Other Sides of The World: Chapter Two - Encounters

Rhona looked around the hotel bar and took in her surroundings; nothing had changed at all while she'd been away! Her bar was just as she left it! As she stocked up the fridges and turned on the gases in the cellar, she thought about her twenty sixth birthday party and Jamie's big surprise. How surprising the rest of her life with him turned out to be. Lachie appeared and plonked himself onto a bar stool, folding his arms and placing them on the bar with a dull thud sighing all the way. "What's up Lachie?" Rhona enquired as she inspected a wine glass by holding it up to one of the spotlights on the ceiling.

"Its nuthin'!" he muttered, but she knew her brother, something was bothering him.

"Come on spill!" she insisted as he smiled gratefully at her and began to tell her what was on his mind.

"It's that Yank fae number 49!"

"Lachie don't call him that, it's disrespectful!" she frowned, "What about him?" still not looking up from her inspection, Rhona pushed Lachie for answers despite not being remotely interested. He had mentioned something last night about an American who checked into one of the rooms, room 49 to be exact, and how the poor bloke got on his nerves. Rhona knew Lachie could be quite unbearable with people, especially if they weren't from Scotland...or the UK for that matter. He wasn't keen on Americans after spending time over there in Kansas with their Uncle Rory, what had happened over there she didn't know but it involved a bunch of boys mocking Lachie's accent and he didn't stay there for long. Lachie continued with his worries,

"Well, he's a bit strange de ye no think?"

"I haven't met him Lachie I can't really judge the man before I get to know him. And neither can you, okay? He's a guest in the hotel, he's paying for the privilege, so be nice!" Rhona scolded him as he sighed once again.

"He needs a haircut, and a new pair a jeans! And..."

"Lachlan James Peter Boyle!!!" Rhona growled, "Leave him ALONE!"

"Awright! But if am right aboot this dunderheid, and am no aften wrang wee yin, a expect a grovellin' apology fae you! Right?" It was now Rhona's turn to sigh.

"Right, okay! But promise me you'll try and be nice to him? Just...try?"

"Aye, aye awright there's nae need tae go on aboot it!" Rhona let out an exasperated laugh; it was Lachie who wouldn't stop about this guy!

Annie Boyle had arranged a small get together with some of Rhona's old friends, as she wrote out the menu she wanted she was reminded of the engagement party. That would have been the last time they had all been together, she stopped writing and stared at the wall in front of her. Thinking about what Jamie McGregor did to her daughter made her blood boil, as she twisted a strand of her brown hair round her finger she realised that Rhona had had a lucky escape! Jamie was a rat, and not good enough for her, no this was a celebration in itself! She stood up and took the menu downstairs to Mary and Agnes. As she headed down the corridor she was met with a pair of dazzling blue eyes as she almost collided with someone, a young man. "Oh, sorry son a wisnae lookin' where I wiz goin'!" she shook her head clear of the cobwebs and laughed, but the laugh stuck in her throat when she looked at the young man's face, he was beautiful!

"No worries ma'am, neither was I!" he half bowed and flashed a mouthful of perfect teeth surrounded by rather attractive facial hair.

"You're...American?" she smiled back bashfully.

"Yeah, yes ma'am. California!"

"Oh, very nice. I'll bet its awfy cold here eh?" the man laughed softly and looked at his shoes.

"Um, I like it. It's a change and I needed a change!"

"Well Scotland is certainly a change fae California son!"

"That it is ma'am, that it is!" he continued to smile politely as she took in the sight before her properly. Long hair, surfer? Rock star? Actor! He was so handsome he could have been anything he wanted to be! "Well, I'd better get going. It was nice bumping into you, good day!" and before she could say any more he was striding down the hall towards the foyer.

"Lachie!" Annie's sing song voice nearly knocked her son off of his chair; she appeared out of nowhere as he was playing Solitaire on the reception computer.

"Whit is it maw?"

"Who's the American honey we've got stayin' here?"

"Ugh, maw!" Lachie screwed his eyes shut and gagged.

"He's a nice boy Lachie. Do ye no think Rhona..." Lachie cut his mother off.

"NO! Dinnae go there maw!"

"But he's lovely, he's got nice teeth!"

"Och you and yer obsession wi teeth!" Lachie knew exactly what his mother was up to and did not condone it at all. Rhona had just had her heart broken, the last thing she needed was that clown messing with her head.

"Well a think he'd be just what she needs right now, yer sister is a beautiful girl Lachlan! She deserves a beautiful lookin' man!" Annie huffed and headed back towards the kitchen. He agreed that his sister was beautiful, too beautiful for the likes of that weirdo!

That evening, the guests all arrived. Rhona's old friends from school; Catriona Joyce, Gillian Donaldson and Beth Brown all appeared together giggling and squealing when they met her. Rhona couldn't see this night far enough as she pretended to be happy to see them. Terry, Elspeth and Hannah had all been invited as well which made her feel a little more at ease, but not much. As the evening went on and Annie played mein host, Rhona found herself downing more white wine than she should. She didn't drink very often and when she did she tended to stick to something rather low in volume. But here she was pouring glass after glass. The chatter and laughter were too much for her, remembering the last time they were all gathered round the table together here, when Jamie proposed! As Catriona looked over at her with a look of sympathy, Rhona was reminded that she didn't really like her very much; she was always down on her relationship with Jamie. Boy would she be enjoying this, and as she opened her mouth to speak she was interrupted by Beth. "So Rhona, how are you?" she also gave her a pathetic look like Catriona and then Gillian turned round and did the same. Rhona hated everyone feeling sorry for her, as she gulped down another glass of wine; her brother nudged her and hissed,

"Rhona gi it a by will ye? Calm it doon!"

"Aye aye!" she slurred back in broad Scots for the first time in years, and answered her friends. "Am dayin' fine how would a no be?" she smiled drunkenly and stood up, knocking her chair backwards with a crash in the process as the girls all gasped and whispered to one another.

"Rhona!" Lachie grunted and stood up with her to pick up her chair and steady his sister.

"Get aff me Lachie am fine!" she snapped while snatching the open bottle of wine from the table and teetering out of the dining room to the outside door. As she headed down to the Lochside in the dark she could hear her brother calling to her in a panic.

"RHONA! Come oan shorty dinnae go oot there!"

"Away and bile yer heid Lachie!" she muttered as she swayed down to the jetty swigging her wine as she went.

She plopped herself down onto the wooden jetty and looked down at the rippling water, the moon shone down on the Loch like a spotlight. Rhona smiled and thought that it looked so inviting, the cool breeze and the sound of the waves lapping onto the shore at either side of her. She stuck her hand into the water and sobbed, it was deep here, far from the shore. "A could just faw in, and naebidy wid even care!" she muttered sadly to herself.

"I would!" a voice called to her from behind, a stranger's voice.

"Ach away! Li me alain!" she whined and ran her hand along the water, leaning a little too close to the edge.

"Please, will you stay away from the edge?" the voice continued, American voice, the young man from room 49 perhaps? Must be, she began to blush and smile a little. She wondered what he looked like for his voice sounded heavenly! Not just the accent, the tone of it, how smooth and soft yet strong he sounded.

"Go about your business and leave me be!" she replied, reverting back to her generic accent.

"But I can't do that you see. I was out walking and I heard you crying and feeling sorry for yourself and I was curious, what could possibly be the matter? And of course you're hanging off of a jetty at dark o'clock so..."

"Lachie wiz right, yer strange..." he broke into her speech.

"...well if being concerned for a fellow human being is strange then guilty as charged! Handcuff me and lead me to your dungeon!" there was exasperation in his tone, like he wanted nothing more than to guide Rhona off of the jetty and be on his way.

"Just go away, I'm moping and it's a solo sport so beat it!" and just as the words left her lips she felt unsteady and her head felt like a ton weight, pulling her further down towards the water. Before she could steady herself she was heading down into the dark, cold water...she couldn't swim...and she was drunk! She panicked and tried to grab onto one of the moorings on the edge but her arms only flailed in the air as she hit the water with an almighty splash. It felt so cold, her lungs felt like they were on fire as she sucked in a mouthful of water. "This is it, I'm going to die!" the voice inside her head screamed, she flapped her arms and kicked her legs, trying to get to the surface but it was no good. It was so tiring, exhausting even, trying to fight the water that was pulling her down. So she stopped fighting and let the water take her, as she descended upon the bed of the Loch and her entire body ached, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap themselves around her waist and hoist her up to the surface.

When she hit the top and took her first breath of air, it was like heaven. She could hardly move as the same arms carried her to the shore and lay her down on the sand. The tall, skinny figure loomed over her as the moonlight lit up his silhouette, long hair dripping wet, he was breathing so fast as he tried to talk but gave up and dropped to his knees beside her. And that's when she could make out his face, he was perfect! Beautifully formed from his piercing blue eyes, his ears, his nose, right down to his lips that were hidden inside a scruffy but very attractive beard. Finally he found the puff to speak, "Jeez red! What the hell was that???" he demanded and lay on his back next to her, still struggling for breath.

"I slipped!" she murmured and rolled onto her side, grabbing his right arm and hugging it. His shirt was soaking wet, as was her dress but the cold felt nice. She had felt so hot after all that fighting underwater, to feel the sodden shirt of a heroic stranger against your cheek was quite nice. The funny thing was, he didn't seem to mind her sudden closeness, and he didn't even wriggle away from her. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing.

"That...was scary!" he whispered breathlessly.

"I'm sorry!" she replied, feeling a little embarrassed now the shock of nearly drowning had passed.

"Don't ever do that again, okay?" he scolded her.

"No!" she nuzzled her face into the top of his arm; despite his skinny frame he had strong, muscular arms. His subtle scent was mesmerising and she wanted to fall asleep right there beside him. Either that or she was in the early stages of hypothermia!

"You do realise that if I hadn't been here you would have died?" he went on as her face grew hot and she nuzzled him even more, whimpering she nodded. "What's...I mean I know I'm a stranger but...what could possibly be so bad that you felt you had to do that?" and then her face got hotter with anger as she pushed away from him and sat up.

"I told you! I slipped!" he sat up beside her and put his arm around her.

"Did you? It's just...you looked so sad and..."

"I was drunk and depressed and I can't swim, but I just slipped I promise you!" she stared into his eyes and he nodded, happy with her answer.

"Okay red, okay! I'm Oz by the way!" he looked at her expectantly.

"Rhona Boyle!" and as she told him her name, he chuckled.

"Ohhh, you're one of the clan huh?" she wrinkled her nose and huffed.

"So what kind of name is Oz?" she changed the subject.

"A better one than I was born with!" he groaned, took his arm off of her and stood up, dusting off the sand from his wet trousers. He turned to her and held out his hand, gesturing to pull her up. She took it and her heart fluttered as he gently lifted her to her feet and went to rub the sand from her dress but stopped himself and now he was blushing! "Sorry, you.."

"So what is your name?" she pressed him again.

"Oswald, Oswald Truman!" he groaned again and closed his eyes. Looking at his rock star appearance, Oswald really wasn't a very appropriate name for him. Maybe Ace, or Jordan or even Levi! But Oswald? She struggled not to laugh as his embarrassment was adorable and it made her want to hug him. "C'mon little Miss Braveheart, let's get you back into the warm and outta those wet clothes..I mean...um...s***!!!" he cursed under his breath as she giggled, he was so cute!

"I know what you meant!" she linked arms with him as they headed back up to the hotel, shoes squelching all the way.

Oz insisted on walking her to her door, and if she was honest she liked being close to him. As they walked she asked him why he was in Scotland and he told her he was working. "What do you do?" she was interested in knowing more about him as she gripped his arm tighter.

"I er...I'm a photographer and I wanted to take some pictures of Scotland as I travelled so...yeah it's boring I know!"

"Oh no! It sounds pretty cool!"

"What do you do? You work here for the family or..." Rhona sighed and thought about why she was back here, then decided it was time to mention the unmentionable.

"I'm just back from Glasgow, the big city, I moved there about eighteen months ago with my fiancé. I worked in bars at night and by day I was at College studying Criminology. But then I caught him with another girl and he promised it meant nothing..." Oz cut into her story,

"Ha, believe me they always say that and it's a lie!" he said bitterly.

"...well yes. But I forgave him and our wedding was four days away when he disappeared. He eventually came home the night before and told me he couldn't go through with it, and that's when he moved in with Rachel O'Dowd! The Irish barmaid from his local pub!"

"Son of a..." Oz cursed.

"So I packed my things, and came back home! Ta-da! Here I am!" as they arrived at her bedroom door, he placed his hands on her shoulders and his blue eyes bore into hers.

"Rhona, what happened to you was crappy! But don't give up on people because you were wronged, not everyone is like your ex. And please, do not spill any more of your tears over that creep! He's not worth it but you are, so no more night swimming by the Loch okay?" Rhona laughed and nodded.

"Okay, goodnight Oz!" he ruffled her damp hair and winked before heading back down the dimly lit corridor. She watched him walk away from her with his hands jammed in his pockets whistling quietly to himself. And then she realised, "OZ???" she called to him. He turned round and in one fluid movement with his hands still in his pockets he cocked his head to the side and called back,

"Yeah?"

"Thank you!" she said in a quiet voice, "For saving my life!" and he smiled, it was a beautiful smile. His white teeth glinted in the light of the moon shining in through the window and he replied in that enchanting tone of voice,

"You're welcome gorgeous!" he winked cheekily at her, turned his back on her and continued to stride out of sight.

"He's no strange Lachie!" she mumbled to herself as she watched his every move, "He's perfect!" opening her bedroom door and giggling like a schoolgirl, she knew she would be dreaming of the lovely Oz that night! Her hero!

To Be Continued…