Definitely Memorable Read online

  Definitely

  Memorable

  written by:

  Cara Roman

  Copyright 2017 by Cara Roman

  All rights are reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incident either are a product of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations are entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author. Except by a person reviewing the work to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, journal or blog. Published in the United States of America.

  Other works by Cara Roman

  Without A Wolf

  Running From The Wolf

  For cousins that are more like sisters.

  Thank you for giving me the courage to keep spreading my wings, and the air to keep me flying when I had my doubts.

  You are a complete bad ass, and I love you!

  Chapter 1

  The suitcases were all stacked and waiting by the door, and just seeing them brought a gigantic smile to Caitlyn's face. A lifetime of dreaming was somehow zipped inside those sturdy, reliable bags. She was finally doing it, and there wasn't a happy dance long enough to truly demonstrate how that made her feel. Purchasing those tickets a month ago had felt like the best birthday and Christmas present rolled up into one. Going to Ireland had always been Caitlyn's idea of a dream vacation. Back when she was young, ready to set the world on fire, and full of plans she never doubted she would make it to the magical island that called a siren song to her soul. Somewhere along the way though, that dream got shoved into the back of a closet, behind the flotsam of life. Not that she was complaining, life always worked out the way it was supposed to. She had accepted that she just probably wasn't meant to be going to Ireland until now. Pinching her arm just a little to make sure it was really real this time though, Caitlyn walked out of her tidy bedroom and called out to her sons.

  “Boys! Are you all ready to go to your Dad's? He is going to be here to pick you up any minute.” Seeing her oldest son Wyatt with his blonde head shoved inside the refridgerator looking for yet another snack, as if she hadn't fed him dinner less than an hour ago. She walked over and handed him an apple, wondering if he was already growing again. Keeping him in clothes that fit was becoming a full time job in itself. When he looked dubiously at the fruit in his hand she reminded him “it is portable, and won't make a mess in the car if you're still eating it when Dad shows up.” That seemed to make sense, so he walked away munching and crunching with abandon as only a teenage boy could.

  Mason, her lanky youngest son laying on the couch, the ever present cell phone clutched in his hand. The sound of crashes, thumps, and grunts told her he was battling it out with some of his friends on a game. “Mase, do you have everything packed?” He nodded his head without even looking up at her. “Honey, I'm going to be an entire ocean away, I can't just stop by and drop off whatever you forgot.” Which knowing her son, and she did, would be half of what he actually needed.

  “Mom, Wy and I both got keys to the house... Dad can drive us over to grab anything we don't have. Besides, we spend half of our time there anyway, lots of my stuff is already there.” Mason replied, this time looking up at her. The comment about dividing the boys time stung, though she knew Mason didn't mean anything by it. Divorce just manages to leave scars that jump up and surprise you with little jabs of pain, even after you think that you are well and over it all. Nodding her head, Caitlyn took a deep breath waiting for the flicker of pain to pass when she heard a car pull in the drive way.

  “Guys, your Dad is here!” Not adding in the petty 'and on time too' that had floated through her head. Does dealing with one's ex husband ever get easier? I mean, this is the man you had planned on spending the rest of your life with, before everything crashed and burned. Wyatt jogged in from the other room, apple already finished, and opened the door. At 15 he was as tall as his Dad now, the flash of memory of him at 5 years old flew through her head. Her first born baby was as tall as his Dad now, when exactly did that happen? Shaking the mushiness away Caitlyn walked over to her ex husband.

  “Hey, Bryan. They're all ready for you, hopefully they have everything, and as Mason just reminded me, if not they've got keys to the house.” Caitlyn smiled, doing her best to be friendly.

  Bryan nodded his head, seeming just as uncomfortable with her as she was with him. Seeing him shifting his weight from foot to foot, unsure of what to say, reminded her that he had lost something too. “Yeah, no big. Who's taking you to the airport in the morning?”

  “My Dad'll be here at 4, I have a 7 am flight, and so I figure on getting there by at least 5.” Caitlyn answered. That would leave her enough time to get through security without any additional stress. He nodded his head at her answer, careful with his words now.

  “Well, I'm sure you will have a great time. The boys and I have some plans, so don't worry about it. Will your cell phone work over seas, ya think?” He asked as the kids shuffled in and out of the house carrying their overnight bags to his waiting truck.

  “Not for calls and texts I guess. I really don't want to have to pay the astronomical roaming charges. But I will be checking my email regularly. I have the itinerary already set, and rooms booked. I made sure everywhere I'm going to stay has free WiFi for their guests. I'll send you the list of hotels with phone numbers so you will be able to get ahold of me that way too.”

  “Makes sense, they're 13 and 15 now Cait, we can handle you being busy for two weeks.” Bryan laughed.

  “Yeah, Mom. We aren't babies. Have fun, and bring us back something cool. You know you're gonna end up emailing us dozens of pictures anyway.” Wyatt slung his arm around her.

  Leaning her head on his shoulder a moment she reached up and patted the hand resting on her arm. “I know honey. I'll just miss my boys, thats all.”

  “You deserve this Mom, when was the last actual vacation, not work trip, you took that didn't involve us tagging along?” Mason asked looking at her. “Never. You haven't ever had a break. Besides, its not like you're going to be drinking tequilla on a tropical beach and making out with pool boys. It's Ireland, doesn't it rain there literally every day? You're going to look at old ruins, and boring stuff, like being in history class.” Mason gave a mock shudder and shook his head, his thick ginger hair, so much like her own swaying with the movement. The look on his face left no doubts about how much fun he thought she was actually going to have.

  “Umm, seriously can we not talk about Mom getting drunk and hooking up? Love you and all Mom, but thats just gross.” Wyatt punched his brother in the arm looking a little green at the thought. “I don't need that visual Mase, ever.”

  “What your Mother does on vacation, or in her personal life is none of our business anyway, until she decides to make it our business.” Bryan jumped to her defense, but the look on his face clearly saying that he didn't want to think too much on that particular subject either. Who could blame him? Nobody wanted to picture their ex wound around someone else.

  "Good lord guys, if I was actually in the market for a man I'm sure there are plenty available in this country. I am not spending hours on a plane to search for someone to have an affair with. I've always wanted to see Ireland. You guys know that. She is a lovely land, and I want to soak up all her culture."

  "Whatcha wanna bet all she soaks up is gallons of rain, and butt-loads of mud?" Mason said laughing hysterically at himself, looking at his brother Wyatt who had a big goofy grin on his face too.

  "Alright guys, maybe I'm not actually going to miss you as much as I thought I would." Caitlyn said with a wink. Her
boys both knew better than to believe her, and they laughed even harder. Turning to Bryan she added, "I'll let you know when I land. See ya'll in two weeks."

  She breathed the scent of each son deep into her lungs as she hugged them goodbye one at a time. Storing it to memory for later, in case missing them got to be too much for her. This was the part she dreaded. It had her going back and forth with her decision for weeks before she said 'to hell with it, I deserve this' and booked the flight. She walked them out to the truck, and waved while they pulled out. She stood there watching until the truck drove down the road and out of sight. Sniffling back the tears she absolutely refused to shed she walked back into her house.

  Telling herself not to be such a damn baby about this she walked around the house picking up all of the debris two teen sons constantly left in their wake. Grabbing her cell phone off the counter she put her music on shuffle and turned it up nice and loud. Letting the music work its usual magic, sanding down the sharp edges of her sadness until all that was left was the previous excitment again. Dancing like a fool around the kitchen Caitlyn unloaded the dishwasher. Putting the plates up in the cupboard, and the silverwear in the drawer. It was mundane every day stuff, but she didn't want to leave it for when she came home exhausted from all of her wonderful adventures. Besides, the thought of a dirty house waiting for her would most likely mess with her happy vibes all vacation.

  After that was done she double checked everything was ready for the morning. It was only 7pm, and she wasn't tired even though she knew how early she needed to get up in the morning. So she walked into her bathroom and turned on the faucet in the big bathtub. Flying always dried her skin out, and the nearly ten hour flight to Ireland would definitely have plenty of time for it. Considering this she poured in a healthy dose of scented oil into the running water. It didn't froth up deliciously like her favored bubble bath did, but it would make her skin feel silky smooth, and fingers crossed, keep it from getting parched when her flight deposited her in Dublin tomorrow.

  Slipping gently into the steaming water, just this side of scalding hot, Caitlyn closed her eyes. The subtle soothing scents of aloe with olive oil relaxing her while her music still played somewhere in the background and she let her mind roam wherever it wanted to. She pictured bustling streets filled with people, their wonderful melodic accents washing over her, and rolling hills so green they all but burned your eyeswith their verdant beauty. All of the tips and tricks for traveling to Ireland she had read zoomed past the back of her eyelids, but she didn't try very hard to hold on to those. Soaking in the tub was just not the place for rational thoughts. There would be plenty of time to worry over all of that tomorrow on the lengthy flight. After a little while the water started to cool, so she popped the plunger with her big toe, letting the water drain around her in a whoosh. When the tub was down to only a quarter full she stood up very carefully so as not to slip in the oiled water, and stepped out. Walking the few feet across the room into the enclosed shower she turned the water on. Caitlyn moved mechanically through washing and rinsing out her long hair. There was no way she was going to attempt to wash it at the crack of dawn. Stepping out and wrapping a towel around her body she ran her usual frizz control cream through the ends of her hair before wrapping it up turban style in a second towel. Opening the jar of face cream sitting on the counter she scooped out some and gently patted it all over her face and neck. Glancing around to one last time to make sure there was nothing she needed in the bathroom and forgotten to pack Caitlyn swiped her phone off the counter and turned off the light.

  Pulling on a blue tank top, and a pair of white cotton boyshorts she plugged her phone into the charger, checking, then double checking to make sure the alarm was on. Turning the television across the room on she pulled back the covers and crawled into bed. There was a cheesy, completely predictable, romantic movie playing, the perfect thing to watch, but not think too much about. Figuring nerves and excitement would have her tossing and turning all night, but less than ten minutes later she was deeply asleep.

  The insistant buzzing of her alarm cut through the lovely dream she was having. She was reaching out to hit the snooze button, intending on getting more sleep, when her eyes suddenly flew open and she remembered what today was. Turning the alarm off, and sitting up with a big stretch Caitlyn felt the towel she forgot to take off trying vailiantly to stay on her head. So much for having decent hair on the flight over. Walking into the bathroom to pee she dared a glance in the mirror. As she suspected her hair was a huge jumble of wild auburn curls. Thanking her lucky stars she remembered to at least put some product in it before bed she gave it a shake and gave up. Her hair had always had a mind of its own, and she learned a long time ago stressing out about it wasn't worth her time. The more she messed with it, the less she ended up liking it. So most days she put a little something in it, and let it do whatever the hell it wanted.

  Splashing some cold water on her face she picked up the tube of her daily moisturizer with sunscreen and put that on. The sun protection probably wasn't needed right now, but it was the one she always used. It didn't irritate her sensitive skin, or make her face feel greasy and oily at the end of the day. Why bother switching it? Besides, on the off chance she encountered some sun today she would probably be grateful for that spf 30. Not wanting to clog her face up with layers of product for the flight she swiped on a coat of mascara, and her favorite lip balm. It smelled like lemon frosting, and gave her lips the slightest pink tint. Adding some deodorant, and a spritz of perfume to finish it off. Nodding at her reflection in the mirror she tossed all the products back into the travel bag she zipped it up and walked back into her bedroom.

  Thinking comfort was key for this flight Caitlyn pulled on a pair of jeggings, a white t shirt, and a light weight heathered gray cardigan. Bending over she folded up the ankles of the pants once, and slipped on tiny socks. Feet tucked into the well worn pair of gray shoreline converse, she brought the largest of her luggage out into the living room. Snagging a water bottle from the refridgerator on her way back into the bedroom to grab the carry on, and her purse. Caitlyn checked the time, it was quarter to 4, she put the cellphone in her back pocket and walked to the front window to watch for her Dad to pull in the driveway.

  He was exactly 2 minutes early, Caitlyn already had the door locked and was walking out with her bags when he opened the drivers side door to help her.

  "Morning darling. Got everything you need?" He leaned in and kissed her cheek. His question was so similar to the one she asked her boys the night before it had her smiling.

  "Morning Dad, yeah, I've got it all, double and triple checked. Tickets are in my purse, we are good to go!" They walked back to the trunk of his car. Knowing her Dad she left him to heft the suitcase up into the trunk, even though she could have. She would be hauling it all over on her own later today anyway. Once the bags were safely inside her Dad slammed the trunk shut, and they each walked to their sides of the car, climbing in.

  "Did the boys get off to Bryan's alright last night?" He asked as they turned out of her neighborhood heading south towards Grand Rapids. It was a good 30 minute drive to the airport, but thankfully there wouldn't be much traffic to contend with at this time of day.

  "Yeah, they basically live at both of our houses anyway, so for them its no big deal." Caitlyn said with a sigh.

  "You two are handling the divorce better than your mother and I did when you were a kid. I guess we taught you what not to do." He said with a rueful smile.

  "Dad, you know as well as I do, that wasn't all on you. There were two people in that marriage, and one of them happens to be Mom. And we all know she is difficult on a good day." She knew it still hurt her Dad. He spent 20 years back and forth with her Mom, and it still broke something inside him to have given up, even if it had made much him happier in the end.

  "Trust me, I know. So, did you want to stop for some coffee or anything?" He said shoving the door on the past firmly closed and changing the sub
ject.

  "Nah," pulling the bottle of water out of her purse she showed him, "I'm good. Besides, coffee makes everyone poop, and I'm not trying to be glued to the toilet on the flight, or even worse missing it all together!" They both laughed and settled into a comfortable silence listening to the radio after that. Neither spoke again until the exit sign for the airport came into view.

  "Would you like me to sit and wait for your flight with you darling?" Her Dad looked over and asked as he turned off on the exit leaving the highway. "I know we didn't really discuss it on the phone the other day."

  "Don't worry about it, I've got to go through security first anyway. They won't let you past that to wait with me. I'll be fine." The car pulled up to the curb to unload. Caitlyn jumped out and walked back to the trunk. Her Dad made it back there as she hefted the big case up and out. Setting her carry on bag on top of the other case on the curb she turned with a excited smile for her Dad. "Thanks Dad! See you in two weeks?"

  He wrapped his big arms around her and squeezed. "I'll be here to pick you up, don't you worry. Have fun roaming around Ireland, kiddo. And have a pint for me will ya?" Caitlyn pulled out of his embrace with a smile and nodded. She pushed the strap of her carry on bag up her shoulder, grabbed the handle of her rolling suit case and with a last wave for her Dad she walked into the building.

  The airport wasn't very busy at just shy of 5 in the morning, so it didn't take her long to make it through security. Caitlyn pulled her laptop out, it went nearly everywhere with her anyway, almost like it were an extra appendage. It was second nature for her when she had a free moment to reach for it. She had finished her latest book and sent it off to be edited a few days ago. The plan was to not get involved in a new project until after vacation, since she was hoping to see some sights instead of locking herself in the hotel room and writing for hours on end until the story eased its tight grip on her. However, there were always so many ideas swirling inside of her head that she could purge. Like always the time completely escaped her while she stared at the glowing screen. The world around her melted away until it was like it had never existed in the first place. When the announcement came across the speakers to board her flight it shocked her. She hastily hit save on her work, couldn't lose that! As she jogged to the terminal she was turning off the laptop, and shoving it in her bag. Her brain still trying to clear all of the creative fog that had been enshrouding it.