Something in her tone bothered Sean. It almost sounded like Ashling was condemning him for being a successful businessman. After pondering her words for a few moments, Sean decided he was being too sensitive. She probably didn’t mean anything negative at all. Most likely it was just a passing comment.
Over the next hour they visited four other families, and each home was a delight to walk through. Sean felt like he was on a tour of homes from the original 13 colonies. They all seemed to be classically historic, in the age of the homes and the design.
The last home they visited was a two-story with one large dormer dominating the front roofline. The limestone walkway, leading to the front porch, was lined by brightly colored lilies, daffodils and daisies. Sean wondered again how they could have flowers blooming in February.
A wildly excited group of young children opened the door and ran out to greet Sean and Ashling before they were halfway to the front porch. There were five children that looked to range in age from two up to eleven or twelve. They were all neatly dressed and very well groomed. They each wore a bright smile as they rushed toward Ashling.
“Ashling,” the older girl called out just as she embraced her in a warm hug. “What took you so long to get here?”
“Nothing but the usual, Jennie dear. Perhaps I should come to your house first next month.”
“But then we wouldn’t have anything to look forward to all morning,” one of the boys said.
“That’s a true quandary, Devin,” Ashling said. “Perhaps you’re right; I should stay with my usual schedule.”
Ashling swooped up the youngest child, a fair-haired beauty with a pleasing patch of freckles across her button nose. Sean was instantly taken with all the well-mannered, pleasant children. He was already looking forward to meeting the parents.
“Top of the morning to you,” a young woman called out from the doorway as she stepped onto the porch. “I see the children are making the usual nuisance of themselves.”
“The darlings couldn’t be a bother if they tried, Kaitlyn. “I see Kayla is the picture of health again,” Ashling said, nodding toward the toddler she was holding.
“Yes, and it’s all thanks to you and your magic healing arts, Ashling. She’s been as slow as a late dinner to get her energy back, but since your last visit her recovery was nothing short of remarkable,” Kaitlyn said.
Sean smiled listening to the colorful speech and phrases the young woman, Kaitlyn, used. He was beginning to feel like he was on the coast of Ireland instead of Oregon. She wasn’t as beautiful as Ashling, but she was still a lovely and perky. All in all, she seemed to be a very pleasant person.
“And you’ve brought us company,” Kaitlyn said as they settled in on the overstuffed couch and chairs in the large, open living room.
“That I have. Kaitlyn, children, this is Sean Quinn. He’s here visiting Da and I for a few days, so I’m showing him the sights,” Ashling said.
“Ashling has a boyfriend, Ashling has a boyfriend,” two of the boys began singing. The other children giggled with delight and joined in the chant.
“That will do, children. Can’t you see you’re embarrassing our guests?” Kaitlyn said.
“Not at all, Kaitlyn. It will take a wee bit more than that to get me blushing. I suspect Mr. Quinn hasn’t blushed for many a year, himself. Am I right, Sean?” Ashling asked.
Sean enjoyed the beautiful, wide smile that Ashling turned his way. She had caused him to blush only that morning at breakfast and was now enjoying teasing him about it.
“I believe a man that’s not afraid to blush is a man in touch with his true inner feelings. Isn’t that bound to make him a better husband and father when those joyful days arrive?” he responded.
“Oh how I wish my Patrick could talk that way, Ashling. You’ve got a keeper there you do,” Kaitlyn said.
“I assure you he’s not mine to keep. Sean is the gentlemen that nearly ran into my Da’s store after having the accident on the highway. Have you not heard the gossip about that?” Ashling said.
“Aye, we’ve heard it all right. Well, he looks none the worse for wear, then does he?” Shandra, the eldest daughter said.”
“He’s doing well, all things considered,” Ashling said. Speaking of doing well, let’s set up shop and see how the lot of you are faring.”
“They’re all good as gold except for Kayla,” Kaitlyn said. “And she’s doing so much better that I can hardly work up the energy to worry about her.”
“Good to hear. I wish all my visits went so well. It’s a sign of what a fine mother you are, Kaitlyn,” Ashling said sincerely.
“More likely a sign they inherited their father’s iron constitution, but thanks for the kind words just the same,” Kaitlyn said.
Ashling smiled and turned her attention to the little girl, Kayla. “Can you sit very still on your mother’s lap, dearie?” she asked.
“Mommy said I can have a cookie if I’m good,” Kayla said.
“Well then you must get a lot of cookies since you’re such a fine young lass whenever I visit,” Ashling said, as she opened her old leather bag.
Ashling brought out a beautiful crystal for the examination of Kayla. It was sky-blue with flakes of white scattered through it. The crystal was about a half-inch thick and four inches tall and shaped similar to an arrowhead. She held it up against Kayla’s chest, directly over the heart.
For a few moments, nothing happened while Ashling held the crystal over Kayla’s heart and stared intently into the little girl’s eyes. Slowly, the crystal began to change color. Where there were only traces of white in the stone at first, now it was nearly half white.
Sean couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy watching the strange crystal turning from mostly blue to nearly all white. He looked up at Ashling and saw that she was whispering something into Kayla’s ear, and the young girl almost seemed to be lost in a trance.
He didn’t know a lot about Naturopathic medicine, but he certainly hadn’t heard of anything like what he was witnessing now. A lot of questions were piling up that he would like to ask Ashling when they were alone again.
The crystal appeared to be glowing now, almost like it was turning white hot. A high-pitched wail seemed to be emanating from the glowing stone, which was now bright white, without a trace of blue.
Sean jumped when a ferocious growling and barking started up from behind the door about five feet to his right. That seemed to break the spell that the crystal had cast over the room, and the children began laughing at Sean’s sudden fright.
“You’re not afraid of a little doggy are you, mister,” one of the boys asked. Sean thought his name was Devin.
Sean jumped again when the ferocious barking was joined by the sound of something very large slamming into the door. He was sure that was no little doggy trying to tear that door apart.
“It’s the crystal’s song that sets him off,” Ashling said, smiling. “The pitch is so high that it doesn’t really grate on human ears, but animals are another matter.”
She pulled the crystal away from Kayla’s heart and the sound quickly died away. The glow faded as well, and within moments it was back to the original sky-blue color.
The barking and growling stopped but was immediately replaced by a whimpering sound that made it clear the family dog wanted to join the party. Sean wasn’t so sure he wanted to see the animal up close and personal.
The youngest boy, Duncan, hurried to the door and started to open it. Sean braced himself and tried to prepare for whatever might come through the door. It would probably be a man-hating Doberman if Sean’s luck with animals held. He didn’t mind most animals, but they had never really taken a shine to him over the years.
“Duncan! What did I tell you about Gorten while we have company?” Kaitlyn asked.
“To not let him out of his room,” the oldest girl, Jennie, said before Duncan could answer.
“Oh yeah,” Duncan said, grinning. “Sorry, Mother.”
Duncan
started to close the partially open door, but before he could get it closed, a large, furry, gray head shoved its way into the opening. The head was soon followed by the largest body Sean had ever seen on a dog. The curly-haired dog, with a long bushy tail, was bounding toward him with his eyes bright with excitement and his long, red tongue lolling out of his open mouth. This dog was easily four-feet high and six-feet long and had to weigh close to two-hundred pounds.
“Gorten Abernathy!” Kaitlyn shouted. “Stop this instant or you’ll be spending the night in the back yard, so you will!”
If the massive dog heard Kaitlyn, he didn’t seem to be listening, since his headlong rush at Sean continued unabated. Sean decided he had a better chance for survival on his feet than he did sitting down. At least he’d have a few inches of height on him, even if the dog outweighed him.
Sean’s standing up must have appeared as an open invitation for play to Gorten. He rushed forward and jumped up, placing both gigantic paws on Sean’s chest. It was no contest, as Sean toppled over backwards onto the couch as the children scattered to get out of the way.
Once Gorten had Sean pinned on the couch, he began licking his face enthusiastically with his large, wet tongue. Maybe other dogs didn’t take to Sean, but Gorten had found a new best friend.
Sean thought he saw motion out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see Ashling touch her hand to Gorten’s side. The dog jumped like he’d received an electrical shock and let out a yelp of pain. He quickly heaved his bulk off Sean and sat still in front of Ashling, his mouth open and tail twitching across the floor.
“Spare me the theatrics, Gorten,” Kaitlyn said. “I swan, for such a big bruiser; you’re really quite the baby. Ashling barely touched you, and she saved you a few lashes from my hickory stick besides. What were you thinking, mauling our guest like you’re some untrained alley rat? I’m ashamed of you, I am, and so are the children.”
Sean sat up and tried to wipe off some of the slobber Gorten had left on his face and shirt collar. When he looked over at Gorten, the big lug was hanging his head and looking thoroughly miserable. Sean almost felt sorry for the dog-almost.
“I’m so sorry you were the victim of one of Gorten’s tongue baths, Sean,” Kaitlyn said. He gets a wee bit excited whenever we have company.”
“Especially if it’s someone he’s never met before,” Ashling added. “You really should be grateful that Gorten took it easy on you, Sean. Some of his victims were rushed off to the hospital, so they were,” she added with merriment twinkling in her eyes.
“Well, I did come to see the sights and Gorten is quite a sight, I must say. What type of dog is he?”
“He’s an Irish Wolf Hound,” Jennie said. “They’re known for getting very big. Gorten has lived longer than most dogs, and he just seems to keep right on growing. He’s gotten so big that we had to give him his own bedroom.”
“Big might be an understatement,” Sean said, as he stood again. “I’ve seen horses that weren’t as big as Gorten.”
“Just go on into the kitchen-right through there,” Kaitlyn said, pointing toward the back of the house. “You can wash up in there.”
Sean walked warily by Gorten but gave him a soft pat on the head when he realized the dog was going to stay put. There was a lot of muffled giggling from the living room, as Sean tried to walk back to the kitchen with a little dignity still intact.
Chapter Four
May the enemies of Ireland never eat bread nor drink wine,
but be afflicted with itching without the benefit of scratching
~ Old Irish Saying ~
“I was impressed with the way you handled yourself with the Abernathy’s,” Sean said, as they walked toward what looked like a small river at the far edge of town.
“They’re quite a hand full, but they are really the most wonderful of children. I look forward to my visit each month.”
“They obviously adore you, and your rapport with all your patients is impressive. But I was talking about how you handled yourself with Gorten. You barely touched him, and he jumped to attention like an army private when the general walks by. Tell the truth; you stuck him with a safety pin, didn’t you?”
“A pox on you for saying such a thing! I would never do that to Gorten, or any other animal,” Ashling said indignantly. “I happen to love animals very much and find them better company than a lot of people I meet.”
Sean wasn’t sure if that last comment was aimed at him, but he could see he’d said the wrong thing. He’d only been teasing, but he couldn’t understand why the dog would have jumped and yelped like that otherwise.
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Ashling. I was just very surprised at the way Gorten reacted to your touch. It did seem like he was hurt by the way he yelped.”
“I probably just scared him. He really is a big baby.”
“Big being the operative word,” Sean said.
“Come this way,” Ashling said suddenly. “I want you to see one of my favorite parts of Rundimahair.”
Sean felt like she was hurrying to change the subject. He had other questions about some of the strange things he’d seen today, but he realized now was not the right time to pursue them.
They crossed the street at the far edge of town and came to the river. It was about forty-feet wide and looked to be fairly deep as well. The slow-moving water was a soft green color in the reflected sunlight shining across the surface.
Along the edge of the street was a lush green parkway about twenty-feet wide and running the length of the town. Where the parkway met the river, there was a very old stone wall about four-feet high and a foot thick.
As Sean looked up and down the parkway, he could see that there were openings where the stone wall curved in toward the river. There were wide inlaid rock stairs in each opening, which led down to the river’s edge.
All along the parkway were cherry, apple and peach trees planted about six or seven yards apart. The cherry trees were already in bloom, and their violet and white blossoms were lovely.
“This is absolutely breathtaking,” Sean said, as he stood in the parkway and looked up and down the river. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a waterfront as tranquil and beautiful.”
“If you look a bit farther down, you can see the harbor where the fishing and pleasure boats are moored. That is a fine sight to see, if you love rivers and boats as much as I do,” Ashling said.
“So this river runs to the ocean?”
“Indeed it does. Many of our town folk make a fair living with their fishing boats,” Ashling said.
“Not for the first time, I am absolutely blown away by the beauty and unique charm of your town, Ashling. It must be full of tourists all summer long.”
“Not so much as you might think. The truth is, we don’t really seek out the tourist trade here. We like our little town just the way it is and wouldn’t want it turned into a tourist trap that some coastal towns are.”
“I agree that many of the towns along the Oregon coast have become over commercialized and it has ruined the charm that made them worth visiting in the first place. Still, I can’t believe you’ve been able to keep Rundimahair such a well-kept secret over the years.”
“Just the luck of the Irish, I suppose.”
Sean was going to say more on the subject, but he could sense that same guarded unease from Ashling, which he’d felt earlier. It was in his nature to get answers to his questions, sooner rather than later, but he didn’t want to offend his tour guide again.
“Shall we head back to the house for a bit of lunch? Ashling asked.
“Sounds good to me. I’m starving and as much as I hate to admit it a little worn out.”
“Perfectly natural for someone recovering from an accident and injuries like yours.”
The next few days passed by too quickly from Sean’s point of view. He had enjoyed every moment of his time in Rundimahair, and in particular the wonderful people who lived here. He hadn’t seen much of Ashling
, since she seemed to make a point of being up and gone long before he would drag himself out of bed.
He’d been very surprised by the way he slept deeply each night and usually didn’t wake up until nine or ten each morning. This was very atypical for him, since he’d always been a light sleeper and an early riser. Eamon assured him it was just his body’s way of healing and recovering his strength after his accident.
Sean had used his free time to wander around the town, taking in the sights and sounds of small-town life. He’d driven out of town on several occasions to look over the beautiful countryside and farmlands that surrounded Rundimahair.
The unusual layout of this community continued to fascinate Sean. Once he passed through town and into the more rural area, there were only gravel or dirt roads to travel by.
Stranger still, there were no signs of telephone or electrical poles carrying wires to the farmhouses. Now that he thought about it, there were no overhead power lines in town either. He could believe that they had underground power in town, although most rural towns still used overhead power lines.
There was no way they had underground power running to the farmsteads, which were spread out and separated by miles of open farm and range land. It wouldn’t be economically feasible to have underground power ranging so far and wide.
Despite the lack of visible power lines, the few homesteads he’d visited had electrical power. They had electric lights and plugin receptacles, even if they looked a bit old fashioned.
Sean was anxious to ask about this apparent mystery, but he couldn’t bring himself to question the families who’d welcomed him into their homes. Each family he’d met was kind and full of hospitality for a complete stranger.
The other strange pattern that continued was that each family or individual he met had Irish accents. Some of their accents were so strong he struggled to understand most of what they said. Others only had a trace accent.
Rundimahair: A new hero for a new adventure Page 4