Caitlin wasn’t convinced. ‘Speed dating? That sounds like a comedy sketch waiting to happen.’ She remembered the episode ofVicar of Dibleywhere Geraldine was subjected to date after date with people from her own congregation, with hilarious consequences.
‘Aye, it does, but you never know. Might be some good craic. What do you say? We can be each other’s moral support.’
She thought about it for a moment and then decided she had nothing to lose. And that surely the next event had to start off better than this one? If she actually attended with Archie, she could keep an eye on him and make sure he didn’t leg her up, or slam a door in her face, or something equally as bad as this evening. ‘Oh aye. Why not, eh?’
Archie smiled. ‘Grand. I’ll pop in to the bakery in the week and let you know the details.’
‘Great. Thanks. Right, I’m heading home. See you later. Thanks for the drink.’ She exited the door just as the handsome bartender deposited another J20 on the table with a look of confusion.
4
The following morning, Jules rang to invite Caitlin for tea and cake as the boys, and Chewie, were apparently heading off to the beach to go rock pooling. Caitlin accepted and grabbed a few pieces of shortbread to take with her and wondered if the other ladies would be there too. She clipped on Cleo’s lead and the two of them headed across the village.
The sun was high in the sky over Glentorrin, and a gentle breeze played on the surface of the water in the inlet. Gus, the fisherman, was scrubbing the deck of his boat and raised his hand in a wave as she passed.
Summer Sundays in Glentorrin were usually a lazy affair; people walked their dogs or visited friends. There was the church service every other week now that Father McAllen was incumbent of two churches within the parish, and today was his day to be away. The new team of bell-ringers were making the most of the empty church and practising; the chimes rang out across the village, bringing a smile to Caitlin’s face. At this time of year, there were plenty of tourists taking in the scenery of the village, too, and that fact made Caitlin proud to call the picturesque and friendly place her home.
Caitlin spotted Morag through the propped-open door of the shop. She was behind the counter chatting to Hamish, who had called in for his Sunday newspaper.
When Caitlin arrived at Jules’ house, it was just the three of them: herself, Jules, and Ruby – four if you counted her canine companion, Cleo. Once they were all seated around the table with their plates of sweet treats and mugs of tea, all eyes settled on Caitlin, expectantly. She knew very well what they were after and she took great joy in ignoring their questioning gazes, choosing instead to tickle Cleo behind her ears as the dog waited for crumbs to fall from the table.
‘What?’ she asked her friends, eventually, with a smirk.
‘Oh, come on, woman! You know exactly what!’ Jules insisted with a huff.
‘Yes, spill it, madam! How did it go last night?’ Ruby asked eagerly. ‘Did you meet your Prince Charming?’
Caitlin rolled her eyes. ‘Nope. It was disastrous from start to finish. Hence my reason for staying schtum.’
Both her friends eyed her with pity and disappointment. ‘Really? How come?’
‘Surely it wasn’t that bad?’
‘Oh, believe me, I couldn’t have made it up!’
She informed them about the debacle at the start of the night and how Archie, of all people, had caused it. How she thought some handsome, younger man was flirting with her and offering to buy her a drink, only to discover he was the bartender and simply doing his job; and to top it all off, how it had come to light that Archie thought she was gay.
‘Good grief. I see what you mean,’ Jules laughed. ‘I know it’s too early for wine, but that story made me feel like I should open a bottle. It’s a shame you have to drive to collect Grace this afternoon.’ She pondered a moment. ‘Archie is such a wally.’ She shook her head. ‘I wonder why he was there anyway. He doesn’t seem to be short on female companionship. Although none of the women he dates seem to stick around, so maybe he’s looking for something more meaningful…’
Precisely what Caitlin had thought.
Ruby leaned across and squeezed her arm. ‘Don’t let it put you off though, will you? They won’t all be like that.’
Caitlin shook her head. ‘I don’t know that I want to risk another night like that, to be honest. I mean, how many things can go wrong in one evening?’
Ruby shook her head, second-hand embarrassment causing her cheeks to flush. ‘I can’t believe you fell on the floor in front of everyone. You poor love.’
Caitlin huffed. ‘Yes, to say I felt ridiculous would be an understatement. But Archie did his best to help, bless him.’
‘After he caused the fiasco!’ Jules replied with a laugh. ‘It was the least he could do.’
‘I think Archie’s quite good-looking really,’ Ruby said, completely out of the blue.
Caitlin tilted her head. ‘Really?’ She had never really thought of him in that way. He was a nice guy, admittedly, and he didn’t repulse her. She simply had never really considered Archie romantically.
Jules sat up straight as if she’d had a light-bulb moment. ‘Don’t you think he looks a bit like… ooh, what’s his name?’ She clicked her fingers as if doing so would conjure up the answer. ‘Erm… ugh!’ She sighed in frustration. ‘What’s his name? You know… the Incredible Hulk?’
Caitlin scrunched her brow and chuckled. ‘Eh? What are you on about? Archie’s not green.’
