Page 74 of Twist of Fate
“Yes, he is incredibly handsome and smart. He’s kind and funny. But he’s also our tour guide and, therefore, off-limits. I don’t want him to lose his job because of me.”
She tilts her head, and her expression softens. “That,” she says, pointing at me as if I’ve just accomplished something significant. “That right there is all I wanted.”
My brows scrunch together in confusion. “What?”
“I know I keep telling you to go have a fling and sow some oats or whatever.”
“Gross, Mom.”
She chuckles. “But I know you. You’ve been with the same man since you were kids, and even though he didn’t deserve it, you gave him your whole heart. And then he shattered it.” I swallow a lump of emotion. “If I could get you to turn your head on this trip—even for a moment—and see there are possibilities beyond that shattered dream you’ve been clinging to, then I could breathe a little easier as a mom, knowing you’ll eventually be okay.”
“So you don’t want me to hook up with Finn?”
“Oh, I think you should climb that man like a tree.”
“Mother!”
Her laugh is contagious, and I can’t help but join in. “But I understand the need to hold back. Just remember,” she says with a wink. “He’s only our tour guide until Monday morning.”
“But then we leave?—”
She presses her lips together as if she knows something I don’t. “On Tuesday morning.”
“On Tuesday morning,” I repeat as I begin to piece together her meaning. How could I have forgotten that? Our tour ends in Dublin on Monday, and Mom and I don’t fly out for twenty-four hours.
“There’s a lot you can do in a day.”
As the waitress takes our order and the band plays in the background, I reflect not only on my mother’s words but also on Theo’s.
Despite what he may think, tomorrow is not our wedding day, even though it was meant to be.
If things had been different, I would be sitting at my rehearsal dinner right now, listening to his obnoxious friends give speeches about college and soccer while I try to avoid feeling left out since I never truly felt accepted by them. He once told me it wasn’t for lack of trying and that maybe I just had trouble making friends.
Didn’t he realize it was impossible to keep them while demanding all of my attention and time?
Mom and I engage in small talk for the rest of our meal. She shares stories about the people she’s met in our group, and I listen, though I feel like I’m only half paying attention. The moment we step back out onto the crowded Galway Street, I ask, “Can we make a stop before we head back to the hotel?”
“Sure.” She nods. “Lead the way.”
There is a lot you can do in a day.
Tomorrow, I will spend the day in the Irish countryside with my mother. I plan to take pictures, laugh, and not dwell on a wedding and a man who no longer deserves me.
For the first time in six months, I’m beginning to feel that I am exactly where I’m meant to be and that tomorrow will be a glorious day.
We walk into the jewelry shop, and the clerk glances up just as the bell above the door chimes.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes,” I tell her, finding myself smiling. I don’t need Theo to feel whole anymore. I’m choosing myself for once. “I’d like to buy a Claddagh ring.”
Thirty minutes and three hundred euros later, I’m staring at my new ring. It’s shiny, gold, and the crown is pointing inward.
Because I’m a motherfucking queen.
TWENTY
Aisling
