Tuesday 9 April 2013

In Isolation

Tina, Garreth and Donal got out of the old Toyota and stretched.  It's had been a long drive from Dublin.  Although thankfully the weather had stayed  lovely especially for Easter.

The camp-site appeared to be empty, most of the caravans were unoccupied even for this breathtakingly beautiful part of Kerry.  A few sheep peered over the hedge on the east side of the camp-site and the gentle sea could be heard lapping on the sand over the sand-dunes to the west.

Garreth and Tina were going out six months now and Donal was his oldest friend.  The plan for a weekend in Kerry had been thrown together over a few drinks the week before.  Tina's parents had been uneasy about letting her stay with her boyfriend in the mobile home but this was the nineties and perhaps it was time to move with the times.  They liked Garreth and he appeared to have a settling affect on Tina.  She had been a bit 'hard to control' for the past couple of years.

Tina had short, soft, spiky black hair and she wore dungarees and a paisley shirt with dock martins.  She looked like a little pixie with her tiny frame and streetwise clothes.  Garreth played on the first rugby team for a south Dublin private school.  Donal was tall and gangly with a bookish appearance albeit with strong shoulders.  He also went to the same private school.

Feeling like a 'gooseberry' Donal offered to go to the local shops to get provisions.  Garreth and Tina quickly agreed, longing to have to some time alone.  As soon as he was gone they went into the caravan.  Tina was reluctant to go to the bedroom in case Donal returned early.  They turned on the gas heater, the kettle and snuggled on the sofa.

When Donal returned Tina suggested the lads have a can of beer while she went for a walk on the beach.  They helped themselves to the cans and relaxed in the kitchenette of the mobile van.
"She suits you," ventured Donal.
"Yeah.  She's a good one alright.  Getting a bit too settled but I'm fond of her."
"Thought it was more serious than that," Donal replied quickly.
"Imagine bringing her back to my old man and saying that I wanted the deposit for a wedding.  He'd freak.  She's a good girl and all that but seriously, she's not the settling down type.  Before you know it, she'll be looking to travel the world, or something like that."
Donal stayed silent for a moment.  "Don't mess her around.  One minute, she's too settled, the next she's not the settling type. "
"Don't make your crush so obvious, man," Garreth retorted quickly.

Later as Garreth went for a swim in the freezing cold sea, Donal and Tina sat companionably together on the sand.  They had a can of Budweiser each.  Donal opened his mouth to speak and then stopped himself.  "What?" laughed Tina.  Donal thought for a moment and then said carefully, "You know I write poetry, well....I wrote a poem about you."  "Oh, show me!" she replied.  "Not this weekend, maybe in a few months time."  She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

She never got to read the poem but she later wondered about it.  A whole poem devoted to her.

3 comments:

  1. Why not?
    Tell me why not - I need to knoooooooow! :D

    Great story

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha ha. I'll let you know when the next instalment is written ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very intriguing story! To be continued, I hope :-) Great post.

    ReplyDelete