January 12th & 13th, 1971

    “This must have been what you felt like when we went home last year.”
    My sister and I were sitting together at the kitchen table on her last night in Scotland.
    “Pretty much,” I answered.
    Liliane shook her head and softly chuckled. “Who knew it would turn out like this?”
    “Not a single one of us,” I replied immediately.
    After a brief pause to sip her tea, Liliane spoke freely.
    “I used to cry and beg to God that I’d get over Greg,” she mumbled. “Get over how he treated me.”
    “You didn’t deserve what he did,” I told her firmly.
    “He never hit me,” she said, seemingly brushing off the way her ex-boyfriend had treated her.
    “He didn’t have to,” I retorted. “Dad never hit me, but I still got hurt.”
    Her look of sympathy mirrored my own. “Still, it doesn’t matter.”
    “No, sis. It will always matter,” I insisted. “We just learn to live with the aftermath.”
    “It’s going to be really odd,” Liliane whispered after a moment.
    “Going back?”
    She nodded in reply.
    “You’ll be fine,” I assured her. “You’re strong.”
    “It would be easier if I didn’t care about him.”
    Lee had come by in the early afternoon and taken Liliane out for the day. When she returned in the evening, she’d privately confessed to me that had Lee not been needed for the upcoming recording sessions, she would have taken him with her across the ocean.
    My sister and I eventually went to bed after another hour of talking. I wished her goodnight and went into my room, quietly slipping into bed beside Cameron.


    Liliane’s flight was in the early afternoon, so after we ate breakfast around ten o’clock, she went upstairs to finish packing.
    I had just hung up, having called a taxi to the house, and closed the phone book when there was a knock at the door. I walked over and opened it to see Lee standing there, a small smile on his face.
    “Hi, Emily,” he spoke. “Is she still here?”
    I nodded. “She should be down any minute. The taxi is on its way.”
    Lee stepped inside and I closed the door behind him. I only had time to offer him something to drink before Cameron appeared at the top of the staircase with my sister’s luggage.
    Liliane was close behind him, and was clearly surprised to see Lee. She politely greeted him as she reached the last step. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
    “I came to see you off,” Lee explained. “I’m glad I came at the right time.”
    Liliane approached him and gave him a hug. As he kissed her forehead, a car horn blared outside.
    “Must be the taxi,” I mumbled.
    Cameron offered to bring the luggage to the cab, and promptly did so.
    Liliane pulled away from Lee, a sad look on her face. He took her hand and pushed through his hesitation. “Could I go with you to the airport?”
    “No,” she answered, nearly choking on the word. “Go home, Lee.” She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him forcefully. The kiss was brief; she pulled away quickly and turned on her heels to head out the door.
    Cameron walked back in just as Lee laughed in surprise at her actions.
    “That woman will definitely kill me,” Lee breathed. He turned to me and gave me a brief hug. “Make sure she’s safe.”
    “I will,” I told him.
    I left the house and joined my sister in the taxi. She took my hand in hers as soon as I sat down.
    “That’s the most I’ve ever struggled to say no,” she admitted, the sadness clear in her voice.
    “So why didn’t you say yes?’
    “If he comes to the airport,” she said softly. “I’ll never get on the plane.”


    I returned to the house by taxi after seeing my sister off. She was sad, and I knew what she felt like to be leaving Scotland without her heart. Once I sat down with a coffee, Cameron told me that Lee had left about an hour after my sister and I did.
    “He would have gone with her,” Cameron told me.
    “She would have taken him,” I replied.
    Cameron sighed and brushed the hair away from his face. “I’m sure he’ll be a little less despondent when we see him next.”
    “When will that be?” I asked curiously.
    “We’ll have a band meeting on Saturday,” he informed me. “Jam in the studio, too.”
    “Brainstorming.”
    Cameron nodded, but saw on my face the emotions I was feeling. “They’ll be fine, Emily. Both of them.” He leaned over and gave me a soft kiss. “Don’t fret too much.”