Epilogue at O'Grady's

the epilogue of Trickster God

Epilogue at O'Grady's

  Black Friday in Clearwater: cold gusts blow snow flurries across the wet streets and dry leaves across JFK Park, bargain hunting shoppers swirl through boutiques and specialty stores, thicker and faster than either the snowflakes or the leaves. On every corner Santas or Christmas elves ring silver bells. Dark falls early. The scurrying shoppers seek the warmth of home and hearth, or a favorite bar or restaurant.

  “So that is how my Thanksgiving holiday in Faerie went,” Sophi said to her friend, Kat, while sipping her favorite Guinness. “So how was your Thanksgiving? Guess you didn't have time to go home.”

  That Kat and her K-9 partner, Black Angus, were still in uniform may be why they'd managed to get seats at their favorite table in a dim corner of the already crowded O'Grady's Bar and Grill. Kat stared into her own nut brown ale and smiled. Angus wagged his tail in response.

  “No, one day off's not enough time to fly home to see Mama. I fixed dinner at home, for myself and Leroy.”

  Sophi grabbed Kat's hand and both women grinned.

  “Leroy was here! That's great.”

  “Girlfriend, it was great. He loved my sweet potato pie.”

  “I love your sweet potato pie. So what gives? You two an item again?”

  “Guess so. We're doing an every other leave thing, me in Faerie, gate sickness and all, one leave period, and he comes here the next. Not a permanent solution, but at least we're seeing each other.”

  “Guess we can count you out for weekends,” Sophi said.

  Kat's crazy rotating schedule meant she was seldom available on a weekend anyway.

  The pert waitress Bridget brought the steaming bowls of the pub's famous Irish stew and the sides they'd both ordered. By now there were folks standing at the bar, jockeying to find places to set down bags full of found treasures. The band scheduled to play that night wouldn't begin till 9:00, but a group of college students swigging beer at a table near the stage were singing ribald lyrics to popular holiday tunes.

  “Annie's really late,” a worried Sophi said.

  “Hope she's OK,” Kat said with a frown.

  Angus whined, probably more for a tidbit from their plates than in sympathy with their concern.

  “Would it be all right if I joined you ladies,” came a deep resonate voice from above Sophi's shoulder.”

  “Lord Faolan! Didn't see you approach,”Sophi said.

  “Of course you may join us, Sir,” Kat said. “Leroy's not with you?”

  “No, sorry Officer Jones. I came here alone today.”

  If Sophi and Kat had not noticed the tall Sidhe lord wending his way through the crowd, Bridget had not missed him. They saw her pushing her way to their table. She smiled at him once she'd arrived, lightly touching his shoulder before taking his order.

  “Good to see you, Mr. mac Doitean. Your usual, Jameson, neat, and a sampling of almost everything on our menu.”

  “The usual will be fine, Bridget,” he said, returning her smile.

  “You have apparently come here often,” a frowning Kat said after Bridget left.

  “You don't approve, Officer Jones?”

  “It's not my business to approve or disapprove, Sir.”

“I am not a Glanconer who will leave her pining to death, nor is she as innocent and inexperienced as you seem to think. I've told her I'm a widow, too in love with my wife's memory to make any commitments, and that well may be the truth.”

  A look of pain and sadness flashed through the Faerie lord's dark eyes.

  “I'm sorry, Sir. Didn't mean to....” Kat said.

  “Apology accepted. I actually came here hoping to see Annie Flowers. I went by her shop and it's closed. Hoped to find her here.”

  “She's due here. Overdue,” Sophi admitted. “We're worried. She had a doctor's appointment of some kind, actually closed her shop on Black Friday for it.”

  “Splendid! I came at the perfect time,” the lord replied.

  “Huh!” both Kat and Sophi said at the same time.

  Annie finally arrived, just as Bridget brought Lord Faolan his whiskey and some cheesy fries and fried mushrooms.

  “Next course on the way,” the waitress told the lord with a grin.

  There was no smile on Annie's wan face, however. Her brown hair poked out from a knit cap, but it was tangled as if not recently combed. She wore the wool cape and gold brooch Loki had left with her, though she'd admitted to the others she wasn't sure if it was a gift or a loaner.

  “I'm always comfortable in it, whether it's just chilly or arctic cold. If he wants it back he can always come ask for it,” she'd told Kat and Sophi the last time they'd met at O'Grady's.

  Today, comfortable though the cape might be, it was obvious that Annie was not. Her brown eyes showed what looked almost like shock.

  “Are you OK?”, Kat asked as she sat down after only nodding towards the Faerie lord.

  “Miss Flowers is not ill, are you?” Lord Faolan said.

  “Not unless you count morning sickness as an illness,” Annie replied.

  “What the! How!” Kat exclaimed.

  “Don't know. I'm in shock; made them do the tests twice. I haven't had sex with a man since I was 18 and still confused about my sexuality.”

  “You slept with my father,” Lord Faolan said softly.

  “He was a woman at the time! Lacked the proper equipment!”

  “The carnal touch of a God is always fertile. He told me that after I turned him down,” Sophi said.

  “You turned the Lord Loki down?” Lord Faolan said in surprise.

  “Wasn't easy,” Sophi admitted.

  “This is why I'm here today, Miss Flowers. My father charged me to look after you and my little sister, though I'd have come anyway.”

  “They can't tell yet what sex the baby is,” Annie said.

  “I can and she is a girl,” the Faerie man said.

  “She will be your sister, won't she. Can you tell if she's human? I'm not carrying a wolf or something am I?”

  Lord Faolan laughed.

  “She will at least look human. More than that I can't guarantee.”

  “Can I admit I'm scared, Sir. My partner left me. I'll be raising this child alone. And now it turns out she'll be some kind of, what, a goddess, a heroine. What?”

  “Only time will tell the answers to those questions. But you will not be alone, my child. This little one within you is my kin and that makes you family. My resources are at your command. I'll pay all medical expenses, and, should you require one, make Taigh Dubh's healer available. She is an excellent midwife and will be prepared for... the unusual, shall we say. And afterwards I can provide a competent nanny. ”

  “And we'll help too. Whatever you need,” Sophi assured her.

  “Goes double for me,” Kat said.

  “Wow! Damn! Always wanted a child, but didn't expect it to be a god-child.”

  Lord Faolan smiled.

  “To quote one of your idiotic politicians, Miss Annie, sometimes stuff happens.”

The End