Love Like This

Zachary’s expression turned as quickly as a flash storm. If he’d been rain clouds before, he was now thunder and lightning.

“But the wedding is tomorrow,” he said.

Keira grabbed both his hands in hers. “The timing sucks, I’ll be the first to admit it. But I swear Ruth won’t mind.”

“Won’t mind?” Zach snapped, yanking his hands back. “You’re in the wedding party!”

Suddenly he was on his feet, pacing away, running his hands through his hair. Keira leapt up and rushed to him, attempting to placate him with affection. But Zach was having none of it this time.

“I can’t believe this,” he gasped. “I spend all day hosting a brunch with your family, listening to Bryn going on and on about how hot her new meditation teacher is and all her vacuous opinions – ”

“Hey!” Keira said, angry now. Criticizing her big sister was not okay.

“And instead of thanking me,” Zach continued, “you drop this on me! How the hell am I supposed to tell Ruth?”

“I’ll tell her,” Keira suggested. “Let me be the bad guy, I don’t mind.”

“You are the bad guy!” Zach exclaimed.

He stomped out of the living room. Keira followed helplessly. They’d been together for two years and she’d never seen him this angry before.

She followed him into the bedroom and watched as he pulled her suitcase out from under the bed.

“What are you doing?” she asked, exasperated.

“Taking this out,” he snapped back. “You can’t go without a suitcase, can you?”

Keira shook her head. “I know you’re angry but you’re taking things a bit far.”

She took the suitcase from his hands and slung it on the bed. It fell open as if inviting her to start packing it. Keira had to fight the urge inside of her to start filling it up.

Zach seemed to momentarily lose his strength. He deflated, sitting on the end of the bed with his head in his hands.

“You always choose work over me.”

“I’m sorry,” Keira said, not looking at him as she grabbed her favorite sweater from the floor and flung it discreetly into the case. “But this is an opportunity of a lifetime.” She went over to the dresser and rummaged through her bottles of moisturizers and perfumes. “Ruth hates me anyway. She only put me in the bridal party because you asked her to.”

“Because that’s what you’re supposed to do,” Zach said sadly. “You’re supposed to do family stuff together.”

She turned and quickly added the items to her case. But Zach noticed what she was doing and his ever darkening expression grew darker still.

“Are you packing?”

Keira froze and chewed her bottom lip. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not,” he said in a cold, measured way. Then he looked up and said, “If you go, I don’t know if we can stay together.”

Keira raised an eyebrow, nonplussed by his threat. “Oh really?” She folded her arms. Now he’d gotten her attention. “You’re going to give me an ultimatum?”

Zachary threw his arms up in frustration. “Don’t act like you’re not forcing my hand! Can’t you see how embarrassing it will be for me to turn up tomorrow at Ruth’s wedding without you?”

Keira sighed, equally frustrated. “I don’t understand why you can’t just tell them that I’ve landed an awesome opportunity at work. Something that I couldn’t miss.”

“My sister’s wedding should be something you can’t miss. It should be a priority!”

Ah. There it was again. That word. Priority. The thing that Keira would never admit to Zach wasn’t him but her career.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, feeling her resolve finally weaken. “But it’s just not possible. My career has to come first.”

She hung her head, not from shame but from sadness. It didn’t have to be this way. Zach should never have pitted their relationship against her career. It was a battle he would inevitably lose.

Keira didn’t know what else to say. She looked at Zachary’s enraged face. No more words passed between them. There were none left to say. Then Zach got up from the bed, headed out of the room and down the corridor, and grabbed his keys from the bowl by the door before pulling the door open and slamming it shut behind him. As Keira listened to the sound of his car driving away, she knew he wouldn’t be back tonight; he’d sleep on Ruth’s fold-out couch to prove his point.

Keira had won the fight but there was no pleasure in her victory. She slumped onto the bed beside her open case and felt a hard lump form in her throat.

In need of some TLC, she grabbed her cell and called her mom.

“Hello, darling,” the woman said, picking up right away, as if the sight of her youngest daughter’s name on the caller ID had propelled her into immediate action. “Is everything okay?”

Keira sighed. “I was calling to tell you about an assignment I was given today at work. It’s a cover story. I get to fly out to Ireland.”

“Darling, that’s wonderful news. How exciting! Congratulations. But why do you sound so glum?”

Keira rolled onto her stomach. “Zach. He’s annoyed. He basically said if I went it would be over between us.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mean it,” her mom said kindly. “You know what men can be like. You’ve just bruised his ego by putting your own priorities above his.”

Keira plucked the corner of a pillow case absentmindedly. “It’s more to do with Ruth’s wedding tomorrow,” she explained. “He thinks I’m ditching him, leaving him in the lurch. Like if he turns up without a date his whole world will implode.” She laughed wryly, but was met with silence on the other end of the line.

“Oh,” her mother said.

“Oh what?” Keira asked, frowning.

Her mom’s voice had lost some of its warmth. There was an edge to it that Keira recognized well enough, since she’d heard it a thousand times as a kid. Disapproval.

“Well, I didn’t realize you’d be missing his sister’s wedding,” she said.

“And does that change things in your opinion?” Keira said, growing a little terse.

Her mom replied in the voice Keira recognized as “diplomatic.” “If you had prior engagements already. And it is his sister. Turning up at weddings alone is really the worst. Everyone stares and whispers. He’ll be quite uncomfortable.”

“Mom!” Keira wailed. “This isn’t the 1950s anymore. A man’s comfort isn’t more important than a woman’s career!”

“That’s not what I mean, darling,” her mom said. “I just mean that Zachary is a lovely young man and there’s nothing wrong with prioritizing the wedding. You don’t want to be like your sister, always on those dating websites, having those terrible evenings with men who say they’re six foot but then turn out to be barely five!”

“Mom!” Keira yelled again, cutting an end to her rambling. “I need you to be supportive right now.”

Her mom sighed. “I am. I’m very pleased for you. And I love your … passion. I do.”

Keira rolled her eyes. Her mom wasn’t very good at being convincing.

“I just think that in this situation you should stay with your boyfriend. I mean, really, what matters more? You’ll be quitting that job in three years anyway to start having babies.”

“Okay, Mom, stop talking right now!” Keira snapped. Making babies was so far from her radar it was a laughable suggestion.

“Darling,” her mom soothed. “It’s very honorable that you work so hard. But love is important too. Just as important. If not more so. Does writing this article really mean more to you than Zachary?”

Keira realized she was gripping her phone tightly. She relaxed her grasp a little. “I have to go, Mom.”

“Think about what I said.”

“I will.”

She hung up, her heart heavy. The elation she’d felt earlier today had entirely evaporated. There was only one person who could cheer her up now, and that was Bryn. She quickly found her big sister’s contact details and called her.

“Hi, lil sis,” Bryn said when she answered. “You missed brunch.”

“I was working,” Keira replied. “Joshua dragged us all into the office, I think just to show off in front of Elliot about this Ireland cover piece he was going to write. Only he slipped and… well, he broke his leg.”

“Are you kidding?” Bryn exclaimed, bursting into hysterics. “How does that even happen?”

Already, Keira felt her unhappiness begin to melt away, such was the power of Bryn.

“It was insane,” she said. “I saw his bone. And then he screamed about how he’d ruined his expensive pants!”

The two sisters laughed together.

“Then what happened?” Bryn asked, being the captive audience Keira had sought in Zachary and her mother.

“He was getting carried off on the gurney by the paramedics and I realized the meeting was about to start – Elliot hates it when people are late – so I went and sat down. And I guess I caught his eye because of that and he gave me the Ireland piece.”

“No way!” Bryn exclaimed. “Are you kidding me? My baby sister is writing the cover story?”

Keira smiled. She knew Bryn didn’t fully understand the extent to which this was a big deal for her, and was at least feigning twenty percent of her enthusiasm, but she appreciated it. It was the kind of reaction she’d hoped for from Zach.

“Yeah. It’s great. But I have to go to Ireland tomorrow so I’m going to miss Ruth’s wedding.”

“Oh pft. So what?” Bryn said. “This is way more important. I didn’t think you liked Ruth anyway.”

“I don’t. But I like Zach,” Keira said, prompting Bryn to consider why jetting off to Ireland at the drop of a hat might not be the easiest thing to do in the world. “I’ve really upset him this time.”

Bryn exhaled. “Look. Sis. I know this is hard. And I like the guy, believe me, I do. But you have got to go! You have to do this. I hate to be the one to say it but you really shouldn’t be with a guy who holds you back. You’ll only resent him if you give in to his demands.”

“And he’ll only resent me if I don’t.”

“Yup. It’s a sad truth, but sometimes life just gets in the way of love. Two people can be right for each other but the timing can be all wrong.”

Keira felt her chest ache at the thought of dumping Zachary in favor of her career. But maybe Bryn was right. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for them.

“So, what are you going to do?” Bryn asked, breaking Keira from her reverie.

Keira took a deep breath. “You know what, I’ve gone through too much crap climbing the corporate ladder to give up at the last hurdle. I can’t turn this down.”

Keira felt her drive return back to her. She was sad about the prospect of leaving Zachary behind, but she really didn’t see any other option. Turning down this opportunity would be the end of her career. There were no two ways about it.

She had to go.

CHAPTER THREE

Keira’s alarm clock woke her up at a stupidly early time the next morning, blaring like a foghorn. She rolled over and turned it off, then realized that the other side of the bed was empty. Zach hadn’t slept there last night.

She got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and peered into the living room. No Zach. So just as she’d predicted, he hadn’t returned last night. He must have stayed at Ruth’s.

Pushing her disappointment and sadness away, Keira took a quick shower, fighting hard to stop the warm water from lulling her back to sleep, and dressed in comfortable clothes for the long journey.

Grabbing her bag, she checked to make sure she had the tickets and itinerary that Heather had given her. Satisfied that her paperwork and passport were in her possession, she headed out of the house and hopped into the back of a waiting cab.

As she sped through the early morning streets of New York City, Keira took a moment to collect her frantic thoughts. This was really happening. She was really about to head abroad for work, something she’d always dreamed of doing. She just wished Zachary had chosen to share in this moment with her, rather than keep his distance.

The Newark airport was as busy as if it were rush hour on the subway. A 5 a.m. start was par for the course for so many busy career types, and Keira felt a sudden surge of pride to consider herself among them. She checked her luggage onto the flight, feeling like a superstar at LAX, her head held just as high. Then she found a coffee shop to get her morning fix and kill the time before her flight was ready to board.

As she sat in the bustling coffee shop, she checked her phone over and over. Even though she knew Zachary would still be sleeping, she desperately wanted some kind of communication from him. She knew she’d done the right thing by taking up the assignment and she hoped Zach would see it that way eventually. Or perhaps their relationship really was doomed like Bryn seemed to think it was. Perhaps their differing priorities really were a blockade they could no longer pass.

She fired off a light-hearted text to Zachary, leaving out any mention of their dispute, hoping that if he awoke to a sweet message he may feel more warmly toward her.

Her phone pinged and she leapt with excitement, thinking Zach had replied. But it was Heather checking everything had gone according to plan and she was on time for her flight. Disappointed, Keira texted back, telling Heather everything was fine.

Just then, she heard the boarding call for her flight. Quickly downing the last of her coffee, Keira headed to the check-in gate, vowing to call Zachary as soon as she landed. There was a five-hour time difference between New York and Ireland that she’d have to keep in mind throughout the duration of her stay.

On board the aircraft, Keira settled into her seat, checking one last time for any communication from Zach. But there was none, and the flight attendant flashed her a disapproving look to see her using her phone after they’d asked that all electronic devices be switched off. Sighing, Keira turned her phone off and stashed it in her pocket.

Just then, a crowd of stag party-goers crowded onto the flight, chatting loudly. Keira groaned. It was going to be a long flight. Seven hours, in fact, to Shannon in County Clare. It would be dark when she landed, but her body would think it was midday. She’d been hoping to get a bit of rest on the flight but the group of loud men was going to something of an impediment.

The plane began taxiing to the runway. In an attempt to block out the rowdy stag party, Keira put in earbuds and closed her eyes. But it wasn’t anywhere near close enough to blocking out their loud banter.

The plane took to the air and Keira resigned herself to plan B: caffeine. She called over the air steward and ordered a coffee, knowing it would be the first of many. She drank it, huffily, to the background sound of the stag party.

As she cruised through the skies, Keira took some time to look through Heather’s itinerary and reminders.

There aren’t any cabs so a rental car will be waiting for you in the parking lot. I hope you can drive a stick shift. And remember to drive on the LEFT.

The thought of having to drive while so sleep deprived worried Keira. She hadn’t driven in ages, since she usually took the subway everywhere. Stick shifts certainly presented an extra challenge. And driving on the left was going to be even harder. If she stood any chance of not crashing, she was going to need to drink a heck load more coffee!

You’ll be staying at a traditional Irish pub and B&B so don’t expect the Hilton treatment. It will be basic.

That didn’t bother Keira. She’d been a starving writer ever since graduating from college; hotels had been out of her price range for years! She could slum it for a month no problem. As long as she wasn’t expected to pee in an outhouse, she was certain she’d be able to survive even the most basic of accommodations.

You’ll have the evening to acclimatize before work starts. We’ve arranged for a tour guide to show you around. You’ll be meeting the matchmaker and festival owner the next morning. The festival begins the following evening.

Keira began to feel even more excited as she read through all the information. The flight seemed to be going by faster than she was expecting, which must have been thanks to the adrenaline pumping through her body. That and the copious amounts of caffeine.

Keira landed in Shannon in good spirits, stepping off the plane and into the cold, fresh September air. She’d been expecting to see rolling green hills and fields dotted with cows and sheep, but instead the Shannon airport wasn’t much to look at. The area was somewhat industrialized, with large gray buildings that lacked any kind of architectural flare.

The car rental place was just as grim. Instead of a warm Irish greeting, she encountered a stony-faced young man who took her booking slip silently and handed her the keys without so much as uttering a syllable.

Keira took the keys and found the car in the lot. It was impossibly small. She got in the right-hand side, remembering Heather’s reminder to drive on the left. It took her a while to refamiliarize herself with the concept of a stick shift and clutch pedal, and then she was off, using the SatNav to direct her out of Shannon. It would take approximately an hour to reach her destination, Lisdoonvarna.

No sooner had she left the main road than she found she was suddenly driving along small, winding roads with no sidewalks, no road signs, and no streetlights. Keira clutched the steering wheel anxiously and put every ounce of energy and concentration she had into driving along the roads that just seemed to become narrower and narrower.

After fifteen minutes or so, she began to relax somewhat. The traffic was very light, which helped calm her nerves because she wasn’t so terrified about crashing into anyone. The environment was also very relaxing, with nothing around for miles but hillsides and fields dotted with sheep. The grass was the greenest green Keira had ever seen in her life. She wound down the window in order to sniff the pure air, but instead got the smell of manure. She wound the window up quickly.

There were hardly any roads signs to guide her so she was thankful for the SatNav. But there were also no streetlights, which made driving difficult, especially with so many tight, blind corners. And the markings on the road had all but faded. Keira also found driving on the left disorientating. The difficult drive was compounded further by the sheer number of tractors she had to overtake!

Just then the road became so narrow there was only space for one car. Keira almost plowed headlong into oncoming traffic and had to squeal to a halt, the car juddering to the side of the road and scraping against the hedgerow. Keira held a hand up to apologize to the driver of the other car but they just smiled kindly as if it were no bother at all, and reversed a little in order to allow the space for her to pass. Back home in New York City, such an incident would have resulted in Keira being loudly cussed. She was already getting a feel for that infamous Irish hospitality.

Her heart still pounding from the shock of the near miss, Keira managed to slowly inch forward past the car.

She continued onward cautiously, feeling more terrified of the roads than she had before. She hoped the scrape against the hedges wouldn’t be visible on the paint work – she wasn’t sure how the company would feel about her coming back with a huge bill from the car rental place for damage!

Any residue of excitement she’d been feeling before the treacherous drive had begun started to wane. Running on adrenaline and coffee had only gotten Keira so far. Now instead of being in awe of the beauty of nature, she saw her surroundings as sparse and somewhat bleak. The only living creatures she saw were sheep. There were old stone farmhouses dotted around that were abandoned, crumbling. Up in the hillsides, Keira also saw a derelict castle nestled within a smattering of trees and wondered how such a historic old building had been left to decay.

She began mentally taking notes for her article, remembering the cynical angle Elliot wanted her to take. Instead of seeing the beauty in the coastal view, she focused instead on the gray clouds. Instead of seeing the vast view over the ocean as miraculous, she instead decided to cast her gaze to the bleakness of the distant craggy mountains. Though it was stunningly beautiful on one hand, Keira felt that debunking the romance of Ireland wouldn’t be that much of a challenge. She just needed to know where to look and how to twist things.

She passed through a handful of small, stone-walled towns. One was called Killinaboy and she laughed aloud, quickly texting a picture of the town sign to Zach, who she hoped would appreciate it.

She was so distracted by the amusing road sign, Keira almost didn’t notice the next obstacle in the road – a herd of sheep! She slammed on the brakes and came to a halt just in time, stalling the car in the process. It took a long time for her terror to abate. She could have mown down a whole family of sheep!

Taking a moment to calm her heartbeat, Keira grabbed her phone and took a photo of the crowd of sheep’s backsides, sending it to Zach with the caption: the traffic here is a nightmare.

Of course, she received no reply. Frustrated with his complete lack of interest, she sent the same pictures off to Nina and Bryn in turn. Both responded almost immediately with laughing emojis and Keira nodded, satisfied to know that at least someone in her life found her escapades interesting.

Keira revved the engine back to life and slowly overtook the convoy of sheep. They watched her pass with knowing expressions and she almost found herself apologizing aloud. The sky was starting to darken, making the drive feel even more precarious. It didn’t help that the only buildings she saw were churches, with solemn statues of the Virgin Mary praying by the roadsides.

Finally, Keira arrived in Lisdoonvarna and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. At least it looked like a place where people lived! There were streets where more than one house stood side by side, which gave it the feel of a town… almost. All the buildings, houses, and shops were so small and quaint, many barely a couple of feet away from the road, and they were painted in bright rainbow colors. Keira was glad to finally be somewhere that seemed like a community rather than just single dwellings connected by roads.

She slowed her car, following the street signs until she found the address she was looking for, the St. Paddy’s Inn. The B&B was right on the corner of two roads, a three-story, dark red brick building. From the outside, it looked very Irish to Keira.

She parked in the small lot and leapt out, grabbing her bags from the trunk. She was exhausted and ready to get inside and rest.

But as she approached, she realized rest was not something she was about to get. Because even from here she could hear the sounds of merry conversation and rowdy debate. She could also hear the sound of live music, of violins, pianos, and accordions.

A bell over the door tinkled as she walked inside to find a small, dark pub with old crimson wallpaper and several round wooden tables. The place was filled to the brim with people, beers in hand. They looked over at her as if they could tell right away she didn’t belong here, that she wasn’t just a tourist, but an American.

Keira felt a little overwhelmed by the culture shock.

“What can I get yee?” a male voice said in a thick accent that Keira could hardly understand.

She turned to the bar to see an old man standing behind it. He had a wizened face and a tuft of gray hair sprouting from the center of an otherwise bald head.

“I’m Keira Swanson,” Keira said, approaching him. “From Viatorum magazine.”

“I can’t hear yee! Speak up!”

Keira raised her voice over the live folk music and repeated her name. “I have a room booked here,” she added when the man just looked at her with a blank frown. “I’m a writer from America.”

At last the man seemed to understand who she was and why she was there.

“Of course!” he exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face. “From the paper with the fancy Latin name.”

He had a warm aura about him, very grandfatherly, and Keira felt herself relax again.

“That’s the one,” she confirmed.

“I’m Orin,” he said. “I own the St. Paddy. Live here too. And this is for you.” Suddenly, a pint of Guinness was plonked onto the bar in front of Keira. “A traditional St. Paddy welcome.”

Keira was taken aback. “I’m not much of a drinker,” she laughed.

Orin gave her a look. “You are while you’re in County Clare, my lass! You’re here to let your hair down just like the rest of the locals. And anyway, we have to toast your safe journey! Thanks be to the Virgin Mary.” He crossed his chest.