HIGHLAND GAMES, CENTRAL VIRGINIA
The Hotel - Present Day
Hustling down the carpeted hall, Mildred yelled, “Rubric!” Her short legs pumping quickly, she rounded the corner in a dead run and came to a squeaking halt on the tiles as she entered the lobby. Bending over at the waist, she tried to catch her breath. “Ru…br…ic,” she huffed disjointedly.
“What the devil is the matter with you, Mildred?” Rubric held his hand over his heart. The woman nearly scared him to death.
“It’s …. It’s…. them.”
“Ehh...” He put his hand to his ear. “What are you blathering about?”
“Them, Ru…br…ic. It’s them!”
“Them?” Fearing his wife had lost her mind; Rubric reared back and gave her a wide-eyed stare.
Finally catching her breath, she yelled, “It’s them.”
“Them what?”
“For God’s sake Rubric! Do ye ever listen ta anything I say or do ye jes pretend that ye are listening?”
Of course, Rubric was really good at pretending to listen to his wife—she had a habit of droning on a bit. “Now, Honey Bun,” he cajoled and then added, “of course I listen to you.”
“Then you oaf, clean the wax out of yer ears so ye can understand what I am saying ta ye.”
Rubric frowned. “There you go name calling again. I told you I don’t like that and if you don’t take it back I am not going to listen.” He crossed his arms defiantly.
Mildred let out an exasperated huff. “Fine. I’m sorry.”
“There now, is that so hard?”
Mildred gritted her teeth. “Ye are pushing yer luck, Rubric.”
Knowing better than to antagonize his wife anymore, Rubric sat back down on his too small stool. “Go on then.”
“Remember the book I was telling ye about?”
“Yes, Mildred,” he sighed and then said, “I remember.” How could he not. The woman wouldn’t shut up about it. He had even tried hiding it for a while, knowing nothing good would come of her sticking her nose in places that was none of her concern but she was like a dog with a bone in that aspect and she wouldn’t let it go. Finally, he had to give the book back to her, in a sneaky way, mind you, so he could get some peace. Now, here she was again, blathering about something in the book, about things that was none of her concern.
“Remember, I showed ye the picture?”
“Yes, I remember.”
She scrunched up her face in that way of hers that made Rubric want to take a few steps back.
“They are here?”
Sure, he heard her wrong; he stuck in stubby finger in his ear and wiggled it around a bit. “Who is here?”
“The Thirteen.”