“And you believed someone would come?”
“I believed a promise can take longer than a lifetime.”
A movement in the doorway made us look up.
The passengers had gathered silently behind us.
No one pretended they had not been listening.
The woman from the front of the bus stepped into the kitchen.
“My name is Helen,” she said.
“I should have said something when he tore your letter.”
Another passenger nodded.
“So should I.”
Declan appeared behind them, wet and furious.
“The replacement coach will arrive within the hour,” he announced.
“Everyone needs to be ready.”
No one moved.
He checked his watch.
“We have a hotel dinner scheduled in Galway.”
Helen looked down at the tea in her hands.
“I’m not going.”
Declan stared at her.
“The accommodation is prepaid.”
“So was Nora’s stop here,” she replied.
One by one, the passengers began to speak.
Some wanted to remain until the bus was repaired.
Others asked Brigid whether neighboring homes had rooms available for the night.
A retired teacher named Samuel said he would rather pay twice than spend another evening being rushed through a version of Ireland arranged around commission stops.
Declan’s composure cracked.
“You are disrupting a contracted itinerary based on an emotional misunderstanding.”
“No,” I said.
“You disrupted it when you broke your promise and threw me off the bus.”
He stepped toward the table.
“That is a serious allegation.”
Helen lifted her phone, though its screen remained turned away.
“Twenty-three people saw it.”
Several passengers corrected her.
“Twenty-four, including the driver.”
Declan looked toward the sitting room, perhaps searching for someone willing to support him.
He found none.
Brigid closed the folder and stood.
“You may use the telephone to contact your company,” she said.
“After that, you can wait by the fire until the mechanic arrives.”
Declan straightened his coat.
“And my room?”
Brigid glanced toward the crowded house.
“I have one room left.”
His confidence returned too quickly.
“Good.”
“It belongs to Nora.”
A faint laugh passed through the passengers.
Brigid did not smile.
“You may sleep in the sitting room if the others agree.
Fáilte means I won’t leave you in the rain.
It does not mean you decide who matters in my home.”
Declan’s face tightened, but he accepted the telephone.
The tour company called me before dinner.
Declan had reported that I voluntarily separated from the group.
Helen and several others sent written statements contradicting him.
