Page 52 of Carson

“Well, not exactly rooms.” He puts a little extra emphasis on the letter s.

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine. I can’t imagine how much all of this is costing you.” As the logic leaves my lips, it begins to sink in that we will be sharing a …

“I’m doing my best to get rooms with two beds,” he adds, again reading my mind.

“Yeah, of course.” I’m disappointed and relieved at the same time. “It’s just that … like wow, I can’t believe you’d do this for me. It’s so sweet.”

“Don’t give me too much credit here. Logically, a trip like this takes some time to plan, so I thought what better way than to use your mom’s journal. I mean, she took the time to write it all down. I figured she’d be the perfect tour guide.”

I wondered if we flew into Shannon because I’d read him the beginning of her journey, but he also booked the very places she stayed … what an incredible gift.

“Carson, how will I ever be able to repay you for all of this?”

He doesn’t have time to answer because we’re next in line. I silently read my mother’s first day as he signs the paperwork for our rental.

We’re going to the Cliffs of Moher today. My mother wrote that it was the perfect place to begin.

“This has all been easier than I thought,” Carson says as we look for our car. “Can you believe they just let us in a whole ass other country, and gave us a car?”

“Honestly, it does all feel a little surreal.”

I laugh when we finally find our vehicle. “Okay. Okay,” he says, running his hand over the top of it.

“It’s a bit smaller than your truck,” I tease, handing him my bag so he can load it into the back. “Shit, I don’t think we can even fit both bags back here.”

“That’s okay, we have the backseat.”

We bump into each other, laughing because both of us went to the wrong side of the car.

“This is going to take some getting used to,” he says, taking in all of the bells and whistles of the car. “You sure you don’t want to drive?”

“Do you want to die?”

“I’m just shitting you. I’ve got this.” The wink he sends my way causes my stomach to flip clean over on itself.

We get out of the parking lot and onto the main road with ease, but as soon as we get off the main road, we realize how far away from home we are.

“Oh my god, the road is so fucking narrow,” he says.

A blue tractor is making its way toward us, so Carson pulls as close to the side of the road as he can. The sound of branches scraping along the side of the car makes both of us cringe.

“Fuck, it’s a good thing I paid for the insurance.”

“This is just plain crazy,” I agree, laughing so hard I think I might pee myself.

“Are you sure we’re heading in the right direction?”

“No.”

The next hour is full of laughter as we try to navigate the winding roads. Everything here is so new to us, yet old in a way I’ve never experienced before. It tugs at something inside me, like a memory of a time or place I’ve never known.

Eventually we make it to the parking lot of the cliffs.

“We made it,” Carson says, taking off his sunglasses and hanging them from his T-shirt.

He digs in his bag, handing me a granola bar. “I better text my mom and let her know we’ve made it. Although I’m sure she’s been watching my location like a hawk.”

“Tell her thanks for the snacks.”