“I’ll have to check them out.”
Soon enough we finish eating and hit up O’Donoghues, a pub right across the street. A long bar greets us with, surprisingly, enough empty bar stools for all of us. We drink a couple of gin and tonics here before moving on to our next pub, which is The Duke. And, again, we continue drinking gin and tonics.
There’s rugby on the TV which has distracted John for a bit. Leo and Anders are close to each other, whispering in each other’s ear and laughing.
Eventually the game ends, everyone’s focus back on the table. A round of shots is ordered, and Anders gets most of the pub patrons to sing to me for my birthday.
Niall tells me we have two stops left on the birthday train, so we finish our drinks and head out.
It’s a nice night out so walking around doesn’t seem too terrible, despite how much we’ve had to drink. I recognize the route is bringing us back to where the night started. We pass Boeuf and Coq, Niall walking ahead of us before stopping abruptly.
In front of a Carrolls gift shop.
“I may have told the lads about how I wouldn’t let you go in a Carrolls when you first got to Dublin. I came up with the fun idea that we each could buy you something for your birthday. Some heinous souvenir.”
“Some of us might let you actually pick out something you want.”
I can’t tell if the staff knows what to do with us, or if they are just used to drunks rampaging through their store. By the time we leave, I think we had spent a solid twenty minutes in there.
John buys me an Ireland rugby shirt, something about the Six Nations.
Anders chooses a selection of various Irish foods and drinks.
Leo gets me a white and green Guinness sweater, which looks ridiculously comfortable.
And Niall, well, he buys me a nice set of journals. One with the Celtic Trinity Knot on it, and the other with the Tree of Life.
Niall places the journals in my hand. “I have one more gift for you back at the apartment, which is the last stop. Let’s go lads!”
We weave through the crowds until we get to Niall’s apartment.
Which, upon the door opening, we are assaulted with birthday decor. And, what appears to be about four dozen cupcakes.
“Umm…what the fuck is that?”
He laughs. “Well, you couldn’t give me a solid answer on what cake flavor you wanted. So…I made four.”
“There are five of us. We aren’t eating ten cupcakes a piece.”
John rushes by. “I might take that challenge.”
Leo goes into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of Prosecco and pops it open. Anders appears on his other side with five glasses and helps distribute them. We sit there, housing cupcakes and drinking Prosecco, for another hour, until John yawns. Which starts a chain reaction through the kitchen.
“I think it might be time to call it,” John says, standing and grabbing his coat.
“Can I just say something quick?” All eyes on me. “I wanted to say thanks for coming out tonight. It means a lot. I know the first time you guys met me it didn’t go as planned. I’m glad you gave me another chance and hope you guys had fun too.”
John throws his arms around me and gives me a hug. “A right blast Danny. Listen, we all are going through something at one time or another. No one thinks any differently of you just because we were there.”
There’s a pile on of a group hug, which lasts until Anders breaks away.
“I need to get home before I turn into a pumpkin. Same time next week?”
The group mumbles in agreement as they head to the door.
When I’m the last to go Niall stands in the doorway, a wrapped package in his hands. “Told you I had another gift for you.”
“I thought all this was the gift. Honestly, Niall. You did too much.”
