On Our Way (indefinite hiatus)

Chapter 4

It was early when Christine woke and, since Molly showed no sign of arousing from her slumber, she decided to take a walk.
After getting changed, Christine scribbled a quick note to Molly and grabbed a keycard.
She stepped outside onto the bustling streets of Cork City and the energy immediately hit her.
There was just something about Ireland that made her feel both peaceful and energetic.
It was the sort of setting she could write about and it made her shoulders feel lighter that she had made a decision. Something was go big forward in her novel.
Now all she needed was characters plot, subplot and everything else that came with being an author.
But still, her heart felt lighter and it was with bouncing feet that Christine finished up her walk and arrived back at the hotel.
When she opened the room door, her eyes fell on Molly's still sleeping figure.
It was an opportunity too good to be missed.
"Rise and shine sleepyhead!" Christine called loudly in the chirpiest voice she could manage.
"Uggghhhh!" came the reply.
"Come on, you said you had a great day planned!"
"Why are you so happy?" Molly groaned. "It's too early for anyone to be that happy."
"I went on a walk!" Christine announced, the endorphins working their way around her body.
"You went on a walk?"
"Uh-huh!"
"Anyway," Molly continued. "You might want to change into something more rough."
"More rough?"
"Something that you wouldn't really care if they got dirty. Oh! And also make sure it's warm."
"Where are we going?" Christine asked while gathering up her clothes.
"Oh you know... a petting zoo!" Molly squealed, excitement taking over her need to be mysterious.
"A petting zoo?"
"Yeah, you know, donkeys and stuff that you can feed and rub-"
"I know what a petting zoo is," Christine nodded, traipsing across to the bathroom.
She had a quick shower before pulling on her clothes. She then bunched her wet hair into a messy topknot and unlocked the door.
"Finally!" Molly huffed, waiting on her bed.
"Sorry," Christine laughed, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Just as Christine was pulling open the door, Molly cried "Wait!" and rushed back over to her bedside locker.
Pulling out her keycard, she headed back towards Christine who was holding open to door.
Just before she reached it, however, she doubled back and grabbed her rain jacket.
"Finally!" Christine mock-huffed. Giggling, she dodged Molly's coat and ran down the corridor.
***
The bus pulled up on a quiet country road and very few people got off, Christine and Molly included.
It was not so much a bus stop, but the ditch in the side of the road.
But Christine and Molly weren't going to let tiny details like that get in their way. Their new adventure sounded like it was going to be a lot of laughs and that alone had them pumped up.
On the bus ride over, Christine had been listening to Irish traditional music which she was really beginning to appreciate.
They sloshed through the puddles which had appeared while they were sleeping. Despite the night before, however, the day was dry and sunny; the perfect day to pet some donkeys.
They hurried on towards the petting zoo, too excited to walk like a normal person.
The burst in to the welcome centre, giggling, but quickly stopped when they saw all eyes on them.
"Umm..." Christine choked out, one she reached the counter. "Can we have two tickets please?"
The receptionist fixed them with a well practised glare but it seemed that even she was close to cracking up at their antics.
"Sure," she replied at last, a true smile breaking out on her face.
"Christine grinned across at her as she typed the information into the cash register. She paid the money required, collected their bags of feed and then ushered Molly through the door on the right of the desk.
It opened out onto a little pathway with paddocks to the left of them. There was nothing inside the first field, but their disappointment quickly turned to joy as they fed the donkey in the next patch of grass over.
They galloped on to their next paddock, giggly and excited. Their laughs were infectious and whenever one of them stopped, they would glance at the other and burst out laughing again.
When they finally stopped, they were hunched over, clutching their stomachs and gasping for breath.
"Come on," Christine got out, the words getting caught in her throat. "We want to get back before it's dark."
They continued on, petting donkeys, feeding Shetland ponies and vice-versa.
When they got to the last field, Christine burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"That," Christine replied, pointing to a pig, before continuing, "has to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen.
Molly gasped like she had just been offended. "The poor pig!"
"Calm down WWF worker."
"Well, sorry for loving animals."
"Yeah," Christine joked. "You should be sorry."
It was getting late but for once, Christine wanted to stay outside.
"I have an idea!" she called to Molly.
"Mm-hm?"
"We should adopt a donkey!"
"Uh, Christine? I don't think they'll let us take a donkey on the plane."
Christine suddenly halted to a stop.
"You're actually kidding me, please tell me you're kidding me, right? Rewind!" Christine slowly started walking. "We should adopt a donkey!"
She turned to Molly who was staring at her like she was mental.
"Christine! They won't let us take a donkey on the plane-"
"Molly! Adopting a donkey doesn't mean actually taking a donkey! It means sponsoring it, paying a small bit per month towards it."
"Oh, okay. Sure! Let's adopt a donkey."
"I'm really disappointed in you Molly! Take it with us on the plane?"
Molly burst out giggling . "When you say it like that, it sounds bad!"
"Whatever way you say it sounds bad!"
And then Molly wasn't standing next to Christine. She was on the ground, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
"Oh, don't mind me," Christine commented, fighting the grin threatening to spill across her face. "I'll just stand here while you bust a gut."
And with that Molly cracked up again.
Christine spun in a slow circle before glancing at the sky in annoyance.
"Come on," she urged Molly, "or you'll get me started!"
A fresh round of giggles erupted from Molly; Christine just huffed.