Felicity’s Summer in Killarney
Week 13

A few weeks later and the end of summer was quickly approaching. Auntie Sheila and Jack insisted that they needed to spend a nice day out in town to make up for all the chaos they’d had on the night of the Kerry v Cork game.

Auntie Sheila was looking at things to do. “The Riverdance is on at the Gleneagle Arena, how about that? And we’ll need dinner too of course, but I’d like to take you to Salvador’s.” Jack and Felicity both agreed that it would be lovely.

On the day, Auntie Sheila brought Felicity and Jack to out for dinner. Felicity had never been into Salvador’s before. It was very atmospheric – warm and rustic.

The trio were laughing away when Auntie Sheila glanced at her watch. “Oh shoot, we’ve got to go guys otherwise we’ll miss the start of the show!”

They quickly paid for their meal and hustled down towards the shuttle stop. They got there just as the last passenger was boarding. Auntie Sheila fished out coins from her purse for the bus driver, and he nodded them along.

Felicity collapsed into the aisle seat next to Jack, with Auntie Sheila on her other side. She giggled at the frazzled state they were all in. Auntie Sheila’s hair had exploded into a frizz when met with the rush, and Jack looked like he had just woken up despite having been awake since the early morning.

They got to the Arena and quietly found their seats. The performers were entrancing; Felicity could hardly look away.

After the show, which was mercifully jerky-free, the trio trudged back to the shuttle bus. The crowd was far larger than when they arrived. It was crowded on board, but they managed to squeeze into the first shuttle headed back into town.

Felicity let herself get lost in the hubbub on the bus. She wondered if she would have time for things like this once she started college. She refused to let herself hope that her Garda apprenticeship application would be accepted.

Felicity stepped off of the bus with the rest of the crowd, mind still wandering. She waited for Jack and Auntie Sheila to rejoin her. “I’d love to go for something sweet right about now.”

Jack looked pensive. “How about Murphy’s Ice Cream? They’re always open late in summer.”

Felicity questioned the validity of it still being summer, given that it was September. She was going home at the start of next week. No small part of her dreaded the return to Dublin. But she would enjoy Killarney whilst she was here, not dwell on the future.

The group trundled down Main Street towards Murphy’s. As expected, the lights inside were on; warm and welcoming. They each sampled a few flavours before settling on what they wanted.

They milled around Murphy’s, at a bit of a loss about what to do next. “We could catch some live music,” Jack suggested. They jumped on the idea with vigour and Auntie Sheila suggested Buckley’s in The Arbutus.

And what a time it was! The evening was filled with laughter, joy and music, a far sight from that night not long ago when Anthony was still a looming threat. But that had passed. There would be other times in life to worry but now was not one of them.

Excursion
Felicity had been anxiously anticipating her Leaving Cert exam results for weeks. It had eventually boiled down to the final couple of hours, and she couldn’t help but wonder if this was all for naught.

She didn’t know what she wanted to do. She had applied for a variety of courses as the guidance councillors advised, but all she wanted was for her Garda apprenticeship application to be accepted. Felicity didn’t let herself think about what would happen if she succeeded, but nonetheless there was a small flame of hope that would not be extinguished.

The clock passed 10am. Felicity hurriedly refreshed her browser and signs into her CAO portal. Oh my gosh. She had done it. She had gotten what she needed for her first choice of courses. Not that it would matter if she got her apprenticeship, but she didn’t want too many eggs in one basket. Now she only had to wait for offers and the decision about her apprenticeship application.

To celebrate, Felicity called Jack and they decided they would go out to the National Park. Jack wanted to take her over to Avoca, but those plans were dashed when they saw a string of emergency service vehicles – mainly fire engines – rushing up the winding road.

There must have been another fire. The heatwave had been dragged out for long enough, for almost a month now. Even on the days when there was cloud it was unbearably hot and humid. Too hot to think, that’s for certain.

Instead, Jack turned around at Ladies View and they went to Muckross. Jack found a blanket in the boot of the car, and deciding that would be enough they ventured out to Dundag beach. It was slightly cooler under the shade by the beach, but it was still too warm to function.

Felicity was far happier to be here enjoying nature rather than out in town drinking, especially after the match day and Anthony’s arrest. It was a great relief that he had been arrested, but she still looked over her shoulder for him or the men in black whenever she was out of the house.

Here on Dundag it was far easier to relax than anywhere else. They had a picnic blanket, some cold drinks and what felt like all the time in the world.