Chapter 2
Caitlyn stepped into the Dublin airport just after 10 pm local time feeling both exhausted from the flight, and energized to have arrived. It took her nearly another hour to get through customs, and collect her things from the baggage claim. With nothing left to do at the airport she took a deep breath and stepped out into the slightly damp Dublin evening. It wasn't raining, which actually disappointed her a tad, but the streets were shimmering with the rain that had fallen in the last few hours. Climbing into one of the taxis that always hover around the entrance of every airport she had ever been to Caitlyn gave the driver a big smile.
"Ha-ware-ya love, where to?" The man asked in his thick accent. He had a pleasant face, and she thought that most travelers coming here surely must appreciate that.
"Tired, but happy to be here! Umm, The Westbury Hotel, hold on, let me look up the address. I've got it written down somewhere." Caitlyn said ruffling through her purse for the little notebook she had all the particulars written down in. It also came in handy for ideas that smacked her upside the head sometimes.
"Don't be troublin' yerself. I know right where that is, bringing people there from the airport all a the time, I am." The taxi driver smiled at her in the rear view mirror.
"Oh, good! By the time I found it in this bag we might be on the other side of the country." She replied back laughing. It felt so good to be off of that airplane, but she was way past ready to unpack her bag and take nice a long shower. The man in the seat in front of her had smelled like the stale remnants of a three day bender was leaking out through his pores, and she shuddered just thinking about that nasty smell adhering itself to her skin. He had snored louder than a freight train for the last three hours of the flight too. It was pretty damn hard to focus on the paperback book she brought to read. In the end she had just closed her eyes and imagined what adventures the next two weeks were going to bring.
Sitting in the back seat of the taxi cab was worlds more comfortable than the air plane had been. Watching Dublin slide past her window with all of its charming lights shimmering in the dark eased an ache inside of her soul. The taxi driver was chattering on about all the sights he thought she needed to see while she was here, but conversation seemed too much for her, so she just nodded.
"Been wantin' to come here for awhile, haven't ya?" He asked her, catching on to her overwhelmed silence.
"All my life." Came out of her mouth without pause for thought. "I can't remember a time when I didn't want to visit Ireland. It may sound really silly, but she's always called to me."
"Nah, tis not silly at all. She's got a way, our Eire. Sometimes she calls people back. With that hair, yer people definitely came from here at some point." He winked back at her.
"Thanks for not thinking I'm some strange American lunatic. Most people back home just laugh at me when I say things like that." Caitlyn found herself saying.
"Fools, all a dem." He said in his thick accent with a decisive nod of his head. "What is it you do back home, for a living that is?"
"Oh, I write books. Romance novelist would be my proper title I guess. Mostly I spend a lot of time in my own head daydreaming." Caitlyn laughed at herself. "I've always done that, but I get paid for it now."
He nodded his head as she talked. "Ireland has always been full of dreamers and storytellers, ye'll fit right in here. How long are ye with us for?"
"Two weeks, but not all of it will be in Dublin, I don't think." Caitlyn said as they pulled over in front what was definitely her hotel. It was a big stone building filled with charming windows, and a black overhang brimming with friendly greenery.
"Ah well, I hope yer holiday is everything yer wanting. Enjoy, and soak it all up to pull out on a rainy day when yer old and gray like meself." He said as he opened the door and stepped out into the night. Thinking about what he said she hadn't yet reached for the door handle when he pulled it open. Looking into his kind, wise eyes she climbed out and surprised the both of them by hugging him.
"Thank you so much." He gave her an affectionate squeeze and stepped back.
"Ah now, don't ye be getting me all mushy, I've got a long night a work yet ahead of me." He said gruffly, but with a wink. Opening the back of the taxi and hauling her bags out he handed them to the young porter who walked up from the front door.
"Welcome to The Westbury ma'am. If you'll come with me we can get you all checked in." The young man said politely. With a smile and a wave for the taxi driver as he pulled away from the curb she turned and followed him inside.
The lobby looked every bit as luxurious as the pictures on the website had led her to hope it would. Tall tray ceilings with chandeliers were held up by massive wooden pillars. All across the expanse were clever seating arrangements, meant to compel you to waiting for a friend, or reading the morning paper before heading out to tackle the day. A massive marble front desk taking up one whole wall was where the porter was heading. An older man stood behind the desk, looking with all seriousness as if he were manning the helm of a ship.
"Good evening ma'am, and welcome to The Westbury hotel. Do you have a reservation with us for the night?" She had expected to hear an upper crust English accent to come out of his mouth, but instead she was surprised by the melodic sound of a Dublin one. It shattered some of the stiff impression, and had her smiling at him while answering enthusiastically.
"Hello, yes I do! Should be under Caitlyn Reed, I made it a few weeks ago online."
He nodded his head at her, turned slightly and began clicking away on the keys of a discreetly placed computer.
"Ah yes, you have booked the luxury king suite for 5 nights, with the option for more nights. Good choice, it offers you plenty of space to relax in after a busy day of wandering about the city." He smiled. "Everything is all set, if you could just sign this for me Ms. Reed then Patrick here will show you up to your suite." He gestured his head at the approaching bellhop. Caitlyn quickly signed her name on the paper he passed across the desk at her. "Very good. Have a wonderful stay, if there is anything else you need please don't hesitate to ask." He said as he filed the paper away.
Patrick the bellhop was barely out of his teens at her best guess. Caitlyn followed him across the lobby to the bank of elevators. Figuring he knew better where she was heading than she did, she waited for him to push the button for the elevator. When they were inside, and the doors whooshing softly closed he turned to her and with a smile asked, "First time here in Ireland ma'am?" He had a fairly unremarkable face, until he spoke. His eyes lit up with warmth and humor, making one want to linger and talk with him awhile. Give him a few more years, and he would probably learn to market those lovely laughing eyes of his into lots of dates.
Glancing over at him since he was much the same height as she was, "mmhmmm, first time."
"We get a good many here on holiday from America for the first time. If ye don't mind me asking, where abouts in the states are ye from? I've been saving up to go there meself." He added with a shy smile.
"I'm from the Midwest. Michigan to be more specific." She told him.
He glanced dubiously at her, "Detroit?"
Letting out a full laugh that threw her head back Caitlyn said, "No. That is probably the only city you would have heard of though." Holding her hand up she pointed to the area Detroit was located. "This is Detroit here. I live all the way over here in West Michigan. I've only been to Detroit twice in my whole life."
He nodded his head, "So what is yer part of Michigan like?"
"I live in a small town filled with apple orchards, and dairy farms." The elevator slowed on the sixth floor, the doors opening with a ding announcing their arrival.
"Do ye live on a farm?" He asked as he wheeled her luggage down the hallway to her suite.
"Good lord no! I can barely keep a houseplant alive let alone a whole orchard." Caitlyn laughed. "I just live in a normal neighborhood. Not everyone there is a grower, only about a dozen families have the orchards." He nodded his head following along. At the door to her room he took a moment to show her how to unlock the door with the fancy key card. He motioned to her to walk in first, and she did so with a smile.
This was her place for the better part of the week, and it was everything she had hoped for. There was a short hallway leading away from the door, one side was the bathroom. Peaking her head in she saw marble sinks, a stand alone bath tub, and glass encased shower big enough for a few people to comfortably fit in. The other side had two doors, closets she surmised by the size of the doors. Walking out in to the open area she took a slow turn around. Nestled near the windows there was a couch and short coffee table, meant for putting your feet up and hanging out. That faced the dresser which held a decently sized flat screen television. Across the way was a small writing desk and chair, perfect for setting up her laptop and writing all the emails to her boys back home. Lastly the bed was a massive affair. Dark wood, four poster, fluffy white duvet with piles of pillows on top. She knew it was only a king, but it looked so much bigger.
Turning to beam at Patrick she announced, "it's perfect! Absolutely perfect!"
"Very good then. There's a room service menu in the drawer of the desk, along with the channel listing for the telly. Will ye be needing anything else tonight Ms. Reed?"
"Caitlyn please, and no thank you Patrick. I think I'll settle in tonight. I've got a full day planned tomorrow." She handed him a tip, and he smiled a thank you and walked out of the room.
Caitlyn waited until the door closed softly behind the young man before opening her arms wide and spinning in a circle with a not so mature "yippee." Then kicking the chucks off her feet she ran to the bed and dove onto it. The duvet was even softer than it looked, and she landed with out a sound. Laying there looking as if she were making a snow angel in the expansive bed Caitlyn sighed and whispered to herself, "I'm finally here."
Letting that sink in for a few minutes she just laid there. Finally she stood up and fished her laptop out of her bag. Setting it up on top of the writing desk, she found the WiFi log in information in the drawer along with the menu, television sheet, and a half dozen brochures advertising things to do around Dublin. There was a classy note pad with the hotel logo emblazoned across the top, and a couple of pens rolling around in there too. Turning her computer on she logged into her email account. She typed up a quick note letting her son's know she made it safely, the hotel name and phone number, and to be on the lookout for lots pictures tomorrow. Ending with how much she missed them, and all her love she addressed it to both Wyatt and Mason, and hit send. Sending a similar message to her ex husband Bryan, although she left out the love part this time.
Logging out of her email account, you can never be to careful, she walked over to her suitcase and opened it up. Living out of a suitcase had always been marginally depressing to Caitlyn. She put all her clothes away in the closet and the dresser. Grabbing her bag of toiletries she headed into the bathroom. Setting her jars and pots of skincare out on the counter, her tooth brush and toothpaste next to the sink. She left the makeup in its own bag, since eyeliners and brushes tended to roll away and get lost forever when left out. The hotel had its own soaps, but her skin was very sensitive. So she always brought along her own. Figuring if she climbed into that bathtub she was likely to fall asleep in it, she stripped down and walked into the shower.
It really was glorious, it had a rain feature in the ceiling, as well as a smaller shower head. It was the hand held kind that you could take down and change the settings to massage if you wanted. Thinking maybe another time, tonight she just wanted to get clean. Turning the taps on and finding the right temperature, just this side of scalding hot, she stood there a moment and let the water sluice down her body. Washing away all of the stale air from the plane, and the stress from travel.
The bathroom was all fogged up with steam by the time she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a towel off the rack she ran it across her body drying off. Noticing the white bathrobe on the top of the rack she slipped her arms into the holes and pulled it on. It was everything a robe should be. Soft, warm, and it enveloped her in comfort. Using the towel to wring the water out of her hair she picked up the tube of anti-frizz cream, and squeezed a dollop out. Running the cream through her hair, taking a little time to scrunch the ends up occasionally before she gave it a little shake. Smearing on her face serum, and night cream she wandered back out into the room.
Walking to the window she looked out into the lights twinkling out of the night darkened city. Thinking tomorrow was going to be a really great day. Not even bothering with the television she was so tired that she turned the lights out and climbed up into the bed still wearing the robe.