Inverness

An anniversary should mean something, however trivial or profound. I can never seem to remember if it was December 2nd or December 3rd of the given year.
One was the date my father died, the other was the date my soon to father-in-law died. I took a few minutes and looked it up. My Dad left the planet on 12/2/1990.  Tucked into the papers about his death were the funeral bill, cremation, and details. I dug a little deeper and found an indignant letter my mom wrote to the family lawyer attempting to address a wrong. I don't know why she tried. Maybe it was the pain my father had felt at finding out he was a 'bastard' all his life. I still remember him telling me and the rest of his kids how ashamed he was. He actually begged our forgiveness! Naturally, we all told him we were not ashamed. We loved it, family intrigue! But he was crushed by the news.
He'd decided to get his birth certificate from Scotland as he neared retirement age. The Scottish government couldn't find him at the birth dates he'd always celebrated with his "twin' sister. As the query grew more serious his eldest sister bid him and my mom to come and visit her.
The story spilled out over tea, (naturally) that night. He was the bastard child of some very wealthy firstborn son in Edinburgh. The families never allowed a marriage and his mother was sent off to deliver my dad in a convent that took in unwed mothers. Then the family of the father paid to relocate the entire family in the States to keep my dad from claiming his birthright. All were sworn to secrecy and the lie was born.
As it happens, my dad's "twin" sister was born a few months after him so that by the time everyone was living here in the USA the few months' difference went unnoticed and they were raised never knowing the truth.
My siblings and I enjoyed the story quite a lot until our cousin tried to shame us after the twin sister passed away by designating all of us as demoted to the bastard status. Fortunately, my dad had already passed away at the time and though our cousin was technically correct we argued that for more than 60 years of their lives together they felt they were siblings in every sense. The court agreed with us and awarded all of us the same status as all the cousins. We rarely spoke after that.
Naturally, I spent some time trying to research the other family to find them and claim our long lost inheritance but we were never able to find anyone by the name our Aunt/Grandmother had given us. My Ex was always sure I hadn't turned over every stone. He wanted that castle in the highlands more than me I think, but I'm sure he'd have sold it and burned the money on collectible toys or a party for a hundred of our 'closest friends'. I'm content with the mystery these days. It used to matter to me, now, not so much.
It mattered to me more as something to hand to my children, a birthright. These days do things like that matter? We trekked to Scotland a couple of years ago this past week. We rumbled around Glasgow and drove over and up to Edinburg, stopping in Inverness and Loch Ness for a bit before heading home on December 2nd of 2017. I fell in love with the country, the people and the whole symphony that is Scotland. Mostly, Inverness called out to me and pulled me close. I remember the sky at 2AM, the land and the trees. I marveled at the hills and sweeping landscape, it's barren starkness coupled with lush valleys and ancient stone buildings. I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for the family to pick up and leave for the Americas over the birth of a baby. Maybe they saw this as opportune but I feel they made my dad pay for what they all left behind when they departed.
I can't wait to go back. I made sure my children went with me on this trip and my sister too. Our brothers and mother are gone long since and it's just us two now. So the four of us made the trip starting in Dublin and ending in Edinburg in a little more than a week. It took me all my life to get there so I was glad to cross 'the pond' with my kids so that they could see the possibility that I had never been shown.