Now that he had their attention with a stirring introduction, Aiden went through his paper at a steady speed, pausing at the right spots to interject an anecdote or joke. He had the crowd wrapped around his finger. When he finished, he realized that this moment was the most excited he’d ever been about his own work. His ideas and delivery had the power to entertain and educate people. At the podium, he created an intimacy with people that rivaled a man holding court in a local pub. Looking over his audience, he seemed to see them for the first time, not as a hurdle to cross, but as fellow intellects. Aiden belonged beside them.

That was when a flash of yellow caught his eye.

Aiden’s mouth went dry and the pounding in his head drowned out the sound of applause. Antonia stood in the back of the auditorium wearing the yellow dress from Tully Cross. She looked just as beautiful today as she did on that day. A surge of excitement shot through his body, as he watched her tucked a curl behind her ear. The only thing missing was a soggy cake in her hands.

Aiden gripped the sides of the podium as he locked gazes with her. She came to me. He barely heard Donald approach the podium. It was time for a quick Q&A and for the first time, Aiden was nervous. She came to me...

“We’re going to make time for a couple of quick questions for each speaker,” Donald announced. “And after all the speakers have presented, we’ll have a larger rolling dialogue.”

Aiden nodded, still shaken by his lover’s appearance. “Yes,” he breathed. “If anyone has a question...” Dozens of hands went up, but Aiden kept his eyes trained on Antonia, who raised her hand with hesitance. “Right, you in the yellow?”

A grad student ran toward her with a microphone, when she took it she thanked him with a shaky voice. “Hello,” she started. “I’m very interested in the link you’ve made between black and Irish work songs. Can you speak on the intersection of the two folklores and the music they’ve produced?”

Aiden leaned toward the microphone. “Could you give me an example of what you mean?”

Antonia paused where she stood and held the microphone close. “Well... I’ve only just learned about the Celtic folklore of the selkie and it reminds me of the Nina Simone song ‘Sealion Woman.’ I just wondered if there were any connections.”

Aiden could have walked off stage and kissed her. “Yes, my selkie... I mean the selkie folklore,” he said, quickly covering his misstep. “Uhh, for those of you who might not be familiar: The selkie is a seal maiden who becomes a woman and falls in love with a hapless fisherman, but her true home is the sea. If the fisherman can successfully hide the selkie’s fur coat, she can stay with him forever. But it rarely works out.

“The Nina Simone song is an adaptation from a folk song from Mississippi,” he continued. “While its origins are probably sea-related, the woman in question may not be a selkie... She’s most likely a prostitute, who tricked sailors out of their money. We’re still unclear on the actual title of the song. It could be See-lyin’ Woman or Sea-line Woman, which would suggest a more sexual nature.”