Just friends? Pfft. Yeah, right.

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

My mom gapped at all the cars passing by as we sipped coffee from a cafe. She had insisted we sat outside so we could see people passing by. I had laughed when she winced at the taste of my fancy coffee, as she calls it. She had asked the counter lady if they had a ‘good old Irish coffee’. I had laughed when the woman asked if that was a new type of latte. In the end, she got a regular black coffee.

We were talking about what Dave and I had been up to. She had laughed heartily when i told her about the spraying i did to my building. She had insisted i showed it to her. Seeing it made her shake her head and erupt into laughter again, telling me that if i got caught it would make a good story for when she meets the girls from her gardening group on Friday.

“Look at what she’s wearing. She looks like a neon light,” my mom remarked, pointing at a young girl with pink hair who was wearing lime green skinnies and a tight orange shirt. “How can she breathe in that? Do you wear that?”

“Not in that colour and definitely not that tight,” i muttered.

My mom shook her head, tutting. “Youngsters nowadays.”

I smiled to myself, covering it with my cup. The sun was starting to set. My dad had stayed at the hotel. He had said he was not feeling well. It must have been the Italian food he ate yesterday. Even though my mom had insisted on staying with him, my dad had pushed her out the door, forcing to take her away to have fun since they only had the weekend.

My mom clapped her hands together. “Oh, this is just lovely. I know, now, why you like it here. But, still, Ireland is home for me forever.”

I smiled. “I know, mom.”

“The last night here and your father can’t even have dinner with us,” my mom sighed.

“We could have dinner at the hotel,” I suggested.

My mom looked up, smiling. “Yes, we can. I didn’t get a chance to see Kayla at all. I hope she doesn’t think i’m avoiding her.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “It’s more like she’s been avoiding us. Kayla’s just really busy. She barely comes home whenever a new album is coming out.”

“I see. I never could understand why you girls love working so hard,” she remarked, brown eyes kind. “At least you’re happy.”

I smiled, hoping to ease her worry.

“Hold on, sweetie. This damn phone is vibrating,” my mom muttered, fumbling with the buttons on her mobile. “Hello.”

I sipped my coffee, watching as a group of young boys danced in the middle of the square. They were pretty good, break dancing to hip hop music. It felt exhilarating just watching them move so fluidly. I smiled widely when one of them caught my eye, winking teasingly.

“Seems like your father won’t be having dinner with us. He’s down with the flu,” my mother grumbled. “Oh, such bad luck!”

“Mom, we can go back now if you want to,” I suggested, knowing how my mother would worry non-stop as long as she was not by my dad’s side.

She gasped. “Oh, I couldn’t possibly do that! Although, my heart does feel heavy about not checking on your father.”

I stood up, feeling my sore muscles. We have been walking around so much today that I had no idea how good it would feel to finally just sit down. Glancing over my mother, I realised her wincing as she rubbed her knees. She must be sore too. It had been the right decision to cut the day short. She needed rest.

When we arrived at the hotel, my mother’s face looked tired and i knew she could do with some sleep. The whole weekend had been quite exciting for her. She had enjoyed the trips to the amusement park where she had not dared to take on the thrilling rides. My father had looked so pale after riding the cyclone.