Free When Love Knocks Twice (A Contemporary Love Story) by G I Tulloch

playing
on his lips. At one point Gail looked up, noticing his gaze, which
she might have construed as fondness.
    “ What?”
she inquired.
    “ Nothing,”
replied Tom carelessly.
    “ Couldn't
have been nothing. You were watching me. What were you thinking?”
    “ I
was thinking that it's a shame that our last afternoon is a wet one,”
lied Tom.
    “ I'm
not going out in that rain, if that's what you're thinking.”
    “ Didn't
cross my mind.”
    Gail
gave him a curious look, muttered something along the lines of
'madness' or 'senility' and went back to her book.
    By
the time they went out for a meal the rain had stopped, blue sky
appearing in the distance. By the time they had finished their meal
the sun was out, low in the sky, bathing the countryside in a warm
orange glow.
    “ What
shall we do?” quizzed Gail. “It would seem a shame to
stay in and miss the only sunshine of the day.”
    “ We
haven't been around the north of the island,” suggested Tom.
    “ Worth
seeing?”
    “ Certainly.”
    “ Let's
do it then.”
    They
set out, taking their time, as with so little traffic on the
single-track road, they could stop at will to admire the scenery.
    “ Look!”
exclaimed Gail, pointing out to the east.
    Tom
stopped the car and let his gaze follow her finger. The mountains of
the mainland out to the east, across the water, had turned bright
orange in the glow of the setting sun.
    “ It's
beautiful,” enthused Gail.
    “ You're
not wrong.”
    They
watched it for five or ten minutes as the orange cast changed tone
with the angle of the sun, before they moved on past old abandoned
crofts and settlements, briefly imagining how harsh life must have
been.
    They
rounded the northern tip of the island to be met with a view of the
Outer Hebrides on the horizon, silhouetted against the back
illumination of the reddening, setting sun.
    They
were a magnificent spectacle, like prehistoric monsters lying asleep
in the water. Tom pointed out Lewis and Harris, followed by North and
South Uist, and just on the edge of their sight, Barra.
    They
were mesmerised by the sight, so far away and yet somehow close
enough to touch. As they watched, the sun started to dip behind North
Uist and the island shadows deepened.
    As
they continued to gaze out of the car windscreen Gail spoke up.
    “ So.
Where do we go from here?”
    “ We
continue down the coast to Uig and then take the overland road back
to the cottage,” replied Tom, pointing at the map on his lap.
    Gail
gave him an old fashioned look. “No Tom. I mean where do we go
from here.”
    “ Oh.
You mean, as in us. Tomorrow,” asked Tom.
    Gail
nodded. “And beyond.”
    Tom
was quiet for a few moments while he tried to get his thoughts in
order.
    “ Well?”
persisted Gail.
    “ It's
complicated, isn't it?”
    “ I
think it's only as complicated as we want to make it,”
countered Gail.
    “ I've
had a great week,” Tom confessed. “I've enjoyed every
minute, and I'm sure it wouldn't have been nearly so enjoyable if you
hadn't been here. I thank God that I bumped into you in the church.”
He paused. “How about you?”
    “ I
think,” started Gail, “I feel that this week has given me
a new lease of life.”
    “ We're
carefully avoiding the question aren't we?” suggested Tom.
    “ Are
we?”
    “ I
would like to see a lot more of you,” admitted Tom.
    Gail
laughed. “I think you've seen all of me this week.”
    “ But?”
    “ But
nothing. I also would like to see a lot more of you. But as you say,
it's complicated.”
    “ By
the fact that we, and our families, live five hundred miles apart you
mean?”
    Gail
nodded.
    “ It
doesn't need to stop us,” continued Tom.
    “ But
it will. It's inevitable.”
    “ So.
What are you going to for the rest of your life?” probed Tom.
“Babysitter on-call, and arranging the church flowers once a
month?”
    “ No.
But my family is important to me. As yours is to you.”
    “ So
it's a question of what contributes to our