August 4th, 1890 - Swallowbury
Conall MacKay

Of all the things Eva had expected for a Tuesday night, she did not, in fact, think of packing up her belongings to move out. It was innocuous really, the notion itself, their house was pretty packed already, Tierney and Una, her father, Mrs. Sweeney. One less person would be a good thing. However, there was something to be said about the reason why. Of all things, she was getting married tomorrow in a weak attempt to cover up an unexpected pregnancy. Oh how things had changed.

It was to be a small backyard affair right here behind the house in Swallowbury with only family and their close friends in attendance. The pretty blue dress she had hanging in the open wardrobe she was currently emptying, was the last thing she would need from here. One last night in her own bed before everything got packed up and sent to the cottage Beau had procured for them in the Hollow itself. She didn't know much about it, other than it had some land and a little barn attached and that it needed some work; she couldn't wait to see it and to make it her own.

Heavy footsteps outside the open door, brought Eva from her reverie to find her father standing at the door. The gears had been turning about her new home all evening, plans to add a small greenhouse and a garden, anything to keep her busy while Beau refused to let her work and he was gone all day. It was going to be a little maddening really. Now was not the time however as she smiled at her Da and waved him in.

"Almost finished up," Eva eyed the dress in the wardrobe again and then the suitcase she'd charmed to fit everything on the bed next to her. There was no visible sign of the baby yet, but Eva knew she had to tell her dad the truth as well, but wasn't exactly sure on how to best go about it. "How're you holding up?" She teased lightly, wondering if her dad had ever seen this day coming either.

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He had seen the change in her in the months since she’d come back, of course. (He’d be surprised if half of Irvingly hadn’t, to be frank. It had not been especially subtle.) But he had not  contemplated this turn of events properly in a very long time, if ever, and it was a lot to process.

That said, the last time he’d considered the looming idea of his daughter getting married, it had been to that bloody healer. So he had shut that down in his own mind fairly quickly, and even now was relieved that Eavan had eventually come to the same conclusion without anyone else having to interfere.

So this was undeniably an improvement, but... it was a lot to process all the same, and it was suddenly improbably real. Seemed odd that he should feel so nervous about it - possibly more nervous than he had before his own wedding. Why? He didn’t know. She wasn’t even going far. Practically down the lane!

“Right now?” He countered, leaning in the doorway and snorting. “I think a slight breeze might be enough to bowl me over.” He folded his arms as though he was joking, but the sight of her packed suitcase was almost enough to invite a lump in his throat, so maybe he was a little emotionally fragile. “How’re you holding up?”

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Eva's smile softened, it wasn't often she saw this side of her father. It had to be hard for him, just as, if not more than for her, to not have her mother here with them. They didn't often get all emotional in front of one another, but Eva was blaming the pregnancy entirely for this turn of events.

"I'm good, better than, even." While the circumstances of this marriage weren't exactly what she would have hoped for, she was in a good place, the right place it turned out. A year ago she would have never imagined with is where she was going to land, but she couldn't complain. "I know it's a little sudden, but I promise it's for all the right reasons." She should tell him about the baby, he wasn't an idiot, he probably knew there was something else going on between her and Beau, but she wasn't so sure she was ready to tell him yet. "I'm happy, Da, really I am." The assurance was sincere as she turned her blue eyes up on him again, playing idly with the cuff of the shirt in her hands.

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Conall returned the smile as cheerfully as he could, glad to hear she was happy. She hardly had to say it; it was clear on her face. “I see that,” he assured her, the teasing tone leaking out as he ambled in to ruffle her hair in a way he hadn’t done since she was small. She could protest, if she liked. He fancied he needed it.

(What he needed was Nola to be here, to see tomorrow.)

“I don’t care how fast it came on, as long as you don’t regret it tomorrow,” he returned, still joking but also hoping her head was clear under all that clear happiness. Probably for the best that it had come on so suddenly: by the time he sorted out his emotions the wedding would be long gone. His eyes drifted to the shirt in her hands; see, she was already almost finished packing up her things. The room looked smaller and sadder without them. “You don’t need help folding, do you?”

He was really quite bad at folding.

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Neither one of them was particularly good at being emotional, even worse when it was just the two of them. Her mum had been the one to handle this on both sides, now they kind if just... didn't. She leaned against him when he ruffled her hair, squirming away for a moment, just to give him the satisfaction.

Eva was relieved to hear he didn't think she was making any mistakes. Some mistakes had been made, clearly, but it was all going to work out fine. Marriage had never really been something Eva had thought she'd go through with, especially after Fletcher, but if she were being honest, it likely would have happened with Beau anyway. He'd even said as much.

"No, I don't need help folding. I was wondering though," And this was a delicate question, but Eva was actively avoiding telling her da about the baby. "Did you still have mum's wedding band?" She'd done her best to try and convince Beau that he didn't need to spend any money on one, she would much rather wear her mum's anyway and they could use the money elsewhere.

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That even the phrase I was wondering gave him a nervous jolt, almost like the precursor to a heart attack, proved that Conall was not feeling quite himself tonight. He wasn’t used to feeling quite so... dainty.

The question that came was nothing he’d been expecting, and yet hit him still harder to hear. Nola’s wedding band.

He nodded. Of course he had it. The move from Ireland had meant neither of them had had much when they’d first arrived in North America, and then when she’d died he had packed up the house so as to leave nothing behind, so neither of them had much of Nola now. Just a few odds and ends, a couple of things he felt too sentimental to let go. “It’s not much,” he put in, glancing at Eva in warning - when he said they’d had nothing in North America, back then they really had owned nothing - but if anyone could appreciate the value in that old wedding band, it would naturally be Nola’s only daughter.

“Do you - ?” want to have it, he meant to ask, but the words were sticking in his throat. Hell. Get it together, Conall rebuked himself, and covered it up with a stubborn cough, presuming he could trust her to get the gist.

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They were so out of their element, the pair of them did not do feelings well. Reading him was impossible sometimes and she couldn't tell if he was amenable to the idea or not. "It's okay if you want to keep it, I was just thinking that it would be nice if I was to wear one, it would be hers." She sighed quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.

Eva couldn't begrudge him wanting to hold onto it. They didn't have much in the ways of physical reminders of her mother these days and if he wanted to hold onto that token of their marriage there was no way Eva was going to insist she have it. She had her mother's favorite necklace tucked away already, but that was about it. The selling of the farm had forced them to give up quite a bit, plus those reminders were hard sometimes.

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She began to backtrack, and he shook his head. “Don’t be absurd,” he said gruffly - insisted, really - patting her absently on the shoulder. “‘Course you should have it.” It had been him who’d wanted to get rid of every reminder, including their home - he had not thought, at the time, how it would affect Eavan. Selling the farm, running off to the Amazon, leaving her to fend for herself in Scotland and a fresh start... She had borne it well, but he was still trying to find a way to make it up to her now. Besides, Nola’s wedding band would hardly fit on his finger.

“She’d be over the moon, you know,” and no doubt Eva did know it, but it was worth saying all the same, “about all this.” Their daughter getting married had looked a far off thing, from where she’d last seen, and no certainty; they had never cared about normal, either, not expected, but she would have been overjoyed that Eva had found someone with whom to share her life. (Hopefully someone who deserved her.)

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Relieved he agreed, Eva leaned in to rest her head against his shoulder for a quiet moment. Her mother would have been thrilled about all of this. Though Eva had never been the kind of girl to envision her wedding or even talk about having one at all, her mother had always simply, quietly supported her endeavors no matter what they might be. In this case, the wedding and her marriage to Beau would have been one of those things she would have been overjoyed about. Not to mention the upcoming baby as well.

The realization that her mother would miss both her wedding and the birth of her babies hit Eavan hard in that moment and she had to close her eyes against the onslaught of emotions. She could blubber all over Beau later, he wouldn't begrudge her that, but to do it to her father now would set them both off and she couldn't do that.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed quietly. "Thanks Da." She would have to leave it at that lest she become an emotional wreck.

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