Travels in Eire #38

Cailin was checking off those things that she needed to do to complete her move to Ireland and insure she still could work. She now felt that the biggest obstacle for her, Nick, was taken care of. Her family was very supportive in this venture and she had high hopes for Rob allowing her to work remotely.

She was glad it was the weekend, so she could spend more time talking to Darren on the phone. Weekdays were more difficult with his work schedule. They used Skype so not only could they talk, but they could see each other also. Even though there was a 5 hour time difference, they worked out times to call when they would both be at the computer, so it was strange that Darren was not there when Cailin called this Saturday. She left a message on Skype and just figured he got held up for a while and would return the call in a few minutes. Cailin went about organizing her apartment to prepare to move out.

Two hours had passed when she realized that she had not heard back from Darren. She wasn't sure if she should be concerned or not. Cailin thought she's try to call again, even though it was passed their agreed calling time. This time the call rang through and a woman answered, “Hello?” Cailin was so shocked she disconnected the call immediately before the video image came up. She had never considered that Darrren might find someone else to see while she was in New York. She felt they were in a committed relationship, but then they had not really known each other that well or for that long. From their discussions Cailin knew that Darren only had a brother, so this was not a sister. Who was the woman? Cailin was dismayed. Had she vested too much into this relationship?

Before Cailin had too much time to think about all of this, her computer rang with a Skpe call. It was Darren.
“HI, my American Lass. How are you doing?” Darren was upbeat and happy. She could easily see this through the video on her computer.

“Darren...I....I...I called a while ago and some woman answered,” Cailin was beyond beating around the bush with men any more. It was straightforward or nothing at all from now on.

“Cailin, no worries, that was Susan the rental agent. She thought it was strange that you hung up. I was next door dealing with a noisy neighbor when you called. We had just returned from seeing the rental.”

“But Darren we have a pre-arranged call time. Where were you?” Cailin wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery.

“Cailin, take a breath here. I was with Susan looking at a place for you and we were detained. I haven't had a minute to call you until now. I'm just so glad you are home and can talk. I'm really sorry we missed our call time. Can you talk now? Susan is here and she'd like to talk to you about the rental. I think we found a perfect place.” Susan stepped into the web cam view and Cailin could see that there was nothing to worry about. Susan was more mature and business like. Not some young girl.

Cailin's blood pressure seemed to return to normal. She was very cautious after her relationship with Nick. Things seemed normal and talking to a rental agent was something she could easily handle.

The conversation with Susan went smoothly after the very awkward start. It seemed that Darren had known Susan for a while through fund raising at the hospital and she had even helped Darren find his current place. Susan was friendly and seemed enthusiastic about meeting Cailin and helping her make a smooth move to Derry. She found a flat that was halfway between the hospital and Darren's current location that was right on the bus route to Derry proper. Everything was within easy walking distance and there had been an upgrade of broadband services in the building, so Internet would be readily available.

Susan agreed to sent some photos of the flat to Cailin and fax over a rental agreement. The price was a little more than Cailin had planned, but if the flat was everything Susan was promising, it would be perfect. Darren was excited because he knew that he could always stop by on his way home from work. Cailin realized this might mean less take-out and more cooking for her. She smiled at the thought of cooking for someone special in her life.

The flat would be available the first of the month which fit into Cailin's time frame perfectly. It was fully furnished with dishes and linens included which was a big help. Less to ship over, or purchase while she was there.

Cailin finished talking with Susan and told Darren they could catch up on Sunday once she had a chance to see the pictures of the flat and got the agreement from Susan. After a shaky start to the conversation, Cailin felt all things were going smoothly. But it was just this feeling that gave her made her uneasy deep down in her thoughts. Should this all have been so easy?