\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could I?\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019d have freaked out and gone sideways.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what he would have done.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter then.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure it matters now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could it not<\/i> matter now?\u201d\u00a0 I leaned forward and put my hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cPhelan, they know the truth<\/i>.\u00a0 Of course it matters.\u00a0 It impacts their entire lives from this day forward and the life of that baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBabies,\u201d Phelan said softly, his voice distant.\u00a0 \u201cThere will be two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo?\u201d\u00a0 I blurted, blinking rapidly.\u00a0 \u201cTwo?\u00a0 How do you know there\u2019s two<\/i>?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evan as I asked the question, I knew he was right.\u00a0 I could see Cameron and Neve cradling two bundles, one dark like Neve and the other with Cameron\u2019s looks.\u00a0 I could see them running in the fields, chasing after the dogs, after the sheep, my own son and Tala\u2019s children\u2014oh god, five at once, how are we going to cope with that?<\/i>\u2014laughing and happy in the autumn sunshine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a legend, wasn\u2019t there?\u201d I asked in a bare whisper.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a legend or a prophecy or something that you knew, that you read, something.\u00a0 Something you never talked about, never told anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some burdens that I\u2019ve had to shoulder alone,\u201d he said, his eyes closed.\u00a0 \u201cThere are things that Seamus knew, that he told me, that I\u2019ve never been able to share.\u00a0 This\u2026this was one of them, Marin.\u00a0 He knew.\u00a0 Somehow, he knew, even all those years ago, what would happen someday\u2014with his sister and with his many times over grandson.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed and opened his eyes again, staring at me tiredly, seeming like the weight of the entire world had settled on his shoulders again.\u00a0 \u201cI never thought that I\u2019d ever have to deal with it, though.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d somehow get myself killed before I ever needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhelan, you should have told me,\u201d Neve said, at my shoulder now, staring down at her cousin.\u00a0 His fingers twined through mine and squeezed hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t ready,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I never will be,\u201d Neve countered.\u00a0 \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean that you shouldn\u2019t have told me.\u00a0 I deserved to know.\u00a0 Cameron<\/i> deserved to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would it have changed?\u201d\u00a0 Phelan asked, staring up at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Neve said.\u00a0 \u201cBut we\u2019ll never find out, now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s the way it should be,\u201d Phelan said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s the way it should be.\u00a0 Things \u00a0should happen the way they\u2019re meant to happen, with or without our knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a lie in his eyes that Neve didn\u2019t see, but I did.\u00a0 My lips thinned and my fingers tightened around his.<\/p>\n
There are some things that are meant to be changed.\u00a0 Nothing is certain.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Everything changes.\u00a0 Everything changes.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell them?\u201d \u201cHow could I?\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019d have freaked out and gone sideways.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what he would have done.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter then.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure it matters now.\u201d \u201cHow could it not matter … Continue reading