#7 The Quay

When Molly arrived home she suddenly realized that she had no clue what to wear that evening. While it was a casual dinner, she was starting to feel it was more like a date, and became a little panicked. How long had it been since she had been on a date? Her entire life had been so involved with the sail shop that she never really thought about it. Since her friends had given up on trying to set her up, it had been months since she had the opportunity to have dinner with someone.

Oh, of course, there were the lads she would sit and chat with at the pub when she stopped by for a pint after a long day on the water. But they all knew her, and most were spoken for anyway. She felt very comfortable around them and could have a laugh or two while she washed away the salt water feel from being out with customers. This was the first time one of her customers asked her to join them.

Eventually she changed into a pair of black slacks, and a lightweight blue knit sweater with a silk scarf around her neck. Kehoe's was as casual as you could get in Kilmore, so, other than the fact that she didn't have jeans on, she was considered dressed up. She pulled her long dark hair back at the base of her neck, which was pretty much the way she wore it from day to day. There was going to be no major fussing for this lad. One last glimpse in the mirror, and she headed off for the pub.

As Molly entered Kehoe's she spotted Kevin at the bar. He was deep in conversation with several of the locals, and seemed to fit right in. Molly had to remind herself that Kevin was a salesman and blessed with that gift of gab, so this was his forte. She strolled up quietly behind him to see if she could catch the gist of the chat.

Before she had a chance to listen in, Billy Malloy, who was seated sideways on a bar stool listening to Kevin caught sight of her and winked. Kevin caught this and quickly turned around. He was wearing a light blue Polo with the collar up and navy chinos. You would have thought the two of them had coordinated their outfits. The looked at each other and began to laugh along with Billy and Eoin (pronounced Owen) Mahaffey who sat on the other side of Kevin.

“Two minds thinking alike!” Kevin kidded as he smiled at Molly.

“At least I wore a scarf,” responded Molly smiling with a slight blush.

By the time Kevin turned around to order a drink for Molly, there was one sitting on the bar for her. Sean, the bartender, knew that Molly liked to sip on a shot of Tullamore Dew with just a touch of water. It would last her hours if she was busy in conversation. Molly was a careful drinker. She had watched too many of her friends over imbibe and carry on. This was not her style. She always wondered why she never relaxed enough to let herself go like they did. Just not her way.

After some short chat with Billy and Eoin, Molly and Kevin headed for a table where they could sit and order dinner. They found a quiet snug and settled in. Dinner would be today's catch, fresh and tasty, with some spuds and a root vegetable. Nothing fancy for Molly. This was regular fare for her. Kevin seemed to enjoy this hearty meal as he also totally consumed the homemade brown bread put on the table for them as they ate.

“I guess I worked up a pretty big appetite after today's sail,” he explained as he cleaned his plate.

“Nothing like the fresh sea air to do that,” agreed Molly as she sipped her whiskey and nodded across the room to Sean that she'd like another. She knew well that her friends at the bar would be looking out for her with this stranger they knew very little about. It was a small fishing village and they all looked out for each other. Kevin was surprised as Sean stopped by the snug to drop off both a drink for Molly and a refill for Kevin.

Molly explained to Kevin, “My friends know me well and they do look after me.”

“Something I guess I should remember,” Kevin acknowledged as he raised his glass in a toast to Molly. “Slainte.”

Kevin and Molly sat and talked for quite a while after they had finished dinner. This gave Molly the chance to learn more about Kevin and his strong ties to the Dublin area. In exchange, Kevin was able to learn the same about Molly. With the time slipping away, Molly reminded Kevin that they did have a sailing lesson the next morning and needed to get plenty of rest as she was going to expand his experiences well out into the open sea the next day. Kevin offered to walk Molly home, but she explained that she was quite capable of getting there herself, and bid a casual good night leaving Kevin leaning on the doorway of Kehoe's watching her walk down the road.