Kilts and Catnip

by Zoe Tasia

  Jessie peeked around the corner, but when she realized I had seen her, she came in like that had been her intent in the first place rather than trying to listen in. “I just came to get some more cookies,” she said, with all eyes on her. “Does anyone else want some?”

  “We’re good, Jessie, but thanks. Take one to Tate in case she wants it, but that’s it for the night.”

  Jess blushed as Lundy snickered. “Mom, I’m old enough to decide what I can eat.” She tromped out, but somehow flounced with grace.

  Kay spoke quietly. “I told Becca about myself—me being Sith. I think it would be okay to tell her...other things.”

  She looked meaningfully at Conall and Lundy, but neither would meet her eyes. Lundy slouched as Conall crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “If you ken about Kay and Blanca, then you ken that some of the legends and tales are true, but the books dinna always get it right,” Greg said.

  I nodded. I had a chance to look through some of the books that Jess checked out from the library. “There’s one legend that described something a lot like the woman by the pond, the one washing. How much of it is true?”

  “You saw a bean nighe,” Kay said.

  “Oh, I wasn’t sure how to pronounce it.” I turned to Greg. “I was out of it after I fell in the pond and didn’t get a chance to ask you about it. You said something about being worried?”

  Kay sipped her whisky. “She’s supposed to be a harbinger of death.”

  My mouth went dry and I swallowed. “So, she’s evil?” I stared at Greg.

  He sipped his whisky.

  “No, she’s just the messenger.” Kay again answered my question even though I addressed Greg. “She doesn’t cause the misfortune to happen. However, some tales say, she did do evil in life, and The Morrigan has her do this as penance.”

  “Depending on the country, people have different names for these beings. I don’t always use the ones which originated here. I’ll use ones that more people are familiar with,” she continued.

  When I tried to catch Greg’s eye, he looked down at his hands.

  “And in the water? Those weren’t ferns or grasses. I really was grabbed by some things.”

  “Grindylows, though they aren’t usually aggressive.”

  I frowned at Kay then looked at Greg, trying to get across to her that I wanted to hear what he had to say. She blithefully ignored me.

  “When Rebecca was hurt, I think they were being mischievous and didna realize their prank had gone wrong,” Greg reasoned.

  I threw my hands up in the air. ““So now you’re going to talk?” I was so confused.

  Conall cleared his throat. “I think the rain’s cleared up.”

  I’d been so intent on the conversation that I had not even noticed the lack of sound.

  “Aye, ’tis late.”

  The three men rose. Neither seemed to want to be the first to leave, but finally, when it was obvious that Conall and his nephew weren’t moving,

  Greg said goodbye. He surprised me with a soft kiss on my forehead. Lundy kept looking back toward the bedrooms.

  “If you want to say goodbye to Jess, the girls share the first room to the left in the hallway, just be sure to knock.”

  Conall shuffled his feet. “It seems that I always end up appearing to be the bad guy,” he said once his nephew left the room.

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Well, me not wanting to talk about the legends and such. It’s just very...personal for me. I hope you take no offense.”

  I smiled and he looked relieved. If he always acted like this, I might be tempted to go out with him—no, not even.

  Jess came into the room followed by Lundy who was speaking to her earnestly.

  “It won’t just be me,” Lundy insisted. “There will be others. It will be fun. The ceilidh was the only time you really had to meet everyone, and the music was so loud. We all didn’t get to talk. The movie is supposed to be very good. I’ll make sure you get back on the ferry in time.”

  I saw the volcano that was my daughter, Jessica Shaw, bubbling and simmering and about to blow.

  “I said no. I said no several times. I am not going to change my mind. Why don’t you ask Nessa? I bet she would love to go.”

  “Oh, no. Besides, she’s already going.”

  “I bet she would love it if you did, all the same.”

  Lundy shook his head.

  “Why not?”

  “She isn’t my type.”

  “Well what is your type?”

  “You.”

  They both stopped talking when they realized we were all listening to them. Jess looked at me. I subtly shook my head. She gritted her teeth.

  “I don’t want to go out with you. I will never want to go out with you. If you ask me again, I am going to make sure you couldn’t ride a horse, even if the horse would let you.”

  Lundy took a minute to puzzle that out and when he realized to what she was referring, his hands went in front of his jewels.

  Jess scowled. Lundy turned bright red, mumbled something to us, and left the cottage, slamming the door so hard that it bounced back open. Conall caught it before it hit the wall.

  I turned to Conall. “I’m sorry. She’s just—”

  “Well, I’m not sorry! And I mean it. I want him to leave me alone!” Jessie practically ran back to her room.

  Tate had followed the two of them out and was almost run over by Jessie. Tate carefully shielded the kitten she cradled.

  “He really wouldn’t stop asking, Mom,” Tate said, taking up for her sister. “It upset Jessie.”

  “I know, honey. I’ll be in later and we can talk about it.”

  “Okay. Are you mad at Jessie?”

  “No, just a little upset.”

  “Maybe the kitty will cheer her up.” She went back to the room with the kitten snug in her arms.

  “I’m sorry. He gets a little over eager, I guess. I was the same at his age, stuck on a girl who didn’t want me.” Conall frowned. “Well then, I’ll be off and catch up with my nephew. Thank you for the dinner.”

  Once he left, I shut the door and leaned back against it. “Whew.” I turned to Kay who was getting her coat. “Kay, why wouldn’t Greg talk to me about the stuff that’s happened?”

  Kay thought for a moment. “Perhaps, living in the woods, he’s too close to all of it. If he deals with things like that every day, maybe he doesn’t want to deal with it at other times.”

  “He doesn’t have to live in the woods.”

  “I suspect he does—or at least he feels he must. Hopefully, someday that will change.”

  “I think the girls and I are going to the mainland tomorrow. I think we all need some time away.”

  “That may be for the best.” She reached for the door, but turned back to me. “We do have our secrets, but let me ask you this, Becca—if you could turn into a huge cat, how many people would you tell? Who would believe you if you told them about a goblin lady with sharp teeth crawling like a spider in a cave? Who would have believed you if you said you were almost drowned by grindylows?”

  “I know that, Kay, but—this island has tourists. Surely they see things.”

  “Actually, no, they don’t. If they see something, it’s easily explained away, usually by the tourist who saw it. Their minds try to make it be something they can deal with—something they’re familiar with. Also, no one I have ever heard of outside the islanders has had so many, and so close, interactions with the fae as you and the girls have. It’s unusual. It’s unusual even for islanders to have so many close encounters.”

  “At the cave—it was a bit frightening, but I may go back and see if I can talk to her,” I said.

  “I would have one of her family there too. She’s been wild and alone for a long time.”

  “Are there any stories about other strangers that see the fae on the island?”

  “Not that I’m aware of—not like your experiences. Perhaps you have
the Sight.”

  “What’s the Sight? Davina mentioned it. I thought that was seeing into the future like Cassandra.”

  “The Sight is a gift that few humans have. It grants you the ability to see fae. The fae are curious about those who can see them. That’s how Thomas the Rhymer ended up in a fairy hill. The fae keep to themselves, usually. It’s safer for all that way. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone knew of them? And they freely wandered the Earth with no camouflage?”

  “Do they?”

  “Do they what?”

  “Roam?”

  “Rarely, and rarely does anything bad happen, but sometimes some of the disasters attributed to nature or man—fae were involved. It was more common a long time ago.”

  “Why do the fae hide?”

  “Do you know the tales about the leprechaun?’

  “Yes, if you catch him, he’ll give you three wishes, and he has a pot of gold hidden somewhere.”

  “Humans are jealous of the fae’s powers and beauty. Mankind harassed them. Their numbers dwindled to the point that the fae thought they would be no more than stories. They live in a different place, and they closed the door between, so none could get out and none can get in. Some fae want to be seen. They want to be a part of Man’s world. Most of them want to rule over humans, have slaves. Some find human babies a...um...culinary delicacy.”

  I shivered. “Well. If you wanted to scare me, you succeeded. Eep.”

  “You should be fine. Don’t take risks—like walking off into the woods alone.”

  “In any other woods, I would’ve been perfectly fine. I never was that far from civilization—at least I shouldn’t have been.”

  “Distance and time aren’t always the same in the fae’s home and the land near it. Guess I should be leaving, unless you want some help cleaning up?”

  “Thanks, but no. It isn’t like it was a six-course meal.” I touched Kay’s shoulder. “Will you be okay walking home alone?”

  “I think I’ll be careful too.” She took her shoes off and placed them in a bag then stepped out on the ground. Seconds later, a huge black cat stood curling its back up then stretching and kneading the lawn with its very large claws.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re friendly. Those claws could cause some damage. And I know you can’t answer me now, but where do your clothes and purse go when you change and how do they come back?”

  “Mrrr-ow,” the cat said and then padded off into the dark.

  “Wow.” Tate stood at the doorway. “Miss Sheey is Kiera?”

  Great. There are all these secrets and, of course, my girls manage to see these things too. “Yes, she can turn into a cat. And don’t ask me how, I don’t know.”

  “Jess is crying and won’t stop.”

  I sighed. “I’ll go talk to her. Could you stay out here? I’d like to have a moment to ourselves.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  I should have known better with my background, but I spoiled the girls. I was the helicopter mom. Always at school, always volunteering. I didn’t like confrontation, so I’d talk to David about any problems, and if he felt an issue had come up that we needed to deal with, he’d go with me to talk to the teacher. Show a united front, he said. I think he thought I couldn’t deal with it. He did everything for me. He even put gas in the car. We both tended to talk to the girls like adults. When the girls were little, they would say Mommy and Daddy were their best friends, but they outgrew it. I started to realize that I didn’t do them any favors by being so easy going.

  I went to the bedroom. Jessie’s face was mashed into the pillow to muffle the sound, but I could see her shoulders heaving and heard a low moan. “They’re gone, Jess.”

  She immediately sat up and glared at me. “I want to go home,” she gritted out through clenched teeth. “If you want to stay here, fine. I know Grandma or Aunt Jan will let me stay with them. I texted them.”

  She texted them? “When did you do that?”

  “When school ended and you said we weren’t going back to Houston for the summer but coming to this dumb island.”

  I couldn’t believe that my sister-in-law and mother-in-law never said a word to me. We had traded texts and emails several times. I didn’t call all that much because of the time difference. My husband was the one religious about keeping in touch regularly about everything.

  “First of all, moving out of your home is not an option, so take that off the board right now.”

  “That’s just it! We aren’t home. We aren’t even home when we’re in Aberdeen. This is not home. Houston is home—or it used to be, before you rented the house and put most of our stuff into storage.”

  “I think both of you girls need to hear this.” I called out, “Tate, come here for a moment.”

  Tate appeared so fast that it was a sure thing that she had been listening at the door.

  “Come here and sit by me.”

  Tate sat Indian style on the bed with Jess. We formed a triangle—I hoped—and not my side and their side. “Losing your father was hard for all of us.” Jess started to speak, but I held my hand up. They were going to hear me out without interruption. “Your dad did a lot. He paid the bills and the taxes. He put gas in the car. He programmed the DVR. I shouldn’t have become so dependent on him, but I did. When he died, I was overwhelmed.” I took a deep breath. “But I managed. I figured it all out. I made some mistakes, sure, but I found out that I was capable of doing things. I love your father’s family, but they hovered too close. They constantly reminded me of your dad, and I was always upset. I think they did so because your dad took care of everyone. He took care of his siblings, his parents—and I think they were having a harder time dealing with him being gone than we were.”

  “Grandma cried every time we saw her,” Tate pointed out.

  “Shhh,” Jess said.

  “I told them that, while the insurance money would last for a while—your dad was good that way—it wouldn’t last forever. I needed to continue teaching. There was a major dip in income since your father made quite a bit, but we’re just fine financially. However, I told your father’s relatives that I couldn’t fund their ventures as your dad had. I told them that I adjusted, and they needed to as well.” I looked at each of them. “When they saw that I was handling everything that your dad had with only a few problems, they started asking for my help. Uncle John was the last straw.”

  “What did he do?” Jess asked.

  “The restaurant lost a load of money in the two months after your dad died. I don’t know how your uncle managed to botch things so badly. Quarterly taxes were due, and he didn’t have it. I had already given him a few loans from the money your dad left for us, but that was slowly dwindling.”

  “Didn’t they get something when dad died?” Jess had apparently heard some of the will talk.

  “Yes, they did. It wasn’t as much as what we inherited, but it was a tidy sum. They spent it instead of investing it or paying off credit cards.” One of the things David did was talk to the girls about finances. He didn’t want them to turn out like his mother—or me, I guessed. When I was single, I had my own place, a career, a bank account, and managed just fine. But after I married, David wasn’t happy with the way I budgeted, balanced the checkbook, filled out the tax forms. Slowly, he took over these tasks and others. I guess he didn’t think that I could do it, or do it well enough. Ouch.

  “We know to save money for a rainy day and don’t buy something you don’t have enough cash for,” Tate said.

  “Yes, you do. Some people never learn those valuable lessons. I was getting calls all the time and visits. I finally decided that I would go far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to try to get me to help them, and I wouldn’t be badgered and guilt tripped. I guess I didn’t think it through as to how you two would react. When I was little, I would have given anything to go on a trip to Scotland, but I was a bit of a loner.” I handed Jessie a tissue and she blew her nose. “We’re here now. I would like to stay
until you, Jess, graduate from high school.”

  “Mom, that’s three years!” Jess wailed.

  “I’ve already spoken to the school. I asked them if I could think about it. I have and we’re going to stay.”

  Tate clapped.

  Jess tossed her tissue at Tate. “Oh, shut up, Tate.”

  “Ewww! Mom!”

  “Stop it now!” I called out over their voices, then I grasped each of them by the forearm. Their eyes widened. “I need your support. What I don’t need is you two fighting with each other.”

  Jess wrapped her arms around her knees. “I hate this place, Mom. Can we at least go back to Aberdeen? I don’t like it there, but at least I don’t have a dork following me around town.”

  “I’ll consider your request, but for now we’re staying. You two will be helping me around the cottage.”

  “With what?” Jess asked suspiciously.

  “The garden, for one. If you’re interested in those spells, Jess, Kay told me a lot of them need herbs. A lot of herbs grow in the garden, and we can plant more.”

  “Why?” Jessie asked.

  That was a good question. When I originally started tidying the garden, it was because David always hired a gardener, and I was rarely able to get my hands dirty between car-pools and PTA meetings. I did work in the garden as a youngster and missed it.

  “I think it would be a nice gift to Mrs. Grant. The price to rent this place was ridiculously low and whoever she rents the cottage to in the future can enjoy it.”

  “I guess we can help out,” Jessie said with a resigned sigh. “It isn’t like there is anything else to do on this stupid island.”

  Tate petted the cat as we spoke, but I knew she had listened carefully to the exchange.

  “What about you?” I asked her.

  “I can help. I already do by taking care of the kitten,” she answered.

  “While we’re here, I want both of you to be very careful. Tate, no going anywhere without an adult or your sister. Jess, I want to know exactly where you are at all times and that doesn’t mean calling me and telling me when you’re already somewhere. It means letting me know beforehand.”

  Jess groaned. “I’m not a baby!”