Page 26

I’m lying on my bed, staring up at my phone. I’ve opened the contacts app and found Da’s number, and my thumb is hovering over the call button. Normally, Da’s the last person I want to talk to, but for some reason, right now I want to hear his voice.

I slide a hand behind my neck and rub it, then I hit the button. He answers on the fourth ring.

“Aidan?”

“Hi, Da.”

“Son, happy birthday!” His deep tone radiates warmth. “Thanks for ringing. It’s been too long. Thirty years old, eh? Ha! I can’t believe it. I still remember holding you for the first time in the hospital. How do you feel?”

“Aye, I’m doing all right.” My voice is monotone. “So . . . er, it looks like you may be becoming a grandfather.”

The line goes quiet for a few seconds.

“What was that, son?”

I repeat myself.

“Why . . . that’s fantastic! I didn’t even realise you were with a lass. I’m so out of the loop.”

“No, you’re not. I’m not with anyone. It wasn’t exactly planned. Just like Archie, eh?”

Archie is my half-brother. My da and my maw split up eleven years ago, but Archie is fifteen. I’m sure you can see the problem. It turns out Da wasn’t doing a lot of long hours at the office in Inverness. He had another life going on.

“Well . . . congratulations, son, if that’s the right word. And, you know . . . I still regret the way everything happened.”

“Aye. Anyway, Iona said you wanted to speak to me, so I thought I’d give you a call and fill you in. I still need to find out more myself, to be honest. I don’t have a clue what’s going on.”

At first, ringing Da had seemed a good idea, but now I want off the phone again. “So, I’m going to go, but—”

“Can we meet up at some point? Talk face to face?”

“Aye, at some point. Anyway, I’ve got to go. Speak to you later.” I end the call.

I get about a second to myself before my bedroom door opens.

“Was that your father on the phone?”

“Aye.” I’m not in the mood for speaking to Maw either. “Look—”

“A grandchild, Aidan!” Her eyes glisten. Somehow her expression is both happy and furious.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better thirtieth birthday present.” My tone is deadpan. “You’re going to be a granny—assuming she keeps it and it’s definitely mine. Congratulations.”

“Son!” She strides over to me, picks up a paperback from my bedside table—a comedian’s autobiography I’ve been glancing through—and raps my arm with it. “This is not how this was supposed to happen!”

“Ow! Maw!” I rub at where she struck me. “We don’t hit people to rebuke them. I’m not sure I’ll be leaving my kid with you.”

This earns me another whack.

“Aw, come on!” I complain. “Are you done yet?”

“No! I toiled for hours over that lunch, and you ruined it.”

She goes for a third blow, but I intercept this one and pluck the book out of her hands.

“I’m sorry, Maw, but please, calm down!”

“Calm down? Just look at Ally and Emily! Such lovely news—engaged and with a baby on the way. That’s how you do things. Not”—she waves at me—“like this! And even if you have got it all wrong, why are you lying here moping instead of talking to Grace?”