I nodded an bit hard into the scone, neatly dividing the inside of
my cheek from my gums.
When we finally arrived at our destination, we found ourselves on a
quaint cobblestone street not far from the ocean. Our room was
small, but cozy, and we immediately jumped on the expertly-made
bed, grinning from ear to ear.
“Ahhh…We made it!”
“This is great, Jake. What a wonderful country this seems to be
so far.”
“A lot different from Ethiopia, huh?”
“You can say that again. It sure is cold for July.”
“It’s a nice change from L.A. No smog, happy, friendly people,
and what’s the deal with the sun being out still at 10 p.m.? I should
be sleepy, but I feel like its only three o’clock.”
She laid back, exhausted. “It’s the latitude. In the winter they get
hardly any hours of daylight. I wonder if it’s anything like Sweden
here, where the suicide rate skyrockets from the lack of sun?”
“After the brief impressions I’d received so far of the Irish
people I’d guess no. I think sorrow is against the law.”
“I’m sure they get just as bummed out as anybody else. They’ve
just been through such hell as a culture, they’ve probably learned to
look on the bright side of things.”
“Facilitated, no doubt by their fondness for Guinness,” I
suggested.
“No doubt.” she agreed. “So, are you hungry?”
Our separation at this time had been long enough, and the
situation delicate enough that I couldn’t allow myself to say what I
was really thinking: I’m hungry for you, so I said only: “Famished.”
Over dinner, I told her about the ring I bought for her and what
had happened to it.
“So who was this woman?” she asked between bites of battered
fish.
“Some old lady who thought I grabbed her boobs.”
“What?”choked Charly, laughing.
“No, no. I didn’t. She thought I did. I didn’t. It’s a long story.
Anyway, she was next to me on the plane and saw the ring—it was
really a nice ring, you know—and I guess she decided to steal it from
me while I was asleep.”
“And you didn’t even get to grab her boobs.”
BIG AMERICAN BREAKFAST
28
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