7. Duncan #2
I gestured at the boat. "This is where you guys will be staying tonight."
Raquel, Hamish, and Rune exchanged stunned, baffled glances.
"Is this yours?" Raquel asked, looking at me.
I cackled. "God, no."
Hamish cast a critical eye over the craft. "Never seen the like of it."
"Because it’s one-of-one," I answered. Stepping onto the gangway, I waved them after me. "Come aboard.”
I led them directly to the main saloon, which occupied the center of the boat’s floor plan.
Both of the starboard and port side walls opened to create an open-air living space.
The bow-side wall featured a floor-to-ceiling entertainment screen with surround sound built into the walls and ceilings.
The stern wall was a full bar and kitchenette, and the center of the space boasted a U-shaped sectional that could seat ten people with room to spare.
Aunt Low and Uncle Xavier, being the type of people they are, all the materials and finishes were comfortable, cozy, and homey rather than ostentatious.
A narrow hallway led past the right side of the screen and to a full bathroom; another hallway on the left of the screen led to the main bedroom with its own en suite bathroom.
The kitchen—or galley, as boat people call it—is in the lower level, along with the guest suites, workout space, and office.
The trio took in the saloon, the glimpse of the bedroom beyond it, the view out either side, and then the bottle of Dom Perignon and crystal flutes on the coffee table.
Raquel stared at me. "Duncan, what is this?" She indicated the champagne. "That's a three-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne.”
I just grinned. "Have a seat, you two." I gestured at the couch facing the screen.
Hamish eyed me. "Why, though? This is all highly irregular."
"Just…trust me. Have a seat."
Rune stood next to me behind the couch, facing the screen. "What's going on, Duncan?"
"You'll see."
Hamish and Raquel gingerly sat down on the couch and waited, visibly impatient, while I withdrew the tablet device that controlled the yacht's central operating hub.
Xavier had designed the ship so that it could be operated almost entirely from this tablet.
For now, though, I used it to turn on the screen and then connect to Aunt Low and Uncle Xavier's matching setup in their primary home in Malibu.
The screen winked on, showing an empty white couch with the Pacific Ocean rippling and winking in the background.
Just when I could tell Hamish and Raquel were about to be even more confused, Aunt Low entered the screen from the left and Uncle Xavier from the right, and they sat down in unison, as smoothly as if they'd practiced it.
Aunt Low grinned, waving. "Hi! You guys must be Hamish and Raquel."
Uncle Xavier gave a stiff, awkward wave and a polite smile. "Hello." He held his hands out, palms up, in a gesture he'd clearly—to me at least—practiced. "Welcome aboard The Argo. We are pleased to host you in our Alaskan home away from home on this penultimate night before your nuptials."
Hamish cleared his throat. "Ahem. Ah…pardon, but…you're Harlow Grace and Xavier Badd, are you not?"
"You are correct, Hamish," Uncle Xavier said. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
Aunt Low leaned into her husband. "Xave, baby. Relax."
He squared his shoulders. "I am relaxed. But I believe a formal introduction is not inappropriate in circumstances such as these." He gestured at my aunt. "As you have surmised, this is my wife, Harlow Grace Badd, and I am Xavier Badd."
Raquel was covering her mouth with one hand, reaching behind her to grip Rune's hand while vibrating with barely contained excitement.
"I, um, well I'm Hamish Campbell, and this is my fiancée, Raquel Ellison."
Aunt Low leaned toward the screen. "My god, you two are just gorgeous together! How did you meet? I need the love story."
Raquel turned to look at Hamish, then cleared her throat. "Well, um, it's kinda boring. We met at USC. I was there on a scholarship studying journalism, and Hamish was there studying film. We met our freshman year in the cafeteria and just sort of…gradually fell in love."
Hamish laughed. " You fell in love gradually. I was besotted the moment I laid eyes on you."
Raquel rolled her eyes. "It was only gradually because I had no idea what you were saying, at first. I'd never met a real Scotsman before."
"Well, that's fair, I suppose," Hamish answered. "My accent was a wee bit thicker than it is now." Than et ez noo .
I choked on a laugh. "You're shitting me!"
Raquel turned and gave me a droll look. "When I first met him, it sounded like he was speaking another damn language."
Hamish shook his head. "It's no even Doric. Not even I can understand them lot. My uncle had a mate who was from Aberdeen, and that man's accent was tot'ly mad. Even his best mates just nodded and laughed when he spoke."
Raquel held up her hands. "Okay, I'm tryna play this cool, but I'm freaking out. Duncan, what the hell is going on?"
I shrugged. "They're my aunt and uncle."
Rune pinched my arm. "The Aunt Low who 'works in the film industry,'" she used air quotes here, "is Harlow freaking Grace?"
"Jesus, woman. The pinching!" I rubbed my arm. "Yes. I'm sure you can guess why I don't go around announcing it, though."
She sighed. "Yeah, I guess."
Hamish glanced at me, and then back at the screen. "And…this is your boat?"
Aunt Low nodded. "It is. My brilliant husband designed it himself."
"And…we get to stay on it tonight?" Raquel asked. "But… why ? We don't even know you. We just met Duncan barely an hour ago."
"Well, we heard about the Old Toby burning down, and Duncan mentioned you needed somewhere to stay tonight. We’re not using the Argo at the moment, so why not?"
Hamish shook his head. "I just…are you sure? When Rune said she'd ask Duncan to see what he could do, I thought he meant like a friend's flat or somethin’. I didnae think it would be… this ."
"We're happy to be able to help, you guys," Aunt Low said. "We love a love story, and you guys are adorable. So please, make yourselves at home with our blessing. Congrats, Raquel and Hamish, and please accept our wishes for a long and beautiful life together."
Xavier smiled, as well, this one more natural.
"I echo my wife's sentiments." He blinked, thinking.
"I heard a toast at a wedding in the Highlands, once.
I believe it goes like this: 'May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. '"
"Thank you," Raquel said. "For real, I…when they told us the inn was gone and refunded us the whole thing, I was…I thought…"
"We were determined to make the best of it, but the way things are turning out is better than we could have imagined." Hamish squeezed Raquel's hand. "We really can't thank you enough."
"It's really no problem at all," Aunt Low answered. "Dunc, honey, we love you."
"Love you guys too, Aunt Low, Uncle Xavier," I said. "Thank you for being so awesome about this. You guys are the best."
Aunt Low's gaze fixed on Rune. "You must be Duncan's friend Rune. I have to say, I love your name. It's really cool."
Rune flushed. "Thank you? I…it's so cool to meet you."
"Likewise." She glanced at the smartwatch on her wrist. "Oh, shoot, I have a meeting with Chris in a few minutes, so I'm going to have to go."
I rolled my name. "Smooth name drop, Aunt Low."
"Chris is a very common name, Duncan Badd," she answered.
"But you're not talking about any old Chris," I said.
Aunt Low grinned, putting her finger over her lips. "I'm not supposed to talk about it, but I'm meeting with Christopher Nolan. We're putting together a project."
Hamish clutched his hair in both hands. "You're not really, are you? As an aspiring filmmaker, he's one of my greatest inspirations."
Aunt Low shrugged, smiling. "I really am. We worked together before on—"
"Antony and Cleopatra," Hamish cut in. "You were brilliant in that, Mrs. Grace. Just brilliant."
"Thank you, Hamish. It was a fun project.
" She glanced at her watch. "I hate to cut this short, but I really do have to get ready for my meeting.
It was absolutely wonderful to meet you all.
Hamish, Raquel, congratulations, and please, enjoy your evening.
Duncan, I expect you to call us again soon, you hear me? "
"I will, I promise. And not just when I want something."
Aunt Low just waved me off. "That's not what I meant. You know we're here for whatever you need." She kissed the tips of her fingers on both hands and blew kisses at the screen. "Okay, we're off. Goodbye! Congratulations!"
"Congratulations, indeed," Uncle Xavier said. "Duncan, excellent to see you again, however briefly. Goodbye."
I waved, and then ended the connection.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Raquel turned to look at me. "Is this for real? You're not pranking us?"
I laughed. “That would be the cruelest prank ever pulled, I think." I gave her slender shoulder a friendly squeeze. "It's for real. They're really my aunt and uncle, this is really their boat, and you're really sleeping here tonight." I moved away from the couch. "C'mon, let me give you the tour."
Later, after I'd given them the tour of the yacht and they'd brought their luggage aboard, Rune and I were lounging together on the bow, sipping beer from the stocked galley while Raquel and Hamish got settled—they'd insisted we stay so we could all keep hanging out together.
"So," Rune said to me. "Any other famous family members?"
I laughed. “Um, well?"
“C’mon, no.” She gave me a wide-eyed stare. "For real?"
"I mentioned Uncle Canaan and Aunt Aerie, I think…"
Rune blinked. "Wait…no. No! You're kidding."
I shrugged. "No?"
"Canary? Your other aunt and uncle are Canary?"
"Aunt Eva is a pretty well-known photographer," I said.