I am thinking it’s going to be any day now.” I whispered, “Can you go tell everyone that Fraoch’s here and no laughing. It’s not funny. No making a big deal, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah sure.”
He jogged up the dunes to the house and I raised myself to sitting and pulled Fraoch’s head into my lap. He moaned.
I whispered, “Just relax and let it wane, keep your eyes closed, just relax.” While I waited for him to wake up I picked sand spurs from his kilt, and thought about how crazy that was.
His voice from my skirts. “Tis verra hot and humid.”
“You, sir, made it to Florida.”
He groaned. “I was tryin’ not tae go there again. Look at what ye hae done tae me. Ye hae been doin’ this all those times?”
“Yes, my love, I can’t wait to show you everything.”
He opened his eyes and winced. “Tis bright. And loud.”
“Cicadas are humming, remember those?”
“Aye, but tis louder and—” He tried to open his eyes again. “Verra bright.”
“If you get up I’ll lead you to the house.”
“Okay.”
He struggled up to his feet with more moans and groans. When he opened his eyes they watered. He clamped them shut again.
“You can keep your eyes closed. Did you see the house?”
“Nae I canna see anythin’ but screamin’ white.”
“Okay.” I held tight to his arm and led him into the house.
I sat Fraoch down in the dining room saying, “This is a table and chair. Put your head down, I’ll turn off the lights.”
Everyone stood around shocked. It was a strange sight — Fraoch looked like a fucking time traveler. He looked darker than I remembered, dustier, musty almost, like there was coal dust on him, like an absence of light. I remembered Magnus looking like that, but didn’t remember ever looking like that myself — it couldn’t be explained by dirt. It was more like his aura. He was big, the same, but his clothes looked so handmade, everything about him seemed handmade, almost like he was crafted and now as I ran around the room telling everyone to shush and back off and turning down the lights and closing the shades, I realized how we all looked machine-made. From Beaty’s hair, now neon-green like her favorite musician, Billie Eilish, to Emma’s perfectly white teeth. Emma was indeed smiling and mouthing, “He came!”
I beamed. I hadn’t needed him to come, hadn’t dreamed of it, was actually used to the idea he was never ever going to come. I didn’t hold it against him, but now he was here and it was the most loving romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.
I was loved.
So so so very much.
I pulled a pair of sunglasses from a kitchen drawer and Zach poured a frosty mug of cold beer and a shot of whisky for Fraoch. I pulled up a chair beside him and whispered, “Turn your head.” I slid the sunglasses onto his nose.
“Now open your eyes but look directly at me. See me?”
“Aye, ye are nae so bright.”
“Good. Don’t look at anything else yet, concentrate on me.”
Zach slid the beer in front of him and dropped the shot of whisky into the glass, clearly pleased with the idea. “Keep your eyes closed, here’s a Boilermaker. Drink up.”
He slammed down the whole thing faster than seemed possible. “Okay, my love, look around.”
He opened his eyes and looked around. “Och.”
“So here you see a wide open room, and everyone is here that you already know, right? And that loud banging is Archie and Ben, and there’s the baby.”
Emma said, “You remember Isla. She’s getting to be a big girl.”
I covered Fraoch’s ears and called into the living room, “Ben! Archie! Uncle Fraoch is here!”
They bustled in yelling, “Haywee!” And climbed into my lap looking suspiciously at the big lump of a man beside me wearing sunglasses in the house, looking all dark and mysterious.
Beaty raised her camera, aimed, and took a bunch of photos. Fraoch cringed. “Och, tis loud.”
Beaty said, “The button? I had forgotten how loud it all was, but you’ll get used tae the sounds, Master Fraoch.” She thrust the camera in front of him and scrolled through the photos she had just taken.
“Och.”
“You look tired. But here...” She led Archie and Ben off my lap, and gestured for me to lean against Fraoch. “You will want tae remember this important occasion with a photo on Insta.”
He put his arm around me and we both smiled. She said, “Perfect.”