Cecelia Ahern - P.S. I Love You

Later that night Jack called her on her mobile. “Hey sis, what are you doing?”

“Watching TV, having Chinese,” she said.

“Well, you sound in good form. Unlike my poor girlfriend who's suffering here beside me.”

“I'm never going out with you again, Holly,” she heard Abbey scream weakly in the background.

“You and your friends perverted her mind,” he joked.

“Don't blame me, she was doing just fine all by herself as far as I remember.”

“She says she can't remember anything.”

“Neither can I. Maybe it's something that happens as soon as you hit thirty, I was never like this before.”

“Or maybe it's just an evil plan you all hatched so you wouldn't have to tell us what you got up to.”

“I wish it was . . . oh, thanks for the pressie by the way, it's beautiful.”

“Glad you like it. It took me ages to find the right one.”

“Liar.”

He laughed.

“Anyway, I was ringing you to ask if you're going to Declan's gig tomorrow night.”

“Where is it?”

“Hogan's pub.”

“No way. There is no way I'm ever setting foot in a pub again, especially to listen to some loud rock band with screeching guitars and noisy drums,” Holly told him.

“Oh, it's the old 'I'm never drinking again' excuse, is it? Well, don't drink then. Please come, Holly. Declan's really excited about it and no one else will come.”

“Ha! So I'm the last resort, am I? Nice to know you think so highly of me.”

“No you're not. Declan would love to see you there and we hardly got a chance to talk at dinner, we haven't gone out for ages,” he pleaded.

“Well, we're hardly going to have a heart-to-heart with the Orgasmic Fish banging out their tunes,” she said sarcastically.

“Well, they're actually called Black Strawberries now, which has a nice sweet ring to it I think,”

he laughed.

Holly held her head in her hands and groaned, “Oh, please don't make me go, Jack.”

“You're going.”

“OK, but I'm not staying for the whole thing.”

“Well, we can discuss that when we get there. Declan will be chuffed when I tell him, the family never usually goes to these things.”

“OK then, about eightish?”

“Perfect.”

Holly hung up and sat stuck to the couch for another few hours. She felt so stuffed, she couldn't move. Maybe that Chinese wasn't such a good idea after all.

Nine

HOLLY ARRIVED AT HOGAN'S PUB feeling a lot fresher than the day before, but her reactions were still a little slower than usual. Her hangovers seemed to be gradually getting worse as she got older, and yesterday took the gold medal for the hangover of all hangovers. She had gone for a long walk along the coast from Malahide to Portmarnock earlier that day and the crisp fresh breeze helped to clear her fuzzy head. She had called into her parents' for Sunday dinner, where they presented her with a beautiful Waterford crystal vase for her birthday. It had been a wonderful, relaxing day with her parents and she almost had to drag herself off the comfortable couch to go to Hogan's.

Hogan's was a popular three-story club situated in the center of town, and even on a Sunday the place was jammed. The first floor was a trendy nightclub that played all the latest music from the charts. It was where the young, beautiful people went to show off their latest fashions. The ground floor was a traditional Irish pub for the older crowd (it usually contained old men perched up on their bar stools and stooped over their pints contemplating life). A few nights a week there was a traditional Irish music band that played all the old favorites, which was popular with the young and old. The basement was dark and dingy and it was where bands usually played, the clientele was purely students and Holly seemed to be the oldest person in there. The bar consisted of a tiny counter in the corner of the long hall, and it was surrounded by a huge crowd of young students dressed in scruffy jeans and ripped T-shirts, pushing one another violently in order to be served. The bar staff also looked like they should be in school and were rushing around at a hundred miles per hour with sweat dripping from their faces.

The basement was stuffy with no ventilation or air-conditioning at all, and Holly was finding it difficult to breathe in the smoky air. Practically everyone around her seemed to be smoking a cigarette, and her eyes were already stinging her. Holly dreaded to think what it might be like in an hour's time, although she seemed to be the only one who was bothered by it. She waved at Declan to let him know she was there but decided not to make her way over, as he was surrounded by a crowd of girls. She wouldn't want to cramp his style. Holly had missed out on the whole student scene when she was younger. She had decided not to go to college after school and instead began working as a secretary, where she moved from job to job every few months, ending with the awful job she left so she could spend time with Gerry while he was sick. She doubted she would have stayed at it that much longer anyway. Gerry had studied marketing at Dublin City University but he never socialized much with his college friends; instead he chose to go out with Holly, Sharon and John, Denise and whoever she was with at the time. Looking around at everyone, Holly didn't feel like she had missed anything special.

Finally Declan managed to tear himself away from his female fans and make his way over to Holly.

“Well hello, Mr. Popular, I feel privileged you chose me to speak to next.” All the girls stared Holly up and down and wondered what the hell Declan saw in this older woman.

Declan laughed and rubbed his hands together cheekily. “I know! This band business is great, looks like I'll be getting a bit of action tonight,” he said cockily.

“As your sister it's always a pleasure to be informed of that,” Holly replied sarcastically. She found it impossible to maintain a conversation with Declan, as he refused eye contact with her and instead scoured the crowds.

“OK, Declan, just go, why don't you, and flirt with these beauties instead of being stuck here with your old sister.”

“Oh no, it's not that,” he said defensively. “It's just that we were told there might be a record company guy coming to see us play tonight.”

“Oh cool!” Holly's eyes widened with excitement for her brother. This obviously meant a lot to him, and she felt guilty for never taking an interest in it before. She looked around and tried to spot someone who looked like a record company guy. What would he look like? It's not as if he would be sitting in the corner with a notebook and pen scribbling furiously. Finally her eyes fell upon a man who seemed much older than the rest of the crowd, more her own age. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, black slacks and a black T-shirt and stood with his hands on his hips staring at the stage. Yes, he was definitely a record company guy, as he had stubble all around his jaw and looked like he hadn't been to bed for days. He must have stayed up all night every night this week attending concerts and gigs and probably slept all day. He probably smelled bad as well. Or else he was just a weirdo who liked to go to student nights and ogle all the young girls. Also a possibility.

“Over there, Deco!” Holly raised her voice over the noise and pointed at the man. Declan looked excited and his eyes followed to where her finger pointed. His smile faded as he obviously recognized the man. “No, it's just Danny! ” he yelled, and he wolf-whistled to grab his attention.

Danny twirled around trying to find his caller and nodded his head in recognition and made his way over. “Hey man,” Declan said, shaking his hand.

“Hi Declan, how are you set?” The man looked stressed.