Chapter 7

Suzanne had the car so Andrew cabbed in from Turnhouse to the flat. He left a message for Suzanne on the answering machine at the number she had given him. He had no idea about her plans and it was not easy to arrange schedules. He called Leslie and Julian but there was no answer so tried Maggie and Tony instead. Maggie was on her own but expected Tony home shortly so he headed over. In fact he saw Tony walking up the street and waited for him at the foot of the stairs.

“Hey, what are you doing here? Not that it is not good to see you but I thought you were away all summer?”

Andrew saved the explanation until they were at the flat.

“I was able to arrange 10 days on then four days off. I caught the late afternoon plane to Heathrow. I will be on the early morning flight back there on Tuesday morning. It lets me have enough time to get back and forth without losing it all to travel. Anyway, how are things?”

Everyone knew they had to steer clear of Andrew’s job.

“The structure of the studio is complete. The sparkies are working on the wiring then we can finish the top two stories. Sometime during the autumn it should be ready to use.”

“Have there been problems?”

“Not really. The south part of Fife is dealing with lots of closures, so there were lots of people looking for work. It hasn’t been cheap but it has gone up quickly, but the easy part is over. Now we have to think about setting up the studio.”

“Are you busy, is there lots of work?”

“Yes. I am interviewing for an assistant to help with the shoots and especially in the darkroom.”

“That’s great. Did all the boat photos drive you crazy?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. I only just got them finished. It was a really daunting pile, and I kept adding to it as I worked. That was the final straw.”

“Who are you looking for? What kind of person?”

“Honestly I am looking for a geeky guy just like you were when you started.”

They all laughed.

“I don’t want a jack the lad type, I want a quiet low-key, hard working kid. Well he, or she I suppose, can be any age. I just want someone that I can work with where there is no hassle.”

Andrew nodded. He knew exactly what Tony meant.

“But in terms of the new studio I think we are going to have to hire someone to set it up, or at least most of the initial stuff.”

Andrew thought back to one of the first conversations they had about the studio.

“Check if any of the local Colleges do any kind of set design, stage design courses. Go and see the professor running the course and see if they can help. Make it a class project. Go to the Lyceum and see if you can talk to someone there. All I ever hear is that there is no money in the Arts, everyone is poorly paid. See if you can get a couple of people to moonlight. Anything they can do to help means it is one less thing for you to do. Are you worried about the cost?”

They both laughed.

“No, the businesses are going from strength to strength. Our photographs are selling and we are making good money, better than that, excellent money. The studios and darkrooms are also profitable. But the money we are continuing to make from the old pictures, well that is amazing. Elspeth has hired a part-timer to help her. We have a list of the auction rooms in Glasgow and the top 11 cities in England, so when we are ready to try and buy additional prints then we know who to call.”

That was for another day.

“Any closer to deciding when to move into the house?”

“We go over a couple weekends every month with stuff. It doesn’t make sense until the studio is up and running. There is no rush.”

“Forgive me for asking but are you having second thoughts?”

Maggie shook her head.

“No not at all but I would rather wait three months and live there full time than move too soon, have Tony here in Edinburgh when I am there, something like that. We would like to talk to you about the business in September.”

“Okay, do you want to wait?”

“We need Creighton so yes. We are worried about something going wrong. I am at work, Tony is in Fife, who is really in charge. Stuff like that. We need another Elspeth and we won’t be that lucky again.”

Tony stood up and went through to one of the spare rooms and returned with a lots of packets of prints.

“We no longer keep any photos of Maggie at the shop, or indeed down at the store room beside Elspeth, they are all here, locked up. But these are the ones from a month ago.”

In many ways the output of all the sessions wasn’t really needed. That Maggie loved being naked outside with the risk of discovery was evident from the first picture to the last. There was a carefreeness to her posing which had nothing to do with how explicit she was being. She was having fun and it came through in all the pictures, on the boat, off the boat, in the cabin or out on the deck. Andrew was sure that more than half the sets were of sufficient quality to be published. Maggie looked amazing.

“I just don’t know where we will ever find a model that has as much fun on a shoot but we can sell the pictures. You look so fantastic.”

“It was a seriously sexy couple of days. Sure I was posing for the camera but at the same time it wasn’t really posing. It was fun with my husband and our best friend.”

Andrew smiled at the compliment.

Warrender felt very familiar the following morning, looking up at the blue sky had him reminiscing about Cyprus, the weeks of endless backstroke under the deep blue skies. When he returned to the flat he started on his list of chores.

The first task Andrew wanted to sort out was AIMS. He called Grace at Drummonds, Mhairi was not back until the end of the summer, and she explained about the sale and existing customers. There were only two customers before they licensed the software to Siemens. North Rhine Westphalia wanted to buy their main order from Siemens so their evaluation order was not an issue. But the first customer was the British government and Andrew wanted to check about their copies. There should be no issues. If he convinced Carlisle to requisition the software then it could be used. What he was struggling with was being able to show him what the program looked like so that he could go ahead and order the software. It was a chicken and egg situation. Here Grace provided a partial solution. Julian and Andrew retained personal ‘development’ copies of the software. They could not do anything with them, modify them, sell them, anything like that but they could use them. All he had to do was break a thousand government regulations and install personal software on a government computer. He would need to think about that, and the consequences.

With that done he found the receipt for the bed and spent the rest of the morning dealing with getting a new one for the house in London. It was painless if time consuming. But he went to the store he had bought it from, fortunately a national chain, and bought another one. That was the easy part but eventually delivery instructions were agreed and Iain Barrett, or someone from his office would be there to allow access for delivery and assembly. It wasn’t a quick process but it was achieved.

The prosaic dealt with Andrew went and saw his Grandma. He caught her and Vi as they were about to hit the bookies so he got to escort two little old ladies the three blocks to their bookies where the two of them placed some bets for that afternoon and the next day. The two of them twittered away quite happily and they were greeted and treated very well by the bookie shop staff. Given how much the pair had lost there over the years that was hardly surprising but still. Used to being lauded outside church Andrew wasn’t ready to be lauded by his grandmother there but survived the experience. When they returned to her flat he had a sandwich and told her about his results. She was suitably impressed but Andrew also knew that news was currency with her and it would spread out through the rest of the family. When Vi came over just before the first race he left them to the horse racing and their sherry.

Andrew walked back to the flat thinking about the weekend. A lot depended on hearing from Suzanne. If she was free that weekend then he hoped they could meet up. He figured he would get the sleeper to London and force himself to get the bedding and towels, or at least some, for the house. London also raised the issue of Freya. Andrew didn’t know how involved she had been, if at all, in the move over to BRIXMIS. He came to the conclusion that it was better that his returns to London were kept quiet, at least until later in the summer. He was back to keeping everything a secret. Before he got to the flat he diverted over to Tony’s shop and studio. There was no particular reason but he thought he would stop by and then head down to the offices. But as it turned out one of the people that he wanted to see was at the shop.

“Hello Elspeth, what are you doing here?”

“I dropped another box of prints off for Mum. She and her cronies can start on them next week. And I stopped in to see Alex, you just missed her.”

Alexandra, was the part time bookkeeper and accountant.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were away all summer?”

“I got the chance to come back for the weekend so I thought I would pop in. But Stacey told me that Tony has just started a shoot. I was going to come down and see you but here you are.”

The new darkroom was empty so they sat in there on the stools, able to chat without being overheard.

“There are two things I wanted to chat about. The first is more congratulations rather than any kind of chat. Tony and Maggie were telling me that you are doing amazingly well.”

Elspeth flushed.

“The family have laughed and called me a chatterbox for years but that was always because I never shut up, or so they said. What I didn’t realise is that I have the gift for the gab. It is fun selling the different sets, breaking down the resistance, getting them to agree to our price. I got Tony to go down to the big Menzies’ on Princes Street.”

This was the largest seller of magazines in the city.

“And take pictures of all the sections. I have them blown up in my office. Dolly, who works with me now, and I look at the pictures all the time and then think about who we can sell pictures to. And it works both ways. We will be looking at the magazines in the poster on the wall and then think about what sets we can sell them, or we can look through the sets, or something my mother has found and then think about who would buy them, or licence them. We have a game trying to see who can sell something to the most obscure publication. She is winning at the moment with Pig Farmers Quarterly.”

Andrew laughed, both that there was such a title and that they had sold something to it.

“How is your mother coping?”

“She is loving it. There are five of them that sort for four hours, four days a week, so they get through quite a lot of photos. Four women including her, and one old duffer. They chat away, it is a good social thing for her, for all of them. They are all mid to late ‘60s and the work is just perfect for them. It is not taxing and the five of them can reminisce to their hearts content. It gives them a few extra quid to supplement their pensions and so they are fine. Every time I tell her that we have a new bunch of boxes to sort out she is pleased. I think she worries that one day it will all run out.”

It was so simple. That was what the business was doing well, utilising people that couldn’t or didn’t want to work full time; five pensioners and two young mothers. They were happy to be working and making some money and the business needed the help. Andrew smiled, as if this was anything he had a hand in. Maggie and Elspeth were responsible for this, it had nothing to do with him.

“The second thing is something that I saw and bought last week. I hope you are not offended but when I saw it I immediately thought of you and so bought it. I figured that you and Donnie would enjoy reading it together, give you some ideas.”

Andrew took a deep breath before opening his backpack and taking out the magazine. It was called ‘Pummelig Damen’ and Andrew had seen it at a newsagent in West Berlin. His initial surprise was even more profound when he discovered it was only one of three magazines that catered to this. The model on the cover was bigger than Elspeth. He didn’t know what ‘pummelig’ meant but based on the picture on the cover, and the contents inside, he guessed it meant fat, or some synonym close to that. It was a standard men’s magazine but all the models were big women, and it encompassed a wide range. He hoped that Elspeth wouldn’t be offended, he thought she would be interested and like he had said, it might give her or Donnie some ideas. Looking at Elspeth she appeared stunned, not upset, and was flicking the pages in a trance.

“I am holding it in my hands but they really sell these?”

Andrew nodded.

“There were three different titles, all along the same lines. I was initially as shocked as you.”

“Wow, you are right, wait until Donnie gets a load of this.”

She looked up with a smile.

“This is just what I need, him getting more ideas.”

Somehow Elspeth didn’t seem upset at the prospect.

“I can guess from the language where you got this, but I have heard that you can’t talk about it. Are you going back?”

Andrew smiled and nodded.

“You want copies of the other two?”

Elspeth own smile was coy but her nod was immediate.

“Did Donnie enjoy your last set of pictures?”

“Oh he loved them. There were lots of shots of my bum, there can never be too many shots of my bum for Donnie.”

A man after Andrew’s own heart. Something to remember for the next set. Elspeth still had work to do before she could head home so Andrew left her to it. It was 4.30 and there was no point in going down to the offices so he headed back to the flat. It had been a busy day but productive. He was pleased that the bed was ordered and it should be installed before he was back again.

There was no call back from Suzanne by 7.30 so Andrew called Leslie to see if they were free. He needed to get some dinner.

“Andrew? Where are you?”

“In Edinburgh, in the flat. Do you want to come over?”

There was a momentary pause before.

“Why don’t you come here. Do you want someone to come and get you?”

“It is only a 10 minute walk. Don’t be silly.”

The momentary pause was easily explained when Andrew saw the Campbell’s car in the drive. Leslie had been waiting at the front door to make sure he didn’t do a runner.

“Come in. Everything will be fine.”

And of course it was, although in an awkward ‘who farted?’ sort of way. It was stilted at first but there was too much history. Mary Campbell was a lovely person dealing with a shit situation as best she could. And she knew all about Andrew’s life, it was not as though the last 18 months were a blank. It was clear that Leslie and Brian kept her informed of the latest goings on.

“I don’t suppose you can explain why you are back and where from?”

This was Julian.

“The where part I can’t talk about but as to the why I am back? I got bumped around when I got there, and am not doing the assignment I signed up for. My immediate boss is a decent bloke who isn’t quite sure why he has me working for him. I asked if I could work 10 days straight and then take four days off. Nothing I am doing is time sensitive, in many ways I really am just the classic summer student, an extra pair of hands to get stuff done that has been pushed aside during the year. So I am hoping that I can repeat this every two weeks. But a lot will depend on whether my immediate boss checks that doing that is okay. You know the government. I will do 80 hours over 10 days and it makes no difference which days I do it, but I am sure there is a regulation being broken somewhere. Plus I am sure he thinks I am staying locally not flying back here. This summer has been a shitshow already so I am not counting my chickens yet.”

“At least you can afford to come back.”

“Yes, but I never spend any money. Since I started university the biggest single expense was the Jag. All the stuff in Paris is now paid for. Cyprus was all paid for. I don’t have rent, it is just living expenses. The closest I have to rent is the money I give to Freya and Jim and I practically have to force them to take it. So it is nice to be able to fly back but I am hardly living the playboy lifestyle.”

“None of us do. It is why we are still so close I think. Sure we have nice houses and the two of you have your sports cars but day to day life is very quiet. I worry we are dull people.”

Andrew smiled at Leslie’s characterisation because it was in complete agreement with his own.

“How are the all the different activities coming on? Have you tried lawn bowling yet?”

He received an unladylike response and Leslie was promptly told off by her mother. Julian and Andrew both smiled yet Andrew got the whack. Hmmm.

“Idiot. Old Julian is very happy because we have been taking golf lessons. Well the lessons are for me more than Julian but he has been coming with me. And we enjoy it. The two of us can play together but the club has men’s and women’s leagues so it is allowing us to slowly expand our social circle.”

Andrew raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I know I know. Some of the members are, well I won’t say it so Mum doesn’t tell me off again. But there are some nice people there so we are going to try it. And we are gradually becoming known as not just old Julian’s son and daughter-in-law. That is the important thing. Although it is funny to say people’s reactions when I tell them I run my own investment firm or Julian talks about his own computer company. But with managing the Endowment Trust I am not anonymous anymore and people do know who I am. Someone from the Scotsman even called wanting to do an interview.”

The Scotsman was the main broadsheet newspaper in Edinburgh.

“Anything on Faith’s Trust?”

“No. We have to file Trust reports but unless you are looking for it specifically there is nothing to see. We do not solicit donations, we do not advertise and there is nothing for anyone to ask questions about. The only way we would get questions is if our return was physically looked at. Even then we have made it as difficult as possible. There is no phone number and only a PO Box as an address. The three of us as Trustees are named but our contact address is care of Drummonds. I have no doubt it will come out eventually but even if it does all they can ask is how do you have so much money? We will no comment them until they leave.”

Most charities or charitable trusts advertised themselves and were available to answer questions. They were never going to be so accommodating.

“So it is just never referenced?”

“I think it is for the best right now. The idea of three students making so much money is still the biggest thing that people will latch onto. You were still at school and a minor when we sold the companies. Once there is some separation from how we made the money in the first place the story goes away. And the other thing is that the stock market is doing really well at the moment. We have had huge returns from the original money which also reduces the impact of the initial amount. Despite giving £5m the funds are growing substantially. Word will get out eventually but once you are out of university then it becomes less of a story. The two of us walking or driving down to our offices in a converted garage does not have the same impact as you walking through Trinity College. Plus you were the youngest. Like I said, you graduating stops it being anything but a historical curiosity.”

Brian stirred the pot.

“And you are sure that this is the best approach? What about the positive impact of telling the story? How three young people made, and are continuing to make a difference.”

Andrew was glad it was Julian that spoke up.

“It is not who we are and it would feel false and more importantly the other side of that positive message is the reason for the Trust in the first place.”

Andrew was surprised that Brian had not joined all the dots. The very name of the Trust gave it away, The Faith Campbell Cancer Research Trust.

“I am being stupid, forgive me. I needed to take my thinking one step further.”

Later Andrew was in the kitchen when Mary placed her hand gently on his arm.

“Walk with me for a few minutes please Andrew.”

He swallowed his misgivings and the two of them walked down to the end of the garden.

“It was never about you, well you the person. What you did for the family, at the time and ever since, I will always be proud and grateful. It was you the survivor I struggled with. I know that you had some of the same guilt, you had it all and she had nothing. I needed to break out of some bitter and downright toxic thinking. I am much better and can now recognise the signs. And I know that you understand all this but I wanted you to hear me say it. And to thank you for recognising it and telling Leslie and Brian when I couldn’t bring myself to say it to them. So thank you Andrew.”

It was a gentle hug before they walked back up to the house. Andrew doubted he would go round to their house too many times but it would be good to see them both more frequently. It was a good outcome. Once Brian and Mary left it was just the three of them and the memories that it brought back were amazing. All three of them felt it.

“When was the last time it was just the three of us here?”

Leslie posed the question.

“Years ago I think. Normally Suzanne is with me when I am down here.”

“You are probably right. It makes me think of all those days at Julian’s parents. We would talk about the latest change that Kyle Turner wanted and then the two of you would tune out the world and work away. It seems so long ago.”

“What you are describing was five years ago Leslie. Once we finished the control software and the reports for the modems we switched to AIMS.”

“Five years ago? Bloody hell.”

21, 23 and 25 and already feeling old. He crashed in their guest bedroom that night, the beer had led to whisky and he couldn’t face the walk. But Andrew was up and away early the following morning, the swim purging the excesses of the previous evening from his system. The previous evening while waiting to see if Suzanne would call Andrew had called Nikki and he was going to spend the day with her and Fran. He had not seen his friends for ages and was really looking forward to spending time with them. The day was all chat and catching up. Fran had been in charge of lunch and Nikki returned from the grocery store minutes after Andrew arrived from the station.

“Tell me what the two of you have been up to?”

“Weddings. Well, three commitment ceremonies and a wedding. Things seem to go in cycles and a lot of our friends are making commitments to each other. We have been out to the little inn where we held our ceremony twice already this year. That couple have a tremendous business by being open-minded and accepting of other people. It is the number one place for ceremonies in the West of Scotland. So there have been lots of those and there is one more at the end of the summer. But other than that our life is very quiet.”

Nikki snorted at Fran’s comment.

“My life is very quiet and routine but you are going to be teaching at the University next year. And are finally qualifying as a surgeon.”

The pride is Nikki’s voice was clear. Fran looked sheepish.

“True but.”

“But nothing. It is hugely impressive.”

“That is good news. I would suggest we go out and celebrate but we all know that your wife is a lightweight and would just blame me for leading her astray.”

Fran laughed a very dirty laugh.

“And she wouldn’t want me to take advantage of her.”

Pause.

“Again.”

Two minutes of wrestling on the couch followed before they kissed and made up.

“Don’t encourage her. It is like fighting off a teenage boy sometimes.”

Andrew laughed but Fran just looked at her.

“When do you fight me off? And more interestingly, when were you wrestling on the couch with a teenage boy?”

More wrestling ensued before they stopped picking on each other and started on Andrew.

“We haven’t seen you this year. I am guessing the six months at Cambridge can be summarised in two sentences. The first one is ‘you studied hard’. How were your results?”

“Top at Trinity College, top on the course, second in the Department.”

“Wow, we didn’t have to drag that out of you.”

“I knew you would drag it out eventually so I figured I might as well just be honest.”

“Did you have much of a life?”

“No, the Easter break was just endless studying. But when I am out of sorts I study hard, I have come to realise that. When Leslie and I fought in 6^th year at school I completed an entire module in less than two months. Studying is my safety net and I use it as a place of refuge.”

“You have been out of sorts?”

“A lot of this year. Particularly around my career, the future, what it means to make a difference. I am better but still not sorted out. This summer job hasn’t helped either.”

“What is it?”

“That is the thing, I can’t talk about it. But I hope that by the end of the summer I will have a better understanding of options when I graduate. It sounds so mysterious and I don’t mean it to be I just not allowed to discuss what I do.”

He shrugged.

“Most of it relates to the goal of how to make a difference. For a lot of the year I was chasing the endless dream of something as significant as I did with the computer companies and the Trusts. Which is a guaranteed way to be unhappy for the rest of my life. But it took a while to realise that I needed to change that thinking. I will likely end up as a consulting engineer. Either that or just keep on modelling.”

The reference to modelling changed the tone and direction of the conversation, as he had hoped.

“How were the Alps?”

“Do you want to hear some of the racier details?”

Without even looking at each other two heads nodded.

“I knew four of the seven models and had worked with them before which helped a lot. But the Wednesday I got to play the lothario. They filmed two scenarios. First, I was dating this older woman and then I seduced her daughter. Well we sort of seduced each other but either way I cast mother aside for her daughter. Then we switched it around, and I was dating the daughter and the mother comes along and steals me away from her daughter. Borrowed me is a better way of saying it. All very French.”

“And about as far away from you as it is possible to get.”

“I never even thought of that. There are never any lines in these things, it is always overdubbed later in all the different languages. I spend more time making sure I am in the right place, that the camera can get the shot, stuff like that. I knew Mathilde, the lady playing the mother, and so because there are no lines I focus on the person. And I know Mathilde is like me playing a role but at the same time the chemistry is with her not with the mother in the plot. Does that make sense?”

“Sort of.”

“What was really funny was that Mathilde’s husband had come to Courcheval with her. So at the end of the day she shot off back to his room and then later they arrived for dinner looking very tired.”

“Really? Was that not awkward?”

“I think if you don’t know what your wife is doing or are unhappy with what she is doing then it would be. But it is her job and I spent all day revving her motor up and then she went back to their room and ravished the hell out of him. Trust me the man did not look upset. He looked like he needed a nap.”

Andrew could see both of them thinking it through

“I suppose it makes sense but it is still a bit weird.”

“It took some getting used to. There I was, I was 20 at the time, and I spent the day rolling around and feeling up his 36 year old wife, both of us naked. Just saying that sentence seems very. Something.”

Fran appraised him.

“Do you enjoy it? Modelling I mean not feeling up older women.”

“I do it in an unthinking sort of way. Which is both bullshit since you know how much I overthink things but is also true. Nudity in society is 95% female, maybe even more. From page three to television to dirty magazines. Men respond to visuals and we like looking at naked women. It is neither right nor wrong it just is. When I first modelled and the shot was the female model pulling the towel off me as I turned away I did it because one it was sprung on me so I had no time to overthink it I just did it. And two I had spent the previous hour with three different women draped all over me and the shot ended up with the silk robe on the ground at our feet while her arse was displayed to the world. So I just did it, I could hardly be a shrinking violet. Well I could have been but it seemed lame somehow. And it just grew from there. After a while it is a job. You heard me talk about how crazy December was. There were days when I would dress and undress six or seven times, all with different models. One day Heloise and I must have changed outfit 10 times, maybe more. It becomes easier the more often you do it.”