Love is a Language

Mister McCrae

Since his first appearance at the orphanage, Mister McCrae had dropped by quite a few times to see Miss Trelawny. Sometimes they were completely unannounced visits, other times he had come over by invitation. Most of those invitations were from the orphans-not only did they want Miss Trelawny to see him, but they had discovered that the Scotsman was a lot of fun to play with. He would pull them around on a sled out in the snow, he would help build snowmen, and he built some of the best snowforts for snowball fights. He made delicious hot chocolate, and put dollops of cream in every mug with a dash of cinnamon on top. And best of all, he told stories that made them all laugh. Miss Trelawny was a good storyteller, but Mister McCrae didn't need to have a book in front of him at all. He just made things up on the spot.

He wasn't just a fun playmate though. He was also a kind hearted man who would drop what he was doing at the first sign of sadness or tears. He loved to make the children laugh, and would do whatever he could to make their frowns disappear. But he also knew that sometimes, a firm hand was needed to keep things from getting too chaotic. He knew how to have fun, but he also understood that sometimes being serious was necessary. He tried not to though, and the children did their best to be good so that he wouldn't have to frown at them. They liked it much better when he laughed and smiled, just like he liked it when they did. He had a warm, contagious laugh that made you smile whether you wanted to or not. Which, as they discovered, happened to Miss Trelawny a lot. A lot.

Which happened to be yet another reason why they liked Mister McCrae. Every time he came over he always said something that would make Miss Trelawny smile. Or laugh. Or blush. Or all three at once. Sometimes, when he wasn't playing with them, they'd find him just sitting and talking to her. Occasionally he'd reach out and gently brush their hands together, or nudge her playfully on the arm. Whenever he said hello to her or said goodbye he would take her hand and kiss it very gently and take off his hat to her. John was absolutely positive that Mister McCrae knew that Miss Trelawny was his true love, but didn't think Miss Trelawny knew that Mister McCrae was her true love quite yet.

"I bet if he comes over for Christmas Day," he told the others excitedly, "he could give her a really sweet Christmas present and make her realize that he's her true love! Then she'll fall head over toes for him!" Peter tried to explain that the phrase was 'head over heels,' but John was adamant that he had said it right. "Your head doesn't go over your heels when you do a somersault," he had retorted. "You go right over your toes. It makes more sense if you say head over toes!" Peter just sighed and shook his head, deciding arguing with John on this little matter probably wasn't worth it.

A few days before Christmas, Mister McCrae walked into the orphanage with a potted arrangement of some lovely poinsettias with a silver ribbon wrapped around the pot. "Can't find many bouquets of flowers this time of year," he told Miss Trelawny as he handed her his little gift, "so I went with somethin' seasonal. Plus, they bring out your eyes." Miss Trelawny, whose eyes were a lovely shade of green, blushed prettily as she stammered out a thank you and placed them right next to the Christmas tree. One of the boys ran up and yanked on Mister McCrae's sleeve and tugged him into the playroom. They had started a game of "Knights and Dragons" the last time he visited, and now that he was here he could be the dragon again.

However, in the middle of the game, one of the little girls stopped the whole game by asking "Mister McCrae, what do you think about Miss Trelawny?" The magical world they had all imagined was pushed to the side for the moment as a matter more pressing than an evil dragon had suddenly arisen. The little boys who had climbed on Mister McCrae's back hopped off of him and sat down hard on the ground, looking up at him expectantly. The Scotsman flushed to the roots of his curly brown hair as the children hurried forward and sat around him in a circle like they did when he told them a story.

"Well, I...ah..." He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, glancing down at the ground with a little grin on his face. "She's a very pretty woman," he said slowly, "and she's got the biggest heart of anyone I know." After a moment he looked up at the curious younglings, his grin getting slightly bigger. "You can see it in her eyes. They just...I don't know...they sparkle when she's talkin' about you lot." The children giggled softly. They already knew Miss Trelawny loved them, but it was nice to hear that it made Mister McCrae happy to know that he liked that about her. "Everythin' about her just glows," he went on. "And she has the prettiest smile. It gets prettier when she laughs." His grin softened a little bit and his blush deepened. "And I like her. I like her a lot."

"You have tickly butterflies when you see her?" Henry blurted out suddenly. A chorus of laughter broke out and Henry turned scarlet in embarrassment. He hid his face in Pierre's shirt as the older boy gently patted his head and murmured to him comfortingly. Mister McCrae leaned forward and placed one of his large, calloused hands on Henry's tiny shoulder, making the smaller boy look up. Mister McCrae's eyes were amused, but gentle, as he met Henry's gaze. "D-do you?" Henry asked timidly, curling into Pierre a little bit.

Mister McCrae moved his hand from his shoulder up to his head, where he ruffled Henry's hair playfully. "I do, actually," he told the little boy, much to the surprise of his peers. "My stomach gets into knots when she smiles, my heart goes fast when she laughs, and my stomach does triple backflips off a high dive when I realize that she's laughing because of somethin' I told her." A few of the girls "awww'd" at his little speech, and a few boys gagged silently only to be hit by some of their friends who were slightly more interested. "Evelyn's an amazin' woman," he told the children. "You're very lucky to have her."

"And so are you!" John piped up with a sunny smile on his face. "You're lucky to have her too!" The other children echoed his sentiment, eagerly nodding their heads. "We want you to be with Miss Trelawny for a long time," John told him. He glanced around at the others. "Right guys?" A cheer went up from the twenty-two children, making Mister McCrae laugh a little bit. "Just don't make her cry though," the boy said, suddenly turning serious. "Or we'll get reeeeeeally mad at you. And I mean super-duper mad."

"Oh don't worry," Mister McCrae told him just as seriously. "Makin' Evelyn happy's all I want to do. And as long as you lot are alright with it," he added, "I'd like to continue to see her. And, possibly, take her nice places and get to know her more-take her on dates." There was a unanimous nodding of heads at his request. The Scotsman's face split into the happiest, most relieved smile they'd ever seen him wear. "You're the best kids a man could ever know," he told them. "And I'm glad you're lettin' me see the woman who watches over you."

Peter tugged on his sleeve and whispered in a low voice, "That's because you're Miss Trelawny's true love. We have to let you date your true love." Mister McCrae turned redder than the poinsettias he'd presented to Miss Trelawny just a few hours earlier.