Aisling's Summer Diary

Chapter 26 | The Set-Up

Everything was in place for Ciaran’s hotel to be crowned THE destination in the Sunny Southeast.  We had first-rate publicity, a gorgeous venue, brilliant food (thanks to me!), and, by six o’clock tonight, a full house!  I wonder what Ciaran plans on doing with that €10,000?!

Monday 12 June

2 p.m.

Every one of us was scrambling to make sure the hotel was in perfect nick for our biggest guest list ever.  We aired out the rooms, scrubbed up the windows, and I even volunteered to mop the floors!  We were nearly finished when Ali came loping into the reception hall, his face drawn with worry.

“What’s up Ali?” I asked.  He turned to Siobhan and asked her what the name for the big booking was.  “Neem Orlando Shoa.”  How could you forget a name like that, Ali?!  “So he has a weird name.  What’s the big deal?” Siobhan asked.  “Mr. N. O. Shoa???” Ali prodded.  Oh.  My.  God.  The booking was a fake!  And to think of all of those other bookings we turned away!  

“It was a set-up,” Ali moaned.  “Mr. Shoa’s” number had been disconnected.  And Siobhan was quick to point the finger.  She was sure Celia, Slater, and Fiona were behind this.  It was SO obvious!  They’d wanted to ruin us, and now they’d done it!  I tried to reason with her.  Even if all of the signs pointed to Celia, we didn’t know for sure.  And I didn’t want to believe she or Slater or even Fiona were behind this.  “You’re only defending them because you’ve got a stupid crush on Slater!” Siobhan barked.  “So what if you stuck to the pact—you STILL put some boy before everything we do!”  “I DO NOT!” I yelled. 

And at the exact moment, he appeared...my long lost Murphy.  “What don’t you do, Aisling?”  Siobhan rolled her eyes—OH LOOK: one big happy reunion!  My heart clenched, and my mouth went dry.  But I played it off like his sudden, magical materialization was no big deal.  “Just give us a minute, Murphy.  We’re trying to sort something out.”  

Siobhan was seething.  Did she honestly think I didn’t get what this meant?!  Ciaran wouldn’t only lose the bet, he’d lose the hotel!  Before I could explain myself (again), Ciaran clomped down the stairs in a suit.  “What’s everybody standing around for?  Hop to!” he smiled.  Murphy took a step forward—“Can’t I just—” and I cut him off.  Just TWO seconds for goodness sake!  Ciaran eyed Murphy, trying to piece together who he was. 

“There’s no Mr. Shoa, uncle Ciaran,” Siobhan sighed.  Murphy cleared his throat.  “There IS a Murphy.  All the way from Dublin.”  “It was a hoax,” Ali went on.  “I knew they couldn’t be trusted!” Siobhan snapped.  “Celia did this?” Ciaran asked, his voice breaking.  It looks as if Ciaran didn’t want to believe she was behind this mess either.  He turned to go, a look of quiet resignation in his eyes.

3 p.m.

There was nothing we could do to save the hotel, not now.  We couldn’t call around for guests—it was too late for that—and we couldn’t steal away Celia’s bookings (even if it was tempting).  I couldn’t believe she’d stooped so low!  Ali caught me in the corridor and told me Fiona had been the one to tell him the truth.  She’d been heartbroken by the thought of not being able to trust him, and now her own mother had turned cheat!  “She’s caught in the middle, Aisling,” Ali explained.  “If Celia doesn’t win the bet, they’ll have to sell the hotel and move!”  

My head was pounding with scores of half-finished thoughts, and then Murphy asked me to go for a walk with him on the beach.  To clear my head.  Great, I thought.  More half-finished thoughts.  But it was SO nice just being hear him again.  We’ve been apart for so long, and now—to see him again!  It’s made me realize that no matter where I go or what I do, Murphy will always be lodged deep in my heart.  He was the first boy I really let into my world.  I adore him.  I think I always will.  

But why had he come back?  He was supposed to be off “seeing the world.”  When I asked him about it, he told me he’d seen the world, but he’d realized what he really wanted was to see it with me.  Oh, Murphy.  Your timing is impeccable!  “I missed you too,” I told him, “but I don’t think I can go back to the way things were.”  He thought it was because of Slater, but I told him that wasn’t it at all.  I just needed a bit of time for myself.  I’ve learned so much about me this summer—who I am and who I’d like to become!  I didn’t want to sideline myself for anything—not even Murphy. 

He didn’t say anything for a second, and I was terrified that I might have been too honest.  He probably wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me now.  But I was wrong.  “That’s cool,” he said and gave me a little hug.  “But I’m not going anywhere.  I want to see how your life turns out, Aisling.”  So do I, Murphy.  So do I.

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