Poppy's Fall

Chapter 4

It was a dark, cold and drizzly day and Poppy was determined to stay in bed the better part of it.  She didn’t mind, in fact, she welcomed the dreary weather.  The three days since her arrival had been packed with visits to castles or ruins, shopping and Dunne’s since Ellie seemed to think the pub was the only one in existence.

It was obvious Ellie was trying to get her and Shaun together.  Poppy could see it and she was fairly certain everyone else could as well.  However, it was plain to see that it was Fiona and Shaun who should be together.  The two kept stealing lovesick glances at each other when they saw the other was unaware.   Only they failed to realize that someone else might pick up on their longing stares.  It boggled Poppy’s mind that as intuitive as Ellie could be she couldn’t see what was right in front of her. 

A knock on the door of her room had her groaning.  “I’m not here.” She yelled out.

“I was being polite by knocking first.” Ellie’s muffled voice answered. “I hope you’re decent.”

The door swung open revealing a too-cheerful Ellie in a bright yellow rain slicker.  Poppy groaned again and burrowed deeper into her warm blankets.  “Can’t you just let me sleep the day away like a normal person?”

“How can you sleep?”  Ellie grabbed a handful of blanket and tugged.  “You’re in Ireland!  Go out and enjoy it.”

“I’ve been enjoying it the last three days.” Poppy glared at Ellie. “Now I’d really like to enjoy this room, most notably my bed.”

One last tug of blankets had Poppy crashing to the floor where she hissed out a string of colorful curse words at her best friend.  Ellie simply laughed it off, telling Poppy to find her in Mrs. Callaghan’s kitchen downstairs once she was up and ready. 

As punishment for getting her out of bed, Poppy made Ellie wait as long as possible but curiosity got the best of her and she started wondering what the slim blonde had in mind for the day.  When Poppy was finally clad in her warm Irish sweater, dark jeans and a pair of faded grey ankle boots she made her way downstairs.  Her hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders, the tips dyed a deep plum color. 

“Alright, I’m here,” Poppy announced at the bottom of the back staircase, the one leading directly into Mrs. Callaghan’s kitchen.  She crossed her arms in front of her, glaring at Ellie and making it known she was not pleased.

“Oh now dear, don’t be angry with our Ellie,” Mrs. Callaghan crooned as she steered Poppy to the table where a mug of hot coffee was waiting for her.  “She’s just excited to have you here with us.”

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“What’s wrong with your car?” Poppy inquired later on as she sat in the cab of Aidan’s truck.

As though she was trying to concentrate on her driving, Ellie took a few moments before answering.  “This is the one.” Ellie muttered under her breath and turned onto a road hugging the coastline.

“Nothing’s wrong with my car,” Ellie finally responded.  “Aidan’s fish order needs to be picked up and he’s behind on paperwork so I volunteered.” 

Poppy turned in her seat and glared at Ellie.  “You’re telling me that you woke me up to go get some fish?”

“Oh come on,” Ellie laughed as she fiddled with the radio.  “It’s only about forty five minutes up the coast and it’s a nice drive.”

She was being impossible and she knew it.  Poppy had dreamt about Kyle again last night and it hadn’t been pleasant.  None of her dreams about him were.  They all started out the same.  He would leave in the morning as he had the morning after they slept together.  But soon after she would be the one to catch him getting in that car as opposed to Agnes.  He would always look unapologetic, shrugging his shoulders and saying something along the lines of “What did you expect?” while his female companion cackled in the darkened car.  She was aware Ellie knew there was more to the watered down version of the story Poppy had given her as to why she suddenly decided to come to Ireland.  But Poppy was grateful that she was being left alone about it for the time being. 

Despite the steady drizzle, Poppy soon appreciated the fact that she had been dragged along for the ride.  The coast line, dotted with small villages on rocky beaches or cliff walls, was nothing like she had ever seen and the pictures Ellie had shown her were nothing like experiencing it in person. 

Soon enough they arrived at McCarthy’s where Poppy stayed seated in the warmth of the truck while Ellie was speaking to a younger man who appeared as though he would very much like to gather Ellie up in his arms and kiss her senseless. 

“Is every guy in Ireland in love with you?” Poppy bluntly asked when Ellie came back to the truck.

“What?  Ryan?  No, Ryan isn’t in love with me.” Ellie sputtered.  She cast an eye through the windshield where Ryan was packing up the order for Dunne’s.

“Els, he looks at you like you’re some sort of fairytale princess that he wants to live happily ever after with.”  Poppy laughed at the look of pure horror on Ellie’s face then back to where Ryan was hauling a foam cooler to place in the bed of the truck. 

They sat in the truck for a few more minutes before it became apparent no one was coming to help Ryan load their order.  And so the women zippered up their rain slickers and stepped outside to give him a hand.  At first he waved at them to get back in the vehicle where it was warm and dry but soon gladly accepted the help and they were done quickly. 

“I thank you Ellie.” Ryan extended his hand toward her.  He frowned slightly when she became the tiniest bit hesitant to take his hand.

Poppy rolled her eyes at the scene and deliberately cleared her throat in order to dispel the tension.  “We couldn’t very well sit pretty while you were out there doing all the work.”

Ryan sent a tight smile at Ellie before turning his eyes on Poppy.  He was good looking enough, Poppy observed.  Maybe not along the lines of Shaun or Aidan but he could hold his own.  Strands of dark reddish hair had broken loose from the short pony tail he had hastily tied at the back of his head.  His stocky build was solid seeing as he hauled crates all day long and his eyes were a lovely shade of moss green.  At his full height Ryan was only a couple of inches taller than Poppy but when he smiled it was sincere and lit up his whole face.

For Ryan, everything around him ceased to exist when Poppy held out her hand, her lips curving up into a broad smile as she beamed at him.  His first thought was that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and then he felt immediately guilty for it.  Ellie had been the one to occupy that title from the day he met her even knowing there was no chance in hell she would ever look at him the way she did Aidan.  But her friend!

“I’d say more than just pretty,” he swallowed hard before wrapping his big warm hand around Poppy’s small one.  “Ryan McCarthy.”