Scotland Pearls

The first instinct she had was to reach out to smack whoever was shaking her shoulder and annoying her out of her sleep. The second instinct was to pull the blanket closer to her face and snuggle deeper into the uncomfortable seat of the airplane. Too bad the blanket was not the softest and her neck hurt from sleeping leaning against the window.

“Wake up. We’re here.” Heather said grabbing her shoulder to give her another insistent shake.

“You wake up.” Teresa mumbled back childishly. She didn’t even have to open her eyes to know that Heather was rolling her eyes.

“We’ve landed and need to get off this thing.”

“You’ve landed.” Teresa mumbled, not willing to give up on her childish behavior quite yet. She did open her eyes though so that she could see how annoying she was being to Heather. She didn’t want to push her too far and get her mad at her before they even made it to the hotel.

“Are you done?” Heather asked shoving things into her carry on bag. Teresa pushed the blanket and allowed herself to stretch.

“Are you?”

“You know what...” Heather growled at her.

“Yeah, he’s an asshole,” Teresa said smiling as she stood up. She caught the blanket before it slid off of her to the floor. Heather just shook her head as she shoved the carry on at her.

“I would just leave you here, but you’re the only one that knows what the hell is going on,” Heather grumbled as she turned to pull out the other carry on from the overhead compartment. Teresa wanted to smile but chose to pick up her purse instead.

“That’s only what I want you to think. The truth is I only booked the plane tickets. Now we only have a map and the clothes on our back to survive us as we figure out our way around Scotland.” Heather kept pulling the bag from the compartment as she turned to glare at Teresa with narrowed eyes.

“That’s not planning.”

“I thought you always wanted to be a gypsy and have to travel by the seat of your pants. We could get random jobs until we earn enough money to move onto the next place. Imagine the freedom.” Teresa was proud of herself for being able to keep a straight face. It was probably because she was still tired.

“I’m a bad influence on you. I’m supposed to suggest being a couple of hobos. You’re supposed to be the rational one and logical and tell me I’m crazy.”

“I guess I am supposed to have gotten cashier checks and not left all our money at home too...”

“You didn’t bring any money? I’m never letting you plan our vacations ever again.” Heather scolded. Teresa really wanted to smile, but she preferred to keep her farce going until the death threats started rolling in. They were never far off.

“I guess I shouldn’t have drunk that kool-aid you have been offering.”

“You better be fucking with me. And if you’re fucking with me I might throw you off a train.” Heather grumbled waiting for Teresa to step into the aisle.

“You would never do that. You love me and would miss me too much.” Teresa announced finally smiling as she started toward the exit of the plane where the patient flight attendants were standing.

“You’re pushing the limits of my love. Maybe my dad can wire us some money. Maybe he won’t lecture me for an hour.” Heather pondered. Teresa wondered if she was talking to herself or both of them. It didn’t matter really. She already felt the chuckle making its way through her throat.

“Or maybe you’ll stop being gullible long enough for us to get off this plane, gather our luggage and find this guy Finn. The head lady at the covenant said he would be our escort along with some other chick. We are going to get almost completely into character the minute we leave the airport.”

“You really need to get laid.” Heather sighed rubbing her forehead. Teresa felt her chuckle die before it even made it to the ears of those around them. Heather’s go-to come back went straight for her Achilles heel. It was all she could do not to glare at her.

“Why do you always have to always ruin a perfectly fun conversation? Let me be clear, even in a whole different country that is not funny.” Teresa knew she was probably turning pink. How she could be so uncomfortable around any type of conversation that had to do with sex she would never know. It couldn’t possibly be normal.

“I’m enhancing the conversation.” Heather laughed.

“You need to enhance your material,” Teresa mumbled as she walked down the weird hall toward the airport. She may have been trying to walk quicker than her normal speed in an effort to get herself away from Heather laughing at her discomfort. They both knew that if they were not able to give as good as they got than their friendship wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long as it had.

“My material is flawless,” Heather called not sounding far enough away. Teresa wanted to curse Heather for her longer legs.

“How can you say that when you are also a virgin? I don’t see you running around with a mattress strapped to your back and a sign saying, ‘Cherry popper needed.’”

“I’m a virgin due to a lack of guys I’d be willing to do that with. You are a virgin due to your aversion to nakedness and sex.” Heather explained. Teresa wanted to glare at her or even go so far as to stick her tongue out at her, but she wasn’t going to. Not quite the first impression she wanted people to have of her.

“It is not an aversion... It’s a personal choice.”

“Due to your aversion. Say pussy. Or fucking. Say any word related to sexual intercourse” Heather dared unable to hide her amusement.

“Vulgarity is another personal choice,” Teresa remarked forcing herself to walk away as quickly as possible before Heather decided she wanted to start yelling penis like they were in high school rather than an airport. She felt a small amount of relief when she only heard Heather’s boisterous laughter behind her.

If she was laughing she wasn’t saying inappropriate things trying to get her face to burn off. She just hoped they would be able to get their luggage and meet up with Finn without further incident. It might have been too much to ask since the only one holding up a sign was a woman in a wimple standing next to a rather large giant of a man in blue jeans that fit him too well.

“I wonder if he likes cherries” Teresa couldn’t stop herself from cringing at Heather’s murmur.

“He is taking us to where we are staying... Please do not make this whole trip awkward.” She knew better than to look at her friend when making the request.

“Awkward is my middle name. Watch, I’m going to run into a pole because of him.” Heather pointed out. Teresa didn’t know if she was hoping for such a distraction or if she would be more embarrassed than Heather if it were to happen.

“We are on this trip for research and I had hoped to be able to pick his brain. That won’t happen with you asking about cherries.” It was probably too much to hope for Heather to see reason. Teresa was at least willing to try.

“They don’t need to be mutually exclusive. You research the history, I’ll research his thoughts on cherries.”

“I am only asking you not to ask him while I am around. Wait until I can lock myself in my room at the inn we staying at.” Teresa grumbled hoping that it erased any pleading that may have bled into her tone.

“If you lock yourself in your room, you will miss seeing all the sights.” Teresa wondered where the magic pole Heather had predicted was. If she didn’t run into it Teresa was willing to trip her into it. At least then she would be the center of attention and allow herself to fade into the background for most of the trip. It was too much to ask obviously when they made it over to them without incident. Not even their rolling suitcase caused any trouble.

“Hi... Finn?” Teresa let herself sound as if she was not sure because she didn’t want to assume and be wrong. It didn’t matter than the woman next to him was holding the sign for their inn. A smile made his eyes crease in the corners as he nodded then reached his hand forward. Heather didn’t hesitate in grabbing it to shake his hand. Teresa held her breath to see if she would actually let go.

“Aye... I’ll be escorting ye to the inn. This here is my sister Lillian. She’s to keep me in line so not to spoil thy goods before I get ye there.” Finn said nodding his head toward the woman in next to him. Teresa turned her attention to Lillian rather than focusing on his light brown hair on his forehead. She had to keep herself from pushing the hair back because she knew that Heather would instantly think she was flirting. What was really going on was that Teresa couldn’t stand things being out of place. It was a welcome relief that he wasn’t wearing a shirt with a collar. There would have been no way she would have been able to keep herself from fixing it was it to be flipped up wrong.

“We appreciate the escort. Safer than getting lost. I’m Teresa...” She paused when she noticed Heather still hadn’t let go of his hand. “And Heather is the one still holding your hand.”

“Please tell me you like cherries because I packed one.” Heather purred still holding onto his hand. Teresa’s smile became a grimace and she was pretty sure that her face was starting to turn pink again.

“I’m so sorry. You can run if you want to. She won’t be offended and I will understand.” Teresa said, sighing. Finn’s husky laughter didn’t ease her embarrassment, nor did it make Heather let go of his hand. Lillian was smiling too.

“He likes it. Don’ worry ’bout it.” Lillian offered.

“Lemme take yur bags lass. We got a car a waiting.” Finn reached forward with his other hand for the suitcases she was pulling behind her. Teresa was torn between declining his offer and forcing Heather to release her grasp. The choice was taken away from her when another man came over to pick up Heather’s suitcase and walking over to the trunk of a car. Heather finally let go to watch the other man.

“Aren’t ye supposed to be safety no’ trying to sleep wit’ em.” The guy called as he walked back over to grab Teresa’s bag.

“I would feel very safe if he were to sleep next to me.” Heather sighed, making both the men laugh.

“Oh my god, give me your carry on and get into the car,” Teresa yanked the strap off Heather’s arm, causing her to stumble a bit. She ignored her as she walked to the trunk of the car.

“Thanks fer the ride, Ewan.” Finn said, opening the back door so Heather could get in. Thankfully, Heather actually got in, followed by Lillian and Finn stayed at the door waiting for Ewan to take the carry-on bags from her. Teresa kept her eyes downcast as she walked around to get in and didn’t breathe until he shut the door.

#

The lass was staring at him again as the other one was busy writing with her pencil. Finn winked at Heather before sitting back in his seat to wait for the next question from the endless list that Teresa seemed to have. Lillian was helping a little, but she didn’t know the history nearly as well as he did.

“So has this inn always been a convent before it was transferred into a place for people to stay or was it something else?” Teresa asked, stilling focused on her paper as she wrote. Finn waited a moment for her to get done and to look at him before he continued.

“It has, but if ye were in need of help, ye could get it. Medical or refuge or learning. It was only in the last hundred years that the convent was changed over to the inn. It is newer than some of the other convents around because it was destroyed in the 1600s by some Scots that were looting. Normally such things didn’t happen, but tis special circumstances that caused the destruction.” Finn explained. Teresa seemed to be absorbing everything he was saying and writing more than he had seen anyone write.

“It wasn’t special circumstances. It was selfishness and being power-hungry. The clans were angry with the king for his ignoring them while he spent all his time in England. There were many that they looted just to find the bastard that the English king had claimed who took refuge. They destroyed ours because she was actually there.” Lillian added.

“Aye, which tis what made it personal,” Finn said only glimpsing his sister in time to see her to roll her eyes.

“So what you are saying is that they destroyed the convent because the king’s bastard daughter was actually there? What was so important about her?” Teresa asked looking up from her paper with her brows lowered over her eyes. He didn’t think she was truly focused on anything except her thoughts.

“They destroyed the convent to make the king think she was dead instead of looking for her and they married her to one of their barons so that they could have a chance at the crown. Even though she wasn’t a child of marriage she was still of royal blood and the king had claimed her.” Finn explained. Teresa didn’t start writing right away as she stared off somewhere with unfocused eyes. Finn allowed himself to observe her without making her uncomfortable. It seemed that anytime she made eye contact with him she would look to the ground and blush. The complete opposite from her friend.

Heather seemed to draw the attention with her short hair that looked to be dyed where Teresa was plain with light brown hair. Could be mistaken for golden in the sun. He hadn’t gotten a really good look at Teresa’s eyes, but knew that Heather’s eyes were a startling blue from her having her eyes constantly undressing him. It would make him uncomfortable if it wasn’t such a common thing for visitors he offered to escort. Both of them were skinny enough to be appealing, but not so much that their bones were jutting out as if they were sick. Heather did seem to have a little more going on in the hips while Teresa didn’t have nearly as many curves.

“I thought I read somewhere that said convents were considered sacred ground and even if they were to be looted, they never did anything to hurt those people of God,” Teresa said. Finn nodded his head.

“That is normally true, but they couldn’t very well take the chance of word getting back to the king that his daughter had been kidnapped by the highlanders. Not until they were ready to tell him. She could either be very dangerous or extremely advantageous for Scotland. That was the only thing that was being considered.” Finn noticed Heather seemed to be studying him more than staring now. He wondered what it was that she was looking for.

“I bet if you offer him the cherry you packed, he’ll take you up on the offer,” Heather whispered loudly. Finn let himself grin at the assumption and chuckled at Teresa crouching down in her seat. Her face was turning a darker shade of pink and she looked as if she was trying to hide.

“Why am I friends with you again?” Teresa grumbled.

“Because you love me for my beauty and grace,” Heather grinning, told him that it was a common question. Finn watched the exchange between the women.

“Grace and beauty, my big toe,” Teresa said, avoiding eye contact by staring at the floor.

“It isn’t my fault that he keeps watching you like a lion does a wounded gazelle.” Finn watched Heather shrug as Teresa tried to shrink herself down more. He wasn’t going to comment. Although both women were nice to look at, he hadn’t been considering going to bed with either of them.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t change his mind, but that he had barely had a chance to look at them to decide whether he even wanted to try. Between the two, he was sure that he would have better luck seducing Heather than he would Teresa. Finn looked toward his sister to see that Lillian was giving him a critical eye. He winked and smiled at her.

#

Dong! Dong! Dong! The heavy metal sound was going off again and Teresa was not amused. She didn’t know why it was going off but what she did know was that sleep was hard to come by with it going off as often as it did. She had just pushed the pillow on top of her head harder when she heard Heather’s unmistakable voice yell.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Teresa sighed at her loud demand and didn’t even think about taking her pillow off her head.

“You are only adding to the sound.” Teresa only lifting the pillow enough to give her a gap to speak through. Not only did they have the stupid bell telling them the nuns were switching up who was in the church area to pray, but it was all stone, no matter where you stepped. Made the whole place completely freezing. Something that Teresa normally didn’t mind because she always seemed to sweat while she was asleep, but this was ridiculous. She was barely able to get warm.

“Listen here missy, I can forgive you for the weird-ass beds and even the whole floor with only one bathroom, but those fucking bells going off every three hours has me looking for a shovel.” Heather threatened. Teresa could only see her through the small space she made with her pillow so that Heather could hear her and be heard. What little she could see and hear was enough to tell her that this was not going to be easily forgivable.

“I am sure they would be more than happy to give you one so you can tire yourself out with digging a hole.” Teresa didn’t bother to temper her sarcasm, knowing full well that Heather would be mad at her if she wanted to. It also gave her a better chance of making her laugh. She would still be mad, but if she could make her laugh, then it wouldn’t be a mad she couldn’t handle. Teresa knew she was a pathetic, bleeding heart. She couldn’t handle anyone being mad at her no matter the circumstances and did her best to keep the peace with everyone. She wasn’t even going to go into how horrible she was when it came to animals.

“Oh, I won’t be digging a hole. I’m going to be digging your grave!” Heather threatened as Teresa watched her from under her pillow. Heather punched her pillow, adjusted her blankets, and tried her hardest to get comfortable.

“You sound cranky. Maybe we should go pray for three hours with the nuns.” Teresa knew full well she was going to either be battered with a pillow or have something thrown at her. The nearest object would be a shoe or her pillow. It was too cold to worry about her getting up out of the bed to abuse her. Not with how Heather slept.

“You know what...” Heather started groping around her bed. Teresa immediately huddled under pillow relying on Heather’s absolutely horrible aim. The woman couldn’t poke herself in the eye with her own finger, let alone hit someone with an object across the room.

“Why? Is he here?” Teresa asked, feeling just as absurd as she normally did when she pretended Heather was actually talking about a person. She heard the unmistakable slap of something hitting the wall before it fell onto her legs. She lifted the pillow so she could get up onto her elbow and reach down with her other hand to grope for whatever was thrown at her.

“What the hell did you throw at-” Teresa froze, not wanting to comprehend what her hand found, but knowing it would not be her luck it was all a nightmare. “Oh, my god! Why the hell did you bring that?!”

“For the cold lonely nights, which we seem to have plenty to look forward to,” Heather said, sounding quite smug. Oh, she had definitely won this battle.

“I can’t believe you actually threw a vibrator at me! That is so gross!” Teresa used her blanket to flip it off her bed and onto the floor.

“You’re going to get it dirty! I use that!” Heather said as the vibrator flew up off the bed after the third try, and landing on the floor with a small rattling smack. Teresa could not keep her face from showing the great amount of disgust she was feeling.

“What is wrong with you? Who throws a vibrator they have used at another person?” Teresa asked, sitting up as she set her feet onto the floor and still felt the coldness of the stone through her thick white wool socks with blue specks. She bent down to pull them up and stood as the neck of her sweater bared her shoulder. Her socks immediately slid down, but it didn’t matter.

“Where are you going?” Heather asked, chuckling. Teresa didn’t know if she wanted to answer or not, but decided she might as well.

“I am going to go wash my hands because you are a disgusting and horrible human being!” Teresa yanked open the door. She slammed it shut on Heather’s cackling laugh and then turned to walk down the hall, only to see Finn standing there in a T-shirt and sweats. She immediately turned to go back into her room, only to pause started to turn back toward him, only to stop suddenly again. She was torn between wanting to run back into her room to hide and going to wash the filth that was her friend off her hand. She felt the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck. She figured that at least she wasn’t as cold now.

#

Teresa’s discomfort was obvious along with her apparent stage of undress. Finn waited to see if she was going to run back into her room or face him. She had already gone through several shades of pink as she danced between her door and him. It seemed that she made up her mind and turned toward him as she grabbed at the neck of her sweater to pull it up to cover her shoulder. It was a pointless gesture since it slid off her shoulder again.

“Is there a problem, lass?” Finn finally asked as they stood there in the hall. She seemed to be looking over his shoulder and anywhere else other than him as he took his time looking at her from head to toe. She had a long loose tan sweater that made it to her thighs and thick socks. Her hair was frizzy, with loose strands falling from the messy bun on top of her head as she chewed on her bottom lip.

“I just need the bathroom... and soap... possibly a flame thrower.” Finn brought his hand to his mouth to smooth the shadow of facial hair so that she wouldn’t see his smile. The bathroom and soap he understood, but it was the flamethrower that made him

want to chuckle at her.

“Ye may want to put more clothes on.” Finn offered. Teresa immediately looked down at herself then pulled on the bottom of her shirt and then at the loose neck as if it would cover her more than it was.

“I have shorts on.” Finn just raised it eyebrow at her as she scoffed at him. He didn’t exactly expect her to prove it, but he also didn’t believe her. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Finn didn’t even bother to step to the side as she made every effort to walk past him without touching him. The sudden scream startled them both and put Finn into motion toward her room. He knew her friend Heather was in there.

“Kill it! Kill it! Teresa please come back and kill it!!” Heather’s screeching was loud enough to wake the dead and Finn had his hand ready to open the door when he felt a hand on his wrist. He turned to see Teresa holding onto him as she glared at the door. She seemed unsure if she wanted to be mean or not, but finally, she sighed and walked past him into the room. The screaming made him follow her.

“I really shouldn’t kill anything for you,” Teresa grumbled as she walked in. The light from the hall shone on Heather’s petrified face as she held perfectly still with her wide eyes staring toward her lap.

“It’s staring at me!” Heather whispered harshly. Finn stepped closer to determine what she was talking about and saw the small spider on her lap.

“If I try to squish than might jump on your face.” Teresa sighed. Finn wondered if Heather was actually afraid of the spider or if they were just trying to get him into their room. It wouldn’t be the first time some of the female guests posed as helpless maidens to lure him into the room for a seduction. He rarely ever fell for it, but the screams he heard sounded quite real.

“Tis a wee spider. It won’t hurt a thing.” Finn stated as he looked between the two women. Teresa had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at Heather, who wasn’t moving an inch. Her eyes stayed glued on her lap.

“Shut up, Teresa, you asshole! It’s fucking enormous! Just kill it!” Heather demanded. Finn realized that this wasn’t a ploy to lure him in to be hit on, but she was actually scared of the spider. Teresa seemed to look at him expectantly, making no move herself to handle the small insect.

“Finn, that thing is huge and I can see his furry fangs.”

“Tis harmless.” Finn walked over to scoop the spider off the blanket. The spider didn’t seem to appreciate his efforts because it tried to scurry away rather than toward his hand.

“Until it jumps. I wonder where the rest of them are...” Teresa asked as Heather whimpered while he collected the spider.

“Some friend you are, playing on her fears.” Finn said as he walked over toward the window to place the spider on the ledge.

“She threw that at me and has used it!” Finn turned toward her to see she was pointing at an object on the floor as he closed the window.

“It’s your own fault! You probably put that nasty creature on me!” Heather accused as he bent down to pick up the object off the floor.

“Tis a purple penis?” Finn observed as he turned it in the light. He really didn’t need to get a better look, but felt quite amused that such an object would cause such a stir.

“Yes, and she threw it at me because of the bells!” Teresa said, taking a step away from him to go toward the door.

“You’re lucky I wasn’t using it when I threw it! I cannot believe you weren’t forewarned about the constant bell ringing.”

“Tis not constant. Every 3 hours for 30 to 60 seconds.” He would need to look at the reservations to see how long these ladies would be staying. However long it would be, he was sure it was going to be quite entertaining.

“Who cares?! She threw a penis at me!” Teresa said, throwing her hands into the air in frustration. He wondered how these two could be friends with how much they seemed to argue.

“Why does it have ears?” Finn asked, although he didn’t need to. He wasn’t an idiot, but enjoyed the discomfort that it caused both the women when he asked.

“To avoid being sucked into the black hole of her Suzy.” Teresa grumbled. Finn held in his chuckle.

“It’s versatile.” Heather pointed out, throwing her blanket aside and reaching for the offending item. Finn did chuckle then.

“I’m going to the bathroom. I hope you don’t find the relatives to that other spider.” Teresa said, turning to leave the room. Finn looked at Heather as she eyed her bed and the surrounding areas. She was wearing thin shorts and a tank top. It didn’t escape his notice that she wasn’t wearing a bra, either. Finn shook his head as he turned to leave.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to search for more spiders?” Heather asked. Finn walked over to the bed to take the blankets off and do a thorough search of her bed. He found two more spiders. One on the frame and another on the wall. After he took care of them, Teresa was back in the room and walking over to her bed. Finn didn’t want to deal with them arguing anymore, so he left the room before another spider could appear.