Isle of the Faeries

Old Friends and New

So sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a month, between increased retail hours because of the holidays and finals I haven't had time to sit down. Updates should go back to being fairly regular again now that my schedule is more or less back to normal.

Breena

      Declan and Fiona are home when I get up in the morning, since Declan had to work late last night they are giving him the morning off. Lucky for him I know just how to occupy his time and I promptly drag him and Fiona out to do chores with me. With Fiona getting the eggs, Declan milking the cows and me seeing to the sheep we are done in half the time it would have taken me by myself. I am happy to see that Caleo's abscess has blown but she still isn't fit to ride so I decide to ride into Rell with Declan and Fiona today.

      Scottie jumps in the bed of the truck and comes along for the ride. I kind of wish I was out there with him instead of crammed in the cab with my brother and sister. The radio crackles but manages to pick up an instrumental station that plays a melody that I would have thought beautiful before last night. I try to stifle a yawn behind my hand.

      "Didn't sleep well?" Declan asks glancing over at me.

      "The music kept me awake," I tell him. I don't know how he or my sister got a wink of sleep since their rooms are closer to the fields.

      Declan glances over at me again, "What music?"

      "From the field, you know..." looking at the furrow of his brow I can see he doesn't know; he didn't hear it. Fiona doesn't appear to know what I am taking about either but she is being distracted by Scottie who has put his head through the back window and is licking her neck making her giggle. "Never mind," I say quickly.

      He shakes his head but can't be bothered to ask what I meant and it stings me more than it should.

      In Rell Declan parks the truck behind McFarlane's and goes straight in to work. I sigh and shake out my list of things I need to buy. Declan is in charge of buying the groceries because he works at the grocery store but I have to find everything else. So with Fiona in tow and Scottie trotting along behind us we go to see about finding a new sweater and jacket for Fiona first.

      We end up at Cliffpoint a popular clothing shop that the tourists love for its "island charm" which really just means that they would never buy most of the clothes back home but they are great souvenirs. They tend to be pricy during tourist season but the owner Dotty is an old family friend, my mother grew up with Dotty as a baby sitter as did my siblings and I. The shop door jingles when I open it and Fiona has to shoo Scottie out the door because he is not allowed in during tourist season. The inside is brightly lit and smells like a mix of laundry detergent and the 'Sea Breeze' candles Dotty has been burning as long as I've known her.

      There are several people in the store besides us – none of them I know – they look a bit lost as they sort through Dotty's unconventional method of organizing things. She groups things together by color; it doesn't matter if it is a sun dress, a sweater or a bra if it is purple it will be in the purple section. Fiona and I weave through the racks and shelves to get to the counter where Dotty sits pouring over some paperwork. She is short and hunched now, her hair wispy grey curls but her eyes and mind are as sharp as a whip.

      When she sees us she grins and pulls off her tortoiseshell glasses, "What brings you girls into town? It's been way to long since I've seen you."

      I smile back feeling a tug of guilt, it has been a long time since I have made time to see her, "We were just looking to find Fiona a new sweater and coat," I tell her, "she outgrew hers."