Page 36 of Torin and the Princess

“The restroom?”

“The place where you, um… relieve yourself.”

“The privy for doin’ yer necessaries?”

“Yes. I realized that I didn’t give you a good tour earlier, maybe it’s different where you’re from...”

“Where I am from we use the garderobe, twas verra different from the garderobe in the… twas called a hospital?”

“Yes, right, you went into the one in the hospital — so you know how it works?”

“Och nae, tis a blur, I could barely see, the nurse had tae help me walk because I was havin’ trouble with balance. I believe I pissed upon her shoes.”

Jen and I laughed.

He added, “I daena usually suffer havin’ people tell me how tae do things. Especially when I am surrounded by bonny lasses.”

Jen laughed. “You have a lot in common with Lexi, she also doesn’t like to be told what to do.”

I grinned. “That is the truth, so how bout this, Torin, because you had just been in a battle, likely you don’t remember the brief tour I gave you. I will give you another one, a quick tour of this back-shack, without any intrusive instructions, while Jen runs up for more wine.”

Jen drained her glass. “Are you hungry too?”

I said, “Whoa, fifteen minutes in and you’re already offering to make sandwiches too?”

She laughed, “I’m offering to get food to eat, not to make anything. Totally different.”

She left, stalking up the slope.

Torin watched her go.

I said, “I forgot about the danger, she might not want to go alone.”

“Nae, she will be fine. There is nae one here, I hae been watchful.”

I yelled at her departing back, “Lock the house while you’re in there!”

She waved her hand over her shoulder and kept walking.

I led Torin inside. “So, this is the back-shack, this is the front door, the door handle…” I entered the kitchen. “This is therefrigerator. It’s a box to keep food cold.” I opened the door and put my hand in.

He put his hand in. “Och, tis wintery inside. Is all yer food served cold? Where I live, we like tae heat our food.”

“We heat our food here too, this is to store it before we heat it. We heat the food here, on the stove, or here in the microwave. You don’t need to know anything about those, please don’t turn them on — fire hazard.”

I gestured for him to follow me to the main room and then tilted the shade on the lamp.“See this button? Push it with your thumb, the light goes off, push it again, the light comes on.” I threw the room into darkness and then light.

I glanced at him, he was wincing and I wasn’t sure he had seen my instructions.

I said, “Is the light too bright because of the time travel?”

“It daena pain yer eyes?”

I shook my head.

“Tis verra loud as well.” He tugged on his earlobe.

“Then it must be because of the electric lights and...who knows about the volume.”

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