Page 53 of The Widow's Irish Secret
‘I’m sure that’s not a problem,’ Cillian said. ‘Bridget, the woman who runs the B&B, is an old friend. Very relaxed about stuff like that.’
‘Brilliant.’ Tricia walked to the van and climbed in. Once settled in the passenger seat with Cillian beside her, she took a last look at the shimmery blue water. ‘I had never seen this before. So it’s the very first of the memories we have made together.’
‘Many more to come.’ Cillian started the van and they slowly made their way up the slope to the main road which would take them to Dunquin.
As they made their way to their destination, Tricia stared into the darkness. The image of the blue light under the water was still so vivid and she couldn’t believe how lucky she had been to see it.How well he knows me, she thought.Not just the old me but the new me as well. Maybe we weren’t ready to be together all those years ago. We needed to grow and mature and deal with our pain. Will we discover that who we are now is what we have been waiting for? But when I tell him about the trouble I’m in will he think badly of me?
She said a silent prayer that he would understand.
28
The Saturday morning proved to be as enchanting as the night before. Tricia found Cillian in the breakfast room in the B&B tucking into a full Irish breakfast of bacon, eggs, black pudding, sausages and grilled tomatoes. ‘Just an occasional sin,’ he said, looking slightly guilty. ‘My diet is usually very healthy except for the odd slip-up now and then. I knew Bridget does a great fry-up, so I couldn’t say no.’
‘Of course not,’ Tricia agreed while she helped herself to yoghurt, fruit, a slice of brown bread and a mug of tea. ‘I’m afraid that’s not my kind of treat and I’m no good at cooking it either. So if we’re to spend a lot of time together, you’ll have to say goodbye to the full Irish breakfast, except for when we stay in hotels.’
‘You’ll probably save me from an early grave,’ Cillian said. ‘I bet your choice of breakfast is the secret to your youthful looks.’
‘You’re not going to get around me with flattery,’ Tricia remarked, trying her best to look serious.
‘So how am I going to get around you, then?’ Cillian asked.
‘You don’t have to.’ Tricia opened the pot of yoghurt. ‘Just be yourself and stop trying. I like you just the way you are, you know.’
Cillian smiled and put his hand on hers for a moment. ‘Thank you for saying that. And also for coming with me this weekend when I knew you were in the middle of doing up your house and getting close to your grandchildren. Not to mention Vi’s wedding and everything.’
‘It was good to take a break,’ Tricia said. ‘I’m not that busy right now. Vi wants to do her own wedding with Jack so I don’t have much to do about that except to help choose the flowers and get my old wedding dress altered to fit her. That is if she’s going to wear that and not Sylvia’s dress.’
‘What does Vi want?’ Cillian asked.
‘She wants to wear my old thing that looks like a meringue with whipped cream.’
Cillian waggled his eyebrows. ‘But you would love her to wear it.’
Tricia sighed. ‘Yes, I would, to be honest. I thought I looked wonderful in it at the time.’
‘You did. I was there, remember? Fred’s eyes welled up when he saw you coming down the aisle on your father’s arm. I was a little tearful myself too. You were a vision.’
‘That’s so sweet of you to say. Vi would look beautiful in anything so even the meringue dress is okay for her to wear. She has her heart set on it and I don’t want to disappoint her.’
‘Of course you don’t.’ Cillian finished his breakfast and drained his cup of coffee. ‘If you’re ready, we’ll do that hike. And then we continue our voyage of discovery.’
‘Fabulous.’ Tricia swallowed the last piece of bread and got up. ‘It’s a nice day for a hike too. Not too warm and a nice cool breeze.’
‘The views from the top of Mount Brandon are spectacular.’
The drive to the start of the hike didn’t take long and they were soon walking up the steep slopes, both of them a little out of breath which forced them to stop and rest here and there. But then, finally, they were at the top and looking out over Brandon Bay and the islands beyond. They stood silently, hand in hand, and admired the view, smiling at each other. A man who had just arrived offered to take a photo of them and Tricia gave him her phone. Cillian put his arm around Tricia’s waist and they both smiled as the stranger took several shots and then handed back the phone.
‘You looked so cute standing there together,’ he said. ‘Are you on your honeymoon?’
‘In a way,’ Cillian said. ‘We’re on a kind of second-chance voyage, getting to know each other.’
‘You look very much in tune already,’ the man said.
They smiled at each other and then thanked the man before they walked back down the slopes to the car where Paddy the kitten greeted them with a loud ‘miaow’ as if he was wondering where they had been. Then they drove off, Paddy on Tricia’s lap and Cillian humming a happy tune.
They continued back to Dingle and then took the road to Tralee and on to Listowel and Limerick, where they stopped for a quick lunch. Then off they went again, through the Burren and then through Galway to Clifden, where they could either stay in a hotel or in the campervan that they had parked in a designated spot at a camping site. They had also enjoyed a swim at the little beach near the camping site and then tried to decide where to stay.
‘It’s up to you,’ Cillian said. ‘I’m happy sleeping here but if you’d rather?—’
