Chapter 7

At breakfast the following morning, Bridie was delighted when she heard Ian was going to take Jo sightseeing. She and Gram exchanged a knowing look. But Jo was less convinced. She had the impression that Ian had been strong-armed into it by Fiona. Although it had been Bridie’s idea for Jo to help Ian out, she certainly didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. If Ian bristled at the thought of her companionship or worse, felt it was forced companionship, then Jo feared that it may be all for naught.

Despite all these misgivings, Jo went into it with an open mind and admittedly, some excitement about finally seeing something in Ireland. Just hanging around had made her bored. Gram and Bridie did their own thing, and Jo didn’t want to be a third wheel. It was not lost on her that Gram and Bridie had already been doing a lot more than she had. Hopefully, today would remedy that situation.

Once she was dressed and had done her hair and put on a little makeup, she packed up her backpack with her sketch pad and pencils and headed off to Ian’s house. Gram and Bridie had already left for the day to join a group from town on a bus trip up to the shrine at Knock, a three-hour journey each way. Bridie had invited her, but while the part about stopping for meals and the promise of a rowdy, song-filled return journey sounded interesting, Jo hadn’t really wanted to go there. A religious shrine was not at the top of her list of places to visit. It was going to be a day spent attending Mass, lighting candles, saying a Rosary, browsing the gift shop, and buying lots of Mass cards. That wasn’t what she came to Ireland for.

Jo knocked on the door and waited. Where would Ian take her? she wondered. With her back to the door, she looked down the footpath toward the road. The Twomeys lived outside of town center and on the way in, she and Gram had passed several interesting-looking shops and boutiques, which Jo had tucked away at the back of her mind to check out.

When there was no answer, she rapped on the door again, this time a little harder. It opened, and Ian stood there, supported by his crutches.

“Good morning, Ian,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah.”

His enthusiasm was underwhelming.

He turned away from her and headed back into his home. Over his shoulder, he said, “Come on in, Johanna.”

She followed him in. The sitting room was darkened; the drapes were still closed. He sat down on the sofa. Jo remained standing. She didn’t want to sit down; she didn’t want to get comfortable. She wanted to get moving.

“Are you ready?” she asked. She had an inkling that he was just getting up, even if it was late morning.

Ian sighed. “Yeah, about that. I don’t think I’m up for that today.”

“Okay,” she said. As much as she tried, she couldn’t hide her disappointment. The mood she had arrived in—a good one—quickly disappeared.

When he didn’t add anything, Jo decided she wasn’t going to change his mind. She wasn’t going to force him. Maybe it was time she went off and did some things by herself. There must be a tour bus she could catch. There needed to be another conversation with Bridie about Jo’s role with Ian. It appeared it wasn’t going to work.

“How come?” she asked.

“How come what?”

“What changed your mind?” she asked. He still hadn’t moved.

He shrugged, not looking at her. Staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know. Just don’t feel like it.”

“Exhausted from everything you did yesterday? Full schedule of activities today?” she asked.

Even in the semidarkness of the room, she could see him narrowing his eyes at her. She didn’t care. She wasn’t going to pressure him into doing anything, that wasn’t her style, but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy.

“I changed my mind,” he said tightly.

“Hmm,” Jo said. With a nod toward his ankle, she swallowed hard and said, “I think you use that injury as an excuse, so you don’t have to deal with things, namely moving on with your life.”

The air immediately became charged, the way it does before a big thunderstorm rolled in.

“Excuse me?” he said.

“Ian, you made a promise last night, and it seems as if your word means nothing.” She didn’t care if he was offended. She’d quit her job to come all this way, and she was not going to spend the whole once-in-a-lifetime vacation sitting around inside Bridie’s house. Seriously, she thought, she might never get the chance to come back to Ireland.

“Maybe tomorrow we can do something,” he grumbled.

“Have a great day, Ian,” she said as she turned on her heel and exited his house.

She heard him call out, “Johanna . . .”