Page 112 of Promises to Keep

She finished her speech with, “Whatever. I am nae God, I daena hae all the answers.” She stood. “I am tired from the conversation, I think I will go lie down.”

Magnus said, “Ye drop a bomb on us and then walk away?”

“How else would ye hae me do it?” She smirked, “A lady should always sweep from the room leaving everyone behind with their expression slack-jawed, tis how ye are best remembered.”

“Ye ought not meddle in the future, as a matter of morality. I remember once ye told me that ye dinna go tae the future because ye dinna want tae learn too much. Now it seems ye are interfering in the lives of yer descendants on the regular.”

“I daenawanttae learn about my descendants, and twas an accident how I found this out... but it is written. Lochinvar lives in the future. More important tae us, we need tae fight a war, live tae see peace once more and yer bairns tae grow up, and for ye tae live long — all the while driving me mad.”

Magnus smiled. “Did I drive ye mad while we were rescuin’ ye?”

She said, “I am grateful for the rescue, twas a verra hard thing tae be stuck in the past and I was well aware that twas likely yer dreams come true tae hae me safely absconded with—”

I interrupted with, “Like when you had me kidnapped? Or when you left us to live a whole year in the sixteenth century, where, I might add, there is not much ofanything?”

The other people in the room watched from her face to mine then back to her’s.

She nodded, her eyes moistened as if she might weep. “Aye. It might hae been easier tae hae revenged against me by leaving me there, I ken ye considered it — I daena take it lightly that ye rescued me anyway.” She stared directly ahead. “I ken all of ye might hae had a reason tae leave me, and I am sure ye argued the case. I am relieved ye dinna win, and for the part ye might hae played in Magnus’s rescue of me, I thank ye.”

She brushed off her front, and with uneasy steps left the room.

I said, “Did she just... did she justapologize?”

Magnus said, “Nae but she came verra close. And she thanked us for the rescue so ye ken, I think we ought to celebrate with a feast—”

Zach said, “No! No food yet, I’ve been standing out here listening for...” He looked at the clock. “So long! Everyone stop talking about important things or I will never get lunch made.”

I said to Magnus, “Besides, I think you have many decisions to make, like who goes with you, who waits?”

“Aye, maybe an afternoon spar, while I think? Anyone want tae come spar with the young Lochinvar?”

As if on cue Lochie stuck his head through the swinging door to the kitchen with a half-eaten popsicle in his hand. He asked, “Did I hear ye say spar — are we sparring?”

Magnus nodded. “Colonel Quentin, Fraoch, want tae come spar with the lad?”

Quentin said, “Not me, injured shoulder, but I’m happy to referee.”

Fraoch cracked his knuckles. “Aye, I want tae spar with him verra verra much, I think that could be m’favorite thing — the anticipation is wondrous.”

Zach said, “I’ll be here sparring with a brisket.”

Magnus, Fraoch, Lochinvar, and Quentin left, talking about weapons, and what they ought to take with them to the future. I watched them go and then my eyes settled on Hayley. “We doing this again?”

“What, the war, or the baby? Because both are equally ‘not cool’.”

“I meant the war, I already knew your thoughts on my coming baby and I don’t need to hear about it, because, dum-dum, you are a great aunt and you ought not to talk smack about wee bairns, because they might grow up to hate you.”

She gasped, a hand clutching her heart. “How dare you!”

I playfully shoved her shoulder.

She went back to scrolling through web pages, pouting a little. “They are literally all I have, those nieces and nephews, don’t tease me like that. I would die for them. I would also buy presents for them.”

“Fair enough, all I’m saying is Beaty and I are going to give you two more to die for and to spoil.”

“Ugh, the shopping is endless.” She tapped the enter key pointedly. “There, I put some stuff in a cart, let me get Emma to explain how to check-out on the down-low.”

She left the room. I peeked at the laptop: the shopping cart for an online toy store held a big science kit for the boys, some doll clothes for Isla’s doll, and a smaller doll for Zoe. The window peeking out behind the shopping cart was a website for a local urologist.

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