Nollaig maidne (Christmas Morning)
Hours after hours floated by as Lizzie and Martha crept into Nigel's room and then into Susan and Paul's…waking them all up from slumber…
"What are you doing?" Susan implored as she looked at Lizzie and switched on the light…
"Shhhh…time to cause some mayhem for my brother and his wife…" Lizzie winked.
"Lizzie, do you know what hour it is?" Paul groaned as he opened his eyes and noticed Martha and Nigel were both up too. "Nye what are you doing out of bed and with those?"
Paul noted Nigel's bag pipes, then Lizzie's tambourine, and then Martha's cymbals…
"4am, Paul. The Abbot of Unreason strikes again…" Lizzie implied, "Come on, it's Christmas morning, you remember this at least."
"No I don't."
"We need a guitar and bell players." Martha whispered as she dropped her head and stared at Paul.
"C'mon, it'll be a blast…"
"What are we doing?" Susan asked, unsure if she liked Lizzie's planned prank.
"You'll see just nab your guitar and Paul get those bells ready and also hold the camera steady," Lizzie added with a laugh.
Paul and Susan glanced at each other and back at Lizzie, neither wanted to disappoint her so they decided to join in. Moments later, the 'musical' bunch scampered down the hall to Lexie and Archie's bedroom with the video camera in tow. Martha was the first to step into the quiet room as she held her cymbals down at her sides she continued to walk towards the foot of the bed…getting into position.
Lizzie stood near the light, as she waved Susan, Paul and Nigel in, they all surrounded the bed, and counted to three quietly, "One…two…three", Susan started playing the guitar, Paul held the video camera steady and cracked the bells, Nigel blew into the bag pipes and made a horrendous sound (he hadn't quite gotten the hang of the two notes that Golly showed him how to play), as Lizzie turned on the light and then Martha and Lizzie played their instruments, the clanging of the tambourine and clashing of the cymbals, which finally bolted both Archie and Lexie out of bed…
"What the--- LIZZIE!!" Archie yelled at his sister as Nigel made another horrendous sound with the bagpipes as they deflated from air…
"Surprise! Happy Christmas, wee brother!!!" Lizzie clanged the tambourine…
Lexie glanced at the musical lot and laughed, as Archie scowled, while Paul got every minute of the serenade for Duncan on tape.
"This isn't the 12th century, Lizzie, most Man of Misrule, pipers, serenade out in the streets weeks before Christmas and irritate the village folk, instead I have it in my bedroom at---what blasted time is it??" Archie cried, as Lizzie continued to crack up laughing with the rest of the group.
"4am, dear cranky knickers. Do you need a wee nappy change?" Lexie teased her husband…
"Good thing you two weren't doing the 'deed.'" Lizzie retorted as Lexie laughed again and Lizzie stuck out her tongue at Archie.
Archie found himself glaring at Paul and the camera, "Hi Duncan." He smiled before letting into Paul and shoving the camera downward---which Lizzie then snagged and continued to tape, "She put you up to this too?"
"Yea," Paul rang the bells again in front of his brother's face and Archie gave him an irked stare, "Go to bed all of you or I'll----cancel Christmas!"
"Laird, you can fix water pipes, pay invoices, but you can't cancel Christmas, ye Scrooge…" Lizzie razzed her brother as Archie simmered more…
"Why not? Christmas was outlawed years upon years ago! Called devil's---?" as Lexie put her hand on Archie's mouth…he realized there were children present and he shouldn't finish his rant and now found himself laughing too, "Oh, very well, just get back to bed…"
The parade of musicians, still laughing, and the video camera waltzed out of the room as Lizzie turned off the light and left Archie and Lexie wide eyed at of course, 4am, Lexie nuzzled her nose to Archie's as her calm blue eyes sparkled at her next pondering, " Hmmm, 4am, an' the 'deed'…"
Archie laughed, after catching his wife's hint, before the wooden buttoned comforter on the bed when up and over their heads.
Finally when first light rose up and over the house, Lexie let Archie sleep in after he was so grumpy from 'their serenade'. Lexie strolled down to the kitchen and got breakfast together for the twins who were miraculously still sleeping. Lexie found Paul feeding Minnie a bottle as she yawned, "When did you get up?"
"Up for about 45 minutes, Susan got up early to drive to Inverness to pick up Claire. Martha and Nigel went off with her an hour ago."
"That's right, we get to meet her today, don't we?" Lexie smiled at Minnie as she placed her finger on her nose.
"Yea, it should be fun."
"With Jess here staying at Golly's, Molly still staying up at the flat above shop…this is looking to be a busy holiday, aye?"
Paul nodded his head as his gaze turned to Minnie, who sat there on his lap sucking away at her bottle.
"Time to get the sowens together…" Lexie replied, as she pulled out the oatmeal contents and started to cook away…
In amidst of eating breakfast, Lexie heard sounds, as she turned to Paul who heard the sounds too…
"What's that racquet?" Lexie instantly asked as Paul glanced at her, "I don't know."
"No Paul, I'm hearing something…"
"Maybe it's the wind."
"That's not wind, it's coming from outside…" Lexie traveled towards the backdoor of the kitchen and poked her head outside forming a, 'hmmmmm' in her mind. Lexie grabbed her coat and put it on as she wandered out of the house hearing…
"Mooooooooooo…"
Lexie glanced about some more, hearing,
"Moooooooooo…"
Lexie then stopped dead in her tracks as a Holstein cow lain in the middle of what used to be, Molly's flower garden on the back side of the house over looking the loch. Lexie alarmed, scurried back into the kitchen shouting out, "Archie!!!!! Archie!!!!"
Lexie zipped up the steps to the hall, ran down towards their bedroom and entered but Archie wasn't there, "Archie!!!!"
Lexie ran smack into Lizzie and asked, out of breath, "Where's Archie?"
Lizzie replied, "Slow down, he's in with the twins…"
"Lexie, what's a matter?" Archie appeared outside of the nursery holding Wayne with Jayne at his feet.
"There's—a---COW. Venison in---?" Lexie was out of breath and spat out the end of her sentence, "In what was Molly's flower garden!!! The back garden!!"
"What?" Archie added as Lizzie and her brother exchanged baffled and bewildered glances. Archie handed Wayne over to Lizzie and Jayne to Lexie as he took off down the back stairway, into the kitchen, passed Paul sitting with Minnie at the table and bolted out the door.
"Mooooooooooooooo!" went the cow as her eyes met the Laird's.
"Moo yourself, what are you doing here?" Archie eyed the cow and noted the gate was wide open and went to close it as a Rolls Royce then came driving down the lane and stopped in front of the house. Archie knew who's car it was as Killwillie and Badger stepped outside. For the past few months, Killwillie had a 'meat and dairy' business going, and he was very busy running his steak house chains across the UK and America. Killwillie was constantly traveling to London because of cow shows and conventions aside from New York and everywhere else because of his restaurants.
"Archie MacDonald! I demand at once to know what you have done with my prize winning cow?!"
Killwillie approached the back garden entered the gate and yelled aloud, "Henrietta!!! My baby! What are you doing here?"
"Henrietta?" Archie mouthed completely flabbergasted at how 'loving and caring' Killwillie was towards this bovine. Archie shot Lexie a dazed and confused look as she stood on the back stoop after dropping Jayne and Wayne off in the sitting room with Lizzie.
"Henrietta is lying in the middle of what once was mother's flower garden!" Archie yelled, as Killwillie knelt down to view his beloved animal.
"You inexcusable—Archie, you stole my cow!" Killwillie accused as Archie and Lexie stood there not understanding what Killwillie conversed about.
"I did no such thing! How did she get here? Moo-express?" Archie argued with Killwillie and let out a small laugh, which only angered Killwillie more…
"This isn't a laughing matter! You stole my cow for your Christmas meal, didn't you! I knew it!" Killwillie continued to criticize as Archie shook his head.
"Killwillie, go fly off like a balloon. You're full of hot air! It's a dairy cow!" Lexie announced coming to her husband's aide as Killwillie ignored Lexie.
Archie concluded, "How did she get here? How do we get her out of here?" Archie asked as Killwillie started in on Archie again…
"You stole my cow, Archie! Suffer the consequences!"
"Oh blow it! Arch didn't steal anything! That's an old wives tale about stealing your neighbor's cow on Christmas morn!" Lexie defended Archie as Killwillie grumbled something under his breath.
"Look, Killwillie, you're being absolutely impossible! I'm not dressing up in rawhide and running around the blasted village to be hit with sticks, let alone interested in having the animal pelt set on fire to ward off evil spirits! What do you think this is the age of pantomime?"
"Precisely!" Killwillie shouted before turning his attention to Golly and Jess who traveled up to the house and came to inspect the commotion of the back garden.
"Killwillie! Henrietta looks as if she's in pain…" Archie noted the cow's state as Killwillie started talking Motherese to the cow, "My darling moo-moo." As Killwillie turned his attention back to Archie, and groaning out, "She was in the field safe n' sound until you stole her!"
Golly replied, soundly, "Archie didn't steal the thing…"
"Golly, you're taking his side on this? I should've known!" Killwillie stated in disgust as Golly and Jess came up behind Killwillie.
"Well, the fence was knocked out when a tree fell on it…" Jess answered truthfully.
"What do you mean?" Archie replied.
"The fence that Duncan and I put in way down the other side of the acreage months and months ago to keep Killwillie's cows out, part of it was knocked out by either a tree or poachers…you're lucky we caught it before it started some kind of a fire since it's electric." Golly replied honestly.
"Oh," as Killwillie's face fell at the admittance of how his cow got there, "She wandered all of this way?"
"Appears as so," Golly nodded his head as Killwillie asked, "So how do we move her?"
"We don't." Golly replied, "If she's givin' birth she won't want to move anytime soon…the temps aren't too cold, she'll just have to stay put."
"She'll freeze!" Killwillie trumpeted as Archie rolled his eyes at Killwillie's mothering for his beloved cow.
"Maybe we can get her over to the main landing where there's a roof over her head until she's ready to go home." Archie commented as Killwillie grumbled, "I knew it."
"Oh hush it!" Lexie replied getting annoyed and miffed with Killwillie's accusations, "She'll be just fine 'ere. You'll just have to visit her until she can be sent home!"
As the group stood there trying to figure out the best way to move Henrietta, a car, unfamiliar to Archie or Lexie drove down the dusty lane and stopped at the house. It had a big red bow on top of it…Lexie and Archie left Killwillie, Golly and Jess to figure out how to move Henrietta.
Lexie and Archie's mouths dropped when they noted Molly getting out of the car, a rather expensive looking SUV, a BMW X3, with a plate named: 'MACDONALD'… "What's this?" Archie and Lexie announced together as they stood there in shock.
"A present for the both of you from Father Christmas," Molly smiled and added, "Happy Christmas."
"You're kiddin'?"
"This sets you back by a lot, Mother. We can't take this…" Archie added, still unsure about the present.
"Oh Archie! It's from Santa, don't ask questions! Besides it's senseless with you driving the children about in the land rover or the Wild Life Centre truck since the accident months ago…"
"You bought us a car?" Lexie laughed as she wasn't sure of what to make of the gift either.
"Oh come on, make me happy drive it!"
"We can't accept it…it has to go back…" Archie commented as he knew his mother was only trying to help.
"I told you, I want the children traveling safe and it can't go back as it's paid for…I told you Father Christmas did it!"
"But Molly, it's an expensive car!" Lexie replied sensibly.
"Cash up front—is that how you paid for it?" Archie asked, still unsure…
"Archie! Now take the car for a test drive and don't disappoint your Mummy! I'll go scout out the twins." Molly laughed as she wiggled the keys up into the air and then gave them a toss at Archie, who then caught them mid air.
Lexie and Archie glanced at each other and laughed aloud, and shouted, "Let's give it a run!" Before finally taking off for the seats of their new car…Lizzie arrived at the front door as Paul was in the sitting room keeping a quick eye on the children. "Wow!" Lizzie stated as she watched the new car drive off. Molly approached her, "You like it? Archie and Lexie think it's a bit too much but after all they have done for the estate, they deserve it…"
"Mummy, it's lovely. I'm sure they needed it too." Lizzie smiled and hugged her mother, happy for Archie and Lexie before commenting, "I hope Archie lets me drive it!"
"I'm sure he will," Molly added with a bright beam and how nice it was to finally do something worthwhile for her son.
Susan's car drove down the lane just as Archie and Lexie passed her in their new SUV. She didn't know who it was, but she had Claire, Martha and Nigel in the car with her to be really paying attention. Susan stepped on the break, stopped the car and then stated loud and clear, "Home again. Home again, jig-giggity-jig!"
Claire climbed out of the passenger's side as Nigel and Martha climbed out too. As they noticed the gate still open and approached the back of the house. Golly, Killwillie and Jess (who was standing over to a side) were tugging Henrietta trying to get her to move. Susan asked right away, "What are you doing to her?"
"Well, we're trying to move her…" Jess turned her head to view Claire and then shouted aloud, "Claire??!!"
"Jess??!!" Claire and Jess hugged each other leaving the spectators to scratch their heads. Claire and Jess knew each other quite well…
"What are you doing here? This is un-believable? I haven't seen you since school? Feels like decades! When we talked on weeks ago…"
"I know, I'd ask ya the same but you said you never said you'd be in Glenbogle for Christmas!" Claire and Jess chattered on while Golly stared at Claire and then Jess…
Claire resembled her mother and Golly could tell…he remembered his conversation with Jess about her university roommate not so long ago and how she had fallen ill over the summer.
"What's with the cow tippin'?" Claire asked Jess as she added, "There's other ways to move venison you know…"
Golly stared at Claire as Killwillie replied smartly, "If there are other ways, we'd appreciate knowing what they are."
Claire shrugged while adding her two cents, "Moving her that way, tugging on her, will only make the poor thing more defiant and she'll hate yas more."
Golly nodded, "Lass got a point."
"Good, we need something to feed her…anything been cooked up?" Claire asked, wondering about possible breakfast for Henrietta.
"There's sowens in the house…" Paul added as he appeared at the kitchen back door.
"Oat bran…lovely, be right back—just point me in the direction of the kitchen." Claire wandered into the house following Paul and then snatching the warmed pan of oatmeal before voyaging back outside…
"Okay, now, cow---?"
"Henrietta." Killwillie replied smartly as he voiced her name in the utmost highest fashion.
"Henrietta…just direct me where you want her." Claire noted Golly's head nod towards the landing in front of the back of the house. "Here lass, good gal… come closer…its food…" Claire wafted the pan in front of Henrietta, at first she didn't budge, until Claire stuck her hand into the pan and pulled out some of the oats…and started to feed her, "It's tasty…"
Henrietta on wobbled legs, at almost one ton, started to wander closer for more as Claire continued to lead her to the landing of old wool blankets that Golly had set down for the cow and where the roof would be over her head…
"C'mon gurl, closer… that's it." Claire then with a huge smile led the cow to the bed of blankets as Henrietta lay down.
"Well done, splendid!" Killwillie grinned impressed as Claire let Henrietta finally have her treat. Claire then covered the cow's back side as she commented, "She's due any day now."
"You think, Claire the vet?" Jess asked with a joke, glancing over to Claire as she replied, "Aye, Aunt Marjorie's cows always find a safe haven to have their calves. Normally they're in a barn though, not someone's garden. I suggest a few bales of hay for her…and some water…"
"Claire the vet?" Golly questioned, before staring at Claire.
"I've my BVMS degree, Farm Animal Science." Claire smiled warmly, "Hence, Jess and everybody keep calling me, 'Claire the vet.'"