by Jane Stain
“My brothers and sisters have come to help send you on your way. We have not the time for you to make conversation with them, nor even for introductions. Just walk to the center of the circle and sit down so that all six of you are touching each other.”
Vange followed Peadar out of the tunnel and into the sacred grove of trees.
A dozen other people were there, standing in a circle holding torches up to the starry sky.
Peadar had Vange hold both babies while he sat down, and then he arranged both toddlers in his lap, had her put the babies in his arms, and asked her to sit down facing them and move close so that they were all touching each other.
And then all the druids around them hummed until at long last the world started to go round and round—and she was on her way home.
17 Vange & Peadar 5
The world swirled. Vange was on the verge of feeling too dizzy from it when it stopped abruptly—and she, Peadar, and their four tiny sons were sitting on the floor in her room at her parents’ house.
Whew. They were back in the 21st century.
Her clothes still hung in the open closet, so she felt reassured that her parents hadn’t given up on her. It was dead winter outside—daytime, but snowy, dark, and dreary.
While she clung to her husband and waited for the dizziness to subside, Vange remembered her hurried conversation with Aideen back in 1563, just before the druids all hummed in their circle and the world started swirling.
“But my parents will be so worried then. Why can’t you just send me home five minutes after I left?”
Aideen looked significantly at Vange’s four tiny sons.
“There would be no way to explain how they came to be, lassie. Though I suppose if returning the same day you left is important to you, then you could leave all your children here with me?”
Vange gazed down on her children. Her heart ached for them. She loved them despite the druid’s use of them to manipulate her into staying. She wouldn’t even think of leaving her precious babies behind.
Cringing away from Aideen in fear, Vange kissed them all and huddled in closer to them and Peadar.
Was that her plan all along?
Get me to have these beautiful babies and then leave them with her, to do her bidding.
But Aideen smiled kindly at Vange, put a calming hand on her shoulder, and then retreated into the circle of druids, who started humming.
Vange snapped back to the present moment.
Mom ran into her room through the open door, calling out to her in Tagalog.
“Vangie. Vangie. Oh my baby. I thought I’d never see you again. How dare you go and not tell me. Never do that again, you hear me? Felix. Felix. Felix.”
Vange got up and ran to Mom, and the two of them were clamped together in a bear hug when Dad’s voice came up from downstairs.
“On my way up there. What is it, Ana? You know I don’t like it when you yell through the house like that. Next time, use the intercom on the phone like I—Mika. Vangie. Oh, my little girl is home.”
Vange felt warm and safe in her parents’ embrace. She let their love pour into her and calm her and pacify her racing heart.
But eventually they noticed the man in her room.
She realized it was probably confusing and then shocking for them. Seeing him sitting there holding two toddlers and two newborn babies—who all looked like their daughter.
Her parents looked from the babies to Vange and back again, a wide range of emotions on their faces. They trembled a little.
Vange checked to see how well her children were handling all this.
The newborns were sound asleep, but the toddlers sat there with their thumbs in their mouths, staring at their grandparents as if they were strangers. Which unfortunately, they were.
Vange spoke up.
“Mom, Dad, this is my husband, Peadar MacGregor. He’s a relative of Emily’s husband Dall. And these are our children: Michael, Gabriel, Jeffrey, and Johnathan. Boys, this is Grandma and Grandpa.”
Grandpa came over and squatted near where Michael sat nestled in Daddy’s lap. Grandpa then made funny noises until both Michael and Gabriel were laughing and clapping.
Vange encouraged all this.
Meanwhile, Grandma made a nest for the newborns out of the covers on Vange’s bed. She then turned to Peadar and held out her arms for first Jeffrey and then Johnathan. She tucked them in securely and kissed them both.
And then Mom turned around and gave Vange that ‘Mom knows best’ look.
“Vangie honey, will you come down and help me in the kitchen while the men play with the boys?”
Vange turned to see how Peadar was doing with Dad, to see if he would be OK for a little while.
He seemed to be doing fine, enjoying the playtime with his sons. He grinned at her and nodded, as if to say, “Good luck. Glad I don’t have to hear the lecture.”
Trying not to laugh, she smiled at her husband, reacting to his joke with her eyes.
Gosh, it’s so good to be home. All I have to worry about is a lecture. And Dad has experience watching babies, even if Peadar doesn’t. They’ll be fine.
“Holler for me if Jeff or John wakes up, OK?”
Peadar nodded yes and then resumed making sure that Michael and Gabriel felt safe and secure while they got to know their grandpa.
Vange followed Mom down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Sure enough, once Mom had closed the door behind them, she took Vange by the upper arms, searched her face, and lectured her in Tagalog.
“Vange. Where have you been? Emily said she could only tell us you were traveling—and how in the world is it that both of you have twin boys?”
What.
Whoa, I was right. Allowing us modern girls to time travel is all about the druids getting us to have babies with their cursed MacGregors so that they have more fourth sons to boss around.
Mom was still talking.
“You know fertility drugs are dangerous. What were you thinking? And you appear out of nowhere and you’re married? I don’t know where to start. Well, I am so so so so glad you’re OK and that you came home, but Evangeline, you can’t just disappear like that.”
Mom, I am a grown-up, you know.
Have been for seven years now.
You got to make the rules while you were paying my college tuition, and I realize now that I haven’t always been the most responsible person.
But I’m a mom now, a good one.
And I’ve been living independent of you for two years. I’m sorry you didn’t get to see that. Peadar and I will get our own place to live somewhere in town. He’ll get some sort of job, and we’ll take care of ourselves.
Vange kept waiting for a chance to tell Mom what she was thinking, but Mom had not stopped talking. Vange knew from experience that once Mom started lecturing, it was best just to wait until she was finished before saying anything.
She was winding down.
It won’t be long now.
“Emily told us you would get in some kind of trouble if we called the police or anything, but Vange. You were just gone one day. We didn’t know where you were, and … ah oh oh…”
Vange caught Mom when she collapsed into tears and sobbing. She held Mom while she cried, slowly admitting to herself just how messed up the situation had been for her parents.
How would I feel if one of my boys disappeared for two years?
Vange burst into tears herself.
That’s it. I’m telling her everything.
Hugging her and holding her tight, Vange did tell Mom everything.
The whole unbelievable story.
Time travel.
Little phone thieves.
Saraid’s surprise wedding and how she shipped Peadar off to Ireland in place of her grandson.
Tam.
Shane.
The curse.
Aideen and the other humming druids.
Mom was still sniffling when she opened her eyes wide and real
ly inspected the Scottish island finery Vange wore. Homespun wool plaid underskirt and overdress. Homespun and hand-embroidered linen am breid hat and leine shirt.
Mom smelled Vange’s clothes then, and her hair, and finally her skin. Staring at Vange’s clothing, Mom wiped her own tears with an industrially made linen dishtowel.
And then just like Vange would do in the same situation, Mom said something funny.
“OK, now I understand how Emily’s parents were able to quit their jobs and start that antiques store.”
Now that Mom was done hyperventilating and had gone to the bathroom to freshen up, Vange picked up the house phone and dialed her old cell number.
Her old voicemail picked up.
I may as well just get this all over with as fast as possible, like tearing off a bandage.
“Hi Em, it’s Vange. We’re back and we’re married and we have four sons, two sets of twins. I hear you had twin boys, too. Isn’t that amazing? We had two sets of twin boys. Born right after each other. Even though we used protection after the first two were born. Call me.”
But Mom’s voice rang out from the bathroom.
“Emily doesn’t have your phone anymore, Vangie. Here, you can have it.”
Vange’s heart sank as Mom gave her phone back to her.
“When did she give it back to you?”
“Oh, she didn’t. That lady from the fair she works at brought it by just before they all went off to Australia the first time. I kept paying the bill, thinking you’d be home any day …”
“The first time?”
“Oh yeah, Emily’s in Australia right now with that fair.”
That made Vange hold her phone gingerly. If some lady from the fair had given it back instead of Emily, then it had been a druid—probably Siobhan. Not that it mattered which druid. Some of them were nice, but none of them could be trusted.
Vange made a worried face at Mom and pointed to the phone.
Mom made writing motions.
Vange nodded and grabbed the pen and paper from near the house phone. She wrote Mom a note:
“The druids can probably hear us through this phone. I’m sorry, but have to get rid of it.”
Her mom got a pained expression on her face.
Vange hugged her some more.
My poor mom. She’s probably thinking of all the money she poured into this phone for nothing.
But to her credit, Mom nodded yes for Vange to go ahead and get rid of her phone.
Not wanting to talk at all until the phone was safely gone, Vange silently took her sim card out and then threw the phone on the floor and stomped on it. Not confident that that would defeat the druids’ spy magic, she filled a pot with hot tap water and threw the phone into it. Still unsatisfied, she then took it out in the back yard and buried it, using the hot water to soften the frozen dirt.
Once that was done, Vange went upstairs to check on her boys.
Peadar smiled at her from where he appeared to be getting along just fine with Dad, who was keeping their toddlers busy with blocks on the floor.
“Mama, I build a castle.”
“I build one too.”
After she had marveled at what Michael and Gabriel were building enough to satisfy their need to impress her, Vange excused Dad from the room and nursed her newborns while Peadar continued playing with the toddlers. Then she called Dad back into the room to help Peadar watch the kids.
Vange went down to the kitchen table and sat with Mom.
“I need to go to Australia to help her.”
Mom’s face grew determined.
“You mean with the curse that affects my grandsons?”
“Yes.”
“Your dad and I will watch the kids.”
“Take them to see the doctor and get their immunizations while you’re at it, OK?”
Now, Mom’s face looked resigned, but still determined.
“Yes, we definitely will.”
Vange ran upstairs and came back down with Peadar’s sack of loot from the Irish castle. She opened it and poured the contents out on the table.
“We brought all this stuff home from 1563, Mom. We’re going to ask Emily’s parents to sell it for us. So we’ll pay for the doctor. You aren’t going to have to support us. I know you’re worried about that.”
Mom looked at the stuff in wonder for a minute, and then she turned her crafty eyes back onto her daughter’s.
“You’ll pay for that phone you destroyed, too.”
Vange laughed.
“Deal. So I hope Emily’s parents know where she is? Does she have a new phone? I have to talk to her.”
“Of course they do. Here, let’s call them and work out a plan.”
And that was just what they did.
They called, and Emily’s parents closed their store and came right over.
Before they even got to the front door, Vange ran out and hugged them almost as hard as she’d hugged her own parents.
“What’s Emily’s number? I have to talk to her.”
Vange’s mom called out from inside the house.
“Bring them inside before you all freeze, Vangie.”
So impatiently, Vange did.
Once they were all inside and had been helped off with their coats and been seated comfortably in the living room, Emily’s mom took out a piece of scratch paper and wrote on it, talking as she did.
“I’ll give you Em’s number, but just so you know, Siobhan answers it most of the time.”
“What.”
“Yeah, I know. She tries to get you to think she’s like a secretary to Em, but it’s obvious the woman’s a control freak. Otherwise, Emily would bring our grandchildren home to visit during the week.”
Vange nodded yes.
“They all are control freaks.” Vange looked at Mom. “Will you go send Dad down? I think he should hear about the druids and the curse from me. And then please stay with the kids. Peadar’s never watched them by himself.”
Mom nodded and ran upstairs.
But Dad, Peadar, and all the boys came down. Vange told him and Emily’s parents everything, and they all stayed up late into the night, talking and taking turns holding the babies.
With the modern conveniences of baby formula and being in business for themselves, Vange’s parents were able to look after their grandchildren while she and Peadar went to Australia. A week was all the time her parents could afford to close their insurance agency, but Vange was resolved to make it be enough.
She and Peadar were on a plane the very next morning. They hadn’t spoken much the night before, being exhausted after staying up so late talking with everyone.
Peadar seemed much less awkward on the plane than Vange had imagined he would. Instead of asking what to do or where to go, he had a way of hanging back and observing and then copying those around him, much like his father, she now realized.
Peadar did brace himself with his hands on the armrests right as they took off, but after that he was back to his regular calm and relaxed preparedness.
“So lass.” He looked into her eyes with … curiosity, and then he said softly, “We go to this Australia to find Da and Emily and then persuade the druids there to let up on the curse, aye?”
“Heh heh heh.” Vange laughed. “You make it sound so easy. Yeah, that’s the plan.”
“Well enough. And when we are done with that, then we shall return to Shane in Ireland—”
“What.”
“Hush, lass. Other passengers can hear, you ken?”
Vange took a deep breath to keep herself from screaming, and then she hissed in her husband’s ear.
“Why in the world would we go back?”
He calmly whispered back to her.
“I must, lass, and I do want you with me.”
How can he be so calm as he talks about putting us all in danger again?
“No, you mustn’t. We barely got away by threatening to expose the druids there. They won’t feel like sending us back home agai
n. And the children are much safer here. What could possibly make you want to go back?”
Peadar got a … patient look on his face.
“I did give my word to Shane, that I would serve him. Only he can release me from that service, lass. Howsoever, I do agree that the children are safer here in your time, with your clan. Your da gave me some hope we can make that a more permanent arrangement.”
Of all the backwards applications of honor, this has got to be the stupidest one I ever heard. He’s so stubborn about it, too. Why didn’t I know he was so foolishly old fashioned before I married him?
But suddenly the solution was so obvious to Vange that she shook her head ‘no’ rapidly while she told it to him.
“But you took that oath under duress.”
Peadar tilted his head to the side and gave her an incredulous look.
“Aye, howsoever, Shane O’Neill is innocent of that injury.”
What the heck is he talking about?
“Huh?”
Peadar’s incredulity started to outweigh the patience in his face.
“Saraid put us into duress, not Shane. He did nay wrong.”
Is he serious?
“But … but an oath taken under duress is not binding.”
The incredulity on Peadar’s face was definitely winning now. That, and …
Oh no.
Resolve.
“I do not owe my service to the one who wronged us, lass. Theretofore, I still owe the service I gave my word that I would provide. And that makes the end of my need to discuss it.”
Peadar crossed his arms.
Vange felt all alone once more. She kept going over and over in her mind what she might say to talk him out of this insanity, but she came up with nothing.
Together physically but not mentally, the two of them changed planes three times, ate six meals in airports, and slept fitfully in an airport motel before they set foot on Australian soil.
Throughout this time, Peadar still put his hand on Vange’s back to guide her when they walked.
She shrank away from his touch.
He still opened doors for her.
She rushed ahead and opened her own door whenever she could.
He carried their bulky carry-on luggage and wheeled two rolling bags while she only rolled one.
