Aches and Pains
Breakfast was far too noisy as far as Lin was concerned. Perhaps the entire bottle of wine had not been such a good idea after all, or perhaps staying up so long afterwards re-running the day's events was the root cause of her headache. Whatever the driver, listening to the eager conversation at the table was proving more than she was up to. She gathered the dishes and announced that she would be back shortly. Without pausing to answer any of the questions aimed at her back, she grabbed her pack and scuttled out the door.
The fresh breeze on her face was very welcome. While it did little to ease her throbbing temples, it did help mellow the pounding irritation of her racing mind. She set off to visit the swan and made her way with relative ease through the now familiar trek, climb and twisted passage to his haunt. Once there she went through the task of retrieving food with what appeared to be professional skill. Pleased that she no longer feared that particular task, she gathered what she needed and, humming, approached the bird. He seemed more awake than the last time, yet was not moving any easier. As usual, he simply stared down his languid neck with that lone black eye, taking her measure as she approached. She cleaned and rebandaged the wound, taking a mental measurement of the changes in its opening. It seemed to be healing, she thought. She took the liberty of stroking the bird's back while resting beside it. Surprisingly, when she lifted her hand to his neck, he curled his head into the cup of her palm and stared up at her. She turned her attention straight to him. Locking gazes, the two creatures held on to each other, suspended for several moments. Then the bird shifted and the connection was spent. Lin rose, gathered her things, spread what was left of the feast she had harvested and then struck out for home. It was not until she reached the strand that she noticed that her headache was gone. "Strange," she thought, "perhaps all I needed was some time alone by the sea."
Entering the cottage she was not surprised to find the kitchen table covered with maps and a heated discussion taking place between the boys and their Nana. Sean, it seemed, had discovered a passion for visiting the islands not too distant from where they were staying. Ian wanted to investigate the dolmens, also relatively nearby, and Nana needed to get out to both Lady Gregory's Estate and Yeat's Tower if Fiona Blake's latest article was to be published on time. Planning for a three- or four-day excursion was in full swing. The biggest point of contention was where they would go first. It appeared that the three had agreed to manage all but Yeat's tower on this first trip. Lin was smiling to herself as she watched them plotting, planning and measuring distances. Until she realized there was one very major flaw in the plans, the swan. She simply could not leave the poor bird alone to fend for itself until the wing had healed sufficiently for it to at least feed on its own, let alone fly.
She interrupted the little gathering to ask if there wasn't any way that they could plan excursions to each site as day trips. Everyone chimed in in unison that this would be far too wasteful of their time. They would need to get out to the first site, spend the evening, explore it the next day, then travel to the next site, and continue in the same flow. It was, apparently, completely useless not to have a full day at each planned destination. Then she told them she could not go, she simply had a responsibility to tend the bird. They looked at her, and then at each other as if someone, or perhaps all of them, had grown horns. "Well, of course the bird has to be taken care of," they said. How they managed to keep talking as one unit befuddled her. "But there has to be someone you know who can cover while you are gone," said her Mother.
"I know the perfect person," said Ian. "I met him yesterday, I am certain he would do it if I asked."
Feeling a sense of doom settling over her, Lin asked him who he was thinking of.
"Mr. James," he replied. "He is really very interesting and he said if I needed anything I should call."
"Well, I am not sure he was counting on an imposition quite as large as this," said Lin.
"I am sure he will do it," said Sean with absolute conviction. "He would love to." Something in his face was inscrutable, but he did, in fact, look completely certain.
"What if the swan is not quite so certain about having his help?" she asked.
"Ma, you really don't have any idea about anything, do you?" said Sean. "Ian and I can ask, all you have to do is show Ro, I mean, Mr. James what to do. It will be really fine."
With that, the boys rolled up the maps and went off to their rooms. It appeared that the whole matter was settled whether she liked it or not. And she was pretty sure she most certainly did not like it.
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