Luck of the Irish: Complete Edition (2 page)

Less than fifteen minutes later, Keira was in the elevator, along with a nice bellhop named Peter, going up to her room. She loved the wood-paneled walls and the sophisticated yet subtle décor. She had never stayed in such a luxurious hotel. Her great-grandparents hadn’t had any of that legendary ‘Luck of the Irish’ when they got to America.

Neither had her grandfather. He had an almost fatal car accident when her father was a baby. Because of that, Padraic had spent most of his life in a wheelchair. He had managed to raise his little family quite well, but money had been tight for a long time for the Ashes.

Nowadays, with the successful restaurant, her parents had a more comfortable lifestyle but she could never compare her home to that hotel. She tried to shake off the feeling of inadequacy as Peter opened the door and showed Keira into her room.

“Where do you want me to put your bag, miss?”

She looked around and pointed to the space between the bed and the window.

“You can leave it over there, by the bed, please.”

Opening the closet, Peter got a foldable stand and arranged her suitcase on it. Then, he opened the dark blue curtains. The room was flooded by light coming through the large windows. There was another brick building across the street, behind the hotel.

“That’s Temple Bar, miss,” Peter told her as he pointed out of the window. “At night, it gets quite busy and noisy but I guess you’ll like it there. The pubs are full of young people.”

“Thanks.”

Keira didn’t bother to explain to him she never cared much for clubbing with her friends. She had always been the quiet, nerdy one in the gang. She pushed her glasses up her nose and gave him a tip.

“Thank you, miss. Call me if you need anything.”

As the door clicked close, Keira plopped herself down on the center of the bed and looked at the ceiling, “Grandpa Paddy, I’m home!” she uttered, quietly.

Rolling onto her stomach, Keira buried her head in the soft pillows. She felt like crying yet couldn’t understand why, so she fought against it. An ominous feeling had haunted her in the previous weeks but Keira wouldn’t let it ruin her vacation.

I miss Grandpa. Besides, it is the first time I’m alone and away from home. That’s why I want to cry.

Her rationalization didn’t stop a few tears from falling silently until she fell asleep.

* * * *

After a warm shower, Keira felt like herself again and asked the concierge for directions to Croke Park stadium. The concert wouldn’t be for another couple of days but she wanted to grab the ticket in her hands to make sure it was real. She decided to take a bus to be able to see more of the town as she went to pick up the ticket.

On the bus, she sat near three people who were talking in Portuguese. There were many Portuguese speakers in her neighborhood, which make it easier for her to recognize it, although Keira didn’t speak it. She just sat there and listened to them, feeling more at home than before. Dublin had turned out to be quite a surprise. She had never expected to find another city so far from Boston and yet so similar to it.

When she stood up to get off the bus, the three Portuguese speaking friends got off as well. They were probably U2 fans too and she felt an impulse to strike up conversation but she didn’t have it in her to do that. She walked a couple of steps behind the small group, which consisted of a woman and two men. They were older than her - in their late thirties. The woman walked between the two men and spoke very excitedly about something and the three of them laughed a lot, obviously, enjoying themselves.

After a short walk, the four of them got to the Will Call counter and stood in line waiting to get their tickets. The red-headed woman had noticed Keira on the way but had said nothing. Now that Keira was standing behind them, she decided to introduce herself and maybe make a new friend.

“Hi, there. My name’s Carla. You look too young to be a U2 fan,” she said it with a smile and a gentle tone. Except for a very light accent, her English was excellent. “Are you from around here?”

“Oh, hi, I’m Keira. I’m from Boston,” she replied as they shook hands. “I guess I’m a fan since before I was born. My mom is a fan and she used to listen to U2 all the time when she was pregnant with me.”

“These are my two best friends – Fábio and Doni. We are from Brazil.”

“How do you do?” Fábio shook her hand.

“How are you?” asked Doni, blushing and looking more uncomfortable than Keira when she held his hand.

“Don’t mind him, Keira. He’s shy and hates me for talking to strangers. He’ll get over it,” Carla said as she winked at Doni and gave him a tight hug. “Won’t you, dear?”

“I’ll try,” he laughed but his face grew redder.

“How long have you been in Dublin?” Fábio asked.

“I arrived today.”

“Is it your first visit?” Carla added.

“Yes, it is. I’ll stay for three weeks and travel around the country, after the concert, you know?”

“Oh, I’m, sure you’ll love it here. This is our second visit. First time, we stayed only in Dublin, which is a wonderful city, in my humble opinion!”

Fabio and Doni laughed at her comment because it didn’t sound humble at all while Keira tried to figure out the three Brazilians.

“This time we got to drive around for almost three weeks before coming to Dublin. You’ve got to visit the little villages by the coast, and the castles, and the parks. There’s just too much to see.”

Keira just nodded at Carla’s enthusiastic descriptions of the places they had recently visited. Her friends also contributed to the narrative. The four of them were so enthralled by the lively conversation that it took them some time to notice a certain commotion going on at the head of the line. When people started shouting, others complaining, they stopped talking and tried to understand what was going on.

“How come it is canceled?” a man shouted at the person behind the glass window.

They couldn’t hear the answer because they were too far. The line disappeared when people got closer to the Will Call booth, as did Keira and her new friends. When she heard the woman’s answer, her brain refused to process the information.

“The concert was canceled due to a minor accident Bono suffered earlier today. He’s fine but it’ll take a couple of weeks for him to be able to perform again. I’m sorry I don’t have much more information at this moment. We’ve just got the news. All I can say is that you can choose to file for a refund or use your tickets for the re-scheduled concert.”

“When is it going to be?” the same man asked.

“We don’t know yet.”

Keira felt the ground disappear from beneath her. She had dreamed about that concert for so long, had planned her trip so carefully around it and now there would be no concert. Fábio squeezed her shoulder in a sympathetic gesture of comfort.

“I guess I know what you are going through, Keira,” he said as the four of them sat down on the curb. “A couple of years ago, I went to Vegas just for a Cher concert. When I went to the theater to pick up my tickets I found out she had gotten sick and canceled the concert. I had only the weekend off and went back to Brazil feeling very disappointed.”

On the curb, Carla sat on Keira’s right, Fábio on her left, and Doni sat beside Carla, trying to comfort her, but sounding as sad as she was. There was nothing they could say that would make her feel better. So, they stopped talking and sat in silence for a long while, feeling disheartened.

When Keira stood up, the other three kept looking at their own feet, “Guys, I’ve got to go. I’ll ask for a refund because I won’t be around long enough to watch the rescheduled concert. What about you?”

“Same here. We’re heading back home in three days. No way we can stay longer,” Fábio answered.

Carla looked up at Keira, opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She hid her face in Doni’s shoulder and Keira guessed she was crying. She decided to go back to the hotel before breaking down like that. She already had a lump in her throat and had to make an effort to say goodbye to her newfound friends.

She walked fast to the bus stop, holding back her tears until she got to the hotel. Once safe behind a closed door, she threw herself on the bed and cried. That trip was fast turning into a disaster.

* * * *

Keira spent that day, and the following one, in her hotel room, sulking. She knew it was childish but she didn’t really care. She was entitled to a little of that. After all, she had worked so hard to pay for the trip, had fantasized about that concert for so long that she felt empty. She didn’t feel like going out to eat, so she ordered a little snack from Room Service and got to sleep earlier than usual.

On her third day in Dublin, she woke up early, got out of bed, showered and went downstairs for breakfast. Back home, when Keira planned each detail of that trip she had filled her third day in Dublin with a lot of sightseeing. She figured it would help her keep the anxiety down because the concert was scheduled for that night. Now, she would use those plans to keep herself busy and forget the concert had been canceled.

Although breakfast looked delicious, it tasted like cardboard to her numb palate. While munching on her meal, it dawned on Keira that her trip shouldn’t be only about U2. Granted, she was a big fan; but, she had wished to visit Ireland ever since she could remember. She owed it to herself to make a harder effort to have fun while she was in the Emerald Isle.

Those thoughts cheered her up. She left the hotel and walked the short distance to Trinity College. She took a tour guided by one of the students. He was a cute, funny Irishman and she finally started enjoying herself. She got to see most of the beautiful halls. They were brimming with history and tradition. The old library took her breath away and she spent a long time there gawking at the priceless rare editions, mainly the Book of Kells.

After the tour, she took a double-decker sightseeing bus and got off at Dublin Castle. She walked around the stone buildings and beautiful gardens and took a lot of pictures. The Dubh Linn Garden, with its large Celtic designs made on the grass, gave her a much needed pause. She sat on one of the wooden benches and stayed there for a long time admiring the intricate patterns, the amazing sculptures and colorful flowerbeds. The peace and quiet of that place restored her usually sunny disposition.

She went through Temple Bar to her hotel where she left the two bags full of souvenirs she had bought at Trinity College, Dublin Castle and in the little shops along the narrow streets in between. Leaving the hotel, she took a stroll along the Liffey River because it was a warm, beautiful day. She admired the centuries-old buildings lining up the riverbanks as well as the beautiful bridges. The map of the city she had downloaded to her smartphone showed her where to leave the riverside and walk up Winetavern Street to Christ Church Cathedral.

The stone building was impressive enough but the bells, which started pealing as she approached, made her heart beat faster. They sounded so melancholy and welcoming at the same time, in other words – so Irish. She walked around the church building, admiring the smooth, green grass and tall trees, and the amazing architecture of the cathedral before leaving towards Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

She decided to enter the church to see the Gothic arches and stained glass windows. Again, the peaceful atmosphere soothed her and she left the building feeling much better. While she waited for the hop-on-hop-off red bus to come, Keira thought about the wonderful emotions she had experienced so far, concluding that maybe that trip could still surprise her.

She got off the bus at Guinness Storehouse. Following advice she received from a friend, Keira had bought the ticket online to skip the long lines at that very popular touristic destination. She wasn’t very fond of alcoholic drinks in general, and she particularly disliked beer – except Guinness, of course. Although she didn’t drink often, it was quite an experience visiting the Brewery. The round restaurant at the top offered a breathtaking view of the city through its floor-to-ceiling glass windows. She got her pint of Guinness, found a table near one of the windows, and sat there to admire the city. The weather was clear and she could see far, even the distant mountains around Dublin. Their round summits covered in green grass were shinning in the early afternoon sun. The strong beer traveled through her veins and took away whatever tension that still remained in her muscles. She relaxed on the chair, feeling surprisingly well. Keira remembered she hadn’t eaten since breakfast when she started getting drunk. Shrugging, she dried up the last drops of the black beer. She sat the glass on the table with a satisfied, yet a little dopey, smile.

Life is good! I’m in Ireland, alone and single. It’s about time I learned to have some fun.

At least, that was what her older sister kept telling her. Megan also nagged her non-stop about her insecurities and shyness. She used to tell Keira she underestimated herself. It was very easy for Megan to see life as a big adventure and to think everybody was as confident as she was. She was the badass daughter. Keira was the geeky one.