Dreams, Memories & Keys

Chapter 29 - Coming and Going

The weeks between Mother's Day and the end of May went fast for Susan.

At work during the week, she was busy making sure the California office was ready for the transition prior to her business trip where she and her colleagues would draft the next stage of their plan for standardization. Oversight for the program would be discussed and decided at those meetings, and there was a lot to do before hand to prepare. The staff members in the New Jersey office needed to be prepared too, just to ensure both her sites were on the same page before those critical meetings in London began. Then, at the end of June, Susan knew she would be traveling to meet her peers and colleagues to decide their path forward for their area of the company.

Susan talked to Greg briefly every day during those busy days, but on the weekends, they made it a point to have a nice long visit by phone, catching each other up on the things happening in their lives and with their families. Inevitably, their conversation circled back to their slowly evolving plans for their vacation.

"Has Jessie decided where she needs to go in Ireland to look for the Stone Village?" Susan asked Greg on her last Saturday in California, before her expected return home the following weekend.

"She has considered it," Greg told her. "Unfortunately, she doesn't know much about the location of the village, only that it was on the coast, and there was a fishing port nearby, which doesn't rule out much."

Susan considered that. "Does she have any idea if it was on the east or west coast of Ireland?"

"She thinks it was probably on the eastern side of the island," Greg related. "But beyond that, she has no idea where."

"Do you suppose we could simply rent a car for a few days and explore the towns and villages along the coast?" Susan suggested.

"That is not a bad idea," Greg told her. "Do you have any idea if it is possible to do that?"

"I'm looking at Google Maps, and I see a highway which goes south from Dublin along the coast, connecting a number of cities or communities to one another," Susan shared.

"Let me contact Gary. Perhaps he can suggest a driving tour we can take in the area. But in the meantime, I shall also ask Bert what he remembers, the next time I see him at the theater. Perhaps he knows enough to confirm that south is the direction we should go," Greg remarked.

"You know who else might know, is Oliver. It sounds like he and Peter operated the boat the refugees escaped on," Susan recalled. "He might know where they went or at least what part of the island we should look on."

"That is also not a bad idea. I shall ask him about it the next time I see him," Greg promised.

"Do you see him often?"

"Only at temple. The young person I do see regularly aside from Jessie is Bert, which is why I suggested asking him initially," Greg told her.

"How often do you see him?" Susan asked.

"Whenever he comes into the theater. He consistently does between four and five shows per week, so I do see him at least that often, though I understand he may do more through the summer season, in exchange for turning the part over completely to the other actor at the end of August," Greg shared.

"This has got to be such good experience for him," Susan remarked.

"Undoubtedly. At his age, the best experience I had was acting in community theater productions," Greg told her. "By the time he leaves for California, Bert will have more than six months experience performing on Broadway in a credited role."

"Let me know what he and Gary say. I should be home next weekend," Susan promised. "Maybe we can talk more about it then."

"Both Jessie and I are looking forward to it," Greg told her. "We miss you."