Sweet Contradictions

Chapter Eight: Dan is the Man

        It was day 60 and I was going on my last date, thankful that I had endured the seven others. 

        This time was a little different. Dan was my coworker and I had asked him to meet me for coffee and he'd suggested brunch to combine the two. 

        As I walked towards the restaurant, I briefly squeezed my eyes shut. I had been so tired lately. It wasn't just a lack of sleep, it seemed to be a lack of everything. Everything seemed off. I knew it was because of Callaghan. 

        "Frankie!" I was pulled from my reverie. I could see Dan waving to me, his brown hair glinting in the morning sunlight. 

        "Good morning," I smiled warmly and he smiled in return. 

        "Good morning to you, too, sunshine." 

        "What is on the menu for today?" I smiled, picking up the menu. 

        "Did anyone ever tell you that you are extremely beautiful?" He interrupted and I was taken aback.

        I laughed uncomfortably, unsure how to respond, "I'd hope my parents thought that, but I'm not 100% sure." 

        He laughed, "Beautiful and funny. I think I'll like this morning." 

        "I think I will, too." 

        ***

        "Have you ever been anywhere out of the U.S.?" 

        "Yeah, my parents took me to Russia when I was 12 and I've been to Ireland a handful of times." 

        "Oh, Ireland, that sounds fun. I've never been there. What's it like?" 

        "It's beautiful. Green. The air tastes so clean. The mountains are gorgeous." 

        "I was going to take a trip to London this summer and swing by Ireland while I was there." 

        "You should, it's beautiful." 

        "Maybe I will," he said before looking at our empty plates. 

        "Would you like to go to the park?" 

        I scrunched up my face, but with a smile, "Um, yes. Okay." 

        "I have kites in my trunk." 

        "You're kidding me!" 

        Dan and I flew kites for hours, laughing and talking, before heading off to lunch. When I'd got in my car, he leaned in close and I knew he wanted to kiss me. 

        But I didn't want to kiss him. 

        So I just turned my head, so my cheek was facing him and tried to make it less awkward as he kissed my cheek. 

        "I had a good time with you, Frankie." 

        "I did, too, Dan," I smiled up at him and he leaned up against my unrolled window. 

        "I'd like to take you out tomorrow night. Dinner at my place." 

        I gave him a polite smile, "Sure. I'll be there." 

        "Perfect." He gave me a wave and I drove back to my apartment. 

        ***

        I sat down on my sofa staring up at my ceiling. I fell onto my back, letting my spotify playlist play the most depressing tracks I could find. 

        I didn't say anything, but just sat there, wondering why I felt so shitty. I could've gotten with Dan. He was nice, polite, funny and good-looking. He wasn't pushy or moody. He didn't know too much about me and he seemed like a genuinely nice person. I liked him.

        But...how much did I like him? 

       Enough, I guess. One couldn't be too picky when it came to love. Besides, nice guys were extremely hard to find. 

        I didn't know what caused me to do it, but I called my work and told them I was going to be out of town this weekend. I ordered a plane ticket. I packed my bags, throwing in a lot of unnecessary clothing, an abundance of scarves, everything I could possibly think of. 

        But I had to do it. 

        I couldn't leave our question unanswered. Not yet. 

        ***

        I put my headphones on and tried to ignore the squeamish guy sitting next to me. 

        "Have you ever been on a plane?" He asked. 

        "Yep," I answered, before putting my headphones in. 

        In a stupid, silly way, I had made a playlist of all of my favorite love songs and I listened to them as we took off into the skies, the sun starting to set.

        I closed my tired eyes and for once in a long time, actually got sleep. 

        ***

        The smell. 

        I was brought back to the first time I had set foot in this airport after chasing Pace there. It was intoxicating, yet I knew I was here for a reason incredibly different than I had ever been. 

        It was early in the morning by the time I had called a taxi to Dublin. I wasn't sure exactly where Callaghan lived, but I knew the town and if I had to knock on doors to find out where, I would. 

        I wasn't doing this out of desperation. Not this time. 

        But the time I reached his town, it had started to rain and I ended up knocking on doors. The first two were unsuccessful and no one answered, but the third was answered by an older woman with a kind face and lots of laugh lines.        

        "Hello dear. What can I do for ya?" 

        "Do you know where James Callaghan lives?" 

        "Jr? or Senior? Cause I got an old James Callaghan in here, but I gather you're looking for the handsomer one." 

        I laughed, "Yes, I'm looking for the one that's about 28." 

        She gave me a warm smile, "Come in and have some tea. It looks awfully cold out there. Just bring your stuff right in, dearie." 

        I complied, unable to stop myself from accepting her kindness. 

        "Do you know Callaghan? I mean, James?" 

        "Oh, yes. I'll give him a call and tell him you're here." 

        "Thank you," I sighed, before sitting down at the table. 

        She picked up the phone and dialed a number. 

        "Hey dearie. I have a surprise for you at my house. Get dressed up and bring little Soph over. Mmmhm, okay. See you, dearie." 

        She brewed me some tea and set it in front of me. I smiled gratefully. 

        "Thank you." 

        "How do you know James?" She asked me and I couldn't help the heat that rose to my face. 

        "He was in America a little while back and we got set up on a blind date." 

        She smiled and leaned on her folded wrists, "And how did that go?" 

        I took a sip before laughing, "Oh, it was awful. But as circumstance would have it, we ended up on date two. I was extremely drunk. I hated him. I literally hated him. But I didn't." 

        She laughed; a warm, wonderful sound.

        "How do you know him?" I asked and she grinned, 

        "I'm his mother."