I look you
in the eyes
I try to read you thoughts
I ask you to go with me
To a far off place.
"One slow dance", Rufio
That night Lexie waited in bed expectantly for Archie to finish tucking in Mel and come and join her to talk about the most important thing – their future.
" So, you've made a decision then?" She commented, looking up as he walked through the open door
Archie sent her a look, knowing that there was really no right answer to the given question
" I think it's time that we talked about our options and what is best for our family in the future." He corrected
Lexie sighed and nodded, patting the bedspread next to her
" I know that you don't want to go too far away, and you still want to be able to visit every now and then."
Lexie nodded, that is what she wanted and had been nearly the only two ground rules that she had laid down with Archie over the situation.
" Sooo I had this idea…" Archie put forward hesitantly
" Yesss" Lexie encouraged
" I've had news
that an old friend of mine is selling his restaurant in Glasgow and he knew
that I was looking to get back into the business so he contacted me about it."
Archie said all in one breath and then stared at his wife expectantly
Lexie mulled over the idea, slightly unsure…." Glasgow" she repeated
" You're home town" Archie confirmed
" A restaurant"
" That's what we've both been talking about for a while now isn't it." Archie asked
" Well…yes" Lexie answered
Archie raised his eyebrows at her; unsure of her response yet he had a feeling that the dream he had gotten all excited about was going to go down the drain
" Okay" Lexie finally said
Archie looked up bewildered
" Okay what?" he asked
" Okay let's buy the restaurant in Glasgow and start anew." Lexie announced
Archie eyes brightened in shock as he reached out and engulfed her in a hug, then pulled back slightly to glance at her
" Are you sure?" he questioned
Lexie looked at how excited her husband was, and thought about all the new prospects that moving to Glasgow would bring.
" I know that Glasgow wasn't the best place for you when you were younger, but it will be a different city now you're grown up." Archie rationalised
" Yes" Lexie nodded in concurrence, " I think it will too."
" So it's settled?" Archie asked, still unsure, " We're going?"
Lexie glanced around the bedroom at all he memories it held. It was going to be so hard to leave Glenbogle, yet even now she could see that the place was changing around her. There would be a lot more opportunities for Mel in Glasgow and they could always come and visit if the city got too much. And their own restaurant! Something they owned together, and would work together on. She and Archie would be equals then, no one would feel like he married down because she was just a housekeeper- as far as she could remember coming from noble birth meant very little in a big city.
" Yes, it's settled" she heard the words flow out of her mouth as if they came from someone else
Archie gazed at her, " We're going to Glasgow to open our own restaurant?!"
" Yes" Lexie echoed – part 20
Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it. Albert Smith
And the atmosphere is charged.
In you I trust.
And I feel no fear as I
Do as I must.
- 'The time is Now' Moloko
It was the last day of packing; it had taken quite a while to get everything together as the two, especially Lexie, had been at Glenbogle a long time. It felt like the end of an era, it had ever since Archie and Lexie had announced their decision.
Mel was now nearly two years old, and yet it felt like just the other day that she had been whisked away with her mother in the helicopter to be born. Craig and Duncan hauled the last suitcases into the back of the van and Lexie watched them in resignation, remembering how little she had actually come to Glenbogle with when she had been taken in by Molly. Archie too was remembering how fast he had wanted to get away from Glenbogle when he had first been tricked into coming back, and how ironic it was that now it was so hard to leave.
The duo glanced around, trying to hold back tears before hugging each individual person and expressing that they were all welcome in there new house in Glasgow.
Melanie didn't really understand what was going on, yet she knew that she didn't want to leave her Grandmother or Uncle, but after much reassurance that they would come back and visit her castle she reluctantly took her mother's hand and let herself be lead to the car.
Lexie looked back at the house and the people who surrounded it thinking of all the memories that they held, and then turned to Archie and Mel and realised how many new experiences they too held.
It was time to leave the house that both she and Archie had in different ways been grown up in, a long delayed flying of the nest- and that was exactly what it felt like.
Finally they climbed in the car and strapped themselves in. Frantically waving goodbye before heading off down the driveway and out of the highlands. They had no idea what this new life would be like or how they would manage, but there was one thing they did know – they would do it together as a family.
A month later Paul got the surprise of his life as he opened the door to a golden haired women
"Paul"
"Katrina"
"What are you doing here?"
" I'm the Laird"
" Oh no" her face became stricken at the news, " You're a MacDonald."
THE END