Shay unzipped her hoodie pulling out the money pouch hidden against her chest She walked over to the taxi line as she took out two of the unfamiliar Euro bills Each had the number 20 on them Was that enough for a taxi She also took out the piece of paper with Uncle Sean’s address on it and held it tightly in her hand as she moved up in line Finally it was her turn She heaved her suitcase into the backseat Wher’ll it be love The driver didn’t seem to think it was strange to have a girl all by herself in his cab Shay felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up like somebody was watching her She took one last look around to check for Uncle Sean She shivered still feeling like she was being watched Shay bent down to get in the taxi and read the address to the driver Suddenly a firm hand pulled her out of the taxi
Chapter 2 An unexpected visitor I still feel badly for scaring you like that Siobhan said Uncle Sean for about the hundredth time since picking her up He was the first person to call her by her full Irish name pronounced she-von in years It turned out that Uncle Sean had been at the airport the whole time In fact he was so nervous about missing Shay’s flight he got there two hours early He had fallen asleep in a chair in the waiting area I woke up in a panic he explained to Shay in the car I ran quick as I could outside and would
you believe I saw young Shay Sullivan hopping into a taxi When Shay looked at it that way she understood why Sean had pulled her out of the taxi so fast Once she calmed down Shay settled into her seat in Uncle Sean’s car and fell asleep They arrived at his farmhouse almost three hours later Shay was bleary-eyed from sleep and practically stumbled inside She sat at the table and hungrily spooned the stew she was given into her mouth After several mouthfuls she realized what she was eating lamb stew On a sheep farm but by the time she did she no longer cared She was hungry And honestly the stew was delicious After a few more bites she was finally feeling normal She felt less cranky than she had in the airplane In fact she was starting to look forward to this adventure Two months in Ireland without her parents
Shay also felt much less nervous about Uncle Sean He looked softer than he had in her picture His brown hair was thick and a bit wild and his green eyes were kind and warm behind his glasses He was a bit taller than her dad and much thinner He wore a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up She looked up from her bowl to see Uncle Sean staring Sorry she said She wiped a drip of stew from her chin I was just just hungry She looked down at her bowl for more but found it was empty It’s me that’s sorry said Sean He stood up to refill Shay’s bowl Don’t know what I was thinking falling asleep Then scaring you like that What would your father say Shay had almost forgotten about her parents and why she was in Ireland to begin with All of a sudden she couldn’t eat another bite of stew Uncle Sean is it okay if I go unpack 11
