"Mr. Caffee...Mr. Caffee"
I came out of my befuddled state to hear Mr. Walsh, the Bancrofts' solicitor, continue.
"Mr. Caffee, as you know, the Bancrofts had no heirs to their estate, but, always considered you as the son they never had."
My family moved next door to the Bancrofts when I was just a toddler. Aiden and Mary had no children and soon treated my parents as if they were their children. Both became another set of grandparents for me. I spent as much time over at their place as I did my own.
When I was fourteen, my parents were killed in a car crash. Since, I had no other family, I was slated for foster care. The Bancrofts petitioned to be my foster parents, then adopted me. I had a stable and loving place to live.
Grandpa Aiden took the money from my parent's estate, along with the proceeds from the sale of their house, and invested it wisely for me, establishing a trust fund I would receive when I graduated from college. The saw to my everyday needs and paid for my college education.
I took care of them as they got older. I ran errands and drove Nana Mary wherever she needed. I spent long hours reading to Grandpa Aiden when he became bed ridden and lost his sight. He especially loved Irish folklore, especially that of the Fae, or faeries, as he called them. I soon became an expert in all the contradictory stories and myths floating around. I never begrudged the time I spent with them.
Nana Mary told me faeries often visited her when she was a child in Ireland. Grandpa Aiden would only smile knowingly, then roll his eyes.
All the tales they told me about their early lives in Ireland made me want to visit. Both promised to take me, but that wasn't to be. Grandpa Aiden slipped away quietly in his sleep and Nana Mary followed soon after. I was forty-five at the time.
I'd never married: I'd dated, but never found a woman to whom I wanted to commit. None of them seemed to match the Irish girls Nana Mary described. The Bancrofts provided all the social needs I required, though Nana Mary often pushed me to find a nice girl.
"The Bancrofts established a tidy trust fund for you and left you their house: you should never have to work again, should you chose. Plus, you've never drawn against your parent's estate! Have you considered what you will do now?"
I thought a moment, then replied, "Grandpa Aiden and Nana Mary wanted me to visit Ireland. I think I'd like to live there a year, if possible!"
Mr. Walsh smiled. "They hoped you would!"
Mr. Walsh offered to make arrangements and soon I was on my way to Derrybrien, in Galway County. A local leasing agent took me to a small cottage on the outskirts of the village, near a small wooded area, within easy walking distance of the village. He drove me back to the pub and introduced me around.
I walked into the village daily and soon became an accepted fixture. I visited the shops, ate lunch at the pub, and hiked the small woods, ending my day enjoying a pint with my new acquaintances. Nights were spent in front of my fireplace, reading, and drinking hot tea.
I was sitting in the pub one evening when the talk turned to the Fae folk, or the Aes Sidhe, as they are called in Ireland. I heard some of the same contradictory stories I'd been hearing. However, one older man added a twist I'd heard back home, but never before in this village: he claimed the faeries were not as tiny as imagined. He claimed a local Sidhe court lived in the nearby woods and that they were taller than most Fae, being a foot tall! Most of the patrons scoffed, but I wanted to hear more.
I invited the old man back to my cottage and we discussed the different aspects of the Sidhe lore over a bowl of soup and hot tea. He told me I should be providing a food and drink offering, a good will gesture. I hadn't told him: I'd set up a little sheltered place out back where the Sidhe could refresh themselves. I provided a little jug of the local ale, along with some small slivers of bread and a little butter. Sometimes, I would leave berries, if I could find some in the local market. I put out fresh refreshments nightly.
I usually threw out the previous night's untouched gift the next morning.
I'd been living in the cottage nearly three months when I heard a thump against a window pane. It was just after sunrise. I looked out back and that's when I first saw her. She was a foot tall with beautiful curly haired blonde with blueish purple wings. And she was passed out drunk on my back step.
I knew better than to bring her in: I shouldn't even touch her, but, I couldn't leave her where a wild animal could get her! I brought out a small cushion and a dishtowel. I gently laid her on the pillow and covered her with the towel.
I made my morning tea and sat outside, enjoying the crisp morning air.
"Aye! Me aching head!" I heard.
"Good morning!" I called softly.
She saw me for the first time and pulled the towel up to her chin.
"How dare ye be gazing at me naked body! And me lying helpless afore ye!"
I laughed softly.
"And what do ye find that amuses you so?"
"You're not naked," I said with a smile.
She lifted the blanket and looked. "Oh," she said rather sheepishly.
Then, "I'm not being pretty enough for ye?"
"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," I replied.
"Then why dinna ye tear off me clothes and have your beastly way with me?"
"One: I'm a gentleman...and...two... you are tiny!"
"Dinna ye think ye could get your manhood in me? I'm magical, after all! Why, I could fornicate with a horse, if I wanted! And he'd be a happier horse if I did!"
I laughed, then said, "I know a lot about you: I know you don't have to talk this way. Why don't you talk to me like a normal person: we'll both enjoy the conversation better!"
She smiled at that and said, "Okay!"
"Are you hungry? Would you like some tea? And maybe some toast and jam?"
She nodded and I went inside leaving the door open. Soon, she flew in and rested on the table. I prepared some small pieces of toast and served it on a small saucer. I found a thimble she could use for tea. She hurriedly ate and informed me she had to leave before her family worried about her.
"Will I see you again?" I asked.
She blushed slightly, smiled, and said, "Maybe."
Then she was gone faster than my eye could follow.
I went into town that morning and found some doll house dishes and furniture that would fit my guest should she return. I told the clerk the items were for a niece back home, but her knowing look told me I wasn't fooling her.
I didn't see her the next night, or the night after. My food offerings remained untouched.
The third evening, I sat outside and drank a hot buttered rum toddy. The night was getting too chilly and I'd started towards the door.
"That smells wonderful! What is it? Do you have some more? May I have some, please?"
I turned around and saw my Fae. She was a vision of loveliness in her gossamer shift; her long, shapely legs exposed. She was lovelier than I remembered. Tonight, she had her hair piled atop her head and her cobalt blue eyes sparkled.
"I can make some more," I replied. "Would you like to come in?"
She eyed me wickedly, and asked, "Now, ye be inviting me in?"
"On the condition that neither of us deals falsely, mischievously, or deceitfully. That we both behave courteously and honestly as we would have others do us."
"Ye left a lot of loopholes for me, dinna ye know?"
"Your beauty has already entranced me," I said as I beamed at her. "I only beg you not use those loopholes against me."
She hesitated as I went inside, but soon she followed me in. She saw the small table and chair I'd set on my table. She beamed when she saw the dishes.
"You did this for me?" she squealed in delight.
She drank her toddy and held out her cup for more.
"I wouldn't want you to pass out again. Some animal might get ahold of you!"
"Mighten ye have your unseemly way with such a helpless lass?"
