Page 2 of Love Beyond Time
Taking a quick glance in the mirror, I slathered on some lip gloss, held my hand in front of my face to check my breath, and headed to answer the front door.
Daniel held a bouquet of flowers so that they covered his face, and as he slowly lowered them I had to swallow the audible gasp that crept up my throat. I was able to manage a polite, “Hello. Please come in,” as my eyes combed over the thick, gray hair that covered his head.
As he made his way through the doorway I spotted a few thick, wiry hairs sticking out from the opening in his ear, and the abnormally large nose that some men get when they age was evident from his profile.
He was handsome . . . for a man in his sixties. As I shut the front door, I found myself wishing I’d had that glass of wine I’d thought about when I got home from work.
Steeling myself, I turned to face him. “It’s nice to meet you. The flowers are lovely. Thank you. Why don’t I go put them in some water, and then we can leave?”
He extended them to me and as he grinned slightly, I could see that his eyes looked exceedingly kind. “I can tell I wasn’t exactly what you were expecting. I guess Brian and Mitsy didn’t tell you much.”
I walked quickly into the kitchen, keeping my back to him so that he couldn’t see my face as I spoke. “No, not too much. I know that you’re a dentist and are related to Brian. I assumed you were a cousin.”
The old man chuckled slightly, and his cheeks reddened as I walked back toward him. “My sons are his cousins. I’m his uncle.”
“Oh.” I stared down at my purse awkwardly, wishing I actually had something to look for inside it.
“Look. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but we’ve both gotten all dressed up. Why don’t we go ahead and go out to eat and visit with each other a little bit, then I’ll bring you back here and we’ll forget this whole thing ever happened. No harm, no foul. What do you say?”
He extended a hand in my direction, and sympathy washed through me as I reached to take it. He obviously had no more idea of what he was getting himself into than I did. “Good food, nice company. What could it hurt? Let’s get out of here.”
As he held the front door open, I walked straight into the person walking rather purposefully toward my front door.
“Mom?” I said.
* * *
I repeated myself for good measure as the uncomfortable feeling of shock ran down my spine for the second time. “Mom? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in D.C., aren’t you?”
She stepped back so that we could look at each other from a more appropriate distance, “Well, I’m happy to see you too, Bri. I’m glad I caught you before you left. I don’t have a key to your new place. We need to talk right away. I have some very exciting news!”
I watched as she bounced up and down, the same thirteen-year-old trapped in a fifty-year-old’s body that she’d always been. I knew the exact instant she spotted Daniel, still holding the door wide open, watching the spectacle.
As her eyes widened, she stopped bouncing, and immediately went into flirt mode; another one of my mother’s classic qualities. “Well, hello sir. And who might you be?” She slowly stretched a hand in his direction.
“Name’s Daniel. I was just leaving.” He paused to pat me on the back and then walked through the door. “It was nice to meet you, Bri. I’ll see you at the wedding.”
I waved politely in his direction and ushered my mother inside, shutting the door behind me. She spun on me just as I’d latched the door.
“Who was that? Very handsome, but a little old for you, don’t you think, dear?”
I leaned against the back of the door and exhaled loudly. “Very long story, Mom. But remind me that I need to have a conversation with Mitsy about what exactly it is that she thinks my standards are.”
She laughed, obviously understanding the situation. “Well, seems like she understands my standards just fine. Do you have his phone number?”
I rolled my eyes and made my way into the living room. “No, Mom, I don’t, but I’m sure Mitsy will give it to you if you want. Now, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”
We sat down on the couch facing each other, and Mom excitedly reached for my hand as she told me her news.
“I got the grant!”
I couldn’t help but smile at the excited expression on her face, “The grant to resume your work on Conall Castle? That’s great, Mom!”
She squealed as she continued, “Yes, Bri, that grant. It’s been nearly twenty years, but I’m finally going to get to go back and figure out what really happened.”
My mother, Adelle Montgomery as most people knew her, was a world-renowned archaeologist. Her big break had come while working on an excavating project near the remains of Conall Castle in Scotland.
The tragedy of Conall Castle was one of the most well-known legends in Scottish history, and the mystery behind the destruction of the Conall clan had remained unsolvable for over four hundred years.
