Post by happyface2013 on Jul 1, 2023 8:34:53 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
I haven't posted here in some time. Hope you are all doing well. Below is my latest romance short story.
All comments/feedback welcome -
One Day in Croker.
It was the best of times. Of that, she had no doubt. Westmeath had finally reached an All-Ireland final. Only Kerry stood in the way. It wasn’t that Westmeath had experienced a famine, there was never food there in the first place. No glory, no swagger save a lone Leinster title. Now, Aoife would finally see that all change. She just knew it.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much girls, this is Westmeath after all.”
That was her father just over an hour ago, thinking he was being funny. Unfortunately, he was from Offaly and loved to get the digs in when he could.
Now, she could see the stadium in the distance. The drama, the passion. Adrenaline was pumping through her body. She was with her sister Yvonne. Not the biggest of GAA fans, but more of a recent convert, and Westmeath would need every bit of help it could get.
It was a warm day, not a cloud in the sky and they had just parked up on a field at Clonliffe College. They were now walking on the pathway out of the grounds.
“Come on Yvonne, not much further.”
“Relax Aoife, it doesn’t start for an hour.”
Then Aoife noticed that there was an elderly man pushing a guy in a wheelchair a few meters in front of them. But they are struggling on the gravel surface.
“Sorry, need a hand? Can I be of assistance?”
The old man looked at her forlornly. The guy looked somewhat embarrassed. They were both wearing Kerry colors.
“It’s just so hard to push.”
“Here, let me have a go,”
It was tough but she knew she could do it.
“My name is Aoife by the way.”
The older man spoke first.
“I’m James and this is my nephew Stephen.”
Stephen was somewhat more coy and he said with a wide grin –
“God, I didn’t think I’d be getting help from a Westmeath woman on today of all days!”
“You better pray that Westmeath win so,” Aoife replied.
Yvonne then interjected –
“You’d want to watch her or she’ll tip ya out of that chair. Say one bad thing about Westmeath.”
The small group burst out into laughter.
Soon, they had reached an exit point onto a standard footpath, but descended onto the road when they saw the large crowds all decked out in the maroon of Westmeath, and the green and gold of Kerry walking along it in the direction of Croke Park.
Aoife could hear that Yvonne and James had started chatting away behind them.
“What stand are you in Stephen?”
“The Hogan Stand. I think they have a special wheelchair area.”
“So, are we. We’re in the Lower Stand”
“Looking forward to it? I guess with Kerry winning everything, you’ve been here loadsa times!”
“This is actually my first time here. ‘Twas a long drive, wouldn’t do it often.”
He strained to look backwards. Aoife felt her heart flutter as she looked into his warm, blue eyes. She reckoned that he was in his mid thirties, just like herself.
“Yeah, I’d say it was. What part of Kerry are you from?”
“Tralee.”
The full story at the link below -
markswritingcorner.poetry.blog/2023/07/01/one-day-in-croker-complete/
I haven't posted here in some time. Hope you are all doing well. Below is my latest romance short story.
All comments/feedback welcome -
One Day in Croker.
It was the best of times. Of that, she had no doubt. Westmeath had finally reached an All-Ireland final. Only Kerry stood in the way. It wasn’t that Westmeath had experienced a famine, there was never food there in the first place. No glory, no swagger save a lone Leinster title. Now, Aoife would finally see that all change. She just knew it.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much girls, this is Westmeath after all.”
That was her father just over an hour ago, thinking he was being funny. Unfortunately, he was from Offaly and loved to get the digs in when he could.
Now, she could see the stadium in the distance. The drama, the passion. Adrenaline was pumping through her body. She was with her sister Yvonne. Not the biggest of GAA fans, but more of a recent convert, and Westmeath would need every bit of help it could get.
It was a warm day, not a cloud in the sky and they had just parked up on a field at Clonliffe College. They were now walking on the pathway out of the grounds.
“Come on Yvonne, not much further.”
“Relax Aoife, it doesn’t start for an hour.”
Then Aoife noticed that there was an elderly man pushing a guy in a wheelchair a few meters in front of them. But they are struggling on the gravel surface.
“Sorry, need a hand? Can I be of assistance?”
The old man looked at her forlornly. The guy looked somewhat embarrassed. They were both wearing Kerry colors.
“It’s just so hard to push.”
“Here, let me have a go,”
It was tough but she knew she could do it.
“My name is Aoife by the way.”
The older man spoke first.
“I’m James and this is my nephew Stephen.”
Stephen was somewhat more coy and he said with a wide grin –
“God, I didn’t think I’d be getting help from a Westmeath woman on today of all days!”
“You better pray that Westmeath win so,” Aoife replied.
Yvonne then interjected –
“You’d want to watch her or she’ll tip ya out of that chair. Say one bad thing about Westmeath.”
The small group burst out into laughter.
Soon, they had reached an exit point onto a standard footpath, but descended onto the road when they saw the large crowds all decked out in the maroon of Westmeath, and the green and gold of Kerry walking along it in the direction of Croke Park.
Aoife could hear that Yvonne and James had started chatting away behind them.
“What stand are you in Stephen?”
“The Hogan Stand. I think they have a special wheelchair area.”
“So, are we. We’re in the Lower Stand”
“Looking forward to it? I guess with Kerry winning everything, you’ve been here loadsa times!”
“This is actually my first time here. ‘Twas a long drive, wouldn’t do it often.”
He strained to look backwards. Aoife felt her heart flutter as she looked into his warm, blue eyes. She reckoned that he was in his mid thirties, just like herself.
“Yeah, I’d say it was. What part of Kerry are you from?”
“Tralee.”
The full story at the link below -
markswritingcorner.poetry.blog/2023/07/01/one-day-in-croker-complete/