What struck me as I got off the plane was how dreary it was in Dublin. The airport we had flown into was tiny, barely large enough to contain the turbo prop we had arrived in.
"There's our car" Howie pointed to the man holding the sign that bore our names. We introduced ourselves to the tiny, pale man and he in turn loaded our luggage into the trunk.
"God Howie this place is depressing" I muttered
"Bone it is raining, of course it is depressing, hell Orlando is depressing in the rain. Ease up a little will ya"
I stared out the window, taking in the small farmers markets, the dirty store fronts. This was not my idea of a vacation. I pulled my sweater tighter around my body and tried to chase away the chill.
~~**~~
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me AJ?" Howie was leaving to spend the afternoon touring the Dublin Marketplace, one of the oldest pure markets in the United Kingdom.
"No, I am going to sleep for a while" I groaned, burying my face in the lumpy hotel pillows " I will meet you for dinner at the pub across the street at 6. Have fun"
"Thanks" Howie turned to walk out of the suite "AJ please give this a chance, this is important to me and I want you and I to have fun, think about it" and he closed the door.
I curled up into a tight ball and fell alseep.
~~**~~
I felt much more alive, more ready to go out and face the world when I awoke 2 hours later. I slipped on my baseball cap, slung my napsack on my shoulder and grabbed a tourist map and headed off. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the sun had managed to peek through the dense clouds. The city was bustling, it had come alive while I slept. What surprised me the most about Ireland was how few redheads there really were. The vast majority had dark hair and creamy white skin, with dustings of freckles. Their dialect was a strange language that I would come to learn as Gaelic, although the traditional language in elder years the most popular language was now english, however broken and weird it sounded to my foreign ears.
"Scuse me, stuid eejiet watch where your arse is going" the woman screamed at the young man who had almost plowed her over.
"Are you okay mam?" I asked. The woman looked at me strangely and shook her head. I looked down and saw that my baggy cargos and wifebeater, with my tattos showing was probably not common dress in Dublin. I spotted a bakery and after careful consulatation with my growling stomach I decided to grab a quick bite to eat.
The clean and airy room instantly put me at peace, the fabulous aroma of fresh bread wafted through the bakery and cafe, reminding me of Howie's mother's kitchen, Momma D always had something wonderful cooking. I smiled at the older woman who was arranging cookies "Hello Mam"
She smiled "May I help you?"
"I would like a cup of tea and one of those squares."
"Have a rest and I will send it to you"
I stared at her, puzzled for a moment. She would send it to me, no I wanted to eat it here, in the cafe.
"Have a seat, I will bring it to you when it is ready, that's what she meant" a soft irish accent greeted my ears and my breath caught in my throat as I turned to see where it had come from. Standing before me was a slender woman with fiery red hair and peircing green eyes, her skin a milky white, well what I could see of it through all her freckles. My eyes met hers and I stood there stunned, entranced with her beauty.
"Are you greenspotted?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.
"AM I what? pardon me?" I asked, trying not to laugh.
"American, a yank I see, are you ill?"
"No, no I am fine" I walked over to a table that overlooked the sidewalk and sat down. I watched her with a great amount of interest, the way she chewed on her bottom lip while she tried to add up a customer's bill, the way her eyebrows knotted and her tongue clasped between her lips as she carried a heavy tray of pastries out into the shop. She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Not classicly beautiful but original, the perfect example, stereotype that north americans have of the irish.
Her voice broke into my thoughts once again "here is your tea, I hope you like it" she laughed as I made a face, the thick tea hitting my taste buds. "Our tea is very thick, very strong here. I didn;t know how you prepared yours so I made it the way I drink mine, with just a slice of tea. Most people pour so much milk into it that the might as well just ask for milk. Nothing ruins a good cup of tea then adding milk" she smiled at me, brushing a strand of hair that fell into her eye away. "Well if everything is alright I need to get back to work, Nora is not to keen on my cracking with a customer" she saw my amused expression "She hates when I talk customer's ears off, is that how you say it in America" she smiled and walked off, leaving me to stare at her once again.
Maybe this vacation would not be a total loss, maybe I would end up
hooking
up with a fine irish lassie.
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