Page 3 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
She rubbed at her face, guilt winning out over exhaustion. “One quick drink.” Voices floated on the night air before the lights of the Emerald Bar came into view. Kasia smiled at the laughter.
“Go and get your order in. Seán’s paying.” Jacky Keane, the lifeboat mechanic and tractor driver, had somehow managed to beat everyone else back to the pub and sat with his pint on a wooden table on the deck outside, swinging his booted legs as he puffed on his vape.
A couple of the older fishers were nearby, and they looked up and nodded to Kasia and Joey as they climbed the steps. She pushed open the door and was met with a wall of light and sound, a sharp contrast to the night outside. The bar was busyfor a Monday night, and the lifeboat crew would only add to the crowd.
At the bar, Joey took their favorite stool at the far end. Seán rushed in and joined the young man behind the bar. When he wasn’t acting as lifeboat operations manager, his full-time job was manager of the Emerald Bar, the island’s only pub. He poured them both a drink before serving the rest of the crew. He was one of Kasia’s closest friends on Inishderry, and a fellow blow-in, if only from Dublin.
He passed out the drinks and then rang his bell to get the attention of the crew. The chatter died down, and everyone gave him their attention.
“Tonight was Kasia’s first time taking the boat on and off the trailer, and I’m so impressed with what a great job she did.” He turned to Kasia. “It’s as if you’ve been doing it for years.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I can’t say I love it, but it’s good to know I could handle the maneuver in an emergency.”
He raised his glass. “Well done.”
Everyone raised their drinks, and those closest to Kasia tapped glasses with her. She smiled until their attention moved on and then sighed. “That’s me done. Can I go now?” She finished the last of her drink and pulled on her jacket.
“I’ll come with you.” Joey slipped off their stool and followed her out. “Thanks for coming out. Seán appreciated it. And I like having you around.”
The fresh air wasn’t enough to revive her this time, and she wondered if she had the energy to walk the few hundred yards home. She gave Joey a quick hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She trudged down the hill alone, barely lifting her feet high enough to avoid tripping. It was good that tomorrow was a quiet day. Once she’d finished the laundry and prepared for the following weekend’s visitors, she should have a bit of downtime.Ideally, she would do some walking and swimming, but the way she felt at the moment, she might just stay in bed with a book.
It was difficult to stay motivated. Since she’d found the will in a drawer and handed it over to Anthony, Peggy’s middle son who lived on the mainland, she’d heard nothing about her future or even if she would still have a job. But this was where she wanted to be, more than anywhere. So, until she heard anything different, she’d keep the hotel running as best she could, even if it felt hopeless some days.
TWO
“When you said,‘Let’s holiday in the south of France,’ this was not what I pictured,” Megan muttered from the side of her mouth.
“I haven’t been lying in this wet field for an hour so you can scare everything off with your moaning.” Tierney Walsh focused her attention back on the viewer and squeezed off another few shots of the birds feeding in the long grass a couple of feet ahead of them. She wished her best friend had gone to the beach. Staying still for hours on end wasn’t often her first choice either, but when she captured an image that was really special, one which encapsulated the true glory of the natural world, the waiting made it worthwhile.
“What kind of birds are they, anyway?”
If she ignored her, Megan would persist, and her whispers would likely spook the birds. “Little bustards.”
Megan’s snort of laughter sounded like a gunshot in the silence. The birds took off, their wings whirring close overhead. Tierney continued to take shots, her lens following as they took flight. “Damn it, Megan!”
“I’m sorry, but that is one dumb name for a bird.” Megan eased herself up off the matting where they’d been lying for over an hour. “I guess you don’t want me to come along tomorrow.”
Tierney thumbed through the images she’d just taken. Some were pretty good. Megan may have done her a favor by disturbing the birds, but she wouldn’t share that just yet.
“Are you telling me you sabotaged my shoot so you wouldn’t be invited tomorrow?” She retrieved her camera bag and attached the lens cap. “‘Hey, Tierney, I think I’ll sit on the beach tomorrow’ would’ve sufficed. It’s your holiday too, Meg, and God knows you need it more than I do with the shit you have to deal with at work.”
Megan laughed and rolled up the mat while Tierney picked up the last of her equipment. “I’ve enjoyed our day. I love these little insights into the slower-moving side of Tierney Walsh. You’re really passionate about this stuff, and it’s a joy to watch.” She stretched her arms, and muscles audibly creaked in her back and shoulders. “However, you are correct that I need to relax for a couple of days before I return my nose to the grindstone, so Iwillspend the rest of my vacation messing about on the beach.” She took a bag from Tierney and swung it over her shoulder as they started their walk back to the town. “Are we going back to that cool bar?”
Tierney turned slightly. “Can we try a different place tonight?”
Megan groaned. “I like it there. It’s not full of men trying to hook up, and it has a really friendly vibe. Why do we need to go elsewhere?”
She wished she could change the subject. “We’ve been there every evening. How about somewhere new for our last couple of nights?”
Megan caught her arm. “This isn’t anything to do with that woman you were smooching with last night, is it? What was her name? If you even asked.”
“Francine. Of course not. I just want to check out somewhere different.” They both knew it was a lie.
“Tierney, you’re going to have to spend more time getting to know women if you want to meet someone for real.”
Megan was right. Tierney always started out with good intentions, but it didn’t take long for her attention to wander. Once she’d lost interest, it seemed unnecessary to keep things going. “I don’t have time for relationships that are going nowhere. Andyoucan talk; you haven’t been on a serious date for years.”
