It was almost noon when Cailin woke up. She hadn't slept that long in ages. Part was all the excitement leading up to the flight over, and part was the extremely long arrival day. She decided to give herself this day to decompress, unpack and get a little organized. Her office was not expecting to hear from her for a few days.
She was so happy that Darren had stocked her fridge and made sure she had some Barry's Breakfast tea on hand. After getting the electric kettle going, she opened the fridge to find a small package of muffins and some cream she could have with the tea. No big Irish breakfast for her. She wanted to save those mornings for breakfast with Darren.
As she sipped her tea she walked around her flat taking everything in. This place was so homey and comfortable. She slid open the draperies in the front room to let the sun in. As she stood there looking out, she smiled to herself. Again that feeling of being just where she belonged came over her. No time to waste today, she finished her tea and muffin and headed for the shower to get her day going, albeit later than she had planned.
Cailin was never afraid of exploring and once showered and dressed she headed out to explore her neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a nice walk. Cailn took note of where she was walking so she could retrace her steps and get back to her building. About 3 blocks down from her flat was a small grocery. They would have pretty much everything she needed. She watched for the bus stops with the numbers of the routes. While she knew she would be taking a bus to some locations she also knew that she needed exact change when she rode the bus. Darren had left her a bus map at the flat so she was planing to explore riding the bus tomorrow.
For now her stomach was growling and she needed to get back and send a few emails. She hadn't called her parents yet and she was sure they were worried about her. Cailin was also thinking that she needed to get into town and get herself a cell phone to rent. Again, that would wait until tomorrow. As she headed up the stairs to the flat she heard a door open on the first floor.
Cailin turned to see an older woman peeking out the door looking her way.
“Afternoon, lassie,” the woman called. “Welcome to the house.”
Cailin thanked the woman and introduced herself.
“Nice to meet you Cailin, I'm Mary,” the woman replied back. “If there's anything you need, you can knock on my door and I'd be glad to help you.” As she finished, she winked at Cailin.
“Well thank you very much Mary, it's nice to meet you. I'll keep that in mind,” Cailin smiled back, nodded and headed up the stairs feeling good that she had met someone friendly in the building, not thinking much about the wink.
As Cailin let herself into the door of her flat she noticed an envelope on the floor that had been slid under her door. Who would be sliding an envelope under my door? No one knows I'm here except Darren. There was no name on the envelope and Cailin was thinking it might have been delivered by mistake. She entered her flat, closed the door and opened the envelope.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Travels in Eire #46
Darren lead Cailin to the car without a word about where they were headed. The direction seemed familiar to Cailin and she was happy about that. She was learning how to get places and she had just arrived. They were heading toward Derry City Center. As they arrived to the center of town Darren carefully maneuvered the car into a small parking spot.
“Darren, I never asked. I know you don't have a car, whose car is this?”
“I went down to Spiddal to visit my folks and they loaned me their car for the week so's I could pick you up in Dublin. We have to take it back to them next weekend. And yes, that means both of us. They are anxious to see you again.”
This time Cailin didn't have that anxious feeling from the first time she met Darren's parents. She actually looked forward to seeing them again.
“That will be great Darren. I like your parents, I really do.”
At that they arrived at the same club that Darren had taken Cailin to the first night they went out after the concert. As they entered, once again, they bypassed the regular restaurant downstairs and headed up to the party room. As they entered there was a cheer from a large group of people. Cailin didn't really recognize anyone at first, but Darren was obviously part of the reason for the cheer.
“Cailin, this is your 'Welcome to Ireland and welcome to Derry Party'”, Darren explained. “These are many of my friends and I hope they will also be your friends too over time.”
The next hour was spent with many toasts and welcomes along with introductions to many of Darren's friends. The girls were all anxious to make arrangements with Cailin to spend a day shopping or helping her out with finding shopping for things she might need to get started. As all this was going on Cailin kept trying to remember everyone's name. One of the girls seemed to sense what Cailin was going through and came up to her.
“Don't worry Cailin, it will take some time. Some of us will see you often and some not so often. Darren has a large group of friends, some closer than others. I'm Ruth and I'm sure we'll be fast friends. Do you like music?” Ruth was full of energy and Cailin loved her energetic style and beautiful red hair.
“Ruth, I do like music, all kinds. Is that how you know Darren?” Cailin was trying to understand how Darren knew some of the guests.
“Hun, my sister, Joyce and I play violin, do a little singing, and play a few other instruments. We have since we were little girls. Yes, that's how I know Darren, and also through Keith. Have you met Keith?” and Ruth nodded toward the bar.
And there was Keith from this afternoon sitting at the bar with a Guinness in his hand. He must have been watching the girls talking as when Cailin and Ruth turned toward him he raised his pint in a toast and smiled approvingly.
After several rounds of drinks everyone seemed to head their own way, wishing Cailin the best as they left, and Darren found Cailin again. Ruth excused herself telling Cailin she would be in touch through Darren until Cailin had her cell phone set up. Ruth and Keith headed out with a wave to both Darren and Cailin and Keith shouting “See you soon, hoss!”.
Darren and Cailin headed downstairs to the restaurant for a late dinner. As always Darren could sense how exhausted Cailin was both with the long flight and drive, and also with the time change.
“Cailin, you are on your own tomorrow as I'll be a work, but you can call me from your cell if you need me. We need to get you a cell for here in Ireland so you don't build up such a huge bill using your US phone. I'll come by right after work. That should give you some time to get unpacked and organized in the flat. And also to get some rest and get adjusted to Irish time.” and there was that amazing smile that Cailin loved so much.
“Darren, thank you so much for everything. Tonight was amazing. I loved having the chance to meet your friends. Ruth was great. I'm sure we'll get along wonderfully. Yes, I am fading fast tonight. Guess my adrenaline had me going for most of the day!” Cailin's voice trailed off as she finished.
As they arrived back at Cailin's flat, her exhaustion was very apparent. Darren was supporting her on the climb up the stairs.
“Are you sure you'll be okay alone tonight?” Darren asked out of concern, but followed with a wink.
“Darren, I'm not even sure I'll be doing more than changing and climbing into bed tonight. I'll be fine.”
“Just make sure to lock the door when you get inside.” Cailin could sense Darren's protective mode.
As he had many times before Darren reached around Cailin with the key to her flat and opened the door. As he handed the key back to her Darren put his open hand on her cheek running his finger along her jawline and pulled her face close to his. If Cailin wasn't so tired she would have sworn that Darren's loving kiss had her feet floating off the floor.
This was an amazing end to the beginning of a new adventure for Cailin and she wouldn't forget it any time soon.
“Darren, I never asked. I know you don't have a car, whose car is this?”
“I went down to Spiddal to visit my folks and they loaned me their car for the week so's I could pick you up in Dublin. We have to take it back to them next weekend. And yes, that means both of us. They are anxious to see you again.”
This time Cailin didn't have that anxious feeling from the first time she met Darren's parents. She actually looked forward to seeing them again.
“That will be great Darren. I like your parents, I really do.”
At that they arrived at the same club that Darren had taken Cailin to the first night they went out after the concert. As they entered, once again, they bypassed the regular restaurant downstairs and headed up to the party room. As they entered there was a cheer from a large group of people. Cailin didn't really recognize anyone at first, but Darren was obviously part of the reason for the cheer.
“Cailin, this is your 'Welcome to Ireland and welcome to Derry Party'”, Darren explained. “These are many of my friends and I hope they will also be your friends too over time.”
The next hour was spent with many toasts and welcomes along with introductions to many of Darren's friends. The girls were all anxious to make arrangements with Cailin to spend a day shopping or helping her out with finding shopping for things she might need to get started. As all this was going on Cailin kept trying to remember everyone's name. One of the girls seemed to sense what Cailin was going through and came up to her.
“Don't worry Cailin, it will take some time. Some of us will see you often and some not so often. Darren has a large group of friends, some closer than others. I'm Ruth and I'm sure we'll be fast friends. Do you like music?” Ruth was full of energy and Cailin loved her energetic style and beautiful red hair.
“Ruth, I do like music, all kinds. Is that how you know Darren?” Cailin was trying to understand how Darren knew some of the guests.
“Hun, my sister, Joyce and I play violin, do a little singing, and play a few other instruments. We have since we were little girls. Yes, that's how I know Darren, and also through Keith. Have you met Keith?” and Ruth nodded toward the bar.
And there was Keith from this afternoon sitting at the bar with a Guinness in his hand. He must have been watching the girls talking as when Cailin and Ruth turned toward him he raised his pint in a toast and smiled approvingly.
After several rounds of drinks everyone seemed to head their own way, wishing Cailin the best as they left, and Darren found Cailin again. Ruth excused herself telling Cailin she would be in touch through Darren until Cailin had her cell phone set up. Ruth and Keith headed out with a wave to both Darren and Cailin and Keith shouting “See you soon, hoss!”.
Darren and Cailin headed downstairs to the restaurant for a late dinner. As always Darren could sense how exhausted Cailin was both with the long flight and drive, and also with the time change.
“Cailin, you are on your own tomorrow as I'll be a work, but you can call me from your cell if you need me. We need to get you a cell for here in Ireland so you don't build up such a huge bill using your US phone. I'll come by right after work. That should give you some time to get unpacked and organized in the flat. And also to get some rest and get adjusted to Irish time.” and there was that amazing smile that Cailin loved so much.
“Darren, thank you so much for everything. Tonight was amazing. I loved having the chance to meet your friends. Ruth was great. I'm sure we'll get along wonderfully. Yes, I am fading fast tonight. Guess my adrenaline had me going for most of the day!” Cailin's voice trailed off as she finished.
As they arrived back at Cailin's flat, her exhaustion was very apparent. Darren was supporting her on the climb up the stairs.
“Are you sure you'll be okay alone tonight?” Darren asked out of concern, but followed with a wink.
“Darren, I'm not even sure I'll be doing more than changing and climbing into bed tonight. I'll be fine.”
“Just make sure to lock the door when you get inside.” Cailin could sense Darren's protective mode.
As he had many times before Darren reached around Cailin with the key to her flat and opened the door. As he handed the key back to her Darren put his open hand on her cheek running his finger along her jawline and pulled her face close to his. If Cailin wasn't so tired she would have sworn that Darren's loving kiss had her feet floating off the floor.
This was an amazing end to the beginning of a new adventure for Cailin and she wouldn't forget it any time soon.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Travels in Eire #45
It was late in the afternoon when they arrived in Derry. They had to go just past Derry City to the outskirts to drop off Keith at home and then turned around to get back to Cailin's new flat. Darren grabbed one suitcase and Cailin carried her heavy carry-on up to the building. Darren handed the keys to Cailin to open the door to the building and they headed up the stairs to the second floor. Cailin's flat was number seven and faced the front of the building. As she entered she smiled. It was better than any of the pictures she had seen. Charming with some contemporary touches.
They entered directly into the main living room. A large window at one end looked out to the street. The decor was was older, but just what Cailin liked, warm and inviting. So much better than what she had in New York City. While Cailin looked around the living room she hadn't even realized that Darren had disappeared and taken her suitcase to the bedroom. She turned from the living room and walked past a small efficiency kitchen down the hallway to the bedroom. Darren was looking out the bedroom window and Cailin stepped up beside him to see the beautiful garden that was at the back of the building. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they both stood there for a moment.
“I'm so happy you found this place for me.” Cailin said softly to Darren.
Darren turned to her with a gentle kiss on Cailin's forehead and replied, “Me, too.”
After a look around the comfortable bedroom and small bathroom, Cailin and Darren headed back to the living room. Darren went back to the car to bring up Cailin's second suitcase and Cailin looked around the small kitchen. She opened the fridge and realized that Darren had stocked her up with some basic necessities. After looking thought the cupboards she found some more dry goods. Some of the foods she was sure were Darren's favorites.
She suddenly realized that Darren was standing in the kitchen doorway smiling. “So did I do okay?” he asked with amusement.
“You did perfect,” and Cailin walked over to Darren with a loving hug and long, lingering kiss. She felt like she had just arrived home. Darren noticed her eyes well up with tears, but knew they were happy tears.
“Okay, lassie, we're off, I have another surprise for you.” Darren pulled away from Cailin to bring her focus back to the present.
Cailin knew better than to ask. She took one last look around the flat before she and Darren headed out for the surprise he promised. Cailin was already sure she had made the right decision.
They entered directly into the main living room. A large window at one end looked out to the street. The decor was was older, but just what Cailin liked, warm and inviting. So much better than what she had in New York City. While Cailin looked around the living room she hadn't even realized that Darren had disappeared and taken her suitcase to the bedroom. She turned from the living room and walked past a small efficiency kitchen down the hallway to the bedroom. Darren was looking out the bedroom window and Cailin stepped up beside him to see the beautiful garden that was at the back of the building. She leaned her head against his shoulder as they both stood there for a moment.
“I'm so happy you found this place for me.” Cailin said softly to Darren.
Darren turned to her with a gentle kiss on Cailin's forehead and replied, “Me, too.”
After a look around the comfortable bedroom and small bathroom, Cailin and Darren headed back to the living room. Darren went back to the car to bring up Cailin's second suitcase and Cailin looked around the small kitchen. She opened the fridge and realized that Darren had stocked her up with some basic necessities. After looking thought the cupboards she found some more dry goods. Some of the foods she was sure were Darren's favorites.
She suddenly realized that Darren was standing in the kitchen doorway smiling. “So did I do okay?” he asked with amusement.
“You did perfect,” and Cailin walked over to Darren with a loving hug and long, lingering kiss. She felt like she had just arrived home. Darren noticed her eyes well up with tears, but knew they were happy tears.
“Okay, lassie, we're off, I have another surprise for you.” Darren pulled away from Cailin to bring her focus back to the present.
Cailin knew better than to ask. She took one last look around the flat before she and Darren headed out for the surprise he promised. Cailin was already sure she had made the right decision.
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