Midnight Runner: A Novel

by Marilee Jackson

Moira walked out of the bakery, a thrill running down her spine as she imagined herself in Brian’s arms. She would be there in just a few minutes. First, she had to stop at the mercantile store to pick up a few things she needed to finish her new dresses. They would be the first ones she owned that hadn’t belonged to Mrs. Bard first. She felt buoyant as she walked and assessed how her life had changed in just a few short weeks. True, it wasn’t her original plan; however, the thought of spending the rest of her life with Brian was starting to appeal to her. He was, after all, a wonderful man. Why had she never thought marriage was a possibility before? She could only attribute it to the fact that the only man she had ever had anything to do with was Mr. Bard. She would never have put up with that kind of a man for a husband. She was elated to find out that not all men were drunk, lazy, and cruel.

  Moira finished her shopping, once again elated that she had spent her own money on the things she wanted. This was a new activity for her. She wandered slowly down the road, and a wave of nausea passed through her. Stopping on the side of the road, she bent over and let the cool breeze wash over her. After a few minutes’ rest she continued on her way, nodding to people as she passed. They all seemed to love her here, all except Mollie. She did feel bad that she had stolen Brian from Mollie, but Brian had assured her he never had any intentions with Mollie.

  In Oidean she wasn’t just the poor little orphan girl on whom the Bards took pity. These people actually smiled at her with sincerity. They were not filled with sympathy for her. She picked up her pace as she neared the inn, eager to drop her packages in the house and head out to the barn. Brian, she thought with a sigh, her stomach filling with butterflies at the mere thought of him. She all but ran the rest of the way home and walked through the front gate at Brian’s yard just as Barra was coming around from the back of the house.

  “Hello, Barra. How are you on this beautiful day?” Moira smiled warmly.

  “Oh, Moira, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon. Um, I’m fine, just fine. How are you?” Barra asked, emphasizing his last words, which confused Moira.

  She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I’m good, thank you. Did you have something you wanted to talk to me about?”

  “No! No! I just came to have a word with Mac.” He smiled knowingly at her.

  “Okay then, have a nice afternoon and tell Dolidh hello for me.”

  “Be happy to.” Barra patted her on the shoulder as he walked past. Moira stood in the front yard staring after him with her eyes narrowed.

  “What a strange man,” she said out loud, shaking her head. Finally remembering what she was doing, she turned to drop off her packages and go find Brian.

  When she rounded the side of the small house, her breath caught in her throat as Brian came into view. He was stacking some firewood next to the back door. She stood and watched silently. Feeling her gaze on his back, he turned and found her watching him.

  “How long have you been there?” he asked, giving a small frown.

  “A few minutes, I promise.” Her face flushed with the embarrassment of being caught admiring his body.

  “Hmm. A few minutes, sure,” he said dubiously.

  “Honest! Barra just left, right? Well, I just ran into him in the front yard.” She motioned behind her.

  Brian laughed. “All right, I believe you. You know you don’t need an excuse to watch me. You can do it any time you like.” Strutting exaggeratedly toward her, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  “Hello. How was work?” he asked against her cheek.

  “Work was fine. I’m glad to be ho. . . here though.”

  Pulling back, Brian lifted her chin so she was looking in his eyes.

  “Welcome home!” he said, his voice full of warm emotion.

  They worked side by side in comfortable silence until the sun started to dip below the horizon. Finally, when they couldn’t see anymore and the chill of night started to settle in, they went into the barn and fed the animals for the night.

  “I don’t feel like cooking tonight,” Brian said, draping his large arm over her slender shoulders. “It’s getting awfully late. Why don’t we go and see what Dolidh’s got for supper?”

  “That sounds great. I haven’t seen Dolidh in a few days. I’m sure she has all kinds of gossip to share with me,” Moira agreed happily.

  “She’d better not,” Brian whispered.

  “What was that?” Moira looked at him.

  “Oh, um, I said I bet she will.” Brian smiled innocently.

  “Yeah.” Moira didn’t believe him but she let it drop.

  “You head over and get us a table. I’m just going to get a fire started so it’s not cold when we get back.”

  “What makes you think we are coming back?” Moira smirked at him.

  “Why should tonight be any different than usual? In fact, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Why did you decide to stay here?” He ducked his head shyly.

  “What do you mean? Here where? Here at your house or here in Oidean?” she asked.

  “Both, I guess.” He was obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.

  “My reasons for staying are none of your concern, sir, and I’ll thank you to stay out of my personal affairs,” she said with a playful smile, mischief sparkling in her emerald eyes.

  “Oh, is that right, lassie? Well then, perhaps you need to find another place to lay your head at night.” His face mimicked hers.

  “Perhaps I’ll do just that. There is a man that comes into the bakery that seems to enjoy my company. Maybe I’ll see if he has room in his house. Of course, he has no teeth, but I can live with that.” They both started laughing uncontrollably. When she was able to compose herself, she started toward the inn. “I’ll see you in a few minutes. Don’t make me wait long,” she said playfully.

  “Wait, you never answered my question.” He called after her. She turned around again. “Why did you decide to stay here?”

  “I thought that was pretty obvious.” She smiled shyly and left him standing alone in the backyard. She loves me, he thought with a smile and a sigh of relief.

  Moira entered the inn and felt every eye in the room turn her way. Caught off guard at being the center of attention, she stopped in her tracks. Scanning the room, she found Dolidh by the swinging door that led to the kitchen. As she approached, Dolidh broke into a huge grin that took up her whole face.

  “What’s going on? I thought that I was old news by now. Why is everyone staring at me again?”

  “We’re just so happy you’ve come here. We’re just so happy to have you.” Dolidh’s eyes filled with tears. Moira was shocked and confused. She had never seen Dolidh cry. She was always so strong.

  “What in the world?” she wondered out loud when Dolidh put her beefy arms around her neck.

  The woman’s frame was racked with sobs when Barra came out of the kitchen.

  “Dolidh! What’re you doing?” he demanded, the anger tangible in his voice. Dolidh jumped at the sound of his voice and wiped the tears from her apple cheeks.

  “Nothing,” she said, sniffing. “Can’t I say hello to my friend without being questioned?”

  “Not like that you can’t. I already told you that.”

  His tone was softer, but Moira could still see the anger in his eyes. Moira decided the whole village had gone insane, shaking her head.

  “Moira, go on an’ have a seat. I’ll be out with supper in a minute. Will Mac be joining ya?” Barra broke his angry gaze at his wife and smiled at Moira.

  “Yes, he will.”

  “Fine, fine. There’s a table in the back.” He pointed to a small table in the dark, deserted corner under the stairs. Eager to escape the bizarre behavior of the innkeeper and his wife, Moira all but ran to the empty table.

  As she sat down, she noticed that the entire room collectively dropped their eyes to their plates—except Mollie, who was sitting at her normal table beside the bar. She stared at Moira over the top of her glass. When Moira met her
gaze, Mollie narrowed her eyes until they were slits and her top lip curled into a sneer. Something weird was definitely going on, but Moira couldn’t figure out what. Shaking her head again, she tried to clear out the confusion. She saw Brian come through the door.

  * * *

  Brian heard a loud gasp, and then he saw Dolidh put a hand over her mouth and run through the kitchen door with fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Brian followed her flight, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. He knew she wouldn’t let Barra keep a secret for very long. It’s like she could sniff them out. Sighing in frustration, he turned to find Moira. He just hoped that Dolidh hadn’t gotten to her yet. Moira waved to him from the dark corner under the stairs, and he went to join her. Walking across the crowded dining room, it became painfully obvious that nobody wanted to look at him. Dolidh might not have gotten to Moira yet, but she had evidently gotten to the rest of the village.

  “What took you so long?” Moira asked as Brian pulled out the chair across from her. “What’s the matter? You look so angry.” For the first time since they met, Moira looked afraid of Brian.

  “Nothing’s wrong, but have you noticed everyone acting strangely? No one will even look at me,” Brian answered, looking over his shoulder.

  “As a matter of fact, I have noticed something peculiar going on. No one will look at you, but everyone is staring at me. It’s all very strange. Do you have any idea what could possibly be going on?”

  “Well,” Brian said, dropping his eyes to the table, “I might have an idea.” He refused to look at her.

  “Well?” Moira asked.

  Brian blushed. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and decided it was now or never. Squaring his shoulders, he looked her straight in the eye. “Moira, we have known each other for a few months now. I really enjoy your company. I love spending time with you. Everyone is aware that you have been staying at my house permanently. In the interest of sparing your reputation, I told Barra we got married.” He watched as her expression changed from amusement to shock to fear and finally to speechless awe. He waited, the silence closing in on him.

  * * *

  Moira felt all of the blood run out of her face. Had she heard him correctly? Her mouth fell open in astonishment.

  “I, um, well, I—I . . .” She couldn’t even form a complete sentence. She was shocked that he didn’t ask her before telling everyone. Closing her mouth into a tight line, she finally looked into his beautiful eyes. The anger drained from her when she saw his fear slowly turning to hurt. The silence was visibly killing him. She had to say something. He deserved that much. She opened her mouth to reprimand him but “okay” was all that came out.

  “What did you say?” he asked.

  She had spoken so quietly that she wasn’t sure she had heard right either.

  “It’s okay, Brian. We can start telling people.” Brian looked at her. The astonishment that she felt was mirrored in his eyes.

  “You have made me the happiest man in all of Talamh Glasosh!” He jumped out of his chair, letting it hit the floor in his haste to hold her in his arms. “We are married!” he yelled to the crowd as they spun around in a circle.

  “They got married!” A cheer went up from the room, and Dolidh ran out of the kitchen, knocking over three innocent bystanders. She was on them in a few seconds, fresh tears streaming down her flushed face.

  “Praise the Lord! Brian MacDonald finally found a wife!” She had her arms around both of them and she began to jump up and down.

  Moira and Brian stayed at the inn for hours accepting congratulations and declining drinks, everybody wanting to buy them a round. It seemed the whole village turned out for the revelry. It was after midnight by the time the partiers finally let the happy couple take their leave.

  Morning broke over the horizon. Moira lay awake next to Brian’s sleeping form. She hadn’t slept a wink all night; there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt like a goat had kicked her. She couldn’t get over the sinking feeling that she had made the wrong choice. Everything has been perfect the last three months. Why did he have to go and change everything? she thought.

  Wait. Three months—was that right? Mentally counting the weeks since her departure from Trom, she became alarmed. She discovered that she had missed two of her womanly curses, as Gormal had called them. Three months. Yep, that’s right, she thought. Slowly she grew less alarmed and more excited.

  Ignorant as to how babies were created, Moira came to the conclusion that her curse had been lifted. This brought her great pleasure—so much pleasure she had to share the news with someone. Turning to look at Brian, she decided it would be too embarrassing to discuss with him. Besides, she didn’t want to wake him; he looked so serene in his sleep. Dolidh! She smiled, glad she had a female friend to share good news with.

  Quietly she slid out of bed, dressed quickly, and left the house. Once outside she stopped and nausea struck her like she had hit a block wall. Bending over, she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the grass. Certain it was just leftover jitters about marrying Brian, she righted herself and ran to the inn to share her unbelievable good fortune with Dolidh.

  When Moira entered the dining room, she was relieved to find Dolidh alone bringing clean glasses to the bar.

  “Guess what? You are never going to believe my good news,” Moira gushed with excitement.

  Dolidh smiled and shook her head. “Lassie, I was here last night. The whole village knows your good news. Did you forget that detail?”

  “No, not that good news. This is even better than that.”

  “What could possibly be better than marrying Brian MacDonald?” Dolidh asked with a quizzical look.

  “I just figured it out this morning. I’ve been here for three months, and of those three months, I haven’t had my monthly curse for the last two. Do you know what that means?” Moira’s face glowed.

  “Yes, lassie. I do.” Tears sprang anew from Dolidh’s eyes.

  “Why are you crying? This is great news! The womanly curse has been lifted from me. I can hardly believe my good fortune!” Moira thought she would burst with delight. Dolidh stopped what she was doing and eyed Moira skeptically.

  “Are ya jokin’?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Lassie, the curse hasn’t been lifted.”

  “What do you mean? I just told you I haven’t had it the last two months. What else could it be then?” Moira frowned at her new friend.

  “That means you’re gonna have a wee babe. Oh, Brian is gonna be so thrilled! In just two days he got himself a wife and a baby! He loves kids. I can’t wait to see his face light up.” Dolidh’s tears came faster now.

  “What? How can that be?” Moira felt light-headed, and the room started to spin.

  The next thing Moira knew, Barra was flicking cold water on her face. “What happened?” Moira struggled to sit up, but immediately lay back down.

  “You fainted. You must’ve been so happy to hear you’re gonna have a baby.” Barra smiled, moisture filling his eyes.

  “No! I can’t be. How is it possible?” Moira groaned. “I’m not supposed to have children. That’s not part of my plans.”

  “Well, when a man and a woman . . . well, when they, um. . . Dolidh, you wanna take that one?” Barra quickly stepped away.

  “Lassie, have ya been staying the night with Brian?”

  “Y-yes. So, what does that have to do with . . . ?” Moira started.

  Dolidh smirked. “Can you honestly tell me all you do is sleep in the same bed?”

  “No. But again, what does that have to do with . . .” Moira blushed.

  “The other thing you been doing, besides sleeping. That’s how babes are made. You didn’t know that?”

  Moira shook her head.

  “Oh! You were raised without a ma to tell you these things. I’m so sorry I forgot.” Dolidh hugged Moira so tightly that she couldn’t breathe.

  Comprehension was eluding Moira.
She didn’t understand what was going on. Moira’s face went white as a sheet. She felt hot and sticky; she needed air. She had to get out. The faces in front of her started to swim.

  “I need air.” Moira barely made it through the front door when her stomach turned upside down and tried to escape out of her throat. What little was left in her stomach was now on the ground beside the small front porch. Dolidh was behind her with a cool, wet washcloth. She it put on the back of Moira’s neck.

  “There, there, darling. This part will pass soon enough. Would you like something to eat?”

  The thought of food made Moira’s empty stomach gurgle and churn. She could taste the bile rising in her throat.

  “No, no food, please.” Moira begged as her face went from colorless white to pale green. Dolidh laughed so long, Moira thought she wasn’t going to stop.

  “Okay, lassie, no food. But you better get yerself home before Brian knows you’re gone. He’ll be wanting to know this news.”

  “Yeah, he will, won’t he?” Moira said slowly, staring off into the distance. “Oh, Dolidh, you won’t say anything to him, will you? I want to wait until the moment’s right to tell him.” Dread smoldered into a flame in Moira’s chest. How will Brian take the news? Is he going to hate me, beat me? Or is he goin’ to be like my no-good father and leave?

  “No, lassie. I won’t say anything to him. I’ll let you do that.” Dolidh smiled and patted Moira gently on the back. “Now run on home.”

  Moira walked slowly back to Brian’s farm, trying to decide what to do about her situation. Myriad emotions were running through her as she tried to make sense of what was happening. The first was anger. Anger at herself for forgetting her plans and anger at Brian for letting this happen to her after he said he would take care of her. Anger then turned to fear. She was frightened by the thought of Brian finding out. Would he leave her? Men leave, don’t they? She didn’t know if she could even look at him again. Everything culminated with determination: she had forgotten her way but now she would get back on track. Never again would she get sidetracked.

  “NEVER!” she screamed.

  Deciding it was already too late in the day to try to leave him before he left her, Moira knew she would have to come up with a better plan than just running headlong into the forest. Brian would definitely catch up and beat her as soon as he noticed she was gone. He was in much better shape. No, Moira knew that waiting until midnight was once again her only hope.