The Gift 8

Stop!

Did you read the date of the Fuzzy Duck and Rubber Chicken?

Did you read the last edition of the Gift? (If you didn't, read it before today's post or you'll be sorry!)

And what about my sweet tribute to the lunch date?

Ok. You may proceed.

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Samantha peeled her face off Rouge's t-shirt and smiled as he pounded her on the back in the most enthusiastic bear hug she'd ever received.

"It's so good to see you!" he cried, stepping back to beam down at her. "Aye, it's been too long Samantha!"

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're hugging!" Jeremy bellowed, thrashing around in the doorway. "Back off, Irish boy!"

"Oh, shut up," Ashley groaned, stepping on his foot with her high-heeled boot as she hurried toward Rouge. Jeremy howled as she smiled at Rouge. "Remember me, handsome?"

"Ashley!" Rouge cried, releasing Samantha to embrace Ashley. "My other partner in crime! It's like Christmas, it is!" He turned toward Cleo and bowed his head. "And who is this other fine lady with you?" He winked at Cleo and she blushed, holding out her hand.

"I'm Cleo," she simpered, biting her lip as Rouge raised her hand to his lips. "I'm a friend of Samantha's from grad school."

"You're in grad school?" Rouge whirled around and stared at Samantha. "I always knew you were brilliant, darling. What are you studying?"

"Psychology," Samantha said with a grin. "You know I always like studying people. I want to be a family therapist. I'm fascinated by the dynamics of relationships."

"If she was only better at studying her own relationships," Ashley muttered, jerking her head towards Jeremy. "Or lack thereof."

Rouge burst into laughter as Samantha shrieked and started toward Ashley. "Girls, come in and have a drink on me," he said, his voice rising and falling in a thick Irish cadence. He steered the three girls through the pub doors. "If you're up to it, there's a drink for you at the bar," he addressed Jeremy, his lips twitching in a grin. "If you're done howling like a banshee and all that."

Jeremy snarled, but pulled himself upright and limped inside. He plopped down at the end of the bar away from Samantha and her friends, shooting wounded glances their way as he nursed a beer. The girls ignored them. Their attention was solely on Rouge, who was handing them platters of Shepard's pie and fish and chips with thick mugs of Irish beer.

"So I suppose you're wondering where I went," he said to Samantha, his eyes twinkling.

"Duh!" she exclaimed. "I tried to find you for years. It was like you just disappeared off the face of the Earth. What happened?"

"Well, my great aunt left me a fortune in her will when she died," he explained. Leaning over the bar, golden candlelight flickered across his impish features as a grin spread over his face. "When I traveled over there to receive the fortune, I found the will had certain obligations that came with it. For two or three years, I had loose ends to tie up with family business before the fortune could become mine. As soon as I finished the last task, I was back on a plane to America."

"Why didn't you call me?" Samantha asked. "Why wouldn't you tell me any of this?"

"It was a complicated situation," Rouge admitted. "Plus, I was in the middle of the Irish countryside. Post was the only way of communication. It was as though I'd gone back 100 years in time. I never expected it to take so long. By the time I came back, I had no idea how to contact you. Your parents had moved and no one from our old school knew where you had gone."

"Why a bar?" Cleo asked. "Why didn't you finish college?"

Rouge's eyes twinkled. "It was my dream," he murmured, his rich accent sending shivers down Samantha's spine. "It was the last part of the puzzle that had to be completed. I wanted to make my grand dad proud, you know? So I came back here, found this property and spent two years getting this set up. I wanted it to be a proper Irish pub."

Rouge leaned forward, running his thumb under Samantha's chin. "I never forgot about you," he said earnestly. "I never stopped thinking of you. And there is so much to tell you"--

"Sir?" A waitress approached Rouge with a hesitant smile. "We're having a bit of a problem in the kitchen."

Rouge groaned and flashed a smile at the girls. "I'll be back," he promised. "Excuse me." He winked at Samantha and disappeared into the kitchen. Samantha heard clangs and clashes of metal and winced.

"He's so crazy about you," Ashley announced.

"Totally," Cleo agreed.

"You guys are crazy," Samantha argued. She pulled a fork out of her napkin to dig into the fish and chips. "We're just friends."

A hand tapped her shoulder, and she turned around. A man with dark hair and light, grey eyes stood behind her. He was dressed in all black and holding a electric blue drink.

"A gift," he said, bowing as he handed her the glass. "He wanted you to have this."

"Who?" Ashley demanded.

"Rouge, of course," Samantha said as she accepted the glass. She smiled and thanked the man. Raising the glass to her lips, she took a tentative sip of the electric blue liquid. The sweet cold liquid jolted across her teeth and down her throat, her entire system tingling.

And then the world went white.

To be continued....

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have the wedding story you've all been waiting for! Then we have a new Twirl, a tasty classic Pond recipe and the Babies' birthday! Plus, can the Rubber Chicken find the Fuzzy Duck? Stay tuned to find out!