Chapter Two #2
In the end, Amelia had opted for a simple pair of black skinny jeans, an oversized grey hoodie, and her comfiest sneakers so that she could walk as far as she wanted and not end up with sore feet.
She kept her hair down and wavy, her makeup minimal, and stuck a pair of shades over her eyes.
Not because it was sunny by any means. Apparently, October in Ireland was notoriously cold with its fair share of rain.
Uninspiring grey skies were also a thing.
Sometimes they even got all four seasons in one day.
Amelia had witnessed it. Not today though—today was one of those grey ones.
But Amelia had to hide her face in some way to avoid getting recognised too much.
It was mind-blowing how everyone seemed to know who she was these days.
That hadn’t always been the case during her career.
Amelia had been acting since her late teens, and up until her mid-twenties she had barely gotten recognised at all when she went out and about.
But in the last few years her career had moved from somewhat successful to big time.
Which had always been the aim of course.
But along with the bigger roles came more and more fame.
And that meant getting surrounded by people everywhere she went.
Amelia wasn’t complaining. It could be hard some days, sure, but most of her interactions with the public were great.
She enjoyed chatting with people. It did her heart good to know that she had made someone’s day just by saying hello to them or stopping for a selfie.
If she could bring people that little piece of joy, why wouldn’t she?
But if she spent all day, every day doing that, Amelia would never get anything else done.
So, sometimes, on days like today, she preferred to remain unnoticed as she went about her business. Hence the shades.
There was a loud knock at the door. Amelia grabbed her bag and headed to it. She hated to keep people waiting.
“Hey, Steve,” she said with a smile. “Ready for a day of fun and exploration?” She looked up at the sky which was only a light shade of grey. It wasn’t raining. In fact, there was barely a breeze. A positive start.
“If that’s what you have planned, Ms. Whitlock,” Steve said seriously.
“Please, if we’re going to spend the day together you have to at least call me Amelia.”
Steve nodded once. “As you wish, Amelia.”
They started walking toward the car. “Is there anywhere you want to go and see today? I don’t mind if you’ve got some suggestions.” There was no need to make it all about her. Amelia was sure that Steve didn’t get too much free time in his job either. She had seen him around the set most days.
He hesitated for a few seconds. “It’s your day, Ms.…Amelia. I’ll just be in the background to make sure you’re safe.”
Amelia understood that he had a job to do, and it was important to remain professional, but she hoped that she could make Steve feel like he could relax a little too.
She tilted her head. “Well, if you think of somewhere, or if we pass somewhere that you think looks good, just say. Okay? There’s no strict itinerary here. ”
Steve gave her another single nod before opening the back door of the black Mercedes for her.
She greeted the driver when she got in, who was a guy she hadn’t met before.
Christopher, she learned when she asked him his name.
She liked to learn people’s names. Get to know them.
There was nothing wrong with being personable.
They were all colleagues really. Though she doubted that Bridget Clemonte knew any of the drivers’ names, nor wanted to. Which was a shame.
“Where to first?” Christopher asked her once Steve had slid into the front passenger’s seat and clicked in his seat belt. She could tell by Christopher’s accent that he was local to the area which was perfect. Amelia bet he knew lots of great spots.
She smiled. “I need to see the ocean. Whatever way you want to get there is fine by me.”
He gave her a friendly smile in the mirror. “I would probably vote for the scenic coastal route. It might take a bit longer, but the views are amazing.”
“That sounds perfect.” Exactly what she wanted. They were going to get on just fine, Amelia thought as she rested back in her seat.
And they did. As Amelia suspected, Christopher turned out to be a fantastic tour guide.
He not only took her to some of the most beautiful places on earth, but he was also able to give her a little bit of information about each of the places they visited.
When they stopped at the Giant’s Causeway, Christopher explained that the landscape was made up of thousands of interlocking basalt columns formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago and weathered over time.
But there was a myth that the landmark was created by a giant called Finn McCool who was at war with another giant across the sea in Scotland.
Amelia enjoyed both explanations. They stopped briefly at some old clifftop ruins of Dunluce Castle, where Amelia learned about the tragedy of the castle’s kitchens collapsing into the sea during a dreadful storm, taking some of the staff down with it.
The castle was later abandoned and has stayed that way for hundreds of years.
She was also able to tick it off as one of the Game of Thrones locations on her list. When Christopher learned that interested Amelia, he took her to some more of the show’s locations that were nearby, including the Dark Hedges and Ballintoy Harbour.
They visited a couple of beautiful sandy beaches in charming neighbouring holiday towns called Portrush and Portstewart.
Amelia wished she could have spent a bit longer in both, but she had insisted on a whistle-stop tour as she wanted to cram as much as she could into her day.
Maybe when she got another day off, she could come back and hang out.
They were driving through a town called Bushmills, famous for its whiskey apparently, when Christopher asked her if she wanted to stop for a late lunch. Amelia was shocked when she checked the time, and it was already two p.m.
“I’ve been having such a great time that I hadn’t even thought about food.” She placed a hand over her stomach which did feel empty now. “But yes, I could definitely eat. Is there somewhere you would recommend, Christopher?”
She caught Christopher’s frown in the mirror as he thought about it. “I think one of the hotels has quite a fancy restaurant. It might not be what you’re used to, mind you.” He seemed nervous to suggest it at all.
Did he really think that Amelia was going to be high maintenance about where they ate? “I can’t think of anything worse than a fancy restaurant right now.”
Christopher brightened, like Amelia had taken some of the pressure off. “No?”
Amelia shook her head to reassure him. “Definitely not.”
Steve cleared his throat. “How about fish and chips? Isn’t that a big thing around here?” Amelia was surprised that Steve had finally suggested something. He had remained very focussed and stoic until now. Maybe hunger beat seriousness.
“Ah. You want a chippy?” Christopher said. “That I can do. Unless you want something different, Amelia?”
“A chippy,” she repeated, “Sounds great.” Her personal trainer might kill her, but who cared? Amelia allowed herself to indulge sometimes. Life would be boring without trying all of the great food out there. And she had yet to add a “chippy” to the list.
Amelia did get a bit confused when she heard Christopher place their order at the counter.
“Give us three fish suppers and an extra chip please,” he’d said. “Oh, and a tub of curry.”
Amelia had decided to go with the flow and order fish and chips like the guys, which she assumed was what Christopher was referring to as a fish supper.
But for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why he would order one extra chip.
How big were these chips? And what was the curry about?
She had never heard of eating curry along with fish or fries.
Alas, when their order was ready, it turned out that “an extra chip” was in fact a full portion of chips.
So, a chip could refer to one single chip or a whole bag.
How strange. Amelia was beginning to understand why some people struggled to understand some of the Irish lingo sometimes. She had heard lots of the cast say so.
As for Irish food, it turned out that fish suppers were really, really good.
The battered cod was crispy on the outside, and juicy and tender on the inside.
The fries, or chips she should say, were some of the nicest she had ever tried.
And it turned out the “tub of curry” was just a type of curry sauce, which Christopher had told her to drizzle over her food to give it a bit of an extra kick.
It was a game changer. Curry sauce should be poured over more food.
Amelia made a note to google all of the Irish delicacies that she should try during her time there.
“I could sleep for a week after eating all that,” Amelia said as she scrunched up the empty paper into a ball and set it on the small picnic table where they had stopped to eat their food.
Steve kindly grabbed all their papers and put them in the nearest trash can.
“Well, you can sit back now and enjoy the ride back. Doze if you want. I’ll see where else we can stop along the way,” Christopher said, walking to the car to open the rear door for her.