Seacliff

Chapter ninety-four: Allies with benefits

2019

"You..." Fiona laughed, incredulous. "Did you... did you infiltrate the KGB?"

Aidan chuckled, shaking his head. "The KGB didn't officially exist at the time, but eventually, yes. I spent most of the Cold War as a double agent in the Soviet Union. That's why, when the Iron Curtain fell, I just... I wanted out. And went home. I've been disappearing and reappearing in the US and the UK since the early nineties."

"Wow. That must have been... I can't even imagine, that must have been so hard."

Aidan didn't disagree. The decades of espionage and counterintelligence had hardened his soul in ways he couldn't even predict. For that reason, his attachment to Fiona felt so special now. Her affection had seeped through the cracks of his shell into his heart.

"Here we are."

Fiona's car was parked in the driveway and the lights were on inside the Lodge when they arrived. Aidan rang the bell even though he knew the front door would be unlocked. Saoirse came to answer.

"You've made it," she said, stepping aside to let them in. "Finally."

He rolled his eyes. Visible relief sprouted across Fiona's face as she shrugged out of her coat. He couldn't blame her. It'd been a long, cold walk and now their muscles were thawing in the homey warmth of the Lodge.

"Oh, is she finally here?" Aoife's croaky voice carried through from the front room. "Let me see her."

Fiona smiled. Her cheeks tinged rosy by the winter air made her look even younger.

"Yes, she's here," Aidan replied and took his lover's hand to show her in.

Saoirse went to help her aunt. At ninety years old, she had more strength in her bones than a regular human, but it still pained Aidan to see his sister grow frailer by the day.

"Good evening," Fiona greeted her, sheepish. "Thanks so much for having me."

"Oh, you are most welcome, sweetheart." The old woman approached slowly and enveloped her guest in a fierce embrace. "Come now, come. You must be famished."

"You'll never guess who I swam into," Saoirse said as they headed for the kitchen.

Aidan frowned. "Who?"

Standing by the sink with a glass of red in one hand and his long twists tied back, Kallik greeted the newcomers with a wink and a grin.

Fiona's eyes widened. "Is that..."

"Kallik..." Aidan sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"You two are..." Fiona's awed stare alternated between the two men. "You two are friends, now?"

Kallik chuckled. "Not friends, per se. More of an... allies with benefits situation. It's nice meeting you, Miss...?"

"Uh... Fiona. Fiona Murray. Hi."

She held out her hand, but instead of shaking it, Kallik kissed it.

Aidan got between them and pulled Fiona away. "Knock it off."

"Aidan, don't be rude to my guests," Aoife admonished as Saoirse helped her sit.

The table was already set for five. Kallik took a seat between Aoife and Saoirse.

"You didn't tell me what you're doing here," Aidan resumed his interrogation. He began to scoop food into plates and Fiona moved to aid him.

Kallik brushed imaginary dust from the pinstriped lapels of his burgundy suit. It complimented the carnelian glow of his complexion in ways that hindered Aidan's concentration. He looked too good in a suit, dammit.

"I can't believe that you had a kid with Pauline," Kallik blurted. "You, of all people. Damn!"

Aidan slammed the plate down before his 'ally'. The gravy threatened to stain that flawless fresco. "That still doesn't answer my question."

"Well, a little fish told me you were having yourself a family reunion." Kallik winked. "So, I thought I'd come and crash it."

Saoirse snickered. "Y'all are bickering like a goddamn married couple."

Aidan blushed. Fiona smiled as she sat down beside Aoife.

Saoirse poured them all drinks. "So, since you recognised Kal here, I'm guessing you're all caught up on the family history?"

"Well, I would have thought so," the Highlander answered, "except we didn't get to the part where these two stopped hating each other."

"No, he never likes telling it," Kallik put in. "Let's just say, not even a half-breed can hold a grudge for eighty years."

"Don't call me that," Aidan mumbled into his glass.

Kallik blew him a kiss.

"A toast," Aoife proposed, dismissing the awkward tension. "Now that you're all here." She cleared her throat and stood up. "May we never forget our past... may we live happily in the present... may we never stop fighting for a better future. Sláinte."

"Sláinte!" the chorus of guests repeated.

Once she sat back down, a heavy silence stretched overhead. They all dug into their dinners. Aidan sensed Saoirse's nervousness seconds before she spoke.

"So, um..." The American licked her lips. "Would you like to hear my story, too, while we're at it?"

Fiona beamed. "Oh, I'd love to! If you don't mind, of course."

Saoirse breathed in. "Okay, so, Pauline went missing after the colony was attacked, right?"

"Right."

"Well, she ran away to Alaska, which is where I was born and raised. We lived in the middle of nowhere for most of my childhood, then moved to Anchorage, so I could go to school. Mom found herself a beau there."

A nostalgic smile tugged at Saoirse's lips.

"He died in the earthquake, though. In 1964. I was thirteen. Mom then moved us to Seattle and in 1970, I went to college in Los Angeles, where I became a hippie." Saoirse laughed, shaking her head, and gulped down some wine. "Fun times."

The reminiscence seemed to make her sad, however.

"That ridiculous ideal of absolute freedom made me rebel against my mom, who'd been a control freak my whole life. She was doing it to keep me safe, but... you really couldn't reason with me back then. I dropped out to live in a commune. Drove cross-country with my girlfriend, only to get my ass dumped in New York. I couldn't go back home to Seattle with my tail between my legs, so... I stayed."

She finished her wine and thanked Aidan as he refilled her glass.

"By about 1980, I'd managed to get myself back on track. I was about to move in with the love of my life. Stacy. Her deadbeat husband had left her behind with two small kids, so I... I was going to be a mom, too. But..." A shaky sigh. "My mom told me the truth... weeks before she died."