Page 85 of Once upon a Summer Night

Bri grinned at her daughter, then quickly bolted the door. “It’s too easy with that one. He’ll never change.” She walked to a large wooden wardrobe set against the wall and opened the bottom door. She withdrew four goblets, holding them by the stems in one hand, and used her free hand to pull out an uncorked bottle of wine.

“You have a hidden stash in here?” Gwen exclaimed with a laugh.

“Learned from the best,” Bri returned, saluting her with the upside-down goblets.

“Reilly?” Ellie guessed.

“Oh, absolutely not. He was incredibly overprotective,”Bri replied. Her eyes twinkled. “I had a good time at university.”

“I loved college,” Gwen added. She turned to Ellie. “Remember the time we went to that club in London, and I ended up almost getting arrested?”

“You were spared only because a policeman recognized my face from the papers,” Ellie groused.

“Hey, at least something good came of all that press.”

Ellie wrinkled her nose. “The only thing. And then I went into hiding after that, spending my time in a lonely flat, licking my wounds.”

Gwen stared at her in surprise.

“What? It’s true, especially after Andrew. I wasted a lot of time on feeling sorry for myself.”

“Grieving and feeling sorry for yourself are two different things, El.”

“Of course they are. But I haven’t been grieving for ten years. I’ve been hiding.” Ellie looked to the window, through which she could see that low, gray clouds hung. “There’s a whole world out there, and I’ve recently come to the conclusion that it may be better experienced in person, rather than through the pages of a book.”

“Books,” Claire sighed. “I adore books. They’re the only wayI’llever experience anything outside these walls.”

Brianagh rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’ll have many adventures, I’m sure of it.”

“I’ve just got to get married first,” she muttered.

Bri groaned. “Not this again.” She filled one of the goblets to the top. “Sorry, ladies. But sometimes, no matter how much you love your children, they will absolutely force you to drink.” She took a large swallow, and even Claire chuckled.

“So, truly, a faire is coming to the village?”

“Yes, my dear, there is a faire coming to the village.” Briturned to Ellie. “It’s one of the best ones, too. Midsummer celebrates the solstice, one of the most sacred holy days in our year.”

“I thought it was early summer.”

Ellie agreed with Gwen. Maybe time travel wasn’t linear with the seasons…?

“Midsummer is actually the middle to end of June,” Bri explained. “I know when we’re from, it’s usually thought of as July, but that’s only because of the school schedules. Here, it’s based on the seasons. There will be merchants, bakers, butchers, brewers, and master craftsmen, all showing their best wares and work for purchase. There’s music and dancing, and, of course, the midsummer fire and offerings to the Irish goddess of summer, Áine.”

“Isn’t she the faerie queen?” Ellie exclaimed. “I read a really interesting book about pagan Irish deities last year. It was fascinating. And, of course, Shakespeare’sA Midsummer Night’s Dreamis one of my favorite plays.”

“Shakespeare?” Claire asked, intrigued. “What a name. Is he also American?”

“Oh, no, he was British. The most famous playwright to ever live,” Ellie replied, her eyes alight. “In the late 1500s…” Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying.

Shakespeare hadn’t been born yet. Wouldn’t be, for another century.

Brianagh sympathetically handed Ellie a goblet. “Strange, isn’t it, how things work?”

Ellie murmured her agreement. She felt oddly off-balance as she realized the magnitude of what her life was at that moment. One hundred years from Shakespeare, five hundred plus years from her own birth.

She stared at the deep garnet liquid in her cup and took a steadying breath.

Life was indeed strange.

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