A long silence stretched between us as we watched the shadows lengthen, as if neither one of us were quite sure what to say. It was awkward, almost painful.
I took a deep breath. “They named him Seamus,” I said. Anything to break the silence. It was my own small peace offering. He’d asked what I’d Seen. I hoped saying that would be enough.
Phelan stared at me in confusion for a moment, blinking and frowning. “What?”
“Teague and Kira. They named their son Seamus. The son that you knew they were having when they left Chicago to go wherever the hell they were going to be safe from the end of the world.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “How did—no. I don’t want to ask that question, do I?”
I shook my head. “Probably not. But they named him Seamus, for your cousin.” I fell quiet again for a moment before I asked, “Do you think he’s alive? Your cousin?”
“Teague and Neve’s brother?” Phelan sighed, raking his hands through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said, his voice quiet. “Part of me wants to believe that he is. Then there’s the logical part of me that says that it can’t be true, that we’re living in some kind of dreamworld if we believe for even a heartbeat that he might be alive.” He shook his head, sounding wistful for a moment. “But it’s a nice thought. In a lot of ways, he was the best of us.”
“You miss him a lot,” I said softly.
“He’s the reason I’m the Taliesin,” Phelan said simply, staring at the snow. “He’s the reason I’m here—maybe even the reason I am the way I am, but I have to claim some of the credit for that myself.” He sighed again and shook his head. “I miss him, leánnan. We all miss him.”
“He’s your cousin,” I said. “Of course you miss him.”
Phelan shook his head slightly. “A lot of things changed once he was gone, leánnan,” he said softly. “Maybe things that shouldn’t have changed. Things that led to our current path.”
I leaned against him for a moment, sliding my arm around his shoulders. “Then it can’t be all bad. Occasional nasty circumstances aside, I think we’re all pretty happy.”
Phelan snorted softly and I poked him.
“It’s true,” I sad. “I think we’re all better off now than we were a few months ago, before the end of everything.”
“Maybe,” he said, eyes staring at something long ago and far away. “Maybe.”
I found a wicked cold so I will simple express my gratitude and appreciation of your talents and sharing.
Thank you. Good addition.