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Aisling pushed the door open of the guesthouse, holding her breath in anticipation of Marcus being sat in reception. The nervous tension must be coming off her in waves, would he be there, or wouldn’t he? She was almost disappointed to see that the sofa was empty. Young Evie was looking even younger than her eighteen years with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and no makeup save for a slick of gloss was checking a couple in. Their clothing was somewhat eccentric. The woman was in a voluminous tie-dyed dress with a long floaty cardigan overtop, a scarf draped around her neck and he, with his silver beard and wispy long hair reminded Aisling of a wizard. Merlin sprang to mind.
Evie glanced up from the computer and caught Aisling’s eye, looking as though she wanted to say something. Whatever it was would have to wait until the new arrivals had been shown to their room. Their guests always came first and with that in mind Aisling gathered herself, pushing thoughts of her ex aside as she came to stand alongside the bohemian pair.
‘Good afternoon.’ She held her hand out in greeting. It was given a warm shake in return by the gentleman. ‘I’m Aisling O’Mara. Welcome to O’Mara’s,’ she smiled and shook his wife’s hand as the gentleman introduced them both as Branok and Emblyn Nancarrow.
It was Emblyn who began to chat. She had a singsong accent and the way in which she rolled her ‘r’s’, made Aisling pick them as hailing from Britain’s West Country. She was right, Emblyn told her they were from Falmouth in Cornwall. Privately Aisling couldn’t help but think that the Cornish had even stranger sounding names than the Irish. Emblyn and Branok? They sounded like something from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. To be fair, he looked like something from the old Arthurian legend and he was supposed to have been born in their neck of the woods.
‘And what brings you to Dublin? If you don’t mind my asking?’
‘Oh I don’t mind at all dear. We’re both artists we own a gallery at home. Branok and I spent time in Dublin when we were young free spirits. Branok got it in his head that he wanted to relive his youth for a few days. We’re going to visit our old haunts so,’ she smiled, ‘here we are.’
‘It’s a lot busier than I remember it,’ Branok said picking up their case and Aisling was sure she heard him mumble, and expensive.
‘When were you last here?’ Aisling asked.
‘Oh, sometime in the late sixties. I had even longer hair then and so did she. We spent a lot of time sitting in a semicircle in St Stephen’s Green with other long haired young people talking about the meaning of life.’ He made a peace sign and Aisling and Evie laughed. ‘Remember how we crashed on the floor of that communal flat at night, Emblyn?’
‘I do. We’d never get up again if we did that now. The emergency services would have to be called.’
‘Well now I think you’ll find your bed here much comfier than the floor. I imagine you’ll find Dublin quite different on this visit, but the heart of the city is still the same.’ Aisling offered to help with their case and show them to their room.
‘No, we’ll be fine thank you. We travel lightly. Sketch books, and a few changes of clothes. Evie here has informed us of where we’ll find everything we need. Now then, first floor, three doors down on the right. Come on Emblyn, let’s get settled in and then see about having a pint of Ireland’s finest.’
Aisling recommended they check out Quinn’s. She knew there was live music there tonight and it was only a short walk from the guest house. ‘Don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything. We’re here to help and have a wonderful stay,’ she called after them as they trooped up the stairs.
‘I’m going to head up myself Evie, give me a buzz if you need me.’
Evie grabbed hold of Aisling’s arm before she too disappeared up the stairs startling Aisling with her vice like grip. She inclined her head toward the guest lounge, her eyes popping as she whispered, ‘He’s in there.’
‘Who?’
‘Yer man, Marcus.’ Evie’s voice was full of the drama of it all.
Aisling’s breath caught in her throat as the thoughts raced through her head. He knew she was back, he’d have heard her voice. She’d have to go through and see him because she couldn’t very well leave him sitting there. If Moira were to come home and spot him reclining on their sofa, there’d be hell to pay. For the briefest of seconds she wondered about hiding and sending Evie in to do her dirty work, but she knew that would be beyond childish.
Be calm, be civilised, breathe slowly, and tell him to feck off Aisling! She told herself licking her lips. They’d gone paper dry, she’d not put lipstick on since finishing her lunch and her hair had been whipped by the seafront wind. She wished Evie wasn’t sitting there because she’d have dug out her makeup purse and tidied herself up before throwing herself in the lion’s den. She didn’t want to give the younger girl gossip fodder though, not knowing she was friendly with Ita. She could just imagine what the pair of them would say if they got their heads together. Aisling was all concerned with looking her best! She obviously wanted him to see what he’d missed out on, that or she wants him back.
No, she’d been humiliated enough when he’d left and Evie, for all that the guests thought she was marvellous, and for all her feigned wide-eyed innocence was quite the scandalmonger. For that reason she wiped the panicked look off her face. She took a steadying breath and thanked Evie for letting her know in a voice that did not betray the fact her insides had jellified. She held her head high and marched past the front desk and through into the guest lounge.