Blinking like a dazed owl
Claire and her husband Jamie reunite with the rest of their family after 20 years of separation after the 1746 Jacobite uprising caused havoc in the community. Similarly, Brianna and her family escaped the 20th century to come to reunite with the family in 1779. After having a long conversation, Jamie gets tired and starts blinking his eyes like a dazed owl. The author writes, "He gaped enormously and shook his head, blinking like a dazed owl." Jamie's exhaustion shows that he spent most of the day welcoming and interacting with his family without taking a break. Understandably, a family reuniting after 20 years of separations has much to discuss. After talking until midnight with his family, Jamie cannot take it anymore because his eyes have become heavy, and he does not have an option but to join Mandy in dreamland.
Sleeping like the dead
Rodger is extremely tired, and he sleeps like the dead. The author writes, "Sheer exhaustion made Roger sleep like the dead, despite the Mackenzies' bed consisting of two ragged quilts that Amy Higgins had hastily dragged out of her piecework bag; this laid over a week's worth of the Higginses' dirty laundry." Roger's acceleration to sleep is hastened by the warmth he is getting from his two babies lying in contact with him and his wife's warmth sleeping on the other side of the bed. The reader notes that Roger is exhausted after traveling a long distance to reunite with his in-laws and the rest of the family.
Yawning like a lion
The author writes, "Brianna yawned like a lion, then pushed back her tangled mane and blinked sleepily into the dark." Brianna is a satirical character, and the reader notes that most of her actions are sarcastic. For instance, when she talks, she does it while smiling, and when she laughs, she does that quietly. However, everyone in the house gets threatened when she yawns because she produces a loud sound like a yawning lion.
