We Shared One Apartment but Lived Different Lives
We rented a one-bedroom apartment in Rialto because it was the only place we could afford that didn’t smell of damp. The kitchen was barely big enough for two people to stand…
The Last Person I Expected to Miss Was My Ex-Wife
The last person I expected to miss was my ex-wife. I had trained myself not to. For two years after we separated, I spoke about her the way men in pubs speak…
She Loved My Dreams More Than She Loved Me
I met Niamh on a wet Tuesday outside Connolly Station, both of us sheltering under the same broken awning, both pretending we weren’t soaked through. I was carrying a guitar case I’d…
I Was the Backup Plan Until I Walked Away
I met Cian outside The Cobblestone on a wet Thursday in Smithfield, both of us pretending we were not waiting for the same late friend. He offered me a cigarette even though…
The Stranger Who Remembered My Coffee Order Every Tuesday
Every Tuesday morning, I used to get off the DART at Tara Street and walk the same damp stretch toward Pearse Street, pretending I was the kind of person who had a…
Our Marriage Ended Long Before the Divorce Papers Arrived
I knew my marriage was over on a wet Thursday evening in Portobello, though neither of us said it. We were sitting in a small café near the canal, our coats steaming…
The Night We Promised Never to Meet Again
We met on a wet Thursday in November, which is to say we met in Dublin in the usual way: both pretending the rain wasn’t bothering us. I was standing outside Grogan’s…
I Loved Him for Seven Years Without Saying a Word
I met him on a wet Tuesday in Dublin, the kind of day when the buses hiss at the kerb and everyone looks personally betrayed by the sky. I was twenty-three, working…
The Woman Who Left Before I Learned Her Last Name
I met her on a wet Thursday in Dublin, the kind of evening when the city seems to shine out of the cracks in the pavement. I had missed the bus after…
The Umbrella I Kept Too Long
I met him on a wet Thursday outside the Dublin Busáras, the kind of rain that doesn’t fall so much as sit on your shoulders and ask personal questions. I had just…