Feeding Ground

Dan

Dedicated to: @SmurfStomperr  @davidgyt  @delossantosjericho

Dan turned his baseball cap backward and clicked on the radio. 

Molly slumped into the passenger seat. She sighed and picked her fingernails as she stared out the window with her head turned away from him. 

Dan clenched his teeth and exhaled, rubbing his forehead with his left hand. He tried to be understanding, but he had enough of her moodiness and silence.

They never talked anymore. Dan tried giving her space, but she decided she wanted to go on this trip with him. He assumed she was "getting it together" yesterday. But today, Moody Molly returned.

They drove in silence for the next two hours. Dan pulled off the interstate when he saw a sign for a gas station. As they pulled in, "More Than Words" by Extreme came on the radio.

Dan glanced in her direction and was stunned to see her smiling. It was a genuine smile that accented her gorgeous green eyes and made them glow. Before he met Molly, he disliked redheads, but she wasn't a typical one--not to him. She had no freckles—and her eyes tilted up at the corners, like a red-haired Angelina Jolie. In college, she caught his eye the first time he saw her and looked shapely in her cheerleader uniform, with long legs and a cute butt. She was a total fox, and tall too at 5'9".

"I remember this song." She leaned her head back against the seat. "They played this at your cousin's wedding, our first official date. I remember, because it was our only dance, and then you spent the rest of the time filling in for the photographer who got sick."

"That landed me my first freelance writing job. We should find that photographer and thank him." Dan replied with a slight grin.

"Did he have food poisoning or a hangover?"

They laughed. Dan pumped gas while Molly went inside to pay for it and returned with two Cokes.

"I asked the guy behind the counter to find a wonderful restaurant, and he said Darby's Irish Celtic Pub was a good place to eat."

"Oh, yeah? Celtic food, that's perfect! I know you are intrigued by Irish culture, Kitten. Where is this place?"

Molly handed him a folded map. "I bought this while I was in the store, but I'm not good at reading maps; I will leave that to you."

Dan laughed. "All right then... let's see..." He climbed in the car and spread the map out over the steering wheel. "I found it... it's adjacent to here."

Darby's pub was old-fashioned looking with wood paneling and dim lighting. When they walked in, the portly red-haired bartender hollered out from behind the bar. 

"Sit anywhere, and I'll send Maeve over soon."

The place was empty except for a few guys sitting at the bar and watching a basketball game on television.

"This is a little disappointing—I was hoping for a more Irish theme, but this is just an ordinary bar."

"There is a Guinness poster up on the wall behind the bar," Dan said pointing to it.

She wrinkled her nose at it. "That doesn't count."

They picked a booth in the back corner. A woman with black hair pulled back in a braid bustled over to their table and handed them two menus. "Afternoon, my name is Maeve, and I will be your server today. What would you like to drink? We got Guinness half price for a few more hours. Want me to bring over two pints?" She asked in an Irish brogue.

Dan thought about it and looked over at Molly. "Tempting, but we still have some driving ahead of us."

"Where are ye headed?"