No Great Mischief

Alex remembers a conversation he had with Catherine about language and dreams. Occasionally, while travelling, Catherine will stroll to a certain section of the airport to hear familiar accents. On one of these occasions, she meets a woman who was married to a MacDonald from Glenfinnan, a member of the clann Chalum Ruaidh. The flight boards, and the woman says to meet her at the baggage claim. Catherine does not have time to explain that she is not actually on the flight. As she is left standing at the departure gate, an attendant asks if he can help. Catherine says that there is nothing he can do for her.

Alex drives back home, heading south and west. He thinks again about the fruit pickers and where they will go when the harvest season ends. The journeys they take home will be long and hard, fraught with many idiosyncratic details. The men will service their cars ahead of long, necessary drives. 

During the drive, Alex remembers Marcel Gingras, a French-Canadian man he met while working in the mine. Neither spoke the other’s language, so Alex learned a small amount of French from Marcel and, in turn, taught the man English.