Kate Hoffmann - Danny

When she reached the entryway, she handed him the gifts. “Did you get these?” he asked.

She nodded. “I know it said no gifts on the invitation, but I’m not going to be here for the-” She sighed. “I wasn’t going to be here for the wedding, so I wanted to get them something.”

“You got them two things?” he asked.

“The smaller is a first-edition Yeats. A collection of his poems. And the other is silver. Hotel silver. It’s kind of a trendy thing. You use it for everyday silverware. They’re engraved with Qs and Ns and Rs.”

“You got them a book and silverware?”

“Yes. I wasn’t quite sure which was appropriate so I just bought them both.”

“A toaster would have been appropriate.”

“But that’s so unimaginative,” she said. “Everyone buys toasters. I bought something romantic and something useful.”

“Should I have gotten a gift?”

“No. The gifts are from the two of us.”

As they walked out to the car, Danny gave her hand a squeeze. “I like that,” he murmured. “I like that we’re a couple.”

The pub was packed with barely enough room to move when Danny and Jordan arrived. She stood at his side, clutching his arm and shifting from foot to foot, trying to appear cheerful. A band played on a stage at one end of the pub and a crowd was already on the dance floor, shouting and stomping and clapping. Jordan had been to engagement parties before, but they’d always been very sedate affairs.

The song came to an end and Riley stepped up to the microphone, then pointed directly at them. “It seems my little brother has come back and with a very lovely lass on his arm.”

The crowd shouted Danny’s name and he chuckled beside her.

“Now, those of you who know Danny know that this is an unusual thing. But I want all of you to give our boyo a good word when you chat with Jordan. She’s American and she’s beautiful and I don’t know what the hell she’s doing hanging around my brother, but let’s all pretend that he’s worth it.”

“Hello, Jordan!” the crowd cried out.

Jordan forced a smile and gave them all a weak wave. “Hello,” she called. “Nice to be here.”

“Kellan, get these two a drink. I’m going to be takin’ a break for a few songs so I can go kiss my fiancée,” Riley said. “And after that, I’ve got a special song I want to sing for her.”

Kellan had saved seats for them both at the bar and Danny pulled her along through the crowd. She held tight to Danny’s hand and was grateful to see a familiar face in Kellan.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi, Joe,” Kellen replied with a grin. “What can I get you to drink?”

Jordan glanced around. “A large glass of whatever will get me drunk very quickly. How about one of Nan’s margaritas?”

“Forget the fruity drinks,” Kellan advised. “Whiskey. A double?”

“Make it a triple.”

Kellan poured her a glass, then turned to Danny. “How about you, brother?”

“Nothing for now. I’m driving.”

“No, you’re not. You’re joining in the celebration. And if you have too much, you two can stay up at your place.”

“All right, then, give me a pint,” Danny said.

Over the next half hour, Jordan was introduced to an endless line of people. She met Danny’s parents, Eamon and Maggie Quinn, and his two older sisters and their families. And first cousins and second cousins and third cousins.

Jordan had to wonder where the crowd had come from. Ballykirk was such a small village. But everyone in attendance seemed to know the couple quite well, considering that Nan had only lived in Ireland for a few months.

This was what family was like, she mused. One big, happy crowd of people who cared. She’d never really experienced that before, never even imagined what it would feel like to be completely comfortable with the people she was related to.

As the evening went on, the crowd became more and more boisterous and the music more raucous. This was the perfect way to distract herself. How could she feel depressed when faced with Irish pub music? It was all so cheerful and lively. Danny joined his two brothers on stage for a set and Jordan found a spot in the shadows to watch them.

“They’re a wild bunch.”

Jordan glanced to her left to find Nan standing next to her. “I’ve never seen him like this,” she said. “He hums while he works, but this is a surprise. I didn’t realize he could sing.”

Nan gave her a long look. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Jordan replied. “I’m…I’m fine.”

The brothers finally left the stage after a rousing rendition of an Irish reel that left the audience exhausted. But Riley came back, sitting down on a stool with an acoustic guitar.

“This is a song for my lovely Nan. It’s a song I wrote especially for her and I’ve only sung it to her once before and she promptly fell in love with me. I reckon if I sing it now, she might just marry me.”

Nan leaned closer. “He’s going to sing the selkie song.” Her eyes fixed on Riley as he spun the tale of a man in love with a beautiful selkie. The way he sang the ballad, it was as if the two of them were the mortal man and the beautiful creature from the sea.

Jordan watched him, amazed at the depth of emotion he conveyed to the audience…to Nan, tears swimming in her eyes. This was love, she thought to herself. Jordan could see it in Riley’s eyes, in the way he smiled at his fiancée.

Riley sang two more songs, both of them sweet love songs, before he nodded to the crowd and stepped off stage, a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers. He was headed directly to Nan, but his trip was interrupted again and again by enthusiastic fans-mostly female.

When he finally reached Nan, he gave her a kiss. “Was it good?”

Her eyes shone. “It was beautiful,” she said.

Jordan stood up. “Here, take my seat.”

“No, that’s all right,” Riley said. “How are you, Jordan?”

“I’m great,” she said.

Danny came up behind Riley and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Riley. You got yourself a good one. Now don’t do anything to feck it up.”

“And you’d do well to take your own advice,” Riley teased.

“I could really use some air,” Jordan said.

Danny led her to the front door and then out into the cool October night. Jordan wrapped her arm around his as they strolled aimlessly toward the waterfront. The sounds from the pub faded and when they were finally alone, she spoke. “They make a cute couple. It makes me believe that love might be possible.”

“You don’t believe in love?”

Jordan shook her head. “I think people fall in love, like us. But I’m not sure it can last forever. Sometimes life just gets in the way.”

“But then you have someone to help you with life,” Danny said. “Two people against the world are a lot better odds than just one.”

There were a few people wandering along the quay and they all recognized Danny and said hello. He found a spot for them to sit. Jordan felt a nervous twist in her stomach. She shouldn’t have said that to him. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in love. She was just used to looking at life in more realistic terms.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Don’t listen to me. I don’t know what I’m talking about. I never really took the time to think about romance when I was younger. I was too busy trying to keep up. I never dressed up as a bride or secretly planned my wedding or fantasized about what it would be like to find my Prince Charming.”

“Love isn’t a fairy tale, Jordan. It’s life, as real as it gets.”

“I know. But I’m supposed to be thrilled by it and it just scares me. It would change everything.”

“Yes, it will. It’s supposed to.”

A moment later, a soft, slow ballad drifted into the cool night air from inside the pub. “There wasn’t much room to dance inside. Maybe you’d dance with me here?” Danny asked.

He slipped his arm around her waist then took her hand in his. His body was strong and hard against hers, their movement generating its own warmth. Jordan tipped her head back and drew a deep breath, then slowly let it go. This was her life, this moment in time, with this man in her arms. Nothing else mattered.

She let her hands trail over his body as she danced, creating a soothing counterpoint to the music. But this wasn’t about desire. It was about comfort and protection. Even though the world she’d always known was falling apart, all her dreams disappearing before her eyes, it wasn’t completely tragic.

“Maybe we should go back to the party,” she said.

“We’ve made our appearance,” Danny said. “I don’t think we’ll be missed. And I know you’d rather be alone.”

“There’s plenty of time for that later,” she said. “I think maybe I want to learn another one of those Irish dances.”

“Yeah?” Danny asked.

Jordan nodded. “Will you teach me?”

“I can do that.” He slipped his arms around her waist, then bent closer to kiss her.

When they got back to the pub, Nan rushed up to them both. “We thought you’d left,” she said. She held out the presents Danny had set on the end of the bar. “You didn’t need to bring us a gift. Didn’t you see the invitation?”

“Yes,” Jordan said. “But I wanted to. I won’t be here for the wedding, so that’s what they’re for. And you’ve given me something in return.”

“Can I borrow Jordan for a moment?” Nan asked.

“Sure,” Danny said. “As long as you give her back. I’ve grown rather fond of her.”

She and Nan walked through the pub and into the kitchen. “This is the only quiet spot in the pub,” Nan said. “So tell me, why are you thinking about leaving?”

“Actually, I’m not. I’m thinking of staying. But in case I don’t, I wanted to give you the gifts.”

“So, are you in love with him? It’s all right, you can admit it to me. Believe me, I spent a long time denying it myself. But there’s just something about a handsome Irishman that I find completely irresistible.”

Jordan sat down on a stool next to the work table, exhaustion overwhelming her. “I’ve tried to keep everything in perspective,” she said. “But I can’t seem to help myself. I get lost in the fantasy of living here with him. It’s like someone or something has put a spell on me and I’m seeing everything through magic glasses.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Nan said. “But don’t be so quick to write it off as a fantasy. Maybe you were meant to be here all along.”

“Danny told me about your search for your father. You have a place here. I have an Irish last name, that’s all.”

“You could make a place for yourself,” Nan replied. “It’s not that hard. And with the Quinns, it seems, the more the merrier.”

It wasn’t difficult to like Nan. She seemed so sweet and friendly. Jordan had never had many girlfriends. She’d always been so obsessed with her career, she hadn’t made time for friendships. And she’d never been interested in hanging out and talking about manicures and boyfriends and designer shoes.

Jordan was amazed at how easy it was to confide in the other woman. Though they came from completely different places, they seemed to have so much in common. She almost felt as if she would have a family here in Ireland if she stayed. “We should probably rejoin the party,” Jordan said. “You are the guest of honor.”

“We should,” Nan said. “But promise that we’ll see you again, soon. And if you leave, you must say goodbye.”

“You should come and see the house. It’s almost done. The furniture arrives this next week. Bring Danny’s mother and we’ll have lunch.”

“Then it’s decided,” Nan said. “Just call when you’d like us to come and we’ll be there.”

Jordan picked up the presents. “Do you want to open these now or later?”

“Oh, now,” Nan said. “I can’t stand to wait for a surprise. And I love presents.” She paused. “You said before that I’d given you something. What did you mean by that?”

Jordan hesitated, but found no reason to hide her feelings. She could trust Nan. “When I saw you and Riley together, saw how you were that first time we met, how he looked at you and how you looked at him…well, it made me think that I might find that for myself someday. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before.”

“Maybe it wasn’t just me and Riley,” Nan pushed. “Maybe it’s Danny?”

“Open it,” Jordan said. “I hope you like it.”

Nan tore at the paper and pulled open the box then gasped. She reached into the box and withdrew the old silver. “Oh, this is lovely. Look at the monograms. It’s hotel silver, isn’t it? My favorite restaurant back home uses it. I love it. It’s so heavy, so much nicer than what you can buy new.”

“Danny didn’t understand why I was giving you old silverware.” Jordan pointed to the smaller package. “Open that one.”

Nan withdrew the book from the paper and smoothed her hand over the cover. Then she opened to the flyleaf. “It’s a first printing?”