Page 10 of An Irish Summer

“Slow down,” she chided me after a few minutes of my rambling.

“Seriously, Ada, what the hell have I done?”

“You’ve moved to Ireland, like you planned, and now you adjust. Which is to be expected when you move to a new country,” she said like she was talking to a kindergartner.

“Adjusting would have been easier if any of this actually matched my expectations,” I argued.

“You barely had any expectations,” she replied with a laugh.

“This isn’t funny, Ada,” I said.

“I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. But I do think you need to take a deep breath.”

“I’m trying, but it’s so claustrophobic here. Have I mentioned how small it is? I can reach my wardrobe from my bed, and you know how short my arms are. I have no idea how anyone lives like this. Or why Helen chose to leave this out. Do you think she did it on purpose?”

“I see you haven’t gotten any less dramatic since you left,” she said.

“Was I supposed to change my personality when I got here?”

“No, Chels.” She sighed. “But it might not kill you to lighten up. You want to survive there, don’t you?”

“Do I?” At this point, it felt like it might be more trouble than it was worth. Would it really have been so hard to sort myself out in Boston?

“Are you kidding me?” she said. “What’s the alternative, huh? You come home, move back into your childhood bedroom, and answer phones from foot patients for the rest of your twenties?” She had me there. “You aren’t seriously thinking of bailing, are you?”

“No,” I groaned. “You’re right. I’ll stay at least until I work something out in Boston. Which I’m getting started on first thing tomorrow, by the way.”

“Knock yourself out,” she said. “As long as you aren’t spending it feeling sorry for yourself, I don’t care what you do with your free time. Though I do think you should spend some of it with, what’s his name, Charlie?”

“Collin,” I said, then immediately regretted telling her about him in the first place. “But it doesn’t matter what his name is because we are never going to need it.”

“Famous last words,” she said, and I could hear her smile down the line.

“Goodbye, Ada.”

“Fine, fine. Call me later this week once you get a few shifts out of the way. And try to smile once or twice, if only so you don’t forget how.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Smart-ass.”

“Love you,” I said.

“Love you, back. Talk soon.”

By the time we hung up it was dark outside, the rain was coming down in sheets, and going to the bar was even less of an option than it was when I’d gotten out of the shower. Everyone else seemed to think being waited on by Collin would ease the nerves that came with my arrival, but I knew it would do exactly the opposite. I slipped under the covers, pulled them over my head, and set an alarm for first thing in the morning. I needed every second of sleep to prepare for whatever my first day of work had in store.

Chapter 5

“Chelsea, this is Lars. He’ll be training you this week.” Lori gestured to the man standing next to her, who stood well over six feet tall and bore a striking resemblance to a Ken doll. “He’s the recreational director now, but he spent some time as a receptionist in the past, so he knows the ropes. You’re in good hands.”

I smiled, fighting a yawn, and shook his hand. Between the jet lag, the plastic mattress, the roaring wind, and the creaking from every corner of the hostel at all hours of the night, sleep didn’t come as easily as I’d hoped.

“It’s a pleasure,” Lars said in a Dutch accent, nearly crushing my hand as we shook. “Ready to get started?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I joked.

“That’s the spirit.” His voice was louder than anyone’s should ever be at this hour, and it became instantly clear why he’d been promoted to recreational director. This kind of enthusiasm would have wasted away behind a reception desk.

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