Racconto inviato | Submitted story 13

Racconto inviato | Submitted story 13

Twisting Claddaghs

 

The group was making their way to the table and Nuala automatically saved her seat next to David. The only moment she thought to look back was when she saw that he had made his way to the other end of the chairs. It was unfathomable that he would favor any conversation over theirs but perhaps this was for appearances. The pair had been inseparable to the point where they stopped attempting to make new friends. Maybe David was just being polite and learning some more names. However, Nuala still felt excluded by his sudden need for networking.

Two weeks of friendship abroad equal months back in the states. This math is just as important as the translation from euros to dollars. They had met their first night in Maynooth at a sitdown bar when everyone was still putting their pieces together. The connection had been secured during a smoke break with an exchange of laughter and nicotine. David was flirting at first but Nuala’s obvious sexual innocence steered their connection quickly to amity. They became drinking buddies who were met with a smile to every flat they entered.

Going to Ireland was a mission for Nuala to connect with her family roots. Her pale skin and knowledge of culture would finally play to her advantage, and for once she could be a “know it all” due to her excellent knowledge of the culture. Unfortunately for Nuala, coming on too strong was muscle memory when it came to making friends. Her vulgar humor and constant chatter was not something everyone found attractive. David appreciated how she doted on his every word. He felt like a movie star with her constant questions about his past. However after the first month, his appeal of her was being replaced with annoyance for her constant babbling.

 

David was a whore for a social scene, a true networker. Like Nuala, he knew how to leave a room more accompanied than when entering it. They were extremely popular at the start of the semester. Attached by the hip, and greeted with a smile at every flat they entered. However, David’s beauty had others seeking him more. After the initial travel buzz wore off, Nuala found herself only wanting to spend time with him instead of other students or her family.

Leaving home for four months is terrifying for anyone but David had a tool belt and every right to use it. He was handsome in a very obvious way. His brown curls along with a razor sharp jawline had everyone counting their moments with him. He would never admit that he knew that his looks and charm were his only true skills. His breakup over the summer ripped him from the inside out and people were lining up around cobblestone to provide a shoulder for him to cry on. Nuala did not think she had to wait in line.

Her goosebumps poked David’s neck during chicken fights at Portmarnock Beach. There was not a drop of platonic sentiment on Nuala’s side. He threw her off his back and out of his life in one fell swoop. Nuala knew she had seen this film before, the one where she would break her favorite toy so soon after purchase. When she was a little girl, she would pick flowers and bring them to her mother in hopes for return of gratitude and central loyalty over her brothers. Not much had changed at 21. When she loved someone, she swallowed them whole and yearned to be prioritized.

Nuala picked at the shepherd pie that had been laid out for the awaited family dinner. Her sour feelings made her leave her networking skills back at the dorms. A hand pressed onto her shoulder and red straggly air came into her peripheral. “Don’t force it down darling, your great uncle Dermot did not love this dish either, we’d have to throw in some sausage to hold him over”
Nuala felt more hungry than she had all evening but it came from her mind not her stomach
“Do you see him in me?”
Phyliss’ face pruned and her smile lines made an appearance.
“ Oh love, not in the slightest. He was a useless eejit. Never went to university or had half the charm.”
Cousin Seamus intervened saying “Look how she fiddles her claddagh, that’s just how Phyliss used to, and her curls, you’re the spitting image, sure look!”

For the rest of the night, Nuala brought out the sweets and made conversation with as many relatives as she could. She had been admired in her silence, a power that never occurred to her. Nuala would go on to spend every Sunday evening at that crowded cottage overlooking the Irish sea.

When the weekend trip to Tipperary turned into a downpour, Nuala watched David spit out the rain no matter how badly she wanted to offer her umbrella. David bought her a beer on her birthday. They never returned to the title screen. But they could watch the credits roll amicably from different ends of the theater.
Neither left the country with that mutual admiration that had been founded in late August. Noula departed with a new claddagh, an intact virginity, and her name in several wills. David returned with the ability to cry, a Roy Keane jersey, and chlamydia.