Up On Cove Bay

2

"Where are we going, mammy? Tell us again," Callie commanded.

"When are we gonna get there?" Jessica whined. "We've been driving and driving forever. I want to go home!"

"It's barely been a half hour since we left the airport," Rachel told Jessica, her patience already frayed by the long security line at the airport in Utah and the even more tedious wait at the car rental place in Aberdeen. The flight itself however, had gone relatively smoothly. The girls had been excited to be on a plane, but now they were tired and grumpy and completely uninterested in the scenery as they drove north to Cove Bay. They might have been pacified by a stop for ice cream or some other treat, but Rachel was determined not to reward them for bad behaviour just to get a few minutes of peace.

"Why don't you try to take a little nap?" she pleaded, glancing in the rearview mirror for a glimpse of them in their car seats. "When you wake up, you'll be at grans, and I know she's  going to have cookies and milk for you. Remember how much you loved those when she baked them for you when she came to visit us in Utah?"

"I like chocolate chip better," Callie grumbled, clearly determined to be displeased about everything.

"Well, I love normal cookies," Jessica countered. "So I'll eat them all."

"No, you won't!" Callie screamed. "Mammy, tell her she can't have all the cookies. Some are mine."

Rachel bit back a groan. "I'm sure there will be plenty of cookies for both of you. Now close your eyes. If you're this impossible when we get there, you can forget about those cookies. You'll be going straight to bed."

The girls fell silent, but another glance in the mirror revealed them making faces at each other. Rachel let it pass. She needed to focus all of her attention on the traffic, which had increased at least tenfold since the last time she'd driven home. She could hardly wait to turn onto some of Aberdeenshire's less-traveled roads.

Unfortunately, the traffic never completely let up. It seemed everyone had the same idea about heading to one of Aberdeenshire's many seaside communities. She got out her phone and clicked on Erin's name.

"The traffic is awful," she said when her sister answered. "At this rate, it's going to be another hour before we get there."

"I'll let gran know," Erin said. "I'm on my way over there now. Take a deep breath. I'm picking up crabs and I'll have wine waiting."

"Thank you, thank you," Rachel said. "See you soon."

It turned out to be an hour and ten minutes before she could make the turn into the community of Cove Bay. At last, though, the traffic had eased. She debated going straight to the house, but since the girls were finally asleep, she wound through downtown, getting reacquainted with the Main Street businesses that stretched from the waterfront to Drummers Corner.

There was one visible vacancy, but all the other shop windows were filled with colorful displays. Barb's Baby Boutique was next to Ethel's Emporium, which carried everything from souvenirs and sweeties to fancy hostess gifts and locally produced jams and jellies. The Kitchen Store, which sold every gourmet gadget imaginable, was next to Seaside Gifts, where all the items had a nautical theme. There was a designer clothing shop, which carried resort wear. And all of the shops had pots overflowing with colorful pansies and travelling vines by the doors and crisp blue-and-white awnings shading the windows. The pansies would be exchanged for bright red geraniums once spring turned to summer.

With her car window open, she drew in a deep breath of the familiar salt air, then heart the soft refrains of an outdoor concert drifting up from the banks of the bay. She'd forgotten about the tradition of free Friday-night performances in the band stand during the spring, summer and early autumn months when the weather drew crowds to the town. It was traditional Scottish tonight, a little heavy on the pipes, it seemed to her.