He kissed the top of my head, his lips pressed there as he fell asleep.
When we woke from our nap I came out to the kitchen and Zach was organizing cupboards and making a list. “Whatcha doing?”
He said, “Waiting for Tracy to get here so we can make lunch.”
“How is she, was Emma right?”
“Of course Emma was fucking right, Emma isalwaysright, but don’t tell her I said so. Tracy is great, her only drawback is that she has terrible taste in music. She calls iteclectic, I told her it sounded like fucking jazz and I wasn’t going to stand for it in my kitchen. She alluded to me being old. I’m a millennial, I’m not old.”
“You’re also a dad in his thirties with two kids. She’s what, twenty? I think you’re old in comparison.”
He joked, “Forthatyou get out of my kitchen, this is a Zach-bashing free zone. Only Zach adulation allowed, no complaints, no criticisms.”
* * *
Lochinvar was sitting on the end of the dock and the kids were all around him, Zoe with her floaty arm bands, the boys, and Isla, they all looked like they were listening to him tell a long interesting story.
I leaned against Magnus’s shoulder up at the outdoor sitting area. “What do you think Lochinvar is telling them?”
We watched for a few moments and then Lochinvar started making a stabbing motion in the air excitedly. It looked like Zoe burst into tears.
Magnus said, “Och, I better intervene.”
We rushed down the lawn tae the dock. Beaty had scooped up Zoe. Magnus picked up Isla whose eyes were huge. Magnus asked Zoe, “Och, wee bairn, what are ye crying about?” She shook her head and clung to Beaty.
I asked, “Archie, what’s going on?”
“Lochinvar was telling us a story about when dad killed Domnall and Ormr in the stadium.”
Magnus said, “Och nae, Lochinvar, ye canna tell the bairns these stories. Tis too frightening!”
Lochinvar pointed at Archie. “This one is almost a man, he’s going to have a sword soon enough.”
I said, “Dear god, I hope not!”
Beaty said, “Come on bairns, we all will go up and get some treats from the house.”
I looked at Magnus, and he said, “I will handle it with Lochinvar.”
I saw Fraoch pulling his canoe up tae the side of the lawn.
CHAPTER 67 - MAGNUS
Isaid, “Lochinvar, these kids are bairns and ye canna tell them scary things about death and murder, ye canna.”
“Magnus, ye are raisin’ yer son tae be weak, he is tae be a prince, he will hae tae fight in the arena.”
“I am nae, he has seen more death and destruction than most wee’uns his age. Ye canna think him weak, he is protected. He is gaining strength, he is nae ready tae—”
“At his age I had a sword in m’hand and was training every day.”
“But here ye are tae be a modern man, do ye like the food? Ye ken ye like it. Twas modern men that made it. Tae live among them and enjoy their food and homes and the warmth and the soft bed and hot water, ye must follow their modern rules. One is ye canna kill anyone, ye canna even fight. Once Quentin fired a gun at an enemy and he was held in jail as a criminal for a time. The rules are verra strict on this. When ye are in the modern world ye hae tae put yer weapons aside, but ye also hae tae think on…”
Fraoch walked up. “What’re ye talkin’ on?”
“I am explainin’ tae Lochinvar about how tae behave in the modern world.”
Fraoch said, “Tis easy, Og Lochie, ye do the opposite of what ye might think tae do. If ye are goin’ tae take a piss, and ye think, here is a good place — it probably inna a good place. And importantly, ye hae tae be much cleaner than ye think ye ought.”
