Finding Fraser(65)

He looked puzzled, and dropped the broad accent. “Did you say ‘gnome’…?”

Dammit. How could I bring up the Rabbie fiasco at a time like this?

I shook my head. “No—no. Never mind. It was just a very strange person I met from Glasgow. He’s a— a—little person.”

“Glasgow has more n’ half a million souls who call it home, aye,” he said, thoughtfully. “I couldnae possibly know all of ’em . Cept you’d think I’d remember a gnome …”

“It’s okay,” I said, hastily. “So, you work here?”

“Stationed here, aye. About a year now.”

“So … on active duty? What do you do around here, then?”

He crinkled his eyes at me and Scot-ified himself again. “Ach, if I tol’ yeh, American ally or no, I’d have tae shoot ye, lass.”

I think I may have looked a little too eager at the prospect. Anyway, my expression made him laugh. “Mostly training, actually,” he said. “Wha’ about you? A bi’ early in the season to be touring about, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s sort of a long story.”

He got to his feet. “Righ’. Well, I’m off.”

I jumped up, too. “Off? I—I was hoping you’d be able to—ah—show me around a bit.”

“Sorry, Miss. I’ve duty down in the mess at fourteen hundred. If ye stop at the front desk, though, we have some seniors who volunteer their time.”

“Sure—no problem. Thanks so much,” I babbled.

He turned away, proving the view from the back was just as impressive as from the front, and then stopped suddenly. “I should give you this, if you want it,” he said, reaching into his back pocket.

“Sure, oh for sure,” I said, still babbling. I really needed to practice that talking to nice men thing.

Corporal Morrison pulled a slightly shopworn pamphlet out of his pocket and handed it to me. The ring on his left hand glinted briefly in a ray of light coming from the windows. “We’re supposed to give ’em to the tourists—glad I remembered!”

I thanked him and he left. The light that had shone so pointedly on his wedding band faded behind a cloud, which made the pamphlet hard to read, but I could see it held a brief history of the fort. I tucked it into my pack for future perusal and stood up.

The chat with Corporal Married had been lovely, at least until I saw the ring. The whole country was lovely. But as the cold winter light shone through the stained glass, all I could feel was doubt.

What was I doing there? I was like—an American trout flapping around in a Scottish pond. As soon as I opened my mouth, my accent told my whole story to every person I met.

Foreigner, it said. Visitor. Tourist.

I looked around at the cold, stone walls and shivered. If Jamie had been here, he would have been shackled and bound, probably in some part of the fort that the public never got to see.

And who was I kidding, anyway? Jamie had never been here. Jamie had never been anywhere, except in the imagination of a vivid storyteller and the pages of her books. Could such a man even exist in the twenty-first century? Maybe I was on the world’s wildest Scots Gander chase, following in the footsteps of an ideal man who had never really existed.

Maybe it was time to go home.





Feeble Finish…

4:00 pm, May 2

Nairn, Scotland



After today, I believe it is time to bid adieu to Nairn. This is a country of strong weather and rare beauty. I may not have found my Fraser, but I have found something of my soul here, and it was worth finding. It is a feeble finish to my grand plan, but my next step must take me away from my beloved Highlands and back down to Edinburgh. I hope my luck will be better there than it was in Glasgow, as I need to make enough money to pay for my ticket home.



- ES



Comments: 5

Gerald Abernathy, Fort William, Scotland:

Hey girl, if you do head south this week and pass through Ft. W, come see me. I’m feeling a mite tetchy still, and have decided to accept medical advice and take up residence in a rest home here until I am well again. Love to see you if you are passing through…



HiHoKitty, Sapporo, Japan:

Sad to see journey come to end.

がんばって

(Read 3 more comments here…)





Clearly the bloom was off the rose. I sat by the monitor for nearly an hour, but to no avail. My comments had fallen almost to zero, with my loyal HiHoKitty one of the last remaining. The rest—apart from Gerald—had returned to selling me erectile dysfunction medication.

I signed off with a sigh, and waved to Katy behind her monitor at the front desk as I headed out the door. The next bus south was not until midnight, so I decided to wait and go the following morning.