Something Like Happy

Glancing over to the west, he could see a front of cloud which looked pretty nasty. He gestured to Tony and Bill, who were sat not far away. ‘What do you think about that?’ He pointed at the cloud.

Bill looked over at it and shrugged. ‘Not an issue. The forecast says we’ll be long gone by the time that arrives.’

Nick wasn’t sure. He had learned from painful experience that you couldn’t take things like that for granted. As the group finished their lunch and started slowly down the far side of the hill, he kept glancing over his shoulder, still worried about the weather. About half the people didn’t have waterproof trousers. And a couple of them didn’t even have waterproof jackets. If that cloud rained down on them, they would be soaked to the skin in seconds.

And sure enough, an hour later the cloud was upon them, and a few minutes after that it started to rain miserably. The cloud was so thick they could barely see ten metres in front of them. Nick felt for his compass in his pocket, just to reassure himself. If they got into trouble in the mist then they might just need it. And his fancy GPS watch that his parents had given him last Christmas. He had been ecstatic when he had unwrapped it and grateful to his parents – those things were so expensive, and they really couldn’t afford it.

Bill and Tony gathered the group around them. ‘OK guys, we have to stick together. Keep sight of the person in front of you and check you can still see the person behind. The path is really clear, so we shouldn’t have any problems.’ They produced ponchos from their bags for the two without coats, which impressed Nick. Clearly these two made sure they planned ahead.

They trudged on, conversation less forthcoming now as they squelched through the mud. Nick had his head down, water dripping off the hood of his coat, and didn’t see the fork until he was almost on it. The people ahead of him had taken the right fork, which was the logical direction to turn back towards Helensburgh, but something just niggled at him. He lifted his map case and wiped the drops off it, so he could study it carefully. Yes, that was it. The bridge …

He hadn’t realised that he had stopped walking until he heard a small noise of surprise from the person walking behind him. Ahead the group members that he could see had stopped, obviously wondering what had happened. They came trickling slowly back in twos and threes, looking worried.

Bill came striding over. ‘What’s up?’

Nick pointed at the map. ‘I think we should take the left fork. It leads down to a bridge and we can take this as a short cut.’ He indicated a lane on the map. ‘The other way will take us at least two hours more than that.’

Bill snorted. ‘That would be true if we were there. But we’re not.’ He pointed at a fork much further back on the map. ‘We’re here. So we take the right fork here, and the left fork later on.’

Nick felt the colour coming into his face. Of course. He had misread the map. What a stupid thing to do. But … he studied the map again. He could have sworn that they passed that hill just before the clouds came down. His instincts were screaming at him and he just knew he was right. If it was just him, in his nice warm waterproof mountain gear, he wouldn’t have minded. But a couple of the group were starting to shiver, especially since they had stopped, and he felt like he had a responsibility to them.

‘Come on, Tony,’ he said. ‘Back me up on this one. We passed that turn ages ago.’

Tony shook his head, not even bothering to look at the map. ‘No, Bill’s spot on. Right fork is the way to go.’

Nick felt his face flame red. What should he do now? He was so convinced he was right, but what if he wasn’t? Was it worthwhile standing up for, just to get back a couple of hours earlier?

He looked at the group clustered around them. An extra two hours for some of them would make a big difference in this rain.

He grabbed Bill by the arm and steered him away from the watchful eyes. ‘Look, you know we passed that fork not long after lunch,’ he said, careful to keep his voice lowered so no one else could hear him. He had spoken without thinking, and the last thing he had intended was for this to become a public battle of wills.

Bill looked him up and down scornfully. ‘Tell you what, we’ll split up the group. You take half of them your way, and we’ll go the right way. We’ll meet at the café by the station and see who gets there first. Losers pay the bill.’

Nick felt like he had no other choice but to accept. Now all he had to do was make sure that all the less able people in the group somehow came with him. What had meant to be a fun day out had suddenly turned into a stressful situation, but that was OK. Growing up in the mountains had got him used to dealing with what the weather threw at you. If only dealing with people was so easy.

The group split fairly amicably into two. Nick was happy to see that the two without proper coats were coming with him. Or had Bill and Tony engineered that specially? He didn’t want to think about that possibility. Best just to believe the best of people. It was always his approach to life.

During the walk back the clouds cleared, but a stiff wind started up, and Nick was glad when they got to the café and he could have a hot cup of tea. There was no sign of the others though. Not that he should have been surprised. He couldn’t feel elation at the fact he was right. Not when half the group was still out on the mountainside somewhere.

It was almost an hour and a half later when the other half of the group trudged in, looking weary and very muddy. However, some seemed excited by the experience, talking about massive bogs they had been forced to cross and fences that had to be climbed. Bill and Tony just sat in a corner with their coffees, not looking at Nick. He decided he would leave and let them get on with it. It was their group after all. But not before a couple of people gave him hugs and thanks and said they would post their pictures on the group site.

That night he considered the experience. Not great, he thought, but not a disaster. He found himself suddenly looking forward to the next walk. It was a bit of an eclectic group, but they were all very nice. Even Bill and Tony had just made an honest mistake. He reached for his phone. He would just see if anyone had posted any pictures yet.

But for some reason, he couldn’t get into the group. He could see it, but he no longer seemed to be a member. He sank back on the couch in bewilderment. It must be Bill and Tony.

A message to the website support returned the information two days later that he had been blocked from the group for ‘inappropriate behaviour’. The email that he received gave the impression that he had been lucky not to have been blocked from the entire site, so heinous was the nature of his supposed crimes. When he saw the email, he felt a surge of anger and his hands clenched. He started putting together an angry reply to the site moderator. But then the anger died away, and he felt a wave of sadness wash over him. If they didn’t want him, then he would just move on. Find something else to do with his time.

He did have a look for other walking groups online, but there didn’t seem to be anything else that was really what he was looking for. His experience with the first one had made him cautious of anything that seemed even vaguely competitive. And as the winter blew in then it didn’t really seem to be something that anyone wanted to do anyway.

* * *

The thought of meeting Jade sustained Nick through work all week. When Saturday came he was so desperate not to be late that he took an earlier train and got there twenty-five minutes ahead of time. A bitter wind forced him into a cafe not far from the station, where he kept repeatedly checking his watch, paranoid that he would miss her.

He needn’t have worried. At precisely one minute to ten she strolled up, dressed in her usual red coat. There was still no hat, but her hair was tamed into a beautiful long plait that ran half-way down her back. The sparkly green flashed in and out of the braid at surprising intervals.

‘Wow, you look half-presentable,’ he joked, suddenly feeling nervous. ‘Are we going somewhere special?’

Jade gestured in the direction that she wanted them to go and linked her arm through his as they walked, a move that surprised him. She had seemed so remote the day when they first met. Almost alien.

‘Lily likes to see my hair like this.’ She looked up at him with a smile, touching it with her other hand.

It was the first time he had seen her properly smile, he realised, and he was completely blown away. He knew it was a cliché, but it really did transform her face. She did look better than when they first met, he thought, sneaking a glance at her when she wasn’t looking. The dark smudges under her eyes were less prominent, and there was a bit of a glow in her cheeks. Although she could just be wearing makeup. Was that a hint of gloss on her lips?

‘So who’s Lily?’ he asked, suddenly remembering what Jade had said.

Jade smiled again. ‘You’ll meet her. Today. We’re going to see them all.’

‘Them?’ Nick couldn’t help feeling a bit lost. Or was he just distracted by the woman walking along beside him?

She just laughed, squeezed his arm and increased her pace, dragging him across a junction and down a side street. She stopped in front of a large two-storey brick-built building.

‘Sunnyside Retirement Home,’ Nick read off the sign.

‘I started coming here a couple of years ago. It started just as a way to give a bit back to the community. And then I met Lily.’

‘She must be someone pretty special.’ Nick could see the faint smile that played over her mouth and made his deductions from that. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting her.’

‘Oh, you will.’ Jade took his elbow and steered him through the double doors. ‘But I also want you to meet Archie.’

‘I think I’m just going to go with it and not ask any more questions.’ Nick couldn’t help a smile starting on his own face.

A friendly woman dressed in pink hospital scrubs greeted them from behind the reception desk. Nick noticed that she was wearing fluffy pink earrings to match. Despite her clothes the entrance hall looked nothing like a hospital. Two big blue comfy chairs stood ready for anyone who was waiting, and there were modern-looking photos of Glasgow landmarks around the walls. It smelled clean and fresh, and there was no hint of disinfectant.

‘Hi Sandra, this is Nick,’ Jade said. ‘I’ve brought him along to help out today.’

The woman looked him up and down in an appraising manner, but not unkindly. ‘Hope you have big muscles,’ she said. ‘Clive’s just called to say he’s got the flu, so we’ll be needing someone to push Archie.’

Nick was really starting to wonder what kind of crazy scheme he had got himself in for. ‘Just what is it we’re supposed to be doing today?’

‘Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you.’ Jade was unrepentant. ‘We’re taking a group of these people to the Riverside Museum.’

‘And just how are we going to do that?’ Nick had a crazy vision of trying to get a big group of wheelchairs onto the train while other passengers cursed the delays they were making.

Jade laughed, her eyes lighting up. ‘Just relax and go with the flow. Loosen up. It’s all been planned.’

They turned down the corridor into what was obviously some type of lounge. About fifteen people sat around on dark grey sofas and comfy chairs. But, just like the entrance hall, this was no depressing beigey communal living space. Bright pictures decorated the walls, and hand-made cushions were scattered on the sofas. Lovely arrangements of fresh flowers were dotted around, giving off beautiful scents.

‘That’s Sandra’s work,’ Jade said, seeing him looking. ‘She was a florist before she came here.’

Jade seemed to know everyone, and she introduced him, although Nick quickly lost track of all the names. Two of them she kept for last, though, and Nick knew this must be Lily and Archie.

Archie was sitting in a wheelchair beside Lily, hunched over slightly. He had a massive hooked nose and chin under a large mop of messy white hair, and his face looked like someone who had spent a lot of time outside in his life. He reminded Nick of his grandfather actually. What he could remember of him.

‘This is Archie,’ Jade made a gesture with her hand, ‘and this is Lily.’ She smiled at the older woman and gave her a warm hug in greeting. ‘They’re not married, although you could be forgiven for thinking that.’

‘Never have been, and never will be.’ Archie’s tone was gruff, but looking closer Nick could see his eyes were twinkling.

Nick was surprised to see that Archie was smartly dressed in shirt and tie with a bright red jumper.

Archie must have seen his expression, because the old man reached out and put a hand on Jade’s arm. ‘Your young man there seems to be surprised that we’re all spruced up for today. What did you expect? A group of lolling, drooling imbeciles?’ He waved an arm in the air and made a face that was clearly meant to be an imitation of his words.

‘Oh hush, Archie.’ Lily spoke for the first time. ‘Stop with your antics and be kind to the young man. Otherwise they’ll leave you here without anyone to push you around. And you know how much you’re looking forward to that new tram they’ve bought recently.’

Nick was just about to say something when a group of other people entered the lounge. Most appeared to be retirement age themselves, and although there were a couple of other people who looked like they were a bit closer to his age, he and Jade were clearly the youngest by far in the room. All the newcomers sat themselves wherever there were free spaces, and a chatter started up in the room as people greeted each other and started catching up.

‘What are we waiting for?’ Nick wanted to know.

‘Keith,’ Jade said. ‘He drives the minibus.’

‘Ah,’ Nick said. He perched himself on the edge of a seat, suddenly unsure of himself and feeling very self-conscious.

Lily patted him on the arm. ‘So, young man, what do you do with your time?’

He turned towards her, looking at her properly for the first time. Her white hair was elegantly swept up in a carefully sculpted style, and the wrinkles on her face only made her look more beautiful, not less so. He suddenly wondered what she had looked like when she was younger.

‘I work as a programmer. For a consultancy. We mainly work for banks.’ He realised he didn’t sound very forthcoming and hurried to add some more. ‘You know, internet security and that sort of thing.’

‘Ah.’ Lily seemed to absorb this information for a minute. ‘Sounds like a very important job.’

Of all the things Nick had heard his job called, important wasn’t one of them. He was just a graduate, on the bottom rung of the ladder. ‘Sorry? How do you mean?’ He couldn’t help the question slipping out.

Lily nodded slowly. ‘Well, if you’re in security, you’re keeping people’s money safe, isn’t that right?’

Nick paused to think about this, rubbing his chin while he did so. ‘I guess so. I’d never thought about it like that. But I only started less than a year ago. I’m just a minion for my boss.’

Archie cracked a laugh, startling Nick. ‘The minions always do the most important work, lad. Forget the bosses who swan around drinking coffee all day.’

Which was pretty much what his boss did most of the time, Nick reflected. He was saved from having to reply by the arrival of Keith, and shortly after that found himself pushing Archie out of the building and up a steep metal ramp into the slightly faded minibus. Jade and Lily followed slowly, with Lily leaning on Jade’s arm. The minibus was full by the time they set off. As they eased away from the kerb someone struck up a version of ‘Pack up your troubles’, and soon half of the bus was singing, with varying levels of tunefulness. Nick couldn’t help grinning. Whatever he had thought he would be doing this morning, this hadn’t been it.

Jade, sitting across the aisle from him, leaned over and nudged his arm. ‘Not going to join in?’ She was smiling again, he noticed, and he wished that she would do it all the time.

Nick shrugged. ‘I don’t know all the words.’

Jade gave a shrug to match his own and laughed. ‘I don’t think that really matters for most of the choir.’

A small thread of warmth crept through him. Nick smiled back at her, took a deep breath and opened his mouth to sing.

Chapter 2

It wasn’t far to the museum, for which Nick was grateful. He couldn’t claim to be a great singer, but he was musical enough that by the time they had done ten verses of ‘Tipperary’ and been through ‘Imagine’ at least three times it was starting to wear him down just a little. They got out right in front of the building. The wind had dropped, and the spring sunshine was making the river sparkle. It was pretty warm for the time of year.

Nick had seen the museum from the train a few times, but only from a distance. Up close it was much more impressive. The silver metal exterior gleamed in the sunlight, and the massive glass frontage seemed to be drawing people in towards the entrance doors in the middle.

Jade saw where he was looking. ‘Award-winning, apparently.’ Her tone made it clear that she was in no way impressed by the grand design.

She looked at her watch. ‘Normally everyone goes off and sees what they want to see, and then we get back together for lunch. Everybody? Midday at the café?’

There was a chorus of assent, and everyone started to filter off. Nick looked expectantly at Jade, but she shook her head. ‘You’re here for Archie. You need to ask him what he wants to see.’ She looked at them both. ‘Normally we wouldn’t let the two of you go off on your own, but …’

Archie sat himself up straight in the wheelchair. ‘This is where you try to tell me I’m classed as a vulnerable adult, eh?’

Jade’s face turned pink, and Nick nearly laughed out loud.

‘You know that officially the law might say yes, Archie, but practically I don’t believe it for a second.’ Jade wagged a finger at him. ‘So go on, both of you. Get out of my sight before I end up keeping an eye on you both for other reasons.’

Nick took the back of the old man’s wheelchair and went to push him inside, but the old man shook his head. ‘Take me round for a turn outside the building, lad. I need a bit of fresh air in my lungs.’

Nick gratefully steered him round the side of the building and down towards the river. He too thought that it was a pity to be inside on such a glorious day. Archie stood unsteadily, pulling himself up using the railing, and they both stood in silence for a while, watching the sunlight playing on the water.

‘I used to be outside all the time, you know,’ Arche said suddenly. ‘A mountain guide, I was. There isn’t a Munroe in the Highlands that I haven’t climbed.’

Nick couldn’t work out whether to be impressed for Archie’s achievements, or sad at the condition the man was in now.

‘Oh, don’t be sorry for me, young lad,’ Archie said, patting him on the arm. ‘I’ve had a good life. Ninety-two I am now. It’s my time to rest.’

‘Ninety-two?’ Nick could hardly believe it. They stood in silence for a few more minutes, then Archie sat back down in the wheelchair.

‘I wanted to be a mountain guide,’ Nick found himself saying.

Archie looked up at him. ‘Really? What happened?’

‘I worked for a friend for a year. When I left school. His dad died about that time and it took the two of us just to keep the family business going. It was one of the best times of my life. But when the recession really hit, he said he had to let me go. I had plans to start up on my own, but all the training and equipment and insurance and everything was just too expensive, and I had to finally admit that it just wasn’t going to happen …’ Nick trailed off, then collected himself. ‘My parents said I should go to college and get some proper qualifications. So I did something boring and predictable that would always get me a job.’

Archie nodded, as if he understood, but Nick went further, trying to explain why he had sold out on his dreams. ‘My parents … they own a B&B up in Fort William, and barely have enough money to make ends meet themselves. I just didn’t want to be a burden on them.’

Archie nodded again, taking everything in. ‘Life never works out the way you expect. It’s full of surprises. Look at me. I never thought I’d end up in Glasgow. I was sure I’d be killed falling off a cliff or something.’

Nick did have to laugh at that. ‘What made you come here?’

‘I’ve got a niece here. With grandkids of her own. The family persuaded me to move down here, and to be honest, I’m not sorry. Glasgow is a great city. Lots going on. And it’s great to see more of my family.’

‘Yeah.’ Nick thought of his parents. ‘Family is special.’

They stayed in silence for a few more minutes, the quiet settling around them like a comfortable blanket.

‘Fort William!’ Archie laughed, as if suddenly remembering something. ‘Now there’s a good place for walking. I should tell you about the time I went up Ben Nevis and had to rescue a man who got stuck in a snowstorm in his shirt sleeves! Wheel me inside, lad. I want to go and look at this new tram there’s been such a hoo-ha about.’

Jade and Lily walked slowly through the front doors of the museum, Lily leaning heavily on her stick and relying on Jade’s arm for balance. ‘What do you want to see?’ Jade asked, as they paused for a second to have a look around.

‘I heard they’ve revamped the shops along that nineteenth century street they have.’ Lily gestured with her stick in the general direction. ‘Let’s go see those.’

They browsed the shops, pointing out things of interest to each other. As they sat for a minute in a dentist’s waiting room, just to let Lily have a rest, she nudged Jade gently. ‘What about this young man of yours? Where did you find him?’

‘He’s not my young man.’ Jade was quick to defend herself. ‘We only met last Saturday. I found him on the bridge.’

‘Ah.’ Lily’s gaze seemed suddenly sharper, but Jade didn’t shrink from it. She had already shared a good deal of her history with the older woman and had found more love and acceptance than she could possibly have ever hoped for.

‘Yes.’ Jade kept her eyes steady. ‘I don’t think he’s very happy. So I brought him here, knowing how you helped me, and I was hoping that you would be able to help him too.’

The older lady pursed her lips. ‘I don’t help people, you silly muffin.’ She slipped an arm around Jade’s shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. ‘You were the one who helped yourself.’ She gave a sigh. ‘And Nick has to help himself. All we can do is give him the opportunity.’ She chuckled suddenly. ‘But I’m mighty curious how he’s getting on with that crusty old codger.’

Jade’s eyes danced. ‘Should we go and see if he’s pushed him in the river by now?’

Lily shook her head. ‘No, my dear, let’s leave them to it. I want to go and see the dressmaker’s across the way.’

And, of course, they had to go and sit in the old-fashioned Subway carriage for a bit, even though they had both done it many times before. While they were sitting, waiting for the sound effects that would make them feel that they were rushing through a tunnel, Lily nudged Jade again. ‘But tell me, don’t you think that he is quite a handsome man?’

‘Who, Archie?’ Jade said, wilfully misunderstanding.

Lily snorted, poking Jade with her stick. ‘As if! You know who I mean.’