Travels in Eire #3

During that day Cailin wandered around Mullaghmore. It was called a village rather than a town because of it's small size. There really was not a large grocery, but a butcher and what looked like a fancy 7-11. Mullaghmore was on the main road from Dublin to Omagh, but barely noticeable except for the 2 pubs, a butcher shop, a tiny cafe, and two churches across the road from each other. The other pub, The Victorian, was at the other end of town, like a bookend to Connor's Pub.

Cailin found she could walk the length of the town in about 3 minutes. There was a cross street at either end of the town leading to some scattered homes. Beyond the two end streets were some more scattered homes and then just grassy land. There was a constant hum of truck engines as the barreled down the road in both directions. But there was something else. Something that made Cailin take note. She shrugged it off as just all the events of the last 24 hours.

As Cailin looked around at the various shops, she decided that a light lunch would be in order and headed for the cafe. As she entered the shop she was surprised to see the dark stranger from the pub last night sitting at a table with a cup of tea. He looked up and again their eyes met, but this time Cailin was prepared. She didn't stare into those steel blue eyes, but quickly turned her attention to the woman at the counter. Just before she turned, she did flash a slight smile at the stranger, never looking to see if it was returned.

Cailin took a table at the other end of the shop, but in this small shop, she was still not very far from this intriguing man. He seemed to be staring out the window, now avoiding her glance. And then suddenly, he spoke. “It's a nice village, isn't it?”
Cailin was so surprised she almost didn't understand what he was saying.
“Yes, it's a beautiful village, especially when it's not storming.” she replied flippantly.
He turned toward her with a smile on his face. The sadness from last night was gone, and his blue eyes were gleaming. “But missy, this is Ireland, it always rains here.”
And with that he raised his cup of tea in a toast which she returned in kind. This was then followed by an invitation for Cailin to join him at his window table and they started a conversation that lasted the afternoon.