Read Online Tidings of Great Boys by Shelley Adina - Free Book Online

over nothing. It’s my first night back. Come
     and tell me what this lot has been getting up to.”
    She felt heavy as she allowed me to drag her back down beside me on the ancient slat-back chair. But she seemed to perk up
     as Lily and Kirsten dished the gossip, and by the time they got to the part about the chemist’s not-so-secret affair with
     the third-form teacher in Inniscairn, Carrie was back to her usual self.
    Finally, I got up to go.
    “You can’t be going yet,” Carrie complained. “It’s only just gone eleven.”
    “Uh-huh. And I’ve been flying for what seems like two days. I need to sleep if I’m to plan for Christmas and Hogmanay. We’re
     having a big party and you all must come. No exceptions.”
    Amid the chorus, Carrie alone stayed quiet. “Are all your American friends going to be there?”
    “Of course. I’m going to start teaching them Strip the Willow straight away in case Dad manages to bribe the band into playing
     a country dance.”
    “Wouldn’t want them making fools of themselves,” she agreed. “That’s nice of you.”
    I shrugged. “Just playing hostess. Have to think of everything.”
    She took my elbow and pulled me closer to the door. “Just remember tae think of your old friends once in awhile, too.”
    “Carrie, this isn’t a competition. I really want you all to meet each other. You’ll like them, I’m sure.”
    Which I wasn’t. I couldn’t imagine anyone more different from Lissa, for instance, than Carrie, with her black-ringed eyes,
     micromini leather skirt, and torn stockings. And I could only imagine what Gillian would say when she got an eyeful of Gordon’s
     piercings. But that was all surface stuff. Under it all, they were my friends. My history. They knew my secrets, and I knew
     theirs.
    Nothing was going to change that. Friends were friends, no matter what.
    Right?

    To:          [email protected]
    From:      [email protected]
    Date:       December 23, 2009
    Re:          Feliz Navidad
    Carolina, I hope you are well and managing all right over there in Scotland.
    Me, I am not managing so well. I am sitting here in Santa Fe using Richard’s laptop and trying not to think of the wedding
     I was to have. Tonight would have been the rehearsal dinner, with tamales and toasts and great cupfuls of happiness.
    Would have been, you say? Yes. I have canceled my wedding. Richard says it is merely postponed until all my family can be
     here, as well as his, but he is only being kind.
    I hope you are satisfied that your punishment for my departure two years ago is now complete. I am now more unhappy than you
     could ever be. I will never, never forgive you.
    Mama

chapter 7
    I WAS THE FIRST ONE up the next morning. It had been lights-out when I arrived home, so there had been no late-night chat that
     I’d been involved in, at least. I have no doubt the girls had had plenty to say about my ditching them.
    They would just have to understand. I felt torn between two sets of friends, with responsibilities toward both. Maybe that
     was why I’d gotten up before anyone else. My plan was to put together a nice breakfast for them all, to show them I really
     did care and I was glad they were all here.
    When I got downstairs, I found Dad sitting at the ancient table in the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of him. The big
     Aga range made the room cozy—a stark contrast to my room. I pulled down a stoneware mug and felt the teapot. Still hot.
    Two teaspoons of sugar, a dollop of milk, and hot tea. It just wasn’t the same in the States. I sipped slowly and waited.
    “Find everyone all right?” Dad asked.
    I nodded. “All just the same. Gordon had two more rings put in his eyebrow since I was home last.”
    “And I suppose the news about Bert and Ellie is all over three counties.”
    “It’s a bit sordid, really. Who cares?”
    “Their spouses might care quite a bit, I imagine.” I shrugged. Dad went on, “I had a