Redneck Rich

I'm sure Conchita enjoyed Ian being home all the time. He was a big help with their two sons. When they were old enough, we would take them for a few weeks every summer and they enjoyed the time with their cousins.

Florence works at the local hospital and we fear she's married to her career, although she's been bringing this really cute nurse along to family dinners. Cara got her degree but doesn't use it. She spends her time chasing her three children.

Alicia surprised us by moving to the States to pursue her post graduate degree and lives in the lake house, but she flies home as often as possible. She's involved with another PhD candidate but I don't see a future there. I think her telling him if they ever got together, he'd have to move to Scotland has kind of nipped their relationship in the bud.

I still write even though I'm in my seventies. Most of my books do well, even if I don't enjoy the same amount of success I used to have. The grandkids insist I tell them stories, and I wrote one children's book for the under ten set, and another for early teens, both of which did really well.

Fiona is the Grand Dame of the estate, and even at her age she is still involved in village life, as an advisor to children's services. We even do short term foster care but we're too old to get another child permanently.

I decided to donate the ship I had outfitted for the documentary, the Terror 2, to the Royal Navy. It's now berthed at the local naval yard, and is a tourist attraction. We go down from time to time, to feel the swell of the waves and remember. They renamed the ship with my permission and it's now referred to as the Captain W. S. Wallace.

Two summers ago, we leased a large cabin cruiser in Maryland, and followed the Intercoastal Waterway all the way to Florida, with our two oldest grandchildren as crew, meeting up at Disneyland with the rest of the family for a week before heading home.

All the children and grandchildren were at the house to celebrate Grandmama turning seventy. We had a tradition of watching the documentary of their great-grandfather at least once every time we're all together.

Then we'd show clips of Cara and Florence when they were in their teens, dressed in sailor outfits and dancing the Hornpipe during different Highland games. They have a cabinet full of trophies for it and sword dancing.

All the grandchildren had learned it, and we always danced it together at some point in our family gatherings. Then Ian would lead them in sea shanties. If we were a bit in our cups, they would get a little daring towards the end. The kids would giggle and sing at the top of their lungs. Fi had gone in, and when she returned, we were right in the middle of What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor.

"Shave his balls with a rusty razor, SHAVE HIS BALLS WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, SHAVE HIS BALLS WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, EARLIAH IN THE MORNING!"

"Miles!"

I grinned and grabbed the love of my life, twirling her around in the light of the fire until she laughed. Then she joined in, singing at the top of her lungs. "HEY HO AND UP SHE RISES, HEY HO AND UP SHE RISES, HEY HO AND UP SHE RISES, EARLIAH IN THE MORNING!"