Chapter 13: Girls go forward! 889 AD

After the crack of the lightning Scott was pretty sure that he, his wives and the two children had all travelled forward in time. Eilean was still gripping his arm tightly, scared by the crash of the thunder and the flash of the lightning. He tentatively pulled back the flap of the tent and couldn't decide whether he was relieved or now concerned when he saw the dim outline of caravans opposite him in the darkness of the Inveraray castle campsite.

A glance to his left showed that, amazingly, his 4x4 was exactly where he had left it six months before. He remembered that he had taken a long-term rental for the site the tent was on and presumed that the site owners didn't want to interfere with anything.

Before crawling out of the tent, Scott took his dirk and dug down into the turf immediately outside the flap. He had taken the precaution of burying some of his gold coins before travelling forward from the ninth century. He thought this would be a good way of raising funds, there was always a good market for rare old coins and gold coins from the ninth century would command a high price.

He probed and probed with the blade of his dirk and eventually felt the tip strike something hard. A brief excavation and he had the coins, the leather pouch they had been in now rotted and decayed. He knew he would need to be careful about how he proceeded with the sale of these coins as the UK government would be very interested in them and claim them as their own.

Scott now turned his attention to his wives and the two babies. Fortunately it was dark so, if the 4x4 would start, there was a chance he could get them to his flat in Glasgow without anyone seeing their ninth century dress. He crawled out of the tent, putting the gold coins in his sporran, and checked the 4x4 to make sure it had not been damaged. He retrieved the keys from the exhaust pipe where he had left them and then returned to the tent to urge Fiona, Eilean, and Helfe to come out with baby Tina and James.

His wives eyes were on stalks as they took in the dim shapes of caravans, camper-vans and, close up, Scott's 4x4. When Scott opened the doors and gestured for them to get in the 4x4 they were very hesitant.

"See you, this kind of behaviour is exactly what I was talking about. If you look at every object strangely and hesitate to do the simplest of things, you will all stand out like a beacon."

The girls scrambled into the 4x4, Helfe sitting up front with Scott and Fiona and Eilean in the back with the two babies. The next shock for the women folk was when Scott turned the key in the ignition and the 4x4 rasped to life, the engine damp and unused and therefore sounding a bit rough.

Scott could see the noise of the engine was alarming the girls and he realised this was a blessing in disguise. If he hadn't noticed their concern he would have simply put the 4x4 in gear and driven off. Now he knew he would have to explain what was going to happen before he did that to try and manage the girls' shock levels.

"Okay my loves. I have described how cars work to you in the past. There is a mechanical engine under the bonnet that drives a shaft, which in turn drives the wheels the car is sitting on. I don't want you to be afraid when we suddenly start to move as if someone is pushing us down a hill on a sled, okay?"

The wives all nodded and Scott thought it was safe to proceed. He put the 4x4 into gear and eased up on the clutch, depressing the accelerator at just the right point to feed the engine with gas. As the 4x4 rolled forward he could hear the girls gasp despite his warning and when he turned on the 4x4's headlights there was almost immediate panic.

Scott once more realised his mistake and quickly moved to explain what the lights were and how they worked. He determined that he would need to be careful and explain many of the things the girls encountered for the first time or he was going to have a heart attack victim on his hands before long.

The explanation of the headlights and how they worked lasted until he was well past the darkened Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and the girls were now quiet as they looked out of the windows, trying to see outside to pick out anything different from their own time.

The journey along the A83 road took them through a number of small villages and the girls could see the houses, shops and pubs lit up by the streetlights. The street lights themselves were a revelation to them and Scott caught them out of the corner of his eye as they strained their necks to look upwards at these strange sources of light.

The nighttime drive through the relatively remote Scottish countryside seemed to have calmed the girls somewhat but when he reached the more built up residential areas of Alexandria and Dumbarton he could feel the tension begin to rise again. The number of houses was something the girls found it hard to take in. Scott knew these were small compared to a major city and he quickly tried to outline what the girls could expect to see when they eventually made it to Glasgow.

Scott knew there was another couple of things coming up that the girls would find it hard to cope with. The road to Glasgow had to cross the River Clyde and it did so by means of a vast bridge, the Erskine Bridge. Before the bridge came into sight Scott hurriedly tried to explain what they could expect. The girls nodded, as if to say they understood and would be fine, but when they saw how high the bridge was over the river, all lit up in the night, Scott could tell they were terrified.

Not a peep escaped the girls as he crossed the bridge and glancing to the side and in his rear view mirror, Scott could see the tension in the bodies of the girls. The tension must have transmitted itself to the babies as both awoke and begin to voice their own agitation.

Once they were over the bridge and the girls had started to breast feed the babies in an effort to quieten them, Scott knew he only had a short time to explain the next two major culture shocks. The bridge led directly onto one of Scotland's main roads, the M8 Motorway. This was a six lane highway and could sometimes be nose to tail with traffic. He knew it would be a lot quieter at this time of night but there was likely to be significant traffic nonetheless.

Scott hurriedly tried to describe what the girls were going to see and what to expect. Despite his explanation he could see them cringe as the headlights of cars going in the opposite direction sped towards them and the headlights of cars overtaking them seemed to chase their 4x4 before flashing past.

Five minutes from the Erskine Bridge along the motorway was Glasgow International Airport and Scott now had to remind the girls of his description of planes and how people boarded them to fly long distances.

As they passed the airport the girls could clearly see the huge planes as the terminal and runways were well lit. Surprisingly this phenomenon was the least upsetting to the girls, Scott surmising this was because they still couldn't really grasp what was happening here.

The M8 motorway let them rush headlong towards Glasgow and the girls could see the increasing density of housing and industrial/office accommodation as they neared the city centre. Scott had to once more explain that they would have to re-cross the River Clyde, this time via the Kingston Bridge. The bridge crossing was virtually in the heart of Glasgow with office blocks and large hotels rising above the motorway. Bright lights and neon shone out into the night sky and the girls were wide eyed and had their mouths open limply as they tried to take it all in.

At last Scott arrived at his flat and he quickly ushered the girls upstairs, forcing the door to open against the pile of mail that had once more accumulated behind it. He managed to stop himself before turning on the light in the hallway, explaining to the girls in the dark what was about to happen. When he flicked the light switch and the hall was suddenly bathed in light, the girls couldn't help but gasp once more, hugging each other now to try and draw comfort.

Scott led the way into his sitting room and once more turned on the light. He glanced at the clock on the wall above the fireplace and took in that it was only one thirty in the morning. He told the girls to make themselves comfortable and made his way to the kitchen to boil a kettle. Turning, he found that all three of the girls were hot on his heels, clearly not wanting to let him out of their sight.

When they walked into the kitchen Scott had to describe and explain all of the various gadgets that were there. The girls could just about recognise the sink and the taps, although these looked highly unusual to them as they were made from shiny chrome and stainless steel. Scott explained the washing machine and the girls immediately tried to compare it to the hand powered tubs that Scott had introduced at Dalriada. He tried to describe how modern machines didn't require all the effort the girls had to put in at home and he immediately found himself under attack.

"If this design of washing machine requires no effort why haven't you introduced it in Inveraray? Why have you left us having to turn things by hand Scott?"

Once more he tried to explain the concept of electrical power, but it was currently beyond his ability to get across.

Scott spent almost an hour explaining the microwave, dishwasher, can-opener, kettle, cooker and the fridge/freezer. The girls were amazed that Scott had a mini-version of the Inveraray cold store in his house. He tried once more to explain electricity as he boiled the kettle. He pointed out the wall socket, the plug and the flex to the kettle and left the lid off of the kettle so the girls could actually see the water boil. This simple action was still enough to leave them stunned.

He quickly made cups of tea using tea bags and a carton of long-life milk. Of course the girls wanted a full explanation of what a tea bag was and how Scott had managed to get the milk from a cow into the strange looking carton.

By now Scott was beginning to tire. Having to try and educate the girls in even the most basic of things was a chore. He decided they were a hundred times worse than any of the children - even when the children went into one of their little 'but why, Daddy?' spells. At least you could tell a child to be quiet after he or she asked its fiftieth 'why, daddy?' question. With the girls there seemed no end to it.

In an effort to try and get some peace, Scott had an idea. He ushered the girls back into the sitting room, had them sit down on the sofa and then turned on his television. All conversation immediately stopped as the girls stared at the screen. Scott picked up the remote and began to channel hop, watching the amazement on the faces of all of his wives. He settled on the natural history channel as likely to be the least alarming and relaxed back into his favourite armchair to finish his mug of tea. The girls glanced backwards and forwards between each other and the pictures on the TV.

The first few days back in the twenty-first century were filled with Scott dashing around making purchases that would help his family blend into their new environment. The TV proved to be an invaluable help in getting the girls used to what to expect and each time he returned from a shopping trip they had a list of questions to go through with him about things they had seen.

Another major point of amazement for the girls was when Scott returned from grocery shopping and they pored over the various packages and tins, interrogating him as to how this could be.

Scott had insisted that all conversations should be conducted in English to try and get the girls used to the language and again the TV was proving to be very helpful to them in this regard. His frustration was mounting however, when they had been back for two weeks and the girls had yet to venture outside. He knew this was two weeks lost in trying to take his recruitment plans forward and was determined that something would have to give.

He decided their first trip outside should be one where they wouldn't have to interact too much with other people. The name of the city, Glasgow (Glaschu in Gaelic), translates into 'dear green place' and the city has the highest amount of parkland per head of population of any European city. It wasn't surprising therefore that Scott decided a trip to the park would be the ideal first outing for the girls.

He chose a Sunday morning and had them wrap up against the cold in their new coats and hats and then they wheeled the babies into a nearby park in their new pushchairs. The path through the park wasn't wide enough for the four adults to walk side by side so Scott pushed baby James as he walked with Eilean and Fiona pushed Tina with Helfe alongside her.

It was cold but there was some weak winter sunshine and the girls were delighted to be out in the fresh air for the first time in so long. Passers-by said 'good morning' as they passed and the girls smiled and returned the pleasantries, grinning at their mastery of the language. Scott couldn't help grin himself at their almost childlike excitement with the whole thing. In the centre of the park there was a little activity area for children and Scott plucked baby James from his pushchair and let him enjoy a trip down the slide. The baby loved it and was clearly demanding another go, but Scott picked up Tina instead and let her slide down next. Tina's face was one of studied disinterest and that made Scott burst out laughing, bringing a smile to his daughter's face at last.