“The creek wasn’t more than three feet deep. I waded into the middle, trying to see where she could have gone. I never found her, or even saw footsteps on the bank.”
“I’m sorry, Cameron.”
“Don’t be.” He paused, and glanced at my hand on his arm. “She wasn’t really there. Real, she was. But not there.”
Suddenly remembering the beginning of the conversation, I removed my hand from his jacket sleeve and spoke my mind. “How does that turn into a question?”
Cameron let out a huff and looked right at me. “What did you see? At that creek?”
The water was suddenly boiling hot and snapped me out of my thoughts. I jumped out of the spray and turned the water off. I had loitered in the shower, I suppose, and Liliane had flushed the downstairs toilet to warn me. Drying myself off, I shuddered despite the steam in the room. What I had told Cameron, I would never speak about to my family, ever. They simply wouldn’t believe me, despite my strong conviction that I had seen an apparition at the creek in Garlogie.
“I think so too,” I replied. Liliane and I had just exited a store, the fourth in an afternoon of shopping on and around Aberdeen’s Union Street.
My sister was still ogling the shoes she’d bought. “I hope I get to wear them before we leave.”
“You’ll be modelling them for Auntie later,” I reminded her. “She’s just like Gran that way.” I had shopping bags in both hands— as did Liliane— and kept a steady pace on the sidewalk to our great-aunt’s car. At the sound of a familiar laugh I turned my head, only to see Cameron and another man walking in the opposite direction as us on the sidewalk.
I discreetly motioned Liliane to look at the men, and she did. As they passed, I met Cameron’s gaze and he stopped still in his tracks.
“Emily? Is that you?” he asked.
“How funny,” I chuckled, then introduced Liliane to him. “I was just talking to my sister about you yesterday.”
Cameron gave me a brief hug and introduced us to the man beside him. “This is Dale.”
Dale began to speak to my sister so I turned to Cameron. “So, what have you been up to?”
“Some practice, mostly. Jamming,” he replied. “And you?”
“Shopping,” I said with a laugh, lifting my shopping bags a little higher in the air.
Cameron smiled and shifted a ring on his right hand. “I have a question, just if you don’t mind,” he asked shyly.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Well, have you got any smoke on you? Willie ran off with a French girl and all mine,” he explained.
I chuckled at the thought of a cigarette bandit. “No, I have none on me but… Do you know Duthie Park?” I asked, and Cameron nodded. “Meet me there at nine by the Winter Gardens.”
“You’re a God-send!” he grinned.
“Don’t worry about it! I owe you one. Or two,” I laughed.
Dale interjected to say that he and Cameron were going to be late for their meeting, if they didn’t get going.
“Please, don’t let us keep you from anything important,” Liliane urged.
“We’ll be on our way then,” Dale replied. “It was a pleasure to meet both of you.”
“Same here,” I answered. “Goodbye, Cameron.”
The men continued on their way and Liliane turned to me. “He’s pretty cute, Sis.”
“Who?”
“Dale.”
“He does have nice hair,” I admitted, though I’d barely noticed Dale. “Come on, let’s go back to Lily’s.”
Nine o’clock rolled around and I excused myself from my sister’s company, feigning a headache and the need for fresh air. I put my shoes on and headed out the door, a scarf around my neck as it was a bit chilly outside. I made my way to Duthie Park and saw a familiar head of hair sitting by the entrance to the Winter Garden.
“Hi there,” he greeted me as I approached.
“Hello,” I answered. “So, did Willie leave with all your pot or all your cigarettes?”
Cameron laughed, thanking me for meeting him. “I’ve got a few cigs left,” he explained. “Not many, though.”
“Lucky for you,” I teased, “I’ve got options.” I took the pack of cigarettes I’d bought earlier out of my back pocket and handed it to him, then passed along the small bag I’d procured only a few days earlier from a teen who seemed to enjoy loitering.
Cameron raised his eyebrows and laughed. “What haven’t you got in your pockets?” he sarcastically asked.
“A lighter,” I retorted. “I’ve got this, though,” I added, sitting down beside him and handing cigarette papers to him.
He began to roll a joint, mixing in tobacco from one of his cigarettes.
“You and your sister look nothing alike,” Cameron said quietly.
“Really? I’ve had people tell me that we look like twins.”
“I don’t see it.” Cameron finished rolling and licked the glue end, sealing up the joint. “Which one of you is the older one?”
“She is,” I answered as he lit the joint and took a drag. “There’s a little less than two years between us, so it’s not too bad.”
Cameron offered the smoke to me and I accepted, taking a haul. It mostly tasted of tobacco, so I didn’t worry about pacing myself; I’d only get tipsy with the ratio he’d used.
“I’m glad we stumbled into each other today,” I added quietly, handing it back to him. “It gives me the chance to thank you for what you did for me last week. I was pretty stuck and you really helped me out.” The incident at the creek was still fresh in my mind and the memories threatened to replay again.
“I was glad to,” Cameron said, a tentative smile on his face. “But don’t think too much. Let’s just talk.”
I looked at Cameron and this time I was the one to smile, seeing that he’d acknowledged my thanks. “Okay.”
I got back to my great-aunt’s house around six-thirty in the morning. I quietly opened the door and took my shoes off, heading upstairs. I snuck past Liliane’s door as I headed for the bathroom, desperately needing a shower after a night spent outdoors.
I heard a creak and turned around, coming face to face with my sister.
“Emily! Where have you been?” she whispered in anger.
I hesitated, not sure how much to fib. “I bumped into Cameron during my walk.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, he’s an insomniac apparently and—”
Liliane frowned. “Hadn’t Dale mentioned they were headed to Inverness?” She leaned against the door frame and peered at me inquisitively.
“Today, yes,” I answered. “Can I go clean up? I’ll see you at breakfast.” I shut down the conversation and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me.
My sister could be a nag at times, and probably felt left out that I hadn’t told her where I was all night. ‘Well, too bad for her. I can be my own person, too.’ I thought as I started to strip down and discard my clothes.
I wondered what had caused us to cross paths again as I looked in the mirror and brushed my hair. I’d been wanting to thank him, that’s true, but I had his manager’s number if I really wanted to make a gesture. It could have been luck that put him on the main street at the same time as me, or it could be plain coincidence.
I put the brush down and tried to clear all thoughts of serendipity from my mind. I showered thoroughly, taking my time and getting the grime of the night off of me. My blank mind became filled with images of last night.
We sat close by each other, thighs touching for warmth. I had spent little time with Cameron and even less alone with him but it felt as though I knew him well. Well enough to speak freely. Almost.
"What's been your favourite part of Scotland so far?" Cameron asked, putting out the joint.
I paused for a moment and caught myself. "The friendliness. And the generosity of the people. I knew my grandmother never wanted to leave Scotland, but she fell in love with someone from Canada and moved there," I explained. "I see why she always wanted to come back."
"Did she ever? Come back, I mean."
"No." I closed my eyes and willed myself not to tear up. "She died, not even two months ago. That's why I'm here. I'm here for her."
"My condolences, Emily. You must have loved her, to come all this way for her," Cameron spoke solemnly.
"I did. I do," I corrected myself. I couldn't speak any more about her without crying, that I knew. I sat quietly and waited for him to speak.
A few minutes passed in relatively comfortable silence until I shivered, making a little squeak as the cold flew through me.
"Come, let's go into the greenhouse. It'll be warmer there." Cameron led me into the greenhouse, whose door was slightly ajar. I found it odd that it wasn't locked, but made no mention of my observation.
Flowers and plants everywhere, there was a wonderful smell permeating the greenhouse. I took a deep breath and noticed that Cameron was looking at me intently.
"What is it?" I asked, a smile on the verge of coming out. "You're not going to tell me I remind you of the roses, are you?"
Cameron laughed, and I couldn't help but add to the sound.
“May I ask you something, Emily?” he asked through the ending laughter.
“Anything.” It was out of my mouth before I realized what I had said.
“Alright.” Cameron took a seat on one of the wooden benches meant for storage. “You know, I saw a child at that creek once. In Garlogie.”
I froze, not expecting the conversation to turn to the events of earlier in the week.
“I was walking, doing some thinking, when I saw a small child near the water’s edge,” he began, looking down at the dirt scattered on the concrete floor. “I approached her, talking, asking where her mother was. She stepped into the creek and just dropped out of sight.”
I came to sit beside him and put my hand on his arm to provide what little comfort I could.
“The creek wasn’t more than three feet deep. I waded into the middle, trying to see where she could have gone. I never found her, or even saw footsteps on the bank.”
“I’m sorry, Cameron.”
“Don’t be.” He paused, and glanced at my hand on his arm. “She wasn’t really there. Real, she was. But not there.”
Suddenly remembering the beginning of the conversation, I removed my hand from his jacket sleeve and spoke my mind. “How does that turn into a question?”
Cameron let out a huff and looked right at me. “What did you see? At that creek?”
The water was suddenly boiling hot and snapped me out of my thoughts. I jumped out of the spray and turned the water off. I had loitered in the shower, I suppose, and Liliane had flushed the downstairs toilet to warn me. Drying myself off, I shuddered despite the steam in the room. What I had told Cameron, I would never speak about to my family, ever. They simply wouldn’t believe me, despite my strong conviction that I had seen an apparition at the creek in Garlogie.
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