‘No,you’reamazing,’ he said, before adding, ‘no, you hang up, no you hang up first.’ Mocking me, with those teasing blue eyes.
We cleaned the kitchen together as if it was part of our normal daily ritual. I forgot about anything else outside of the front door, like only the two of us existed. It was effortless just being in his company. No, it was more than effortless. I felt like I belonged.
We moved to the sunroom to finish the bottle of wine overlooking the sun setting spectacularly over the ocean. Moments like these were a tiny slice of heaven nurturing my tortured soul, the weeks of stress and tension evaporating by the second. I rested my bare feet in his lap and we admired the scenery together.
‘Don’t get too comfortable, lady, I’ve got plans for you tonight,’ he warned me.
‘I think I like the sound of that.’ I eyed his torso suggestively.
‘Absolutely, you can bet your life on it, but first we need to make a quick trip out or else I will literally never hear the end of it. I hate having to share you, but my life won’t be worth living if we don’t call into the pub.’
‘Ah.’ The parents. I’d been looking forward to meeting them, though naturally a little apprehensive. He said they were fine with everything, but who would choose a divorcee for their only son?
I hoped they were as easy going as he made out.
‘The quicker we go, the quicker we can come home and open another bottle of wine to take upstairs with us.’
Now that I liked the sound of. ‘What should I put on?’ I glanced down at my white shirt and jeans.
‘You’re overdressed already, trust me, it’s not that kind of pub.’
I pulled on my flat brown boots and blazer and we set off on foot to the pub. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining. There were no pavements, we literally walked in the middle of the gravel road. John assured me minimal traffic passed this way. It was a dead end at the bottom. I had to tread carefully not to fall into one of many potholes that decorated the road.
The pub was about half a mile away, and we walked briskly. I soon saw signs for ‘Kelly’s’ and my chest tightened with mild apprehension.
John swung open the heavy black door and ushered me inside. Every single person in the pub turned to look at us.
A woman in her fifties stood behind the bar pouring a pint of Guinness, concentrating intently on what she was doing. As she glanced up, her face broke into an almighty grin. John was obviously the blue-eyed boy, and why wouldn’t he be? He was the most incredible man I’d ever met in my life. She welcomed us home graciously.
John’s father stood proudly at the bar, sipping something small and potent looking. The resemblance between them made him obvious to pick out; the same red hair and chiselled chin. When he turned to us, there was a kindness in his smile. He took a step backwards to weigh up the package.
‘Dad.’ John shook his hand and grinned sheepishly. ‘This is Lucy.’
‘Hi.’ I put my hand out to shake his hand, but he pulled me into a big bear-like embrace.
‘Lucy, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Graham. So, you’re the young lady that’s putting manners on my son, is that right?’ There was such unexpected warmth in his voice, it made me emotional. I felt I didn’t deserve it, given the far from ideal situation I’d only very recently extracted myself from.
‘Well, I’m not exactly sure that’s what you’d call it, but I’m trying.’
He let out a deep hearty laugh, insisting on getting us both a drink.
The pub was small and cosy. Short bar stools scattered around the edge of the room and a pool table took up a sizeable proportion of space. Three men on stools propped up the bar and I could see Hugh, the farmer I met earlier about to take a shot to pot the black ball, the game almost over. He raised his hand in acknowledgement and I smiled back.
‘This is Mary, or Mama Bear, as we do call her.’ John introduced me to his mother, who had come out from around the back of the bar to give him an affectionate kiss on the cheek and a hug.
‘How are you? Lovely to meet you,’ I said with more confidence than I felt.
‘Hmm. I’ll decide if it was lovely to meet you in a couple of hours’ time, lady.’ She was joking, but if there was an element of truth in the statement who could blame her. Her son was the most amazing man I’d ever met. She was bound to be protective of him. There would be something wrong if she wasn’t.
‘What do you think of Ireland?’ she asked me curiously, probably wondering if I’d stick it long term.
‘It’s beautiful,’ I said honestly. ‘Different.’
I sipped on another glass of red, frightened to change my poison at this stage but knowing I couldn’t drink wine all night either. Not unless I wanted to see my steak again.
John’s parents were lovely, they made me feel comfortable very quickly, once they slowed down enough for me to understand what they were actually saying. I had to lip read and listen. But despite all that, I relaxed in their company. They were warm, welcoming and witty, which must be where John acquired his distinctive sense of humour from.
For some reason, I found myself telling Graham about the last few weeks and how I was as surprised as anyone else to be here, after everything.
