Travels in Eire #26

Cailin sat with Maura for a while. Maura made her feel so at home even though she had reservations about how Maura felt about her. Something had changed in the relationship between these two women. Maura now looked at Cailin as a young woman trying to find her place in this life and connect to her ancestry, and not someone looking to take her son away. She understood Cailin's feelings about Ireland. She had seen this happen to a few friends who were so connected to this land that they could not leave during the famine. Her own parents had the opportunity to leave, but didn't. They could not fathom the idea of leaving their homeland. Cailin's heritage ran deep in Ireland. Looking at her, you would never know she was American until she spoke. The Irish blood in her ran deep into her soul.

All this time neither Maura or Cailin thought about anything outside of the room where they sat. Little did they know that Darren paced the hallway outside Cailin's room. He was worried about what was going on. What would they be talking about for so long? Was he to suffer the wrath of this mother for falling for this American?

He jumped as the door opened and Maura came out.
“She's fine Darren,” his mum said. “She just needs some time to sort things out.” And Maura headed down the hall back to the kitchen leaving Darren stunned and confused.

This didn't help Darren at all. He wanted to rush in and question Cailin. What did she say to his mum? What did his mum say to Cailin? All the while he was thinking and worrying what had happened he hardly noticed Cailin open the door with her jacket and scarf wrapped around her neck for warmth.

“I need to go out and get some fresh air,” Cailin stated as she passed by Darren. “I'm fine and I'll be better after a short walk.”

“Wait, Cailin, I'll go with you,” Darren rush to grab his jacket from the hall closet.

“It's okay Darren, I need to clear my head. I need to do this alone. I won't be long, and I'm not going far,” Cailin was being firm about this so Darren didn't push.

Darren sulked back and sat at the bottom of the stairs across from Cailin's door. The two women he cared for the most had just shut him out. How was he going to find out anything? Deep inside he felt a rumbling and he realized that through all of this he had not eaten. It was his stomach growling!

As he headed off to the kitchen he was thinking of ways to get his mum to talk, but she was not to be budged. She just cheerfully finished getting the rest of the dinner on the table for Darren, his Da, and grandfather.

It seemed like ages before Darren heard the front door open. He jumped up from the table with protestations from his mum and ran down the hall. Cailin was barely through the door and Darren could see her cheeks pink from the cool evening. But the redness had left her eyes and she seemed at peace with herself. Darren wanted to talk but Cailin put her finger to his lips and said, “There will be plenty of time to talk tomorrow on the drive back to Derry.”

Was that a wink he saw? Whatever was going on here? Darren hated this but knew that no pleading would get him any information. After taking off her coat and scarf Cailin joined the family for tea and cookies in the kitchen. As Cailin had come into the kitchen she looked at Maura and gave her a quick smile and thank you.

“Boy, you will never get then to tell you anything until they are ready,” Philip turned to Darren and smiled. “After all these years I've learned that patience is the best thing.”

The remainder of the evening was filled with watching a favorite RTE Irish comedy show. Everyone was laughing by the end. This time when Darren walked Cailin to the door of her room it was Cailin making the first move, and it threw Darren for a loop. She turned to face Darren, threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a full on kiss.
“Thanks for being so patient,” was all she said and she turned and walked into her room leaving Darren stunned yet once again tonight.