Family Values – Part 8
"Jamie, we shouldn't be doing this" Will whispered as they took the long walk from the gatehouse through Glenbogle estate.
"Will, I just want a glimpse of my father, then I'll go" Jamie answered as Will sighed behind him. "Look I'm grateful for you coming with me"
"I know, I know, I just didn't think we'd be hiking over the highlands" Will replied
"I can't help where he lives, anyway look at this place, its huge!" Jamie shouted
"Shh, keep your voice down" Will yelled to Jamie
After a short while, the house finally came into view.
"Wow" Will stood amazed, out of breath from their walk.
"My father lives here…now that's something to be proud about" Jamie exclaimed sitting down on the grass.
"Jamie, we can't stay here for long, someone might see us" Will said worried
"You worry too much Will, I don't know how they made you a doctor" Jamie laughed
"Well I don't know how you became a doctor either, you don't worry about anything" Will replied
"Come on, lets get a closer look" Jamie suggested as he made his way to his right
"Where are we going now?" Will asked running to catch up with Jamie.
"Well you said you didn't want to be seen! We're going along the outside towards the loch" Jamie replied
"Oh ok, good plan" Will answered as he walked quickly to keep up with Jamie's large steps.
When Jamie and Will reached the side of the loch, Jamie spotted some trees and bushes.
"We'll hide here," Jamie suggested, climbing into the bushes as Will followed him.
Jamie and Will had a clear view of the side of the house.
Archie and Golly walked past deep in conversation and Jamie jumped excitedly. He waited they were out of hearing distance then he turned to Will.
"Do you think that was my father and my grand-father?" Jamie questioned
"I don't know… does it look like him?" Will asked
"Dunno…mum only had a picture of her and my dad when they were young, I suppose it kinda looked like him, I don't know what my grand-father looked like though, mum never met him" Jamie explained
"Oh right, so what are we going to do now?" Will asked, confused as to why they were really here, he thought if Jamie had contacted the house and arranged a meeting with the man he claims to be his father, it would have been a better plan, and they wouldn't be sitting here hiding in a bush.
Jamie sighed, he didn't know himself. He had just finished 6 years of university studying to become a doctor. Now he had done it, next on his list was finding out more about his father and where he had come from.
"What about that woman there, do you think that's your dads wife?" Will suggested as Lexie walked along the pathway holding the hands of Ellie and Kyla either side of her.
Jamie reached forward to get a better look. "She's pretty who ever she is, and look she's holding hands with two little girls, they look like twins, do you think there my half sisters?" Jamie questioned; he wanted to know more and more now they were here. He watched as Lexie gave a laugh and her smile brightened up the faces of the two younger girls. She reminded him of his mother. Maybe this was his father's wife she seemed his type. The two younger girls skipped happily beside Lexie without a care in the world. Jamie loved them already whatever relation they were to him.
"Mate, I don't know" Will replied silently
"She looks like she's about to have another one too!" Jamie laughed as Lexie disappeared with the twins round the corner.
About 10 minutes went by and no one else walked past. Jamie sighed and climbed back out the bush.
"Where are you going?" Will asked
"I just was going to go have a look at that boat down on the loch" Jamie explained, pointing towards a rowing boat by the loch.
"Jamie, I don't think that's a good idea, what if someone sees you?" Will questioned
"I don't care" Jamie called back as he jogged down to the loch side.
Lexie took the girls back out into the courtyard so they could play. She sat chatting to Ewan as he hung out the washing and she helped him.
Lexie suddenly stopped talking. "Shh, listen" she hushed
"What are we listening for?" Ewan asked confused after a couple of seconds
"Water…" Lexie replied, getting up and moving across the courtyard and looking out towards the loch.
"Lexie? What is it?" Ewan questioned worriedly, he didn't like it when she wouldn't explain what she was thinking
"Ewan, look after the kids a minute" Lexie replied quickly walking away
"Hey what am I? A cook or a nanny?" Ewan called after her, curious himself about what she was investigating.
"You'll be fired in a minute," Lexie yelled back
Lexie got nearer the loch and stopped suddenly in her tracks, was she seeing things? There was a young boy out on the loch, in a boat. She studied his brown spiky hair and familiar facial features.
"ARCHIE" Lexie yelled turning back towards the house. "ARCHIE!"
"Jamie, that woman, she's seen you! She's calling someone called Archie" Will shouted to Jamie.
"What?" Jamie called back, rowing the boat nearer the shore.
"She's seen you!" Will shouted again
"I can't hear you" Jamie replied standing up in the boat.
"Lex, Lex what is it?" Archie replied panicked rushing out to meet his wife.
"Archie…" Lexie replied breathless, Archie placed his hands on his wife's shoulders, bringing her gaze up towards him.
"Is it the baby?" Archie questioned
"No…it's…Jamie…" Lexie replied trying to catch her breath
"Jamie? Lex what are you on about?" Archie quizzed
"The loch…" Lexie replied pointing towards the boy standing up in a boat.
Archie turned his attention towards the boy standing up in a boat on the loch. "Jamie" Archie whispered and started running towards the loch.
"Oh crap" Jamie yelled quickly sitting down and rowing back towards the shore and climbing out.
"Jamie…Jamie wait, hey Jay" Archie shouted running as fast as he could.
Jamie turned round and saw Archie coming towards him. He panicked and started to run in the direction of the gardens.
Jamie hadn't got a clue where he was going; he just followed the paths and dodged the flowers around him. He turned sharply down a lane and looked behind him to see if Archie was still following him.
Just as he caught a glimpse of Archie following him, he turned back round and didn't see in front of him and tripped falling on his knee.
Meanwhile Will watched in worry as he saw Jamie get chased into the gardens at the other side of the house. Suddenly an older man appeared in front of him making Will shout out.
"Laddy, step out" Golly ordered as a nervous Will stood out of the bush.
"Mr. MacDonald I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean Jamie wanted to meet his father… and then he started to muck about…I suggested we go…but he wouldn't listen and…" Will stuttered
"Hang on Laddy, I'm not Mr. MacDonald, your friends called Jamie?" Golly asked confused
"Then who are you? Jamie thought you were his grandfather" Will explained
"I'm Golly, I work here, and I'm no one's grandfather" Golly replied
"Well who was that man who just ran after Jamie?" Will asked pointing in the direction Archie and Jamie had just run off in.
"That's Archie" Golly replied
"Oh, Jamie was looking for his father Jamie" Will answered
"I think you'd better come with me" Golly explained as Will nervously followed Golly towards the gardens.
"Oh my knee!" Jamie wailed as Archie caught up with him.
Archie stood shocked at the boy before him; it looked just like his brother Jamie…yet he was alive. Lexie caught up behind Archie and silently approached him; she didn't know whether to say anything.
"Oh what did I fall over?" Jamie questioned aloud as he looked towards the gravestone he sat at. "James Macdonald, our beloved son…. died June 19th…. 1985" the words escaped his mouth but he didn't want to believe them.
A sudden outburst from the left turned all heads. Molly sat in her gardening gloves, with a flower in her hand looking across at Jamie. Molly started to cry, unsure of what she was seeing.
Jamie turned back to the gravestone, looking at it again. "My fathers dead?" he questioned aloud, the nervousness showing in his voice.
Golly and Will joined the rest behind Lexie. As Lexie turned round Will pointed towards Jamie on the floor and Golly nodded.
Archie walked forwards towards the boy on the floor. Jamie buried his head in his hands, he was upset. All this way only to find out his father was dead.
Archie reached out and touched the boy's shoulder, just to see if he was really real. Lexie walked past them and went to Molly. Molly grabbed Lexie in a hug and Archie helped the boy up.
"Who are you?" Archie asked softly
"Jamie Murdock" Jamie replied quietly
"Jamie…I don't quite understand whats going on here, but I think we need to go into the house and sit down and talk" Archie suggested "You alright to walk?"
Jamie nodded and Archie put his arm around him and Jamie limped. Golly and Will followed and Lexie helped a distort Molly up and they too followed.
"So you're saying you're my brother Jamie's son?" Archie questioned
"Yeah…well at least that's what my mother told me" Jamie replied
"Who is your mother?" Archie questioned, he had so many unanswered questions lined up
"Victoria Murdock, she went to school with Jamie…your brother" Jamie answered, he had a empty feeling inside him, he didn't know whether it was just shock from the accident, or finding out his father was dead all these years or the reality of everything that was happening.
"Ok" Archie replied as they entered the house. "Lex, ring Lizzie and explain the situation to her please"
"Ok Arch" Lexie replied as Molly linked arms with Golly and continued into the room.
"Who's Lizzie?" Jamie asked curious, everyone seemed to be making plans around him.
"My sister…your aunt" Archie answered
"Oh right…where does she live?" Jamie asked
"London" Archie replied, as he sat Jamie down in a chair.
Jamie looked nervously across at Molly who had tears in her eyes and wouldn't stop staring at him.
"Hi" Jamie said softly, which just bought Molly to more tears. "Sorry" Jamie felt apologetic, he had caused so much pain in such few minutes he was beginning to regret all of this. He saw Will enter the room; he could tell Will was concerned for him. Jamie felt guilty, Will didn't do this sort of thing and Jamie had just put him through everything he feared of.
Lexie entered the room again. "Lizzie's coming up on the first train"
"Thanks Lex" Archie replied "So Jamie…do you want to start at the beginning?" Archie took a deep breath. This was hard for him yet it hadn't sunk in yet; none of this seemed real enough. Here was his brother's son. A boy who no one had known about all these years.
"Well my mother Victoria Murdock…she used to go to boarding school with my father, in there final year, they became girlfriend and boyfriend" Jamie started, confidence rose within him. He could hear his mother's voice as she told the story over again for the hundredth time as Jamie lay in bed when he was younger. No bed time stories, just 'stories of dad'. Heck Jamie could tell this story without a prompt, he knew every word of it from start to finish and as his new found uncle sat next to him, he could tell his eyes searched for answers to questions. That he didn't believe it, yet.
"Jamie never mentioned a girlfriend" Molly stated, Jamie turned shocked; at the first time he had heard the woman speak. Looking at her now her face seemed friendly, yet concerned all at the same time. He suddenly realised this was his grandmother, she was better than he had ever imagined, the dreams he had of his fathers live and the relatives that were missing from his own.
"Anyway…well one thing lead to another" Jamie quietened down, a bit embarrassed. "Then they went home for the summer, my mum then found out she was pregnant with me" this was the part that always made Jamie feel for his mother. She had never spoken about his birth as a disaster in her life. He was never something 'stupid' or a 'mistake' for as far as anyone knew it sounded like she had planned it because she couldn't have been happier. Jamie knew now she was just simply in love.
"Then Jamie died" Lexie stated, she had got wrapped up in the story, it reached out to her feelings as she sat close to her husband but dare not touch him, he was in another world, one he was not sure of himself. The young boy with them looked lost inside Glenbogle, out of place yet all at the same time completed it.
"Yeah, but my mum didn't know that, she tried to contact Oxford university, find out some contact information for Jamie, but she couldn't. She loved him to bits, it broke her heart, but she decided to have the baby any way, even though her parents didn't agree, she named me after him." Jamie explained as tears appeared in Lexie's eyes at the sad story. Jamie was getting emotional; he hated this part of the story, the part where everything went wrong. He questioned himself for years over this one bit…why couldn't his mother contact Jamie? He loved her so much yet he had just disappeared? Just like that without one word. Now the puzzle pieces fitted together and completed the story. Everything now made sense. She couldn't get in contact because no one existed under that name after that summer. That June…the 19th 1985.
"She never tried to contact the house?" Archie asked, annoyed. Why hadn't this woman tried harder? Why didn't they know about Jamie sooner, why didn't this poor woman's life be resolved, why had she been left to wonder all these years?
"My father had told her about his father, she was afraid if he found out he would punish Jamie" Jamie replied "She was scared" Jamie explained softly, he couldn't even begin to image what his mother had felt at that time.
"Poor girl" Molly replied
"I grew up…and my mother would always tell me stories that my father told her about his home. The loch, the views, the mountains and that he was going to be laird one day and own it, and he would marry my mother and she would come and live at Glenbogle with him" Jamie explained, getting upset. "My mother thought he had forgot about her"
Archie couldn't take it anymore, all of Jamie's dreams, what he had wanted, now Archie was here with his wife and his children, when Jamie should have been here too. Archie turned and walked out of the door.
"Arch" Lexie called after him. Jamie looked upset, like he had said something he shouldn't have.
Lexie followed Archie out the door, tears rolled from his deep brown eyes, this had hit his emotions, and badly. "Oh Arch" Lexie replied wrapping her arms around him. Archie took the warmth of his wife and rocked her in his arms. He was lucky, luckier than he knew it. Here he was with his wife, his children. Yet here was Jamie's child, but Jamie wasn't with him.
"I cant take it Lex, everything all over again." Archie explained
"No Arch you have to, you've got to for your nephews sake ok, Jamie's just as scared as you are, inside he's still a lost child searching for his father. He's come all this way Arch, he deserves more than this, we have to make him feel wanted, help him cope with this. All these years he's been wishing he knew his father, now he turns up here and he's gone. Trust me Arch I know how he feels and he needs us right now. He needs his family" Lexie reasoned with Archie, she always explained things better than Archie could tell himself. He made things seem clearly and it was clear what Archie had to do.
Archie and Lexie walked back into the room. Golly and Will still sat at the far side of the room, but Molly had got up. Archie and Lexie watched as she moved across to the seat Jamie was on. She reached her hand up and wiped the rolling tear off his face. Studying his features, he was just like her son, her Jamie. Jamie took her hand and held it carefully.
"Grandma" he spoke and her grip held tighter.
"Oh, my Jamie" Molly replied, taking her grandson in a hug.
"How's your knee doing son?" Golly asked across to Jamie. The atmosphere seemed to have died down and was calmer now. Jamie felt he belonged more, like they had accepted him.
"It's fine, only a small bang, will ease up by the morning" Jamie replied moving it a bit. He liked Golly, there was something calming about him that made you feel at ease when speaking to him.
"If your sure" Golly replied
"Trust me, I'm a doctor" Jamie laughed, his laughter filled the room and a sudden rush of happiness flowed through him then stopped. All this hard work and he couldn't even make his father proud of him. Jamie thought it would be great to turn up on his father's doorstep and announce he was a doctor. That all his hard work would make his father proud and wish he had kept in contact with his mother.
"A Doctor? That's pretty good" Archie announced and Jamie smiled at him. No, thought Jamie. He would have an uncle who was just as proud.
"I worked hard for it, I wanted to help others after…" Jamie trailed off, he was unsure if he really wanted to go into another story so soon, one just as close to his heart as this one was.
"After what?" Lexie asked curious, seeing the pain hit Jamie's eyes once again.
"I need to talk to my mother, she needs to know now" Jamie changed the subject.
"Do you want me to ring her? I could explain things a lot better" Archie offered. Jamie nodded in reply. "I think that might be best thanks, her numbers here" Jamie replied taking out the card he was originally planning to give to his father. Archie took the card and gave a reassuring smile.
"Do you want something to drink or eat?" Lexie asked
"That would be great thanks Mrs.Macdonald" Jamie replied
"Hey none of that, just call me Lexie" Lexie replied, she gave that smile again, the one that reminded Jamie of his mother, the calming smile that showed no fears.
"Come with me then, I'll take you to the kitchen while Arch rings your mum. Will do you want something as well?" Lexie asked
"Oh yes please, but if I could use the toilet first please" Will replied
"I'll show you where it is" Molly offered as Jamie got up and limped along side Lexie.
Lexie and Jamie walked down to the kitchen.
"Your home is lovely" Jamie commented
"Your home aswell remember" Lexie answered as Jamie's mind wondered on the thought. "Sit yourself down and I'll be back in a minute"
Jamie sat down at the oak table and studied the surroundings. The place looked so old, yet homely at the same time. He could hear the sounds of giggling as Lexie came back into the kitchen holding the hands of the two girls again.
"Ellie, Kyla I'd like you to meet your cousin Jamie" Lexie ushered the twins infront of her next to the table.
"Hello" Ellie spoke quietly as she smiled at Jamie. He smiled back at her and she went shy.
"Wow, You two sure look like your mum don't you?" Jamie laughed as Ellie and Kyla both looked up at Lexie then laughed.
"Sit down girls and I'll get you all something to eat" Lexie instructed as Ellie and Kyla helped themselves up onto the bench opposite Jamie.
"What have you two done today then?" Jamie asked making conversation with his cousins.
"We were playing with our bikes" Ellie replied
"Wow that sounds like fun, you'll have to show me how you ride them some time" Jamie answered, in love with his two little cousins already.
"Are you staying here?" Ellie asked curiously
Jamie looked up to Lexie who turned round. "Jamie's going to stay for a little while Ellie" Lexie replied smiling across to Jamie. "Auntie Lizzie is coming to visit us tomorrow as well"
"Is Martha going to come with her?" Ellie asked
"Not this time pet, shes going to stay with Lizzie's friend Katrina" Lexie answered
"Oh I wanted to play with Martha" Ellie wined
"Who's Martha?" Jamie asked
"Martha is our cousin, like you" Ellie answered
"Are you going to play with us?" Kyla piped up
"I'll play with you if you want me too" Jamie replied as he saw the shy girl smile and nod.
"You're good with children" Lexie pointed out
"Yeah, well I…I've trained to be a children's doctor" Jamie replied
"That's great, I'd have loved to be a nurse or a midwife, I wish I had stayed on at school" Lexie answered
"I reckon you would be a good nurse, did you leave school when you were 16 then?" Jamie asked
"No, 15, but I had no choice really" Lexie replied as she produced sandwiches on the table.
"Oh Yummy" Jamie replied as Ellie and Kyla laughed.
Archie typed the phone number into the telephone. His heart was pumping fast and he was nervous like anything. He had never been so scared about making a phone call before. The phone rang out a couple of times before a sweet sounding voice answered the other end.
"Hello"
"Victoria Murdock?"
"Speaking"
"Hi Victoria, its Archie Macdonald here"
There was a long silence on the phone and Archie heard the woman at the other end take a deep breath.
"Hello Mr.Macdonald how can I help you?"
"Do you know who I am?"
"I might be able to take a lucky guess"
"I'm Jamie's younger brother"
"I thought as much"
Victoria didn't know what was coming over her. All these years she had been waiting for some contact from the Macdonald family. Admittedly she didn't think it would be from Jamie's brother, but she had dreamed of such a phone call for years that she didn't think she would react like this. She felt angry and she didn't know why. She had loved Jamie, still did somewhere in her heart. When her son had told her he was going to search for his father she expected such a phone call, but this had caught her off guard.
"Your son Jamie is here"
"Yes I know I gave him the address"
"Victoria, I suggest you might want to take a visit here yourself"
"Why would I want to do that?"
"I thought…"
"Its been years Mr.Macdonald, I'm over Jamie and I don't wish to see him now. I'm fine if my son still wants to know him after all these years but I do not wish to have anything to do with him now."
"I'm afraid you won't be able to see him anyway. Victoria I'm deeply sorry for what you went through before, but I want you to know my brother was not ignoring you and from what your son told me he very much loved you although he never told us"
"Properly scared you wouldn't approve of me. What do you mean I wont be able to see him? Is he away or something at the moment?"
"Victoria, Jamie died in June 1985, he never made it to Oxford University."
There was a gasp on the other end of the phone and tears overtook Victoria's feelings. After a long silence she spoke again.
"He died?"
"Victoria, I really think you should come here, I can explain better and you can be with your son"
"Why did he die?"
This time Archie paused, he hated telling his story yet he needed too.
"Jamie and I were out on the loch in a boat one day. I was messing about and the boat overturned. We had the family dog with us and so when I got back into the boat Jamie went to help her. They both disappeared under and I never saw my brother again until the divers pulled his body from the water"
Sobs of crying came from the other end of the phone.
"Victoria, we never knew, we didn't know anything about you, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"
"I'll be there tomorrow"
"Sorry?"
"I said I'll be there tomorrow, bye"
Victoria hung up on the other end of the phone. Archie put the phone down. So she was coming tomorrow.
