They didn’t really know each other having just met a few weeks ago and yet there seemed to be a bond between them – they felt comfortable with each other. John wondered though whether this was normal or whether he was perhaps making more of it than actually existed – he didn’t really give it too much thought at all really – it sort of passed through his head with remaining there for very long – but it was a thought that he had. Mary on the other hand was very much more of a romanticist – not that she was now hearing wedding bells or anything like that – it was just that she felt as if she had known John for a long long time.
They had accidently bumped into each other at Starbucks – which was in Waterstones in Sauchiehall street – she went there at least once a month to have a leisurely look at any new books that were out and generally bought the Observer and read that over a cup of Latte or two. He had popped in to find a book that he had seen reviewed in the Guardian – the week before – ‘The incident with the dog . . .’ – having found it he had started browsing through there other books and had eventually felt the urge for a cup of coffee. Being a Sunday early afternoon – the store was quite busy and he had glanced up to see Mary, cup in hand, looking around for a spare seat. There were none and he was almost finished and had said as much to her – she had thanked him and sat down to share his table – there had been a nervous silence between them and they had both started to say something at the same time – they had both burst out laughing and from that moment there was a shared intimacy.
They had taken an immediate liking too each other – met for coffee the following Sunday – he had phoned her during the week – they had chatted – she had thought he was phoning to say he couldn’t make it but he had merely phoned to say he would be a little late as he had to drop something off at a friends before he would be able to come to Waterstone’s. They had progressed to the movies by the next week and dinner and theatre the week thereafter. They had taken the next step – he had stayed over at her place but slept on the couch – this happened 3 times before they finally ended up in bed together and that had been two weeks ago. So all n all the relationship was in its infancy.
There was still a thrill and excitement in seeing, touching and a playfulness with each other – there was a certain familiarity as well – not a taking each other for granted but almost a knowledge of the others desire for more than what they were giving at that time . . .
So here they were early Sunday morning – sitting on the train to Oban – each reading their own book – stopping now and again to share something or just look across and smile at each other. The train wound its way first along the Clyde and then through the hills winding through and alongside various Loch’s. They had decided to take the ferry across to Craignure in Mull and they were going to cycle to Iona. John had said that it was on his list and Mary had said it was time to start addressing his list. It was surprisingly clear and unseasonally warm for April – but they weren’t complaining. They had packed some lunch and had a fair idea of how much time they had for the cycle – looking around at the Abbey, lunch and an afternoon snooze be fore it was time for the last ferry & then train back to Glasgow. John stayed in Partick and Mary was not far from there in Anniesland.
They both had their own flats and thus far moving in together had neither been mentioned or discussed – a fair amount of sleeping over and living in each others flats was taking place but that was as far as it had gone. Mary was quite a studious person with regards to cleanliness but John had a far more relaxed approach and did not lose any sleep over the odd garment lying around or dishes in the sink and she was learning to relax a bit more in this regard. He always said it will take care of itself so no reason sweating it – and he didn’t. Don’t get me wrong – his place was neat and tidy – but occasionally you might arrive there and there were a few things lying around – within a few minutes the place would always be acceptable. She had chastised him once or twice but he had made it clear he didn’t enjoy that – found it quite maternal and had laughed about – but she had detected a slight hint of irritation and had made a mental note to avoid doing that again.
As the train pulled into Oban they let other passengers disembark before removing their bicycles from the racks and pushing them onto the platform – the ferry leaves just around the corner and they never even climbed on their bikes – deciding to push them around the corner. There were a group of cyclists who were obviously going camping as they had the saddle bags and gear – we nodded to them as we pushed our bikes past to get to the ticket office. There was a queue and we waited for about 10 minutes before purchasing our tickets. We then decided to take a slow cycle along the pier and around the corner whilst waiting for the ferry to arrive. We were just passing the restaurant when we heard shouting and saw someone being assaulted – John jumped off his bike and rushed to the woman’s assistance and the two youngsters who had been jostling her ran off – I had to stop John as he was all for chasing after the two youths whereas I had said that he should leave them be.
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