Page 23 of A Merry Irish Christmas
Mary waited as she moved around behind the bar with practised ease, her movements efficient and capable, taking money from the two elderly men and giving them change at the same time as taking an order from a couple who had come in behind Mary, before returning to finish the Guinness, sliding a perfect pint across the bar to the customer. Mary was impressed by how competent she was.
‘Right, what can I get you?’ she asked, turning her attention to Mary.
‘Just a coffee, please?’
‘You sure you don’t want to go for one of those?’ She nodded to the man who was taking a sip of his Guinness, leaving behind a foam moustache. ‘Best pint in Ireland, am I right, Martin?’ she called to him with a grin.
‘Nectar of the gods,’ he said, raising his glass in salute. ‘No better woman to pull a pint in the whole of Kerry.’
‘It looks great, but it’s a bit early in the day for me. Anyway, I’m driving.’
‘Coffee it is, then. I can’t promise you any of your half-caf-decaf bollocks, though, I’m afraid.’
‘I’m sure I’ll cope.’ Mary smiled. ‘An Americano would be great.’
Michael, Aifric’s father, came in as she was making their coffee and exchanged a few words with Mary, commiserating with her about the mess-up with her family. ‘I believe you got your wires crossed somewhere over the Atlantic.’
‘Something like that,’ Mary said ruefully.
‘Dad’s going to take over here, so I can take a break and sit with you,’ Aifric told her.
‘Thanks, Michael. That’s really nice of you.’
They took their coffees to one of the sofas in a little snug beside the bar.
‘So, how are things? What’s new around here?’
Aifric shrugged. ‘Nothing much. The biggest news around here is that fella who’s staying at your house.’
‘I thought no one was supposed to know he’s here?’ She thought how horrified Evan would be if he knew he was the talk of their little corner of the world.
‘Ah, you know what it’s like. Your mum didn’t blab, but word gets out. I think someone spotted him down at the beach. And your dad may have said something to his friends when he’d had a few drinks. In fairness, he only referred to him as Batman, but it didn’t take long for people to figure it out. I’ve tried casually walking past your house a few times, hoping to spot him, but no joy so far. And you actually get to live with him! I’m so jealous. I mean, he’s a total ride, isn’t he?’
‘Yeah, I suppose he is,’ Mary agreed reluctantly. There was no denying Evan was gorgeous, but the attitude took a bit of the shine off.
‘What’s he like?’
‘He’s a bit grumpy, to be honest. He’s pissed off about me turning up when he thought he’d have the place to himself – which is understandable, I suppose.’
‘Ah, I’m sure he’ll thaw out in no time. But it’s no wonder he’d be in a bad mood after what Olivia Mills did to him.’
Mary frowned. ‘What do you mean?’ She knew the name, but was only vaguely aware of the young actress who played Mary Jane in the newSpider-Manshow everyone was talking about.
‘You don’t know?’
‘No. What did she do?’
‘She cheated on him with the director of her new movie. It all came out a week ago. What rock have you been living under?’
Mary shrugged. ‘I just don’t keep up with celebrity gossip. I didn’t even know they were a couple.’ So she and Evan had both ended up here thanks to cheating partners. Maybe they could bond over that? ‘I guess Evan Prentice and I have more in common than I’d have thought. Well, I suppose that explains what he’s doing here.’ And why he was in such a bad mood, she thought, feeling a little more kindly towards him.
Aifric nodded. ‘He’s our generation’s Julia Roberts.’
Mary smiled. People in Dingle still talked about the time Julia Roberts had fled there to escape the paparazzi after breaking off her engagement to Kiefer Sutherland. ‘It’s a lot harder to remain incognito nowadays, though. Julia didn’t have social media to contend with.’
‘Sorry to hear about you and Greg,’ Aifric said with a sympathetic smile. ‘What a gobshite!’
‘Thanks.’
