Chapter 6 - 7

At about 12:45, Emma decided to round up the stragglers for the massed bands. Almost everyone had returned to the Scottish Sword and Shield booth by that time, including Monica. Emma thought she'd left when the FBI agent had discovered that her services were no longer needed.

"You're still here."

"Sure, I am. There's a lot of stuff going on and I have to admit; I kind of like the guys in their kilts."

Emma saw an opening and went for it. "Did you know that Agent Doggett has a kilt of his own?"

"No, I didn't."

"You should ask him to try it on for you. He's looks really good in it."

Monica laughed at this suggestion. "I just might have to do that."

Taking another look around, Emma discovered that the only one missing was Langly. She finally found him but had trouble dragging him away from the genealogy man's computer. He had shown the fellow a few tricks on entering databases that would help with his business. Langly also made a few suggestions on how he could improve the program to make the most of the information that was readily available. This, of course, meant that Langly rewrote the whole thing.

All the cajoling in the world could not drag the computer god away from an interesting problem. Emma finally resorted to the one thing she knew he could not ignore: a wet finger in his ear. This drove him crazy and his reaction was almost always immediate: to catch her and torment her in a similar fashion.

They created quite a scene as they entered the main vendor hall: a young girl in plaid shorts being chased by a tall man dressed for battle, his long blond hair flying out behind him. Frohike heard them coming long before he saw them. Emma laughing and squealing and Langly telling her to stop. "What on earth did she do to piss him off this time?" Stepping outside the booth, he waited for them.

Emma ran up and hid behind her father using him as a shield to keep Langly from grabbing her. Now Frohike was getting angry. "That's enough! Knock it off, both of you!" He lowered his voice realizing he was making as big a scene as they were. "It's bad enough when you do this at the warehouse, but in public it's embarrassing."

"But, but…she knows I hate that!" Langly sputtered. Emma popped her head out from behind Frohike and stuck her tongue out at her pursuer. Langly made another grab for her but she moved too fast and he nearly knocked Frohike over in his attempt.

Putting one hand out to hold Langly off, Frohike used the other to grab his daughter and pull her out from behind his back. Langly tried again to get at her but Fro's well-placed hand kept him at bay.

"Just wait!" He turned to Emma, "What did you do?"

"He wouldn't listen to me!"

"That's not what I asked."

"But he promised to…"

"What did you do?"

"But, Dad, he…"

"Answer the question."

Heaving a big sigh, Emma finally did as she was told. "I licked my finger and stuck it in his ear."

Laughter emanating from the Sword and Shield booth told Emma that she had an audience. She ducked her head and smiled privately to herself. It wasn't private enough though. Frohike saw her reaction to the laughter and gave her arm a quick shake to bring her attention back to him and Langly.

"This isn't funny."

"Sorry."

"Now, you know he hates that."

"Yes, I do."

"Then why do you keep doing it?"

"It's the only way I can get his attention."

Langly had heard enough. "She just does it to make me angry."

"Well, maybe if you could think about more than one thing at a time…" Emma retorted.

"Yeah, right now I'm thinking of at least 5 ways to make your life miserable."

Frohike pushed them farther apart. "Stop it." To Emma he said, "You, go sit in the booth. I'll talk to you in a minute." He let her go and watched her walk behind the counter and find a place to sit. To Langly he said, "You're the adult here. You can't let her get to you like that."

"I don't let her, she just does."

"Langly, come on, man, think about it."

"Yeah, well, you're right but…"

Emma watched them talking. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she could tell that Langly was still not happy. She started to feel bad for making him angry. Her impatience with his distractedness really wasn't fair. He was always ready to help her when she needed it and explained things in great detail when she got confused. Now she was feeling pretty rotten. Langly was here because it was important to her. He had found something that really interested him and she had thought only of herself.

Deciding to disobey her father, she got up and went back out to them. Langly saw her coming and stopped talking. Frohike turned to see what had captured the other man's attention.

"Emma, I told you to go wait for me."

"Can I talk to Langly? Please?"

Frohike looked from Langly to Emma. "All right, see if you can work it out but no more running around and screaming. That goes double for you, missy!" Smiling at his joke she grabbed his finger, which was barely an inch from her nose.

"Okay, Dad."

She got serious again as he walked off. "I'm sorry, Langly. I just really wanted you to see the massed bands. I know how you get around computers and stuff but I know you'll like this."

"I caught part of it yesterday. It was pretty cool."

"It really is." She was encouraged. "Do you forgive me?"

Langly paused and considered her. "On one condition."

"What's that?" She asked dreading the answer.

"I get to do the same thing to you."

"What do you mean?"

He stuck one finger in his mouth, pulled it out and showed it to her.

"Oh, come on!"

"That's my condition."

"All right, whatever, but hurry up." She closed her eyes tightly and waited. Nothing happened. She opened one eye and peeked at him. He was just standing there. She opened her other eye. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"I didn't say I wanted to do it right now. The effect is not the same when you expect it."

"Huh?"

"It has to be a surprise."

"Just do it now." She swept her hair away from one ear.

"Nope, I'm going to get some lunch. I'll be back in time for your concert." He walked off.

"It's not a concert, it's called the massed bands." She yelled at his retreating back. She turned back to the booth, muttering to herself, "And he says I'm a brat."

Leaving a bare bones staff in the booth, everyone else went out to find seats in the bleachers for the show. Cutting it that close they had a hard time finding enough seats together for the whole group. They finally found a spot way up at the top near the end of the stand. Feeling a little like a traitor for ditching him earlier, Emma chose to sit next to her dad making sure she was out of Langly's reach.

The marching bands were magnificent, the music was loud, and the drums reverberated off the walls of the buildings surrounding the parade ground. There were long speeches, of course, but before the pipe bands performed their final piece, everyone was invited to join hands and sing along while they played Auld Lang Syne. All three girls showed the others that they needed to cross their arms over their own bodies before joining hands. When the song was over, the bands played Scotland the Brave and marched together off the field.

The vendor hall was close to the parade grounds so most of the group hurried back for the crush of customers that usually arrived as soon as the performance was over. Frohike, Emma and the other two girls helped with sales for about an hour until things settled down again and pretty soon the kids were getting bored and in the way. It was suggested that they all go find something better to do. Emma was interested in seeing the choir that Byers had talked about: the one that sang in Gaelic. She talked Megan and Rachel into going with her but she could not convince her father to come along.

"I'm going to stay here and help with the swords."

"Are you sure?" Emma now kind of wanted his company but Frohike knew she should spend time with her friends. They would be leaving the next day.

"You go and have fun. I'll see you later."

"You'll be right here?"

"I'm not planning on going anywhere else."

"All right. We won't be long."

"Take all the time you want."

Consulting a map in the program, the girls found the spot where the choir performance was to be held. The concert had already started by the time they got there. Byers sat in the second row but there were not enough seats near him for all three girls to sit in the same area. They chose a spot near the back. Byers saw them as they walked past and got up to join them. Emma left him the seat at the end of the row. They all listened in silence to the rest of the song. Although Emma couldn't understand a word, the music was beautiful. The choir was singing accapella but there was a beautiful, red harp nearby. Emma figured it would be used as accompaniment eventually. When the song was finished, she asked John, "Is your friend here?"

He grinned and pointed off to the left side of the choir. "See the woman near the back with the glasses?"

Emma looked where he had indicated. "The one with the green streak in her hair?"

"Yes, that's Erynn."

The woman saw him pointing and smiled at them, giving them a discreet wave before turning her attention back to the choir director. While the choir sang the next song, Emma had time to reflect. She had assumed that the old friend was a guy, someone John knew from college or something. He had given no indication that she was a woman. The budding matchmaker found this to be a very exciting development.

There were many questions she wanted to ask Byers but she knew he would make her wait for a break in the music. No longer listening, she carefully considered what she would ask first. "How long have you known her? Was she your girl friend? How come you haven't seen her in so long? Does she live near here? Have you talked to her yet?" She was so distracted by this that the applause at the end of the song caught her by surprise. Belatedly joining the audience in showing their appreciation, Emma asked the last question on her mind, "Have you talked to her yet?"

"No, not yet. She saw me come in and waved like she did just a minute ago but there's been no opportunity for us to talk."

The choir started the next song leaving no chance for more questions. The answer to the one question had pleased Emma. It would give her a good idea of how close they'd been by how the greeted one another. Now she was impatient for the concert to be over but something about the song they were singing caught her attention. She found herself humming along suddenly realizing she recognized the melody. The words were unfamiliar but she did know this song.

She sat back in her chair closing her eyes. That helped, the darkness helped. She heard a different voice singing words but in English. It was her mother's voice. Her mom used to sing this to her as a lullaby. She had completely forgotten about it until she heard the song again. Once more she found herself fighting tears but she was also pleased to have remembered something about her mother from so long ago. She wanted to know the name of the song. Erynn would know and Emma hoped she would get a chance to ask her.

At the break after this song, Megan and Rachel decided they wanted to go get some ice cream. "Go ahead without me. I want to meet John's friend."

"Do you want us to bring you guys back some?" Megan asked.

"No, thank you," Byers replied.

"Me neither, I'll see you later," Emma promised.

The choir sang a few more songs, utilizing the harp a couple of times. The man who played the harp was very good but then so was the choir. Emma recognized another song they sang but this one was not a lullaby and her memory of it was more vague. John bowed his head and Emma noticed that he had tears on his cheek. Whatever it was, it held deep meaning for him. She put her arm through his and scooted a little closer to him. He covered her hand with his and looked down at her smiling, unashamed of his emotions. When the song was over, Emma commented. "I kind of remember that last one. You seemed to know it. What was it?"

"It was played at President Kennedy's funeral."

"Oh, I've seen tapes of that. That's why I recognized it." It also explained Byers's reaction. Emma knew that President Kennedy was his hero and that he'd been named after the man.

The concert was now over. Emma glanced up at the choir and saw Erynn walking toward them. Byers stood up to greet her but Emma stayed in her seat out of the way. "John, it's so good to see you!" They hugged but Emma was disappointed that there was no kiss. She wasn't ready to give up hope though.

"It's been a long time," Byers observed.

"Ten years?" Erynn guessed.

"Probably closer to fifteen," he admitted.

"No, it can't be that long. You haven't changed at all."

Emma mentally rolled her eyes thinking to herself, "Come on, come on, get to the good stuff!"

Byers stroked his beard, "I know I'm a little grayer than the last time we met. But you look fantastic!"

This was good, fantastic was good!

Erynn laughed. Emma liked the sound. "Thank you, John. The kilt looks good on you. I don't think I've ever seen you in one before. You know, I've always said you have nice legs." Emma made a small, gleeful noise at this admission. Erynn looked behind Byers where Emma was trying to hide without seeming like she was trying to hide. "Is this your daughter?" Oops, not good. It had never occurred to her that Erynn would think that she was John's daughter. She started to deny it but John did it for her.

"Emma? No," he said and then to Emma who, once again, tried to hide behind him, "Come on, get up." He put his hand under her arm to get her to stand next to him. "She's the daughter of a good friend of mine." He looked at Emma for a second and in that brief moment she saw what looked like regret cross his face. "I have no children."

Erynn had also noticed the emotion's brief appearance. "That's too bad. You would make a wonderful father."

"Sometimes he practices on me and you're right, he's pretty good!" Emma declared trying to lighten the mood some. "And he's not married either!"

Byers eyes widened in shock at Emma's bold statement. "Emma!"

"What? You're not. I'm not lying or anything." She turned to look at Erynn and smiled, "How about you?"

"Emma, that's enough!" Byers was amazed at how cheeky the child was.

"What?" Emma asked again. "She's not wearing a ring or anything."

Byers face had now gone quite red with embarrassment. He gave Erynn an apologetic look, 'I'll be right back," he told her. Putting his hand in the middle of Emma's back, he pushed her towards the door to get her out of the building. "That was very rude," he told her when they got outside.

"I wasn't trying to be rude. I was curious."

"But you don't just blurt out something like that to someone you've just met."

"Why not? It saves a lot of time."

"It's not polite."

"I'm sorry. You can go back now. Will you tell Erynn I'm sorry? I'll go find the girls, okay?"

She didn't want to argue with him. She wanted him to go back to his friend so she apologized hoping he would drop it. Her quick apology did take the wind out of his sails. "Well, all right. But don't do it again."

"Okay, I won't. I'll see you later." She trotted off but turned before getting too far. "Why don't you see if she wants to come to dinner with us?" Emma didn't wait for an answer but quickly ran off leaving the idea firmly implanted in his brain.

He was headed back into the building when the realization hit him. It wasn't just Frohike she was trying to find a wife for. The little stinker was out to get them all paired up. That's why she'd been so bold. She probably figured he wouldn't have the nerve to ask Erynn the question himself. In all likelihood, she was right.

Erynn was still in the concert hall. She was talking to a couple of other members of the choir. When she saw him, she came over. He was relieved to see that she hadn't left. "You'll have to forgive my young friend. It seems she has a new mission in life."

"And what would that be..."

"She wants my coworkers and me to all have female companionship."

"Do you have a problem with this?"

"Not really but her tactics leave a little to be desired."

"She was a bit forward but rather cute. You were funny though. Your face got very red." Byers could feel his face reddening again. "Like right now." Erynn explained, smiling at his reaction.

"She asked me to apologize for her," Byers went on with his original subject.

"Tell her, 'Apology accepted'."

"Thank you, I will."

"And, John," Erynn paused to make sure he was listening, "the answer is, 'No'."

"The answer?"

"To the question she asked me." She reached out and took his hand.

"Oh," he swallowed nervously. "Hey, listen, um, would you like to go out to dinner with us?"

"Us? How many people are you talking about?"

"Quite a few really."

"I don't know. I was hoping for something a little more intimate."

"Like what?" Byers hoped he knew the answer.

"Maybe, dinner for two?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged," he said smiling.

Frohike walked around late in the day, collecting all the extra surveillance cameras he had placed on the grounds. He tried to get Emma to go with him but she refused saying she wanted to help out in the booth. She really wanted to avoid the unexplained lights and going back into that building was not something she was willing to do. With one of his cameras, Fro discovered another mysterious device that matched the one he'd found earlier. This meant that he could take one apart and still have a working version for further study. Even if they didn't catch the art thief, he might be able to copy this piece of equipment. It would come in handy if it did what he thought it did.

It was finally time to tear down. The games ended at six that Sunday evening and at 5:59 everyone started packing things into boxes, breaking down the shelves, wrapping up the glassware, etc. The swords were stored in wooden crates, which were extremely heavy and there were many plastic bins for most of the other stock. With all the extra help, they had everything packed up and ready to go in record time. Jimmy and Langly were particularly helpful because they could lift the heavy sword boxes.

Byers was still out and about. Emma filled everyone in on his visit with his friend. She discovered that she was not the only one who figured that the 'old friend' was a man. She was unable to answer most of their questions because she had spent so little time with them before she got tossed out. Byers finally came by but he was alone. He wanted to return his 'hardware' before everything got packed up. Emma grilled him about Erynn.

"Where is she?"

"She went to get her things out of her friend's car."

"Did you ask her if she wanted to go out to dinner with us?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

"She didn't want to go with us." Byers decided to make her sweat a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She thought about it for a second. "But you said she was going to get her stuff. Is she coming back?"

"She is."

"Then what?"

"She's going out to dinner but only with me."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really, now get back to work and mind your own business," he said with a grin. He put his hand on her shoulder, turned her around and shoved her toward the booth. Next he found Frohike and took him aside. "Do you think you and Langly can get a ride back to the house so I can use the van for the evening?"

"Why? You got a date?" Frohike tried not to snicker.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Hey, buddy, that's great. Sure, we can find a way back." Frohike reached into his pocket, he had changed out of his kilt to help tear down, and handed Byers the keys.

"Is it the friend you were talking about?"

"Yes."

"Have a good time."

"Thanks, I'm planning on it."