Page 2 of A Promise Through Time

“Is that a bar I see?” Tina walked into the dining room and straight to the bar. “Where’s the bartender?” she asked glancing around the room.

“Oh, we dinnae have one. Angus, my husband, makes drinks whenever someone would like one.”

“I’d love a glass of wine, if that would be okay.”

“Let me get us both a glass. Why dinnae ye sit over there by the window. We can get to know each other a wee bit better.”

“I’d like that.” Tina picked a table by the window, enjoying the sunshine peeking through and the fact that she could see what was happening here in Glendaloch. The tour had visited twenty cities in Europe. Tina had more stamps in her passport than she had ever dreamed, but it was all a blur. Airports, trains, a tour bus, hotels, venues, more hotels, dealing with logistics, constantly checking details for the next event and the one after that to make sure everything went smoothly for everyone else. There hadn’t been any time for exploring the cities she had visited. She hadn’t even had a chance to just sit and enjoy a quiet moment in months.

Being on tour was great in a lot of ways. She had spent months touring with her brothers and sister. They’d had a chance to work together and heal over some the hurt that had been a real wedge between them for years. She loved her family, loved being with them, but it was exhausting.

Edna joined her carrying two glasses of wine. “I hope ye like a nice sauvignon blanc. This one is quite good.”

“It’s almost as if you know me, Edna,” Tina laughed. “How long have you lived in Glendaloch?”

“My whole life. I was born here.”

“It’s exactly what I thought a small Scottish village would look like. Very quaint.” She took a sip of her wine, savoring the flavor. “Mmmm. Thisisgood.” Tina sighed, feeling some of the tension she had carried start to drain from her shoulders.

“I’m glad ye like it. Dylan and Maggie, my niece, go over to France occasionally and bring back some wonderful bottles. Ye’ll have a chance to meet them later.” Edna’s smile was pleasant, friendly. There was something about her that made Tina want to confide in her. Ever since Elle had told her about traveling to thepast, Tina had wondered about the woman, the witch, that had sent her there.

“So, Elle tells me you’re a witch. Is that something you’ve always been, or did you have to learn how to be one?” Tina couldn’t believe she had just blurted that out. She had meant to sort of ease into the topic.

Edna didn’t seem surprised or offended, she just smiled and that glint from before made another appearance. “I’ve been a witch for as long as I can remember. No classes for me. It comes quite naturally.”

“Interesting,” Tina mused.

“What of ye? What do ye like to do when yer not on tour with yer sister.”

“I live at home with my parents and some other family members. We have a ranch about an hour out of San Francisco. Elle and Hamish built a house next door to the family ranch, so we see them all the time.”

“Isn’t that lovely? It’s so nice that yer family is a close one.”

“We definitely are that.” Tina took another sip of wine and thought about the tour bus, the tiny dressing rooms, “Sometimes a little too close.”

“What do ye mean?”

“Family nosiness. Especially for me. Before the tour I had a job I didn’t really like, spent a lot of time babysitting my niece and nephew. I didn’t really go out or date.” She shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, it was more that the men she met inevitably had an agenda. Once they found out who her sister was, that was all she was to them – Elle’s sister. “My mother can’t understand why I’m not married and having children. She’ll be so excited when she finds out about Elle.”

“So yer mother is nosy?”

Tina started. That made her sound harsh. “I shouldn’t have said it that way. I live with them, so they know all my business. They just want me to be happy.”

“You’re not?”

Tina shrugged her shoulders. “Happiness is different things to different people.”

“What is it to ye?” Edna’s cocked eyebrow and slightly tipped head showed her interest.

Tina thought back on the last few years, “I guess I don’t have a good answer to that question,” Tina admitted.

“Ye say yer Mum wants ye to be married. Do ye have a lad yer sweet on?”

Tina had to laugh at that. She loved Edna’s accent. It was darling. “Nope. No one.”

“Do ye wish ye did?”

“Sure. It’s not that easy though. I’ve been traveling a lot and prior to that I’d had to resort to online dating, which is great for some people, but my experience has been that for men it’s like they’re kids in a candy shop. Oh, look at that girl and that one. They are never happy. Always looking for the next best thing…like that exists.”