Page 45 of An Irish Hope

She had begged Rory and Aidan and Mam to not say anything about her teaching course. Not after the way they had blatantly tried to set her up. Irrational it may be, she didn’t want him to think she’d chosen that career because of him. She had no desire to be pitied any more than she was already.

But their non-dates, or casual outings together, had resulted in another trip to O’Shea’s last night for a meal, accompanying Rory and Aidan again, with Mam along too. And still she remained in this place of wondering. Wondering whether she had been mistaken about that ripple of awareness she had experienced on their first encounter, or whether that had been mistaken. For surely if Andy was the man who was supposed to be hers in some gigantic heavenly arrangement ordained by God, then he should feel something towards her too. But it seemed the more she tried to smile at and engage with him the more he pulled away.

Nerves rippled through her. He was leaving the day after tomorrow. Then what? If he was the one, the man she was supposed to be with, then how could he leave her without saying anything? That wasn’t right.

But she also sensed that she wasn’t supposed to push. She didn’t want to throw herself at him, especially not after the way Rory and Aidan had practically done exactly that. Which left her hesitant about how to behave. Flirtatious? Sometimes. Aloof? Sometimes that too. Maybe it was as confusing for him as it was for her, but she didn’t know how to behave.

She did sense that he needed a friend, and she was happy to be that too. Be a cheerleader, be an encourager, be someone he wanted to see instead of wanting to avoid.

And she would just have to trust God that whatever happened in the future, that if this truly was of God, and part of the Fairall legacy, then God would somehow orchestrate it for good. Just as He seemed to have with Colin and Kara, and Rory and Aidan.

“Andy, it’s been nice to meet you.” Aidan held out his hand.

“You too.”

Aisling watched as Rory bit her lip, her eyes hungry on her fiancé who was leaving so soon. The fact that they’d spent time together with her and Andy meant a lot. Like they were invested in seeing Aisling and Andy together so they treated them as couple friends. Even though there was only one real couple involved. But maybe, please God, one day there could be two.

“I hope you’ll stay in touch,” Aidan said. “Be great if you can make it for the wedding.”

Andy blinked. “I, uh, don’t want to presume.”

“Oh, there’s no presuming.” Aidan winked at Aisling, which sure felt like a presumption to her.

“Then, uh, sure. If I can. Have a good trip.”

“Thanks.” Aidan hugged Aisling. “See ya, Ash.”

“Bye, best brother-in-law to-be,” she replied.

He hugged Mam, then hopped in the car with Rory, who was driving him to the airport. The long way, apparently, which was why they were leaving early. Of course, considering how far Ireland was from his corner of Australia then “long way” was only relative.

“Which airport is he going from?” Andy asked.

“Cork,” Mam said.

“Oh. If I’d known, I could have…” Andy’s voice trailed away.

Nope. She had deliberately not looked up where he lived. She thought it must be near Cork, but she wasn’t going to be so needy as to hunt up his address. That way stalker vibes lay. And she knew herself, knew that she likely had some stalker-like tendencies within, and it really wasn’t trusting God if she insisted on doing things herself. And she didn’t want to accidentally discover herself parked outside his house one day, or his school. That would certainly not end well.

“Well! Last day here.” She pasted on a smile, not wanting to show to how much Andy’s departure was going to affect her. “What are you going to do today? Do you have anything else you’d regret if you missed doing it?”

“I can’t think of anything. I’ve run all the trails, I’ve done all the activities.”

“You tried wild swimming, then?”

“Apart from that.”

“Well it’s not for everyone. Only the very brave.”

He chuckled. “Have you been?”

“Yes.” And once was definitely enough. But at least she’d been.

“Would you come with me if I tried it?”

He wanted to spend time with her? Oh, she was so tempted to say yes. “I have to work today. I’m covering Rory’s shift.”

“Like the good sister you are.”