Aisling's Summer Diary

Chapter 30 | Don't Stop Believing

We’re all set to wrap up our best-ever summer with an unreal party!  Ali and Fiona are heading up the entertainment, Siobhan’s booked a rockin’ local band, and I’ve stocked the back table with more sandwiches than we could possibly eat.  It’s going to be SO hard to leave this place—it’s come to mean so much to all of us—but I can’t think of a better sendoff!    

8:30 p.m.

When I pushed through the doors of the Great Hall with one last tray of sandwiches, my eyes nearly bugged out of my head: the room was wall to wall people—guests, the surf crew from the village, even the chef!  THIS is what Ciaran had imagined all those weeks ago, the hall filled with life and laughter and...Ali? 

Up on the stage, Ali stood shoulder to shoulder with Fiona (who looked gorgeous in a red sequined flapper-esque dress and headband).  She’d lost the glasses and Ali had lost the mask!  No more Gavin, so!  Ali dipped his head, his hair a wild mess and his cape billowing, and in a voice that was part-Gavin-part-Ali asked the crowd: “Are you ready to see some magic?!”  A cheer rang out, and he swooped an arm over his head and Fiona’s and both of them vanished!  I swear those two really do bring out the best in one another!  

The band was miraculously THERE on stage in the half-light, blitzing into their first song, and the room began to heave and shake with dancers.  “You’ve done a really good job with all of this,” I said to Ciaran who was looking about, transfixed.  “Any of this rekindling your passion for hotels?!”  He smiled and thanked me.  “I’m going to miss you all.  Couldn’t have done it without you.”  “I know,” I laughed.  “If you need a chef next summer...”  “I know EXACTLY who to call,” he beamed. 

Celia glided her way over to us amidst little knots of dancers, her eyes fixed on Ciaran.  I took a step back to give them some space.  “Looks like we have a second chance now,” Ciaran said as he took her hands in his.  “For what?” she smiled coyly.  “Conquering the world,” he said softly.  They swayed faintly to the music.  “I never thought we’d end up business partners, Ciaran.”  He cupped her cheek in his hand and pulled her to him.  “Not just business partners...” he crooned. 

“Ah-HEM!”  Siobhan wrapped on a clipboard, and Ciaran and Celia snapped to attention.  I had to take another step back so they didn’t hear me laughing!  Siobhan had already shown me her plans for the business school.  She’d designed a series of eight week courses in each of the major disciplines of the industry: marketing, finance, team management, and of course REAL WORLD application.  The students would devise their own small businesses and launch them with the help of the school!  “You can only learn so much from a book,” Siobhan said.  “Even if it is written by the best uncle on the planet!” 

“I expect payment into my account of 30% of the hotel’s profit, uncle Ciaran.  That is, until the business school is up and running,” Siobhan said, straining a bit over the music.  Celia squeezed Ciaran’s hand and turned to her.  “Now I know why I agreed to partner up with you—your niece!”  Siobhan flushed, a sly smile creeping over her face.  Maybe Celia wasn’t so bad after all.     

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I spun around.  It was Slater.  “Dance?” he asked.  As we rocked our way around the room I told him how glad I was to have met him.  Getting to know him had been one of the coolest parts of the summer.  “You won’t forget me, right?” he said, flashing a smile.  “Just because I’m going off to the States, we can still talk, you know?”  “Yeah.  Sure.”  I could see Murphy over his shoulder, so I was only half listening.  

“Mind if I dance with Aisling?” Murphy asked.  Slater looked up at him, reluctant to give way.  He reached out for my hand.  “Call me,” he said.  I gave him a little peck on the cheek, and he slunk off into the crowd.  “Good luck, Slater,” I called after him.  Murphy looked over his shoulder at him.  “You work things out?”  I shrugged my shoulders.  “Guess so.  I’ve decided summer romances should end with the summer.”  Murphy’s eyes lit up.  “So does that mean we’re...?!”  I half-danced, half-nodded an emphatic YES, and Murphy grabbed me up in a big hug! 

We rocked on into the night, every one of us trying to stave off the morning, which meant going back to Dublin, back to traffic jams and school and little brothers.  At least, I thought as the band wound down into a slow set, going home also means Ali and Siobhan and Murphy!  I could hardly wait to see where the new year would take us!  University?  Cooking school?  The dance academy?  As long as I had my friends a block or a town or a text away, I knew everything was going to turn out alright!

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