Amy stood on the beach watching Dan and Liam and Bren and Dan’s best surfing buddy, Conor, out on their boards. Dan was testing out his new surfboard with a triumphant hundred-and-fifty-metre ride on the reef break. The winds were gusting, and the waves high, and running so fast that the excitement was electric. Amy fought to catch her breath as she jumped up and down in her wetsuit cheering and filming Dan with her mini-cam. She had been out in the surf a few times herself, letting the waves catch her as she fought to keep her balance and not panic. She’d had a few spills but had got back up again. Now she was tired and ready to chill out in front of the big fire they had lit in the cottage overlooking the beach.
The weather was bloody freezing, and they must have been mad to have decided to come to Bundoran for New Year, where the chill winds of winter blew in from the Atlantic and gusted along the coast.
Tara and Aisling were messing about with a board, neither of them managing to stay up for more than a few seconds. The rest of the crowd had already legged it to McDaniel’s, the local pub, and were nursing pints and hot ports there. Feeling her teeth start to chatter, Amy began to walk back to the car, Tara and Aisling running to join her.
‘We’re fffrrreeezzzinng!’ they both said, wrapping themselves in towels before stripping out of their suits and tugging on fleeces and jeans and big woollen socks.
‘Attractive!’ Aisling laughed, pulling on a wool hat, too.
‘Let’s go back to the house and warm up,’ suggested Amy. ‘We can heat up some soup in the microwave and there’s soda bread there, too. The lads will give us a shout when they are ready for home.’
The small holiday cottage was warm, and they sat down in front of the fire. From the window they could just about see where the guys were, and Amy put on the soup for them and threw a few more logs on the fire.
‘God, I’m so glad I came,’ Tara said. ‘It beats me sitting at home while Johnny goes to Edinburgh with his friends. I’d probably just have gone out tonight to some club and had a crap time.’
‘I wish that Jess had come,’ said Aisling. ‘I thought that she was all up for it, and then she just goes and stays at home.’
‘I don’t know what’s happening with her,’ worried Amy. ‘She’s been acting funny since before Christmas. I’ll phone her later.’
Amy, to her surprise, was really enjoying the break from Dublin. They had driven up to Donegal yesterday, a massive drive, but Dan and the guys had still insisted on getting out on their boards when they arrived, even though it was late and the light was fading. They had cooked a huge pot of chicken curry afterwards, and sat in, drinking and chatting and playing music all night. It had been great, and everyone had got up mid-morning to go to the beach or up by the cliffs.
Amy took a second bowl of the warming vegetable soup, all the time keeping an eye on the water and waves.
Tonight they had booked a big table for fourteen in Farraige, the restaurant at the edge of the town. Drinks in McDaniel’s first, then New Year’s Eve dinner in the restaurant, which had got a great write-up in the Good Food Guide. She couldn’t wait.
The meal had been superb and Farraige had certainly proved that it deserved its reputation.
‘If this place was in Dublin we’d be there every weekend,’ said Jeremy, heartbroken that his new favourite restaurant was so far away. The table was littered with wine glasses and beer bottles as they began the big countdown to midnight, Amy clutching Dan’s hand in hers.
At twelve o’clock the place went crazy, with everyone shouting and singing and wishing each other: ‘Happy New Year! Happy New Year.’
‘This is going to be our year,’ Dan promised, kissing Amy. ‘We’ve the wedding, and then I think we should think about buying a house.’
Amy, a little bit tipsy, threw her arms around him. The wedding! A house! It was going be a great year.
Jamie grabbed her to hug her, and Liam kissed her, and Aisling hugged her tight, all tearful at the thought that Amy wouldn’t be single much longer.
It was 3 a.m. before they finally left the restaurant, Amy and Dan excited at all that the future held for them.
The next day they straggled to the beach. It was wet, but that didn’t deter the diehards, and Amy watched snug in her rain gear as Dan and Liam and most of the lads enjoyed themselves. Kim White, Conor’s girlfriend, fearlessly took in a huge run on her board despite the conditions, to cheers from everyone. The rest of the time was spent in McDaniel’s, where they stayed eating and drinking for the rest of the night.
As they packed up the next morning and prepared to leave the cottage, Amy realized that she hadn’t once opened the laptop she had brought with her. She had been full of good intentions to go through some wedding things, but just hadn’t bothered. She had so much to do. The wedding was only five months away, and her first priority was to get her wedding dress. She’d looked in a few places, but now it was time to make a decision.
‘It’s beautiful here,’ said Dan, wistfully taking a last glance around at the magnificent scenery as he packed their boards on the roof rack. ‘I’m going to miss this.’
‘Me too,’ said Amy, giving him a hug and realizing that she genuinely meant it, and had enjoyed the break far more than she had expected.
The two of them were silent as they started the car and headed for home.