Irish Eyes

"Do you enjoy working at his place?" I ask so that I could continue learning more about her and listen to that wonderful accent.

"For the most part. Once school starts, I'll cut back on my hours. I don't really need to work, but it allows me to spend time with Danny and Andrea and they never really asked, just put me on the schedule once they knew I was coming to town. I can't argue too much as they let me live above the bar. It's close to campus, so we all win." Ciara continued, "I'm starting to get to know the regulars, I've only been working for a couple of weeks now, but I enjoy the personalities."

"Well, that's the fifty-cent tour of my life." Ciara then asks, "So what's your story?"

"Not a long story, Midwest girl grows up in a small town, waiting for her moment to escape. Lands a scholarship to her dream college, gets a degree and starts working. While you spent your teen years in the city that never sleeps, I spent my childhood in the city that never wakes up!" I chuckle and continue. "Seriously, everyone knew everyone else in town and that meant everyone knew your business. I couldn't walk out the door of my house without the whole town knowing what I was doing. I do not miss that at all. Luckily, I got good grades, got a full boat scholarship - girls wanting to get into software development get noticed and get showered with scholarships if they're any good."

I continue on, "I'd played soccer growing up - was pretty decent at it and got scholarship offers but decided not to play at the collegiate level. I knew I wouldn't play past college and my focus was on getting good grades so I could land a great job."

She interrupts me with a huge grin on her face. "Football?"

"Yeah, yeah, everyone but us Americans calls it football," I laugh. "I get it. Sorry, I grew up calling it soccer, so I'm not going to change now. Anyhow, love my parents, but I absolutely had to get out of that town."

I continue on, "College was an eye-opening experience for me. To say I had led a sheltered life would be an understatement. Prior to college, I'd never drank and rarely dated. College allowed me to learn who I was, that I was ok with who I was and opened up the world to me. In high school, I graduated with a class size of just over sixty kids. In college, I had classes of several hundred people. The shock value was real. At first, I felt lost in a sea of people, but I waded into the waters and made my way. My parents continue to think I'll move back home, but that ain't going to happen."

After a moment to take a small sip of my drink, I continue. "I met friends there who I'll have for life. After my freshman year, I grouped together with Maddie and Sandy, and we got our own apartment off campus. The three of us were a good match, all serious students, but willing to put the books down when we could and have some fun. They will be lifelong friends and I'm lucky I met them. I can tell them anything and there is no judgement, they will listen and give me advice when I need it and I try to do the same for them."

Treading into a more sensitive area, "I had my first real relationship at college. She was a wonderful girlfriend. She showed me that it was ok to acknowledge that I was attracted to women. I really fell in love with her, but it wasn't meant to last. She ended up dumping me for someone else and I thought I was broken for a long time after our relationship ended."

Ciara gently reaches out and lightly touches my hand. "A broken heart is a tough thing to heal." As she is saying it, I feel a spark jolt me where she had touched, it travels thru my entire body. Not many people have ever been able to do that to me. It such a nice feeling, but I know I can't go there with Ciara.

Her concern feels genuine, and I very much appreciate her reaction. She isn't freaked out about me being a lesbian. While there is much more acceptance today than in the past, it doesn't mean that everyone is ok when hearing that someone they know is gay or lesbian. In this case, it looks like it isn't going to be an issue. Ciara just gained deep respect from me, for showing that she cared about how I was impacted.

Our food arrives about then and we both start in on the food. Lunch is filled with a lot of conversation as we get to know each other and tell our stories. I learn that she has a delightful sense of humor and a laugh that lights up the space around her. She also is driven and has plans to go onto law school after she graduates. She is apparently enamored with intellectual property laws and wants to specialize in that field. Her breakup with her boyfriend wasn't just your typical end of a relationship, she had caught him in bed with another girl. From her description, she walked out of the room and never talked with him again. Not that he didn't try, but she froze him out of her life. You can still see the bitterness on her face as she talks about the experience.

Soon we are done with lunch and are leaving the restaurant, taking a stroll thru the nearby shopping district. We wind in and out of the little shops engaged in conversation and looking at the various items for sale. The weather is absolutely phenomenal, light breeze with the temps in the low 80s. It makes for a comfortable afternoon as we explore this part of town. It is an eclectic mix of trendy stores along with some of the national clothing retail stores. A little of something for everyone.

As evening approaches, Ciara informs me that she had to get going as she has plans to eat with Danny and Andrea. As much as I want to spend some more time with her, I understand her prior commitment and we agree to keep in touch. It appears I've made a friend.

*****

Mid-September

*****

I must admit, it feels weird not being in school. That's all I've known until this spring. When the time arrives where I would normally be heading to school and starting classes, I just continue working. I have entered 'The Grind'. Truth be told, I am having a blast at work, my team is an incredible mix of individuals. Yes, I am the only woman on the team, but the guys, if anything are very protective of me and bend over backwards to make sure that I feel welcome. Thru the team, I have a bunch of big brothers that I didn't have in real life, as I am an only child. That's not to say they don't rough me up when I make bone headed coding mistakes, but it's all done with the appropriate amount of friendly banter.

Anna and I continue to meet regularly. And, I had met other women my age that I did spend some time with occasionally. But it was Ciara who had become my best friend. The two of us spend a lot of time together. I sometimes spend the evening at the bar when she is working. Hanging out and talking with her as she tends other customers, and we find evenings to spend time together - going to movies, hitting the community theater or just spending an evening talking if her schedule allows. If it doesn't work out during the week, we seem to have a standing arrangement to do lunch on Sundays. Outside of that, we are constantly snapchatting each other.

I am thoroughly enjoying life as an adult!

Today, I've been working on the new interface that we are getting ready to roll out to our customers. It's been an intense summer as my team, and others, have been focused on getting this epic ready to deliver. As I'm chugging away testing some of the new code, my phone vibrates.

CO: "Hey, how you today?"

ME: "Livin life, head buried in my computer testing the new code we've put together to make sure I don't break the build."

CO: "My schedule is going to be brutal this semester. Going to have to skip tonight, we can still meet on Sunday. Sorry!"

ME: "No worries, school takes priority. Figured it was going to happen at some point. Are you sure Sunday will work for you?"

CO: "Yep, that'll work. Again, sorry about tonight, I'll see you Sunday."

Well, that sucks. I had gotten used to my regular meet ups with Ciara. Looks like, I'll just have to spend the night streaming some movies.

Sunday

To my surprise, Ciara is already at the restaurant ahead of me and she's seated at one of the high tables outside. I meander over to the table, lean in to give her a quick hug and then make my way around the table and sit across from her.

"Hey, C, been waiting long?"

"Nope, got here just a few minutes ago and was barely seated when you walked up. You have a good morning?"

"Yes, you know me, up early, out jogging to clear my head. Then I got some laundry out of the way. How was the bar last night?"

"Hopping. Schools back on, so Saturday nights are really, really busy now. Significantly bigger crowd then during the summer. Starts earlier and they are drinking a lot more than the summer crowd. Last night was a good night, nobody was causing problems. We were slammed, but I will admit the night flew by and it was closing time before I knew it. Danny has a great spot, the bar is close enough to campus to draw a good crowd. When there are games here in town, it is absolutely crazy."

"I should have stopped in to add to the charm of the evening!" I respond with a laugh.

"Well, I'll say this, outside of the typical thirst for beer, Fireball still seems to be the drink of choice for the college crowd wanting a shot. We went thru a shite load of the stuff last night. Danny's going to have to order a whole lot more of that stuff. Especially for game weekends."

"What's your schedule going to look like thru the school year?" As I'm finishing the question, our server appears, and we get our drinks ordered.

"I've told Danny that I'm going to need to cut back - maybe one night during the week and then either Friday or Saturday, but not both. I need time to study. I'm still a college girl and need some time with friends and time to act stupid before I have to grow up like you!" We both end up laughing. "Seriously, I'm probably not going to have as much time to catch up with you during the week. Need to keep my grades up if I'm going to be ready for the LSAT next summer and apply for Law School in the fall. If I'm not studying for my classes, I'm going to be spending time prepping for the LSAT. Can't believe I'm already at this point!"

"That's pretty cool. I didn't have to do anything like that with my degree, so I'm not necessarily in tune with the pressure you must feel."

"Changing topics, Danny and Andrea know that we spend Sunday afternoons together. They've told me that you are more than welcome to come over and do dinner with all of us, it is a standing invitation whenever it works for you."

"Wow, that's very generous of them to include me. They didn't need to do that!"

"Well, they've both noticed you and I hang out a lot together and I've told them you've become my closest friend. They've also both gotten to know you, at least a little, from your time hanging out at the bar, so they thought since you were a big part of my life that you should be able to join us for dinner."

"C, I'd love to! From what I've seen of Andrea and Danny, they're both pretty cool people. I'd love to get to know them better and spend more time with all of you."

The afternoon progresses with each of us filling in the other in on the things that had happened over the previous week and talking about the latest news. We also talk to each other about any recent gossip with the families. Both of us being the only children in our families, it was typically about whatever recent conversations we'd had with our parents. Ciara was also able to fill me in on any juicy happenings between Andrea and Danny. As with any of our chats, the conversation was all over the place. Anything and everything is in bounds and ends up in the conversation at some point.

We decide to see the latest romcom after lunch, the theater being a short stroll from the restaurant we'd chosen to eat at. We got to the theater, purchased tickets and munchies and we headed back to where the movie was showing. As we seated ourselves, I noticed the scent of her perfume. It had a light cherry blossom smell. It was captivating and I noticed myself leaning closer to her. I'm not sure if she noticed my drawing into where she was seated, if she did, she didn't say anything. I had to remind myself, that she was not playing for my team, and nothing was going to happen.

After the movie, we spend some time strolling thru the nearby shopping district, continuing our easy conversation and then late afternoon we head over to Danny and Andrea's place. Ciara hitching a ride with myself.

To say I'm impressed would be an understatement. I knew Ciaras' parents had money, but I guess I didn't realize Danny and Andrea were as loaded as their home indicated. The entrance to their place was off a road at the edge of town, I stop at the gates and key in the passcode that C provides and drive thru the gates. The drive winds up over a hill, lined with trees whose branches hang gracefully over the drive creating a natural arch and cathedral like entrance to their home. Then I get my first look at the place as I top the hill. It is stunning, about halfway down the hill, was what appeared to be a small castle, beyond the house the hill continued down until it met with the river. The lawn is immaculately cared for and there are flower gardens in various spots throughout the properly. There are also massive shade trees covering the path from the house down to the river. Behind the home is a large pool.

"Holy crap, C! You never said anything about Danny and Andrea being loaded. This is truly impressive. My God, I don't even want to think what this place cost."

Ciara just laughs, "You ain't seen anything yet. Wait till you get inside."

As we pull up in front of their place, Danny and Andrea step out and wave. As we are getting out of my car, they both chime in. "Hey girls, glad you could make it for dinner." They approach Ciara as she exits the car, both giving her big hugs. As I come around from the other side of the car, they also approach me and repeat the hugs.

"Natalia, welcome to our home," Andrea offers. "It's so nice of you to come out here with Ciara and have dinner with us."

"Andrea, thank you for the invitation. I was a little surprised when C let me know of the invite. I wasn't expecting that, and I don't mean to intrude on your family time. By the way, you can call me Nat."

"Nonsense, Nat. Ciara normally chats about you nonstop during our meals, so we thought why not bring you into our little dinner and get to know you better."

Andrea hooks her arm into mine and guides me towards the entrance to their home, two massive wooden doors, one hanging open. She and I enter into the home, and I am freaking awestruck. The entrance space could fit my apartment and then some. White marble floors leading to staircases on either side of the room leading up to the second floor. The staircases are made of a rich lighter brown wood with marble insets on the individual stairs. The entrance is a full two stories, the walls lining either side, made with large panels of the same wood from which the staircase was constructed.

Reaching beyond the entrance you can see into what I am assuming is a large seating area. Centered along the outer wall in front of windows that reached from floor to ceiling, is a large pedestal with a baby grand piano fitted nicely in the center. Around the pedestal are different seating areas identified with groupings of chairs and a couple of different sofas.

"Andrea, this is beautiful. I've never been in a home like this." I gushed.

She lets out a light laugh and continues to guide me into their home. Andrea led me into the room with the piano and found us a spot on one of the couches. C and Danny settle into a couple of chairs across from us. Through the windows I look out over a meticulously cared for lawn and several gardens. The pool acts as the architectural transition from the home to the lawn. There is a wide deck composed of massive pieces of natural stone pieced together and fitted around the pool. With gardens encircling the pad around the pool. There are a variety of tables and chairs around the pool. It is all very impressive.

Andrea kicks off the conversation, "So, Nat, you've told me at the bar that you develop software. How'd you figure out that's what you wanted to do professionally?"

"Well, a couple of things lined up that kind of opened doors for me. My Aunt Arriana is probably my biggest influence. She still lives in Italy. She started a company that ended up being bought out by one of the largest database companies in the world. When I was little, and still in Italy, she used to regularly have me to her house on weekends and she showed me the ropes of simple programming while I was in grade school. She got me hooked on it and would give me little problems that I could work on during the week and then show to her when I got back to her place the following weekend. To this day, if I have a problem I can't solve, I lean on her, she is always willing to help."

"My second biggest influence was a math teacher I had when I moved to the States," I continued. "Ms. Angelos was an incredible teacher. She noticed I was good at math and really pushed me, she would find time in class to teach me things those other students weren't learning yet. She, more than anyone else got the school to put me in the advanced student track. She also saw me doing programming and encouraged me to explore it more thoroughly. Once she saw my interest, she found other girls in school who were interested, and she got the school to start a club for girls who wanted to learn more about programming. We ended up doing competitions and that got the competitive side of me going. She really knew how to push my buttons, in a good way, to keep me interested in math and programming. By the time I hit high school, I knew becoming a programmer was what I wanted to do, and I took every class I could to strengthen my skills." I finished my story, "and that's the short story of how I figured out what I wanted to do when I grew up."

"That's impressive that you've had such strong and positive role models in your life, guiding you along your journey. Not many young people have their path so clearly painted for them at such a young age."

"I don't necessarily know that Arianna intended that what she was doing with me would end up pushing me in the direction of becoming a programmer. To her, it was a way to spend time with me and to teach me. Don't get me wrong, we did more than just have little programming games. She took me out on her boat, we wandered around the city together and she spoiled me rotten," I stated with a grin. "As for Calista, that's Ms. Angelos, she was just that kind of a teacher. She was truly inspiring as a student; you knew she cared. And you could see she poured her heart into teaching. She was probably the most liked teacher in middle school."

At that point Danny inserts himself into the conversation, "I don't know about all of you, but my appetite is getting the better part of me and is telling me it's time for dinner. Should we all head out back and I can fire up the grill?"

"That sounds like a plan. Girls would you help me grab stuff from the kitchen? I've got the table set out back, but we need to get the side dishes."

C bounces up and out of her chair and starts moving out of the room. Andrea waits for me to get up and then we follow in the direction that C was moving. Andrea had prepared several side dishes to take down. Our arms were full as we grabbed various bowls and plates to take out back. It all looks delicious.

We gather downstairs and out behind their home. Danny has the grill fired up and is already cooking, smoke coming off the grill. Grill may be an understatement. Extending off the back of the house is an outdoor kitchen - a stone extension to the home that has counter space, a sink, the built-in grill and a built-in griddle. Danny apparently enjoys cooking outdoors.