Beautiful Eternity

Ch. 5: The Temple Bar

"He called to say hi? Who calls to say hi!" Aoife quietly yelled at me as I walked into work the following week. "Men don't call to say hi!"

"Men don't call you in general," Laura remarked, walking up to where Aoife was leaning against my desk.

Aoife shot her a look before turning back to me. "Unfortunately, the only man calling me these days is Seamus."

"How'd that go?" I asked, pulling up my computer.

She shrugged. "Okay, we did make out after leaving the pub."

The information caused me to drop my pen and Laura off my desk and onto the floor. She bounced back up and stared at Aoife. "Ay, that's more like it." she teased.

Aoife rolled her eyes. "Not like I liked it."

"Mar dhea," I smiled.

Laura looked at me. "Looks like your protege is finally picking up on some Irish slang."

I rolled my eyes and looked back at Aoife. "You know you did."

She blushed slightly before standing up. "I have to go." She turned on her heels and clattered off the wooden floors. Her red pants were impeccable, as they always were.

"It should be getting to work too. Lunch today?" Laura asked, turning on her computer.

I shook my head. "Can't."

Laura cocked an eyebrow. "Why not? We always get lunch on Mondays."

I looked to make sure Aoife was far enough away before I turned back to Laura, scooting my chair closer. "You have to promise not to tell Aoife." She nodded. "Okay, come here to me. Emeric asked if I'd like to go to the Temple Bar for lunch."

Laura's eyes seemed to pop out of her head as her jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're going?"

"Of course I am!" I playfully slapped her arm. "But don't tell Aoife. She'll make a big deal, and I don't want that."

I watched as a smirk grew on Laura's face. "Oh, you like him. Don't ya?"

Before my face could give her the answer, I swiveled around to my desk and pulled my chair towards it. "Cula Bula, I won't tell her, but you must tell me everything." I nodded, starting to type the article out. "She's got it bad," Laura whispered loud enough for me to hear. I smiled as I wrote out Emeric's name on my computer.

The rain was lashing when I was off on my lunch break. I was surprised to see Emeric standing in the main lobby of the paper as I stepped off the elevator. "Hey," I smiled, walking up to him. "What're you doing here?"

"Figured I'd walk ya to lunch. Two umbrellas are better than one!" Emeric smiled, holding up an umbrella significantly more extensive than mine.

I nodded, buttoning up my raincoat tighter around my neck. "You didn't have to."

"I know," he smiled, his dimples seemed to deepen in his cheeks. "But it's rude to let a lady get drenched on her way to a date."

"Oh," I smirked. "So you think this is a date." I could feel my knees get shaky.

"It can be whatever you want it to be," he smirked back, pulling the door open.

My ears filled with the sound of rain pounding the street, car roofs, and cobblestone sidewalks. In the years I had been in Ireland, I had grown to love the sound of rain lashing on the ground. People looked at us as we walked down the street. Usually, when rain was this heavy, people found solace in shops and pubs, but Temple Bar was a ten-minute walk, and we would find relief in the pub's warmth soon enough. We didn't talk, mainly because it was impossible to hear anything, but I figured it was probably because neither of us could think of anything to say.

When we arrived at the pub, Emeric opened the door, and I walked in. The smell of wet fabric and soggy shoes filled my nose. It took me the time of the waiter leading us back to our table to get used to the smell. When we sat down, Emeric ordered an Irish coffee while I ordered a plain black coffee with cream.

"So, what brought you to Ireland," He asked after the waiter left.

"University," I replied. "Came to study journaling and the Irish language. I was offered a job at The Gra and never left."

"You speak Irish?" He questioned.

I shook my head, drinking some of the tasteless coffee. "In the end, I just did professional journaling. Maybe the Irish language will come later."

As we chatted, I watched Emeric's face light up when he talked about his time in Madrid. He stirred clear of any questions I asked of his family but spoke fondly of the city and country he had grown to love.

"Ireland will always be home," He ended. "I always believed I'd settle down here one day."

I looked up. "Oh." I didn't know why I acted so surprised. Someone from Ireland would want to call Ireland home. I realized I'd like to call Ireland home as well. Oh, shut up, Lucy. Get out of dreamland.

"Yeah, what about you?" He asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. His smile was more expansive, and his dimples distracted me from his eyes.

"Depends on who I marry," I smirked, looking at my coffee.

"Wha-" he started before he misplaced his coffee, which spilled on his lap. He quickly stood up, smacking his leg on the end of the table. He yelped out in pain, sitting back down hard on the chair.

I grabbed some napkins and mopped up the coffee on the table. "Are you okay?"

He grabbed his leg and made contact with the table. "Oh, fabulous," he said, his face flushing red with embarrassment.

"Did any of it get on the floor?" I asked, walking over to his side.

"No, thankfully, it all got on my pants."

I smiled, looking down at where the majority of his drink landed. "Well, at least it's raining. Free shower."

He laughed, using the remainder of the napkins to mop off whatever he could from his lap as I sat back down. When we finished, he stood up and waited for me to walk around to where he was standing. "Back to the office?"

I nodded, pulling my coat on. As we were walking to the door, Seamus walked up to us. He smirked, looking down to where Emeric had spilled his coffee. "You know the Temple's got the jacks, don't ya, lad?"

"Seamus?" I barked. "Don't be nasty."

"What? The lad looks like he got too nervous for his date and couldn't hold it in."

Emeric stepped closer, balling his fist. "Seamus, we meet again."

I looked between them. "You know each other."

Seamus smirked. "I may or may not be why Emeric fled to Madrid."

Emeric clenched his jaw, tightening his fist. "Seamus, what are you doing?"

"Does she know the real you? Or just the person she wants you to know?"

I looked at Emeric. "What is he talking about."

"Maybe you should get to know the real Emeric Pierce before you start dating him," Seamus smirked, ramming into Emeric as he walked past him.

I looked up at Emeric. "What is he talking about, Emeric?"

He sighed, looking down. "I should be going."

Before I could say anything else, he walked out the door. I stared after him as he walked out into the lashing rain. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd see Emeric Pierce again.