‘A visitor for you!’ Auntie Eileen exclaimed and Brian’s smiling face loomed behind her shoulder. Elizabeth sighed with relief.
‘Hello,’ she called happily.
‘Sorry. I’m interrupting your meal,’ he said apologetically.
‘Not at all. I was just finished.’ Elizabeth stood up to prove her point.
‘Really?’ Auntie Eileen was incredulous.
‘It was lovely. Thank you,’ Elizabeth said to her hostess with all the sincerity she could muster.
Brian coughed. ‘Well, I was just wondering if you fancied a drink down the pub.’
‘Yes,’ she blurted out.
Brian laughed. ‘It’s like that, is it? I won’t have her back too late,’ he said to his aunt, adding, ‘If you want to go to bed just leave the key out.’
‘I will, I will.’ But the old woman was distracted by the food left on the table. She looked stricken, but Elizabeth refused to feel guilty.
The atmosphere in the car seemed different between them. The windows steamed up and their coats seemed noisy and cumbersome. Conversation was stilted. They seemed to have lost their easy, relaxed connection from earlier in the day. It was decided that they would drive back towards Muirinish. Brian explained that there was a sweet little pub called Carey’s that sometimes had live music.
Elizabeth drank a couple of glasses of red wine, which was surprisingly good, while Brian had pints of stout. It turned out there was no music that night but the pub was busy enough and the turf fire gave the place a welcoming glow. Conversation became easy once more. Brian made her laugh and he leaned in close when she spoke. She noticed his thighs where his jeans were stretched tight across them. Elizabeth wasn’t exactly sure if this was a date, but whatever it might be, she was enjoying herself. It was good to spend time with a man who knew almost nothing about her. He couldn’t judge her as a mother or a daughter, he didn’t know what she was like at work, or whether or not she should have spotted that things weren’t right with Elliot. She was just a tourist, tracking down her roots. She drained her second glass.
‘Will you have another?’ Brian asked.
Elizabeth did want another but experience told her that she would regret it in the morning and she was planning to drive back to Buncarragh.
‘No, I won’t, thanks.’
‘Right.’ Brian seemed a little crestfallen. ‘Well, I’m driving so I’d better not either.’ It seemed the party was over.
‘Will we hit the road?’ he asked.
‘Might as well. Don’t want to wake your auntie,’ Elizabeth said with mock seriousness, reaching for her coat.
Back in the car, the doors shut and the interior light went out. Brian had the keys in his hand but didn’t put them in the ignition. There was silence. Elizabeth looked at his strong, almost angular, profile against the lights of the pub. He seemed lost in thought.
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Of course,’ Elizabeth replied, her heart beating just a little faster. Was he going to kiss her? She could feel the two glasses of wine urging her to say yes.
‘Would you like to sleep with me?’
This was not the question she had been expecting. Brian seemed to have skipped several steps in their nascent courtship.
‘What?’
Brian squirmed in his seat.
‘I just wondered if you wanted to sleep together, you know, have sex?’
He sounded so matter of fact. Elizabeth wasn’t sure what to say.
‘It just seems a little abrupt. Sudden. You know what I mean?’ She didn’t want to upset him, but at the same time she was surprised that he was being so crass.
‘Well, I just thought you are here for tonight. An attractive woman. We probably won’t see each other again. I haven’t done it in a while and I thought you might like the chance of no-strings attached …’ His voice trailed off and Elizabeth assumed that he could see the expression on her face in the light from the pub windows. Her surprise had turned to anger.
‘I see. And do you offer your services to every single female traveller you come across?’
‘No, no.’ He raised his hands to placate her. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to … I really like you.’
‘Well, that’s encouraging. Good to know there is some sort of selection process.’
‘Look,’ he sounded defensive, ‘I never meant to insult you or piss you off. It was just a question.’
‘Well, the answer is no.’