Between a Rock and a Hard Place Clare London

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.Besides, what could he do but wait? After all, he was here because his friend Will had specifically asked him to be.His best friend, Will.They were both flying in to Glasgow, ready to meet the rest of the gang.It was a long-held tradition, an annual holiday together, whatever their commitments for the rest of the year.Friends since college, there were around eight of them on any year’s trip, depending on who could get away from work.Allen was the self-3BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACEappointed “manager” of it all, and this year he’d suggested they visited the Scottish Highlands, his own home turf.Garry had happily booked the time off.Like he always did.He rarely had other plans that might conflict.Allen always waxed lyrical about Scotland.Most of his multitudinous family had left the home country over the years, moving all over the world, making what sounded like starry marriages with entrepreneurs and lawyers.Even a Hollywood movie star in one case.But Allen had stayed, happy to find everything he needed right there—including the man he met and moved in with, several years ago.Apparently he and Leonard often made the trip north to the Highlands, on their own.The hotel they stayed in had a fabulous view over the loch and the highest star-ratings for food and comfort.And, this year, they wanted to share it with their friends as well.Everyone thought it was a good choice of destination, including Will.He and Garry usually traveled together to the holiday, as they both lived in London, and they agreed it’d be great to see more of Scotland.They’d fly to Glasgow, hire a car, then drive the rest of the way to the hotel.But the plans had changed, hadn’t they? By the time the holiday period arrived, Will wasn’t in London anymore.He was across the Atlantic, being considered for a well-deserved promotion.Today, he was flying in from New York.Garry grimaced again, not solely because of the persistent cramp in his right buttock.Of course, there was no problem about traveling separately this year.They were independent guys, after all.Didn’t have to sit in each other’s pocket all the time.They had the two weeks at the hotel to catch up on news and each other’s company.Well, with the whole group, of course.Plenty to talk 4BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACEabout, especially this year.Traveling separately.Fine.Honestly.But then Will had called him, late one evening last week.The line was poor, Garry was distracted, struggling to remember which way the different time zones matched, and Will was in a hurry.He told Garry he was on his way to yet another interview, as part of the extensive job selection process—one of those group things, where a panel of assessors looked at your psychological profile, any criminal record back to your great-great-grandfather, and probably the state of your laundry basket, to ensure you could be trusted with their commercial secrets.Wait for me, Will said.He’d booked a flight that landed in Glasgow only an hour or so after Garry’s.Wait for me and we’ll travel on together.Like we usually do, was the inference.So here Garry was.Waiting.He could feel the familiar twist of his nerves when he thought about Will.Neither of them could have foreseen the airport delay.But why exactly did he need to wait? It wasn’t as if either of them needed their hand held.He sighed.Particularly not Will, the high flier.The New York interview was a case in point; Garry knew he’d never have been offered that contract.They’d worked in the same firm for a couple of years now, but Garry knew he didn’t have Will’s brains.Not that he was jealous, not at all.It was more a matter of knowing that Will had a far brighter future.That he was always likely to move on.Garry shifted again, offering the cramp to his left buttock this time.If he could just reach Allen on the phone and find out the name of the hotel, he’d leave a message for Will’s incoming flight and take a taxicab on his own.Then he could get in some much needed rest.And Will could follow on later, couldn’t he? It was the 5BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACEsensible thing.But…Wait for me, Will had said; had repeated.Then the phone line had crackled into silence.Garry tried to remember more of the exact details of the call, but his concentration today was on the far side of hazy.That was probably due to a combination of frustration and that aforementioned lack of sleep, plus the fact he’d had nothing to eat or drink since he got to the airport except for lukewarm coffee and a shriveled muffin.The blueberries inside the cake had borne more than a passing resemblance to rabbit’s droppings.He’d not finished eating it.He’d call Allen again in a minute, that’s what he’d do.But he felt the slim shape of the mobile phone wedged in his jeans pocket and remembered the constant “not available” message from all his previous attempts.He thought he might wait a while longer.Only so much disappointment could be taken by the hour.In the meantime, get some proper lunch.He felt nausea cramp up in his gut.No, better not risk that yet.The queues were already gathering at the food counters; seemed like quite a few flights were delayed, and both passengers and families meeting them were settling in for the duration.The middle-aged man next to him had been in situ since before Garry had even arrived.He’d tried conversation at an early stage; Garry had been polite but discouraging.Then the guy had gone quiet for a long time, and Garry had almost forgotten he had a neighbor.Suddenly there was a loud, nasal snore, and the man’s head slipped sideways to land on Garry’s shoulder.Garry grimaced at the close-cropped, grizzled hair brushing his neck.I fucked up somewhere in a previous life, obviously.He tried to nudge the man back up, but the guy was soundly asleep by now.6BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACEThe loudspeaker twanged, announcing a delay to yet another flight with a simulated sympathy that made him want to vomit—if he’d had enough food in his stomach to make it worthwhile.He shrugged under the weight of his new friend, and sighed deeply.There was a long, miserable time ahead of him, and he knew who—however indirectly—was to blame.Bloody Will.* * *Garry must have dozed off.He woke with numbness in his left arm that made it feel the size of a Halloween pumpkin, and a pain in his scalp that meant his hair had got caught awkwardly on the wrong side of his parting.His head was stretched back over the back edge of the chair, and his legs were folded underneath it in a manner that would defy professional physiotherapy.Trying to move his limbs just made him groan aloud as the muscles cramped.It took him a depressingly long time to get himself upright again [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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