Damned Whelks & Prophetic Words
Day 4 – Mac'IlleMhìcheil Estate – Gathering Meadow – Dinning Area
Jules and Sam walked arm in arm to the area set up for dining. It was a pot-luck and all those gathered brought something. Early this morning Jules had baked dozens of cookies for tonight and for the dessert contest.
Sam approached the dessert table and started to load up on Jules' cookies.
"Sam. Come on, with all the delicious and new things to try you are going for dessert first?" Jules scolded with humor.
Sam gave her a lopsided grin. He had found himself smiling so much his cheek muscles ached a bit. Sam replied "Hey, I love your cookies. Besides life is uncertain so I choose to eat dessert first."
Wallace sidled up and stole a cookie off of Sam's plate. He took a big bite and chewed. With his mouth still partially full Wallace remarked "Mason was right they are worthy of stealing. Jules, I bet you take first place for these."
Sam chuckled and reached to the table again and replaced the stolen cookie. He liked Wallace. Wallace was a good man with a sense of humor. He was a good story teller too based on the story of the White Witch of the Loch. Sam thought ghosts were flights of fancy people's minds conjured up.
It was like with him. Sam knew in his rational mind that Matt was gone. But he could swear that he could hear him whispering to him sometimes. And there was that nudge on his back when no one was around him that sent him to the Mayfield Soup Kitchen.
Plus there was Sara. His rational mind dismissed it but on an emotional level Sam was absolutely sure he saw and heard her when he tackled Jules out of the way of the car when Nealy tried to run them down. Sam felt a shiver go down his back as he thought that if ghosts, spirits and angels really existed that the highlands were where they would be. There were mysteries in the mists here.
Jules just laughed and headed for one of the entrees table. Sam could choose to eat whatever he wanted. It was their honeymoon and if he wanted cookies for dinner that was fine by her.
As she started to choose items her mind reviewed the last day. Last night she had told Sam about the White Witch of the Loch and as she predicted he laughed it off as a whimsical legend. Just like she did.
This morning she and Sam had woken early and had taken a jog in the early morning mists. As they jogged near the loch they watched the sunrise. It was a magnificent start to a good day.
After their jog they joined the others in the breakfast room. Sam devoured eggs, bacon, toast and he even had a bowl of oatmeal liberally dosed with walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. Sam had thanked Ailis for including walnuts and raisins in the oatmeal mix-ins offerings.
Ailis had told Sam that a massive sized birdie whispered in her ear that he would like that. Sam had just grinned at Mason. Jules could see a deeper connection with those two now. Not that the connection wasn't soul deep before. But now that they knew they would be related via marriage it added another dimension to their friendship.
They all headed for the gathering area after breakfast. Today the games consisted of the weight for height and the caber toss. The weather was perfect for the games. It was sunny with a light cool breeze and puffy clouds dotted the sky.
Jules thought the morning was fun watching Sam and the guys. They really had fun with the weight for height competition.
The event tested strength like most of the games. The weight for height game used a heavy metal weight with a ring attached at the top. The men gripped the ring with both hands and then swung it between their legs to get momentum. Then they swung it up and over their heads then released the weight trying to get over a bar. The bar was raised every round and the men had three chances to get the weight over the bar each round.
Sam and the guys all did well but none of them placed. Over lunch there had be lots of joking and teasing of Winds and Mason.
During the competition Winds had accidentally let loose his weight on a backwards swing between his legs and the weight went flying. It nearly hit one of the judges. It would have if Mason had not seen it and pushed the judge out of the way. As often happened, Mason put a little too much into his push and the judge was sent sprawling to the ground several feet away. The judge was not amused when the five guys burst out laughing.
The afternoon had been intriguing watching the highland men compete in the caber toss. Blaze, Winds, Jim and Sam all declined to participate so only Mason competed. Jules was surprised to see so many men here that were larger than Mason. The Highlands apparently grew men big and brawny and barrel chested. Jules could see many teenage girls swooning over the young men competing and the young men showing off.
Mason had come in a respectable third. He was beat out by two men that practiced tossing the caber often. Heck by the looks of those men she thought they could probably toss a giant redwood. Watching them pick up those trees was amazing.
She was silently glad Sam declined. If anyone could get a hernia tossing those cabers it would be Sam. He had been injured enough already. He did not need to tempt fate.
After the competition the couples headed off in their own directions. With the beauty of the highlands the couples wanted to have some quiet together time before dinner. Blaze and Winds, not having a significant other here, decided to go fishing with Wallace when he invited them.
She and Sam had taken a stroll in the woods. They had come upon a secluded glen of lush grass dotted with heather. They had made love in the woods among the whispering Scots pines and on a bed of soft grass and heather with a canopy of blue sky and white puffy clouds. It was slow and gentle and oh so special. It was perfect.
Jules was pulled from her reverie as Sam approached. She watched as Sam started to fill his plate with all sorts of things. Good he wasn't only eating cookies for dinner.
Sam looked at all the offerings of food on the table. So much looked and smelled delicious. He wanted to try all of the dishes but he would never have enough room to do that. So he had to pick and choose.
His eyes landed on a particularly interesting looking dish made with vegies and stuff. He inhaled and liked the spicy aroma. Sam remarked to Jules "I have no clue what half these dishes are but they all look good." He pointed to one and asked "What do you suppose that dish is?"
Jules was overwhelmed with the variety of foods. Many of the dishes she struggled to identify the components of. But everything looked and smelled wonderful. She would have to find out what many of them were and get recipes. Jules shrugged "No clue but it smells spicy, right up your alley."
Sam nodded and scooped a small portion onto his plate then asked "You want some Jules?"
Jules responded "Sure why not. Just a little though. I want to save some room for that potato and leeks dish Marsaili made."
Sam spooned some onto her plate too. They finished filling their plates and headed for their normal table. The rest of the gang slowly joined them and dinner conversation was lighthearted and fun as they talked about the day and shared general happenings in their lives.
Blaze regaled them with tales of Ben and Ryan and newest son Sammy. Everyone could see Blaze was a proud papa when he pulled out his phone and shared pictures of his newest son Sammy. They could all see that he was wishing they were all here too, especially Lizzy.
Jules thought that here was so romantic it was no wonder Blaze was missing Lizzy. She also looked to Winds. She saw something in his eyes that made her think he might not be such a confirmed bachelor. Then again, maybe not. Even though Winds seemed to be enjoying himself with Wynfreda, as he always did with the ladies, he resolutely maintained that he was married to military.
Sam took a bite of the dish they were commenting on earlier. He said "Hey Jules, this is really good. Have you tasted it yet? We need to find out what it is and get a recipe so you can make it sometime."
Jules shook her head then dipped her fork into it to see why Sam liked it. She took a small bite and chewed. Then she took a long drink of her tea. Jules turned to Sam and commented "I like it but it is just a tad spicy for me. But I'll make it just for you if we find out what it is."
Marsaili had overheard their conversation and leaned over Mason to look as Jules' plate and asked "Which dish?"
Jules pointed it out and Marsaili supplied "That is golbaengi-muchim. I'm sure you could find a recipe online for it. It is made of whelks and veggies and a spicy pepper sauce."
"Spicy pepper sauce, no wonder Sam likes it so much. I'll look for a recipe. Thanks Marsaili" Jules said.
Then the two of them began discussing the other dishes. Marsaili shared the names of many of the dishes and Jules took mental note of which ones to look up. She loved cooking dinners for Sam and her. Cooking was a great way to relax just like home improvements.
But since the house was done she spent more of her off time trying new recipes. Sam was always game for new things. There wasn't much he didn't like, although he loved spicy dishes. So she would definitely try her hand at making golbaengi-muchim when they got home.
Sam listened to Marsaili and Jules talking. He loved all the new things Jules made for them. He couldn't wait for her to put her own spin on golbaengi-muchim. Sam finished off the rest of his and when Jules declined to finish hers he polished off hers too.
Then Sam sat back and took a drink of water. He was thoroughly stuffed. But he munched on his last oatmeal, walnut and raisin cookie. He took another drink of water when his throat began to feel itchy. Very rapidly his stomach started feeling itchy as did his hands. Sam rubbed the back of his hand. He felt a raised welt.
He lifted his hand and saw the red welt on the back of his hand. He rubbed his stomach where it itched and felt another one. What the hell? His throat began to feel tight.
Sam turned to Marsaili and interrupted Jules' and her conversation to ask "What is a whelk?"
Marsaili grinned at the interruption and answered "A whelk, also called periwinkle, is a kind of sea snail. I'm not too fond of sea nails myself. Tried them in cooked in garlic butter once and didn't like the texture. But in golbaengi-muchim they are diced so finely and the sauce is so tasty I don't mind them."
The word sea snail jogged an ancient memory. Nat, Sara and him snuck down to their parent's party. They crawled under the food table hiding under the table cloth. He peeked out and reconned the area. Then he popped out and quickly filled a plate with all kinds of weird food for him and his sisters.
When he ducked back under the table Sara and Nat giggled happily. Sam and Sara had loved to sneak into their parent's parties. Normally they got caught and sent off to bed with a light scolding for sneaking around. But that was usually after they snagged some interesting foods.
That night was the first time then included three year old Natalie. She was happy to be included. He and Sara had shared a smile knowing that Nat liked doing things with them. And now that she was getting older they could include her in more things.
Then they each picked something different from the plate. Nat picked up a squishy blob thing that looked disgusting to him but smelled of butter, garlic and lemon. She was adventurous and tried all new foods just like him and Sara.
Nat's blue eyes danced as she said yummy. But after a few minutes she began to rub her throat and whimper. Sam knew something wasn't quite right. So he crawled out from under the table with Nat in tow.
He went right up to the General. Sam expected to be dressed down for being in the room when he was told to go to bed. But he bravely ignored that and quickly told his dad that Nat ate something and now she was whimpering and red welts were showing on her.
His dad had taken one look at Nat and reacted instantly scooping her up in his arms. Dad had raced over to Dr. Parker, although at the time Sam did not know it was Dr. Parker, and his voice boomed so loudly that all the guests became very quiet. Luckily Dr. Parker was at the party because Nat quickly started having trouble breathing.
Sam recalled that Dad never dressed him down. The General had actually told him that his quick action had saved Nat's life. Later he learned that Nat had an allergic reaction to sea snails. Neither of his parents was allergic so it came as a complete surprise that Nat was.
He had avoided sea snails ever since. But he had not recognized them as sea snails the way they were diced up in the sauce. Sam also didn't know that whelk was another name for sea snail until Marsaili said so.
The itching sensations increased all over his body and Sam felt his windpipe closing. It had happened so rapidly with Nat. Sam felt panicked; he must be allergic to whelks too.
Oh shit! Sam whipped his head to Jim. With one hand he gripped Jules' hand as the other clawed at his throat.
Sam managed to choke out "Allergic. Help."
Jim stared just one moment as Sam's panicked eyes landed on him. He saw him clawing at his neck and the red welts on the back of his hand and throat. The words 'allergic' and 'help' had Jim racing for the house.
He needed his Sam pack. God he wished it was closer. Jim was in a panic with how rapidly it set in. He was worried he would not make it back in time. Jim dug down and ran as fast as he could. Time was short.
Heather was out of her seat and around the table in a flash "Jules help me get Sam to the ground."
The rest of the table was on their feet and around to where Sam lay on the ground. They could all see the angry red wheals, also known as hives on his face, neck and hands. Jules was close to Sam softly crooning words to help him relax.
Blaze asked "Heather is there anything we can do?"
Heather's eyes were wide with worry and all she could think was she hoped Jim got back here with the EpiPen of epinephrine quickly. She could see Sam having more and more difficulty getting air in. His throat must be swelling rapidly.
Her medical training kicked in at Blaze's question. She had absolutely no desire to do an emergency tracheostomy but she would if Sam stopped breathing completely. She much preferred Jim to get here with the epinephrine.
But Heather needed to be prepared so she answered "We need Jim back here pronto. But just in case, get me a sharp knife and sanitize it. I also need a straw or something like that. I need some whisky and something to raise Sam's shoulders too."
Blaze, Mason and Winds went into action getting everything Heather requested. They arranged it on a cloth they set on the ground near her. Then they stepped back looking on and wishing there was more they could do. Blondie was struggling to breathe. Jules was doing her best to calm Blondie but she looked so distraught too that their hearts were breaking.
Sam was wheezing for air now as his windpipe constricted more. He kept his eyes locked on Jules. They were panicked but sad. He could see how distraught Jules was but her sweet voice soothed him a little bit and all his focus was on her.
He was saying sorry and I love you with his eyes. Sam felt himself slipping closer to the edge as breathing became more and more difficult. Of all the stupid ways to die. Sam never thought a food allergy would do him in. God damned whelks.
Jules' hand hurt from how hard Sam was gripping hers. But she ignored that and used her other hand to stroke his hair as she softly murmured "You are going to be okay. Relax. I'm here and I'm not going to let you go. You hang on, don't you let go either. Fight. You hear me?"
Sam heard but there was nothing Jules could do and nothing he could do either. He clung to her hand in a desperate attempt to hang onto her, to stay in this world. His throat was closing too rapidly. His wheezing breaths were slowing because his airflow was slowing as his windpipe became more obstructed with swelling.
He tried really hard to keep his eyes open and locked on Jules. But the lack of air won and they closed as Sam was pulled ever closer to the edge of the abyss. As he slipped unconscious his grip on Jules' hand slackened to nothing but he noted that Jules' grip increased. His last conscious thought was Jules would not let him go, she would hang on and fight for him.
Jules screamed "NOOOOOOO! No you don't die now Sam Braddock! You hear me? You can't die now. After all you have endured you don't die from a damned whelk. You hold on. Jim is coming. Breathe, just breathe."
Tears streamed down her face as Sam's breathing slowed to a near stop. Her scream had drawn the attention of those at the dinner. One man rushed forward drawing something out of his pocket.
He looked to Heather and asked "Allergic reaction?"
Heather nodded and blinked back the tears that threatened. She was reaching for the knife. Heather would have to do the emergency tracheostomy if Jim did not show up in the next few moments. She hated the thought of cutting into Sam's throat. But she would not let Samtastic die. Not like this. Not after Sam and Jules had finally achieved happiness.
"I have an EpiPen with epinephrine" he stated as he held out the pen.
Heather turned to the man in surprise. Oh thank god! Samtastic must have a guardian angel; one that was surely overworked in efforts to keep Sam alive.
She gladly took the lifesaving pen. Heather quickly read it to ensure it was what the man purported. It was, thank god.
Heather formed a fist around the auto-injector with the black tip pointing down. She then pulled off the safety cap. Heather placed the black tip against the fleshy portion Sam's outer thigh not bothering to waste time removing his pants.
With a quick motion, Heather pushed the auto-injector firmly against Sam's thigh. The spring-loaded needle was released and injected the dose of epinephrine. She held the auto-injector in place for a few seconds after activation. Then Heather removed it and prayed it had been given in time.
Heather watched Sam closely gauging his reaction to the epinephrine in order to decide whether she still needed to do the tracheostomy.
Everyone held their breath listening for an intake of breath. When they all heard a slight wheeze a combined sigh of relief was expelled from all watching.
Jim made it back in record time. He saw all the people around the table. Jim roughly pushed his way through the throng of onlookers. He dropped to his knees as he ripped open the zipper of the pack and dug for the EpiPin. It wasn't until Heather laid a hand on him that he registered a change in the atmosphere. His eyes turned to Sam and he saw Sam's eyes beginning to flicker open.
Heather said "Someone had an EpiPen Jim. I injected Sam with it. It is working to counteract the reaction."
Jim nodded and began to assess Sam's state. The epinephrine was indeed having the right effect. The rush of adrenaline was leaving his body and he felt relieved but so drained.
Only his professional training kept Jim from shaking but it could not hide the relief that showed on his face. Jim felt Heather's comforting hand lightly rubbing his back and that grounded him. Heather was his godsend and the light of his life.
Jim glanced at Jules and felt a pang of hurt for her. She had nearly lost Sam again and this time it was not due to Sam taking unacceptable risk to save someone. It was a damned food allergy. Jim knew when they got home he was going to recommend Sam get a full battery of tests for food allergies.
Jules looked up and into the eyes of an older man, the man who had given Heather the EpiPen. He had kind blue eyes that reminded her of the Boss. Her eyes expressed her gratitude even though words were beyond her at the moment.
The man spoke softly to her "He'll be alright now lassie, don't you fret no more."
Blaze turned to the man and his voice dripped with strong emotion "Thank you. From all of us we appreciate it deeply."
The man nodded "You are most welcome. I'm just glad I carry one. Got me stung by a wasp once and nearly died. Carried one ever since."
Sam blinked his eyes open. It was a little easier to breath although it was still wheezy. Sam felt Jules strong grip still holding him. He knew she would not let go. Sam gently squeezed Jules' hand.
Then Sam whispered wheezily "On … second … thought … don't make … for me. … It takes … my breath … away. Not … in a … good way … like the … sight of … you my love."
Jules leaned down and hugged Sam fiercely. He had hung on. He came back to her and did not leave her alone. Tears of relief rained down as Jules' body shuddered with how close Sam had come to dying.
Sam felt her shudder. He glanced at the guys and saw their worry. Damn he had to stop worrying them so much. But this one was not his fault. Damn whelks.
Mason squatted down and asked Jim "To the house?"
Jim nodded regaining his equilibrium. "Yeah" he responded. Jim could see that Sam would okay. But he would need to rest and be watched to ensure he did not need another dose of epinephrine.
Sam wheezed out "I'm … walking … this … time."
Mason snorted with relief; typical Blondie reaction. But that was not happening. Hell Blondie could barely string two words together at the moment. Mason declared "Not a chance little bro. I'm carrying you whether you like it or not."
Sam tried to growl but was too short of breath.
Mason chuckled trying to lighten the tension "Now Sunshine quit your growling. You know you are too weak to walk at the moment, hell you can barely breathe. I could leave ya laying here but I don't think your wife would much like it if I did. Ain't that right Mrs. Braddock?"
Jules nodded. She was still trying to compose herself. Something as stupid as a whelk had almost taken Sam from her.
Her panic turned to anger as Jules bit out "Sam, if you are allergic to some foods why did you take something you didn't know?"
Sam understood her anger was a cover for concern. Old ways died hard for her just as much as for him. And this was definitely old-school Jules reaction.
He wheezed out "Didn't … know … I was … Nat … was little … ate … sea snail … same … reaction."
Jules was instantly contrite. She brushed his hair and her voice was soft "Sorry I didn't mean to yell at you."
"I know … S 'ok …" Sam wheezed out.
Jules put a finger to his lips "Shush, save your breath now."
She thought about how prophetic Sam's earlier words had been. Life was too uncertain. She should have just let him eat cookies for dinner.
Sam nodded feeling worn out from just speaking those few words. He was scooped up once again by Mason and carried back to the house. He was really embarrassing himself a lot on this trip.
