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A usual work
day consisted of Jack reading, her moving through her list of daily
jobs and Ciaran, once receiving his orders of the day from Tabitha,
went about his work in silence. Occasionally, Jack would ask him
something and Ciaran would reply in kind. That had been
it.

One thing that
was bugging her was the fact that neither Quinn nor Tommy had been
in. She’d never even met Ethan. Perhaps they were waiting out the
initial storm; perhaps they were sending word back to Alastair
about her every little move. It made her nervous to think the next
time that horrible little man came here, he could split up her
coven up. She needed to do something about it, but the one thing
she had to do to help them, was the one thing she didn't want to
do. Complicated didn’t seem like the right word to use.

“
Cora?”

She stopped
blowing on her hot chocolate and looked at Ciaran. His hands were
wrung together like he was nervous. His topaz eyes swirled as they
watched her.

“
I wondered if
you wouldn't mind accompanying me on a date tonight?”

Her heart
stopped beating. Her hand stilled holding the cup near her lips.
She looked at Jack who'd let his book slump as he looked at Ciaran,
she couldn't judge the look on his face but it wasn’t
anger.

Jack looked at
her, and in his eyes she saw the realisation hit him. There was
nothing she could about this, and there was certainly nothing Jack
could do. She felt the heavy whack of pain hit her in the chest.
This hurt her so much, hurting someone you love had that affect on
your heart. Jack looked to the floor giving her the
answer.

“
Yeah, Ciaran,
I will go out with you tonight.”

“
Grand,” he
said smiling. “I will leave you to get ready. I will pick you up at
7:30.”

Cora could
only nod her head as Ciaran gathered his things and left the shop.
Tabitha glided up the fake staircase and looked at Jack. Tabitha
recognised defeat when she saw it. “And so it begins,” Tabitha
sighed.

*

Cora paced the
shop floor waiting for Ciaran. She'd left Jack upstairs sulking
because the tension between the two of them had become too much to
bear. Cora hadn't dressed up for the date, she was wearing jeans
and a teal coloured jumper underneath her coat. She’d been trying
to show Jack that this wasn’t a date but he’d not been in the mood.
She hardly blamed him for this. If she had to go on dates, then she
wasn't going to make any effort to look nice. She would reserve
that for Jack.

A black car,
she was never really any good with car names, pulled up outside the
shop which was her cue to move. She jumped onto the pavement and
shut the shop door behind her. She tried to resist looking up at
the flat window but couldn't, and she managed to catch the shadow
of Jack as he moved across the curtain.

How was she
meant to react to all this? Her boyfriend was looking on as she
went on a date. It sounded ridiculous, that may be because it was,
but what could she do? Ciaran opened the car door and smiled at
her.

“
Good evening,
Cora.”

“
Hi,
Ciaran.”

He made his
way around the car and opened the passenger door for her. She slid
into the car feeling awkward and stupidly nervous. Ciaran walked
around to the driver’s side, slid in, buckled up and drove
onwards.

“
So, where are
we going?” she asked, her need to know most things in life making
her cave from holding onto the silence.

“
Well, I
figure you're a fun woman at heart so I thought bowling would be
good.”

Cora smiled,
appreciating the fact that Ciaran had avoided the romantic dinner
in a tacky restaurant. That would have quite simply killed her.
They lapsed into silence as Ciaran drove onwards along the winding
country roads.

*

Ciaran sat on
a chipped bench pulling on the horrible bowling shoes the place
demanded you wear. She stuck her foot in one, trying desperately
not to think about the other feet that had been in them. It was too
disgusting. Why was this fun again?

Once they'd
secured their shoes, they headed to the lane that was already
booked for them. The sound of the boom and crash of skittles as the
ball barrelled into them resounded around the room, many people
whooped with glee. Brilliant blues and vibrant pinks and purples
lined the lanes which created a disco look. She couldn’t help
feeling a little bit excited. She couldn't remember ever bowling
before, but surely she must have?

“
Do you want
to go first?” Ciaran asked her.

She looked at
the bowling balls and picked up any old one. Her arm nearly popped
out of her socket as it crashed to the floor with her hand still
stuck in the little holes. “Uff!”

“
Cora,” Ciaran
laughed. “Here, take the lightest one.”

Ciaran took
the ball from her and replaced it with a lighter one. He stepped
aside giving her room.

She stepped up
in front of the lane and looked at the illuminated arrows that told
her where to feed the heavy ball. She took a deep breath, pulled
her arm back, and bending her legs, she released the
ball.

It crashed
onto the lane, not smooth like she'd intended, and she watched,
embarrassed, as the ball, with very little speed, rolled its way
down the polished wood. She felt like running after it to get it a
little more momentum. The ball bounced into a pin and it rocked
slightly, unbalanced and then, as though finally giving in, it fell
over.

Ciaran laughed
and then picked up the heavy ball she couldn't lift. “Watch and
learn,” he grinned.

She stood back
and watched as he flung the ball down onto the smooth wood. It flew
along the surface and hurtled into the pins. With a crash, the
pins, all of them, crashed to the floor. Her attempt looked stupid
compared to his. “I'm not that good,” she groaned.

“
It comes with
practice.”

*

She found it
certainly did come with practise and she'd managed to knock the
whole of four pins over after ten games. That had been her best
score. Of course Ciaran had won every game. But amazingly, even
though she'd lost, she'd really enjoyed herself. Even though she’d
been on a date with another man.

Ciaran handed
her a bottle of cherry Cola and a tray of chips. They drank and ate
in silence. Noise from the groups of people around them made her
feel less uncomfortable, but she really didn't know what to say to
him. The game and her lack of ability had occupied much of their
time.

“
So,” Ciaran
said, popping one of his chips in his mouth, he looked at her. “How
much do you hate Alastair?”

“
What?” she
asked, surprised by his question.

“
Well, you
must hate him,” he said with a shrug. “Look at what he's putting
you through.”

“
Why would you
care? You asked me out on a date which is playing along with his
little game.”

She seriously
couldn't believe Ciaran had started a conversation like this.
However, she couldn’t help noticing the break in the ranks. If
Ciaran wanted to date her, and he liked Alastair, he wouldn’t bring
up the situation. Did that mean his coven also didn’t like
Alastair? Was it too soon to ask him?

“
I will be
honest with you. I asked you out on a date because someone had to
do it first and I thought if I did it, it would help Jack come to
terms with it. I also can't believe Alastair has done what he’s
done. The verdict he has given you is wrong.” Ciaran pushed a hand
over his head. With that gesture, he looked a lot like
Ayden.

Well, my god.
She was at a loss for words, her appetite had left her. She pushed
her chips to one side.

“
How can this
help Jack?”

Ciaran
shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a harmless date.”

“
Harmless?”
she said flabbergasted. “The harm it causes him makes it difficult
for me to breathe. You know him right? He spends all day in that
shop too.”

“
Fine fellow
he is as well. I would be protective over my woman too.”

Seriously? She
couldn't understand Ciaran’s thinking and was already shaking her
head in disbelief.

“
So, what do
you like to do in your spare time?”

“
What?” She
was sure she'd said that too many times tonight. He kept taking her
feet from under her with his unexpected questions.

“
Well, you
work in the shop, I know that much, but what do you do in your down
time?”

“
I spend time
with my boyfriend.”

Ciaran nodded.
“I usually play snooker or I like me a game of darts.”

Cora’s eyes
grew wider. She could feel the way they were all but popping out of
her head. Ciaran started munching on some chips whilst guzzling his
fizzy drink. At a loss for words she looked at a group of teens in
the nearest lane to them. They were happy, care free. She hated
that she was jealous, that she just wanted to be normal.

“
Where are you
from?”

“
I'm from
Ireland, o' course.”

“
Yeah I knew
that, but where?”

“
It's a little
place called Killarney, it's in the south west part of Ireland.
Beautiful town it is.”

“
I've been to
Ireland before, but I can't remember.”

“
What do you
mean, you can't remember? If you go to my lovely home you couldn't
forget it.”

“
I had my
memories taken from me up until recently. I didn't know I was a
witch. I went through the change when my mother died and Tabitha
wanted me to have a normal life. I’m glad she did this... if I’d
been a witch from day one, I would be dead by now...”

“
I’m guessing
that this was a big life change for you?”

“
Yeah, you
could say that,” she sighed.

“
It’s not been
easy for you being a witch like. What with the Corenthio Coven and
now this...”

“
Yeah.”

“
Well, if you
go to my homeland, you should visit Killarney and I will show you
around,” Ciaran smiled.

She smiled,
believing it was an innocent invitation.

“
Well, let’s
be seeing you home then, I don't want Jack coming after
me.”

No, she didn't
want that either. She'd seen too many fights to last her a
lifetime, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that there were
more fights to come.

20

ONE THING
AFTER ANOTHER

“
So, how was
the date?” Tabitha asked Cora, as Tabitha expertly poured money
into the till ready for another day of trade.

Cora bristled,
having avoided this topic of conversation like the plague all
morning. She knew she would eventually have to deal with
it.

“
It was fine,”
Cora sighed and finally asked the question that had been on her
lips since waking. “How was Jack last night?”

Tabitha
stalled a moment and then said, “He was fine.”

“
You're
lying.” She knew Tabitha well enough to see the lie.

“
What do you
want me to say, Cora? Do you want me to tell you that he paced the
floor most of the night or that he could not sit still? I could see
the hurt, the turmoil swirling around on his face and could do
nothing to comfort him. I do not say this to make you feel bad but
you asked.”

Cora stopped
handling the money and looked at Tabitha. “Tab, I don't want
this.”

“
I know, love,
but you are stuck with it and I’m afraid only you can make a
decision on what to do about this predicament you find yourself
in.” Tabitha embraced her as the chime above the door
sounded.

“
Oh,
sorry.”

Cora looked up
to see Ciaran stood in the doorway. “It is fine,
Ciaran.”

“
No, I don’t
think it is. Do you not think it was hard enough for Jack to see
you take his girlfriend on a date last night? Now, here you are
showing your face the very next day, smiling like you've won the
lottery. I really do hope Jack loses his temper and hits
you.”

“
Tabitha!”
Cora cried out in shock.

Tabitha had
expressed anger on many occasions but never at inappropriate times
like now.

“
Well, I hope
he does!” Tabitha said and then she sauntered up the stairs to her
flat as though she hadn’t said anything at all.

“
I'm sorry,”
Ciaran whispered.

“
It's fine,
you have nothing to apologise for. There is nothing we can do about
it.”

Instead of
addressing this new awkwardness, they started working in
silence.

Jack marched
into the shop an hour after opening. She didn’t know how to react,
but simply seeing him made Cora feel nervous. She'd not spent the
night in the bed, choosing instead to sleep on the sofa. With
hindsight this had been a very bad decision because she'd pulled
something in her neck and it hurt every time she turned it. Cora
stopped working and watched Jack approach her.