17
“I’m heading to class!” I call out, the condo silent in response.
Weird. Typically, I’m the first out the door. Maybe Michael went to the store early.
I head downstairs and find the coffee pot full, but cold. Huh. Weird. I look out the window, and suddenly the backyard goes from sunlit to cloaked in darkness.
Red and blue lights flicker on the walls of the living room. As I turn, someone starts pounding on the door.
When I open the door, no one is there. My eyes trail the lawn and stop when they hit the street.
Michael is sprawled out in the middle of the road. His head slowly lifts up, turning in my direction. Bloodied. He reaches his arm out to me…
I startle awake, visions of Michael fading with the early dawn sunlight.
Wait. Early dawn sunlight.
I look around for my phone, which I find plugged in on a nightstand I don’t recognize. I’m in a bed I don’t recognize and I’m also wearing a t-shirt that clearly isn’t mine.
“Good morning,” Niall appears in the doorway, holding two mugs. He slowly drops down on the edge of the bed, passing me one of the mugs. “It’s instant I’m afraid. As you know, I’m more of a tea drinker. I keep the instant on hand just in case.”
“Niall. What time is it?”
“A bit after eight. I heard you start to rustle around a bit so I went ahead and made these.”
“Eight in the morning?! Shit. I missed Aidan’s sister and getting the keys to the apartment.” I grab my phone and the home screen says…I have no missed notifications. What the hell?
“Yeah, so I’m guessing you don’t remember a whole lot of yesterday post-lunch.” I shake my head, confirming. “Okay, so you got here and the lack of sleep hit you hard. I put you to bed in my bedroom and you immediately conked out.”
“For what, eighteen hours? That’s insane. I wasn’t that sleep deprived.”
Niall places his hand on my knee. “From the flight? A bit. But I know you haven’t been sleeping well since the accident. I think it all caught up to you.” He reaches into the pocket of his short and produces a set of keys. He drops them into my open hand.
“Wait. These are for the apartment? How did you get them?”
“Well,” Niall says, taking a sip of his tea. “I came in to check on you right around when you were expecting the text from Aidan’s sister. I may, or may not, have put your phone up to your face and unlocked it. And then I may have gone and met her to get the keys for you.”
I laugh. “I don’t know whether to feel like a delinquent or happy that things worked out.”
“Oh, for sure you’re a delinquent. But, Erin’s actually someone who frequents my shop so it was a funny coincidence. I explained it all to her, which obviously how would I know the details if not for knowing you.”
I put the coffee down on the nightstand. “Do you know everyone in this city or what? The tour guide? My landlord?”
“I’d hardly call Erin a landlord. You likely won’t hear from her again now that she’s passed off the keys. Now, can I interest you in some breakfast?”
Soon enough Niall finishes plating the food, sliding mine down to me. It’s filled with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and what I suspect is soda bread.
“Do you do this most mornings? Or am I receiving special treatment?”
Niall takes the chair opposite me at the table. “I like to cook, but don’t have the opportunity to share it often. I spared you the black pudding though. I don’t want to be responsible for ruining your first real breakfast in Dublin.”
“Wait, is that the one made with blood?” Niall taps his nose, and I cringe. “Gross.”
When I do take my first bite of food, a few chunks of potato, it’s amazing. And so are the eggs, and obviously the meats. But the soda bread might be the best I’ve ever had.
“Did you make the bread too?”
Niall nods. “I sell it at the shop, sometimes people line up for it.”
“You should do the barmbrack too. The suggestions you gave for that recipe made it delicious. I have to imagine you making it would be that much better.”
“I actually do make it from time to time, swapping out the soda bread. And don’t sell yourself short Danny. I’ve eaten things that traveled for like a week in the mail and were downright delicious after all that time.”
I feel heat in my cheeks so I turn away and check my phone, not really sure for what. But I do need to figure out today because I essentially lost a day to get settled in.
“I’m assuming you need to be at the shop today?”
“I do. Actually need to start heading out soon to get ready for opening. Feel free to stay here as long as you like. Just make sure to lock up before you leave.”
I stand up, amazed at how quickly I finished breakfast. “I should probably go unpack and see what I need at the apartment. Get out of your hair for a bit since I kinda derailed you for a day.”
“Honestly, it wasn’t a problem. I need to take a quick shower before we head out though. Gotta grab your bags from the car.”
I grab Niall’s and my plates. “I can wash these up,” I say, bringing the dishes to the sink. Niall disappears into the bedroom while I grab a sponge and start cleaning the dishes.
Out of the corner of my eye I see him walk towards the bathroom, and I’m caught completely off guard. I’m not sure what I thought Niall’s body looked like, but being here is nothing like what I remember on my or Michael’s laptop screen. Maybe it was the camera angle.
Niall is tall, which is not new news over the past day, but seeing him without a shirt really accentuates it. His body is reminiscent of one of those Olympic swimmers we ogle at every four years. Just with a bit more chest hair.
“Everything good?” He asks, standing at the bathroom door. Shit, was I just staring at him all that time? Did he see me ogling him?
“Good. Just spaced out a bit.” I go back to washing the dishes, breaking eye contact as fast as possible.
Get it together. Let’s not make things awkward with the only friend you have in Dublin right now. Or, realistically, the only friend you seemingly have at all.
* * *
Niall pulls my bags out of the trunk, rolling each over with handles out.
“So, this is me.” He points at the storefront directly under the apartment.
“I must have been really out of it yesterday. I don’t remember seeing this at all.
” Books and Brews, Niall’s shop, looks cute from the outside.
The storefront is painted hunter green and white, the windows full of recent releases and there’s even a section featuring local authors.
“The shop looks lovely Niall. Can’t wait to see the inside. ”
“We can do that later, after you’ve settled in. But I gotta go start prepping the bakery case for the morning rush. Text me when you’re bored or done settling in or whatever.”
Niall leans in for a hug and lingers a bit, before running to unlock the door.
I grab my bags and start to roll them down the street, away from what I think is the main area of Temple Bar.
Well, seeing how I’m walking further from the actual Temple Bar, I think it’s a safe assumption.
That, and the distinct drop in foot traffic I can see ahead in the direction of the apartment.
I look at my phone and it says it’s only a four-minute walk.
That seems delightfully convenient to be this close to everything, but also just far enough from the packs of pub traffic.
I don’t remember anything after passing out last night, but I have to imagine it gets pretty loud in the vicinity of Niall’s apartment.
Not to say there aren’t more pubs heading in this direction. On my right is a place called Paddy Mac’s, or it might be called Fitzsimons. The sign has both names, but one of them promises a roof garden. I’ve always loved a good rooftop bar, which is what I’m assuming the roof garden is.
A wave of barbecue smell hits me, reminding me of Bear’s back home. I round a bend in the road and see Smokin Bones on my left. I’m sure I’ll try it at some point, but it’s advertised as Texas barbecue so it could be a tourist trap.
I’ll have to ask Niall if he’s tried it.
The pubs are spread out a bit more this way, but there are so many little alleyways and side streets that I would normally feel compelled to explore if not for dragging my luggage.
I cross the next intersection after waiting a bit for traffic to clear, my phone telling me I’m about a minute away from the apartment.
I take a left before the Italian Cooking School, which I must look up.
Might be something fun to get Niall to do, unless he already knows how to make great Italian food.
If breakfast was any indication, he might just be a good cook all around.
My phone tells me I’ve arrived.
After some lengthy search in my texts to find the door code, I find myself standing in the apartment.
The apartment is super cute, but clearly there will be some things I will need to get used to.
Like the washer dryer combo being in the kitchen.
Also having a tiny fridge with the world’s smallest freezer as my main fresh food storage.
I will have to channel my inner college student, and also have to shop almost daily.
The living room is pretty spacious, that even includes a built-in fireplace. I probably should know more about the weather here in Dublin, but I have to imagine things get pretty cold in the winter.
The first bedroom, clearly the primary, has a decent sized bed. The linens are stacked at the foot of the bed, with a note on top of the pile.
There is an extra set under the bed, along with an extra blanket and set of pillows. Call if you need anything ~Aidan
Call? No. Text? Maybe, if I’m desperate.
The second bedroom is pretty tiny. There’s a small desk in the corner, along with a half-filled bookcase.
I peruse the selection of novels, almost all of them not published within the past fifty years.
I look around at the rest of the empty room, which I guess could double as an office/workout room.
I’ll have to ask Niall where I can get some basics, maybe a yoga mat and a few weights.
The bathroom is a bit dated but will get the job done. At least it has an enclosed shower. Something about shower curtains has always grossed me out, especially at another person’s apartment.
I look out the window in the bathroom, which has a view looking over the communal roof patio.
It’s actually quite nice. Garden beds filled with various flowering plants and many sets of patio furniture to lounge around in.
There’s a woman sitting at the furthest table smoking a cigarette and reading a book, too far away to see the title.
I roll my suitcases into the bedroom and set about getting myself unpacked. Which, all in, takes about twenty minutes. When you travel with just clothes and basic essentials, you don’t need much. I figured I could buy any toiletries here, and any books I want to read I can buy from Niall.
I do, however, pull out a folder from the bottom of the suitcase. I carry it into the second bedroom and place it on the desk.
It had been an inner debate on whether to bring Michael’s book draft with me.
Part of me didn’t want to bring something so personal to him here, something that could keep me in the trenches of sadness.
The other part of me didn’t want it unguarded back home with an unknown tenant.
Someone who could, but highly unlikely, steal it.
A very small part of me thinks I owe it to Michael to finish the story. And I hope, one day, I can do that for him.
My stomach rumbles, which doesn’t feel right since I literally just had breakfast at Niall’s. But, when I look at my phone, it’s almost noon. I’m not sure how all that time went by. I should probably work on getting some food in the apartment, since eating out for every meal should not be the goal.
Daniel: So where do people get groceries around here?
One Direction: Ahh that’s right. Being American you’re used to giant markets that have 500 varieties of everything
Daniel: Rude
One Direction: For quick shops you have your Tescos and Dunnes. There’s a Tesco right near that pub we saw the morning drinkers at yesterday
One Direction: Dunnes is a bit further, a bit past Trinity
One Direction: We also have Lidl and Aldi close by. I think you have Aldi in the States
One Direction: I recommend getting some essentials at Tesco. Then I can take you to Aldi or Lidl and help you carry shit back
Daniel: What a gentleman
One Direction: ?