Chapter 56

For the third day in a row, Andrew was at the Commonwealth early. He was swimming hard that morning not even sure he would make an hour. After 57 minutes he was done and had to use the ladder to get out the pool. His body ached, in a good way. Even taking his time getting changed Andrew was still way too early for Tanvi and had 50 minutes to kill. He wandered up to the Virgin Record store on Thistle Street and Bruce’s Records on Rose Street looking through the new and second hand albums. He wasn’t really looking for anything he was just killing time while trying to stay warm. At 10.45 he headed over to the Mound. Tanvi too was early and with the day being so miserable Andrew suggested they go into the National Gallery since it was right there. He had limited interest in the art but it was convenient and warm. He waited for her to start but she looked very nervous.

“What happened to confident Tanvi from the party on Saturday night? Now you seem worried about something.”

He found a bench they could sit on and Tanvi sat down beside him, but still quiet.

“Alright I will start. You asked if you could talk to me alone. You and Katie have been flirting with me for weeks. I know I am slow to pick up these things but even I noticed eventually. I think Suzanne knew the first or second day. On Saturday night you seemed to have a fascination with New Zealand. I remember Katie saying the first day I was introduced to you that you transferred over from Erskine’s. Finally, you are the older sophisticated woman and I am but the young, callow youth. I am supposed to be the bumbling fool. Talk to me Tanvi.”

“That’s just it Andrew. You are not the bumbling fool. You are this quiet, cute nerd who looks out for his friends. Katie called me yesterday and told me about her mother. Is it true you have been interrogated by six sets of parents?”

He nodded.

“Yeap. Your Dad is one of the six. There is at least one more to come as well.”

“Dad, really?”

“You remember, that day at Goldenacre when we first spoke. He was gentler than some. Helped by the lack of time to think about it. He just came up to me and knew all about me. I was thrown off by that. As I had spoken to you for the very first time five minutes earlier that morning, he could hardly give me the ‘what are your intentions with my daughter’ speech. I get it, teenage boy hanging around teenage girl will get antennae twitching. But I also have an angry young man streak and I will not stand by and be accused of something I haven’t done. Parents of teenage young women seem to conveniently forget that women get horny too.”

The way Tanvi blushed answered that unasked question.

“Let me ask you something. What do you want? Do you want a friend? You already have me as a friend. I find you fascinating and insightful. You made me think as everyone saw on Saturday. Do you want to occasionally date as more than a friend but not as a couple? Do you want to be an exclusive couple? What will be the reaction of your parents to this situation?”

“That is part of my problem. I don’t know.”

She was silent for a long time.

“I am confused and suspicious I suppose. I am at Heriot’s because I was very unhappy at Mary Erskine’s. The school was all very supportive and tried to deal with my problems but I was hassled and racially abused by a couple of girls there. It was always their word against mine and the school seemed powerless to stop it. That is why Mum and Dad moved me to Heriot’s. Everyone has been nice to me so far at Heriot’s and I am happy there. You are this nice guy everyone goes on about and nobody really understands. You seem to breeze through school but then you are in the library all the time so I know you work hard, that is hardly breezing. You made an effort with the girls on the first day and have stayed a friend. You turn up and support the team every week and never ask for anything from any of the players.”

She paused for a second.

“As you guessed, I spoke to Mary who I came to realise was actually called Mareikura. She told me all about you and alluded to an Easter never to be forgotten. Four months later I am on the hockey field with you on the sidelines. So I started asking questions about you. I found out all these interesting facts and most people reckon there is more. You never talk about anybody with anyone, other than the legendary Leslie. And if Suzanne had not met her none of us would believe she exists. You seem too good to be true for a lot of people. I haven’t shared the Mar stories. I don’t know what would happen if they knew you were rumoured not to be a virgin and apparently great in bed.”

She looked at him.

“This is proving to be a lot harder than when I practiced it in my head. I don’t know what I want. I am glad that we are friends. You have a lot of loyalty to your friends. We all saw that. As for the Mar stories they are just a whole other level of frightening and confusing. I want to date you and I am scared to date you. I want what Mar had and I am terrified of it at the same time. I am a big old mess.”

“Well isn’t that an interesting tale. I have no idea what stories Mareikura passed on. She is a friend and we spent the Easter holidays visiting historic sites around Scotland, mostly with Dad along too. I am sorry that you had a hard time at Erskine’s. Mar did not really enjoy it much either. As for the rest we are teenagers, it is supposed to be confusing. Would you like to go out now and again? Dinner and a movie. I will walk you down to the bus or wait with you until your Dad collects you. Maybe if the mood strikes us we will share a sweet kiss at the end of the night. How does that sound?”

“I think that is a good start. Am I your girlfriend?”

“No. I don’t think that should be the label.”

Her face fell.

“Okay, why are you upset? What does the label mean? Exclusivity? Suppose I go out with another woman? You talked to Katie yesterday. I am going to The Who concert with Leslie. Half the school apparently thinks I am secretly dating Suzanne. Do you want all that scrutiny?”

“Okay, I see your point. A girl just wants to feel special.”

“Do you need a badge saying I’m Andrew’s girlfriend? Don’t define yourself by me. You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life. You are stunning. I am so happy that you are my friend. But I have lots of friends and lots of them are women. Leslie is my best friend and I tell her everything. Tanvi, I mean everything.”

Andrew looked at her until she got the point.

“Suzanne has called me her best friend and we talk every single day. I am tutoring Moira seven hours a week, some weeks more. You and I, we will go out on Friday or Saturday nights. That’s all the free time that I have. If you want someone who dotes on you and spends hours with you every week then I am not that person. I will talk to you every morning. Smile as you flirt away with me. You are adorable when you do the ‘biting the bottom lip’ move by the way. If you want to come and study in the library at lunch and after school then I will be delighted to see you. But every person in my life from my parents and Leslie on down know that studying will always come first. It is who I am.

“You also know that I never talk to anyone about my personal life. Apart from Leslie. All the stories that are told about me are exaggerated tales. When word gets out, and we both know it will, it won’t be from me.”

“You live life on your terms Andrew.”

“It does seem that way but it is more that I know what I want to achieve in my life. I am only 15 years old. I am honest with people and I try not to disappoint them. If you would rather not go out with me and just be friends then I will be happy with that. I don’t want you to feel that I am using you or not being sufficiently there for you.”

She didn’t answer that and they walked around the gallery in silence for a while.

“Do you think about my background, my ethnicity Andrew?”

Andrew thought for several seconds.

“I found the discussion on Saturday to be fascinating. I had not stopped to think about it before. Your parents are Indian and you were born here, you are just as Scottish as I am. I thought about it a lot when I was swimming this morning. Britain was the colonial power in India and if I was born to my parents but they worked for the Government in India, would I think of myself as Indian or Scottish who happened to be born in India. With most of the colonial staff, though not all, they thought of themselves as British in India rather than Indian. They were in India temporarily. The way you described your family situation is different. Your parents have made their home here permanently and you think of yourself as Scottish. I find that distinction fascinating. You are a year more Scottish than I am. It was when you said you thought of yourself as Scottish that it started to make sense. I saw your skin colour and thought of you as Indian. You see where you were born and think of yourself as Scottish. You happen to be Scottish and brown as opposed to me who is Scottish and white. We are both Scottish. I think that most people’s reactions are the same as mine was originally.”

He knew there would be many more mornings of swimming thinking about all this. It was a minefield of assumptions and labels. Tanvi was bouncing around in her head though.

“Do you really think I am the most beautiful girl you have ever seen?”

“What is this complement Tanvi day? Yes, I stand by that statement. You are stunning. Not stunning for an Indian, but stunning for a human. You should be a model.”

Her smile was breathtaking.

“You are the most confounding man Andrew McLeod.”

Again a long walk of silence. They came to another bench, it may in fact have been the same bench, but they had been paying no attention to their surroundings. She sat down and patted the seat beside her.

“Thank you for being honest and letting me think. I did not know what to expect today. What I got surprised me and disappointed me at first, but then as we walked and I thought it through what you are suggesting is actually what I need right at this moment. I would like to spend time with you on a Friday or Saturday night, just as you described. I worry about the race stuff. That was why I was upset when you said you did not want a girlfriend. But then you explained more and, what’s that phrase everyone uses, oh yeah, that big old brain; then that big old brain of yours churned away and I could see you processing stuff. I am sure we will have a lot more conversations about all this stuff. Part of me wants to be your exclusive girlfriend but the larger part of me realises that that would be a terrible idea. I must admit that I find the idea of kisses at the end of the night to be a very good one.”

That breathtaking smile again, Andrew smiled in return.

“Let’s go and find somewhere to have some lunch. All this emotional drama has made me hungry.”

So they got themselves bundled back up to face the day. When they were outside on the steps Andrew grabbed Tanvi’s hand in his and they started walking. They walked hand in hand along Princes Street to his usual little café in St. Andrew’s Square. They were able to find a small table and squeezed in.

“Why did you take my hand?”

“It seemed the right thing to do. I also wanted you to have no doubts about me wanting to be seen with you. Every time we go out I will hold your hand and at the end of the night snog you in front of whoever is there. Deal.”

She giggled.

“Goofball, but deal.”

She looked very happy. They cut short the rest of the day. It was way too cold to be out on the street. Something Andrew would need to consider for Friday with Hannah. All they did was wander from shop to shop. It was in the last store that he thought about her parents.

“What are you going to tell your parents?”

“Everything. Just as you have Leslie, I have Mum and Dad. No secrets. They know I was coming here to meet you today. Dad quite likes you and Mum is keen to meet you.”

Andrew looked horrified.

“Oh, yes Andrew. You get to complete the set. They are nice. They worry about their daughter but are not too crazy. So at some point in the coming term you will be coming over for dinner.”

“You thought you would wait until now to drop this little titbit into the conversation? What about the whole religion thing?”

“Now who is worrying about the future? We are going on dates Andrew, not getting engaged. That is not something to stress about right now.”

Andrew smiled at her, one more thing to overthink.

“Come on. Let’s walk over to your stop. I will wait with you until your bus comes.”

They walked hand in hand out of Menzies and headed across the road. The stop was deserted and it was a nasty windy December day. Andrew wrapped his arms around her. She was so small that it brought out all sorts of protective feelings in him. She looked up and her eyes had a sparkle in them.

“You know, this has been a sort of date and it is the end of it.”

The words trailed off. Sometimes even Andrew couldn’t miss the signals. The Bell Rock Lighthouse blinded him in both eyes and he leaned down and gently kissed her. Both their lips were cold and his were chapped, it didn’t matter. For 15 seconds he had this most beautiful young woman in his arms and he was kissing her. They separated and smiled at each other. Andrew was not sure who looked the more pleased with themselves. He got her safely onto the bus and walked down the street to his own stop. Nothing about the upcoming term was going to be simple. School, the Open University, tutoring, women. But he would survive fine on a steady diet of kisses like that from some pretty young women.

When Andrew got home there was a message from Hannah saying that she would not be able to meet on Friday. He was sad but felt he had pushed as much as he could, maybe even too much. She knew he was there to talk. Andrew asked his dad if he was free for an hour after dinner. He told him he was off to phone Harry and see if it was alright to come out that night so that he could help in the morning. Harry did not even do the ‘are you sure’ routine with him.

“Great Andrew. You can do the dairy cows as usual. I will go and check the little room in the barn is ready. See you after dinner.”

Andrew and his dad chatted on the way out to the farm. A Christmas card and letter from Mareikura had arrived that morning and so they talked about the letter and reminisced about both the days out back in the spring. His father loved Scottish history and really enjoyed talking about it and explaining it to people. Later Andrew sat with Harry and Josephine in the farmhouse and caught up on their news. Did they want him to work outside or did they want help with some of the paperwork? He could do either.

“Cows and then some other stuff until lunchtime. In the afternoon and evening if you could help catch up on a couple of the forms and reports that would be a big help. It will let us get them all packed before Wednesday night. Then on Wednesday it will be a little bit of everything. I may even get you to go and collect some of the others on that little tractor you drive. If you are going to take them back on it on New Year’s morning there is no point in having a bunch of Landrovers in the yard until the weekend when they can come and get them.”