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busy. Kieran was on stage but in the processes of getting everything set up. As he twiddled with various leads and buttons on his amplifier, he caught sight of Tracy and enthusiastically waved her over. Her face lit up.
    "Do you mind?" she asked.
    "Go right ahead, I’ll get the drinks."
    Apparently that also meant I was extending an invitation to carry her bag too, as she dumped it on the floor and made a beeline for the stage. I kept my frustration in check, clinging on to the fact that this was her minibreak too. We still had another whole day and night there – surely he couldn’t keep her attention for that long? Despite his vocal performance and good looks, I hadn’t seen much that could pass for a conversation yet.
    Reconciling myself to being the handbags and drinks monitor, I made my way to the bar and selected an empty stool to sit on. As I took my seat, Micky appeared from the stairs tucked behind the large display of optics and low-level fridges. He was wiping his hands off with a towel and looked like he had been doing something vaguely manual.
    "Well, well, nice to see you here again, Miss Morgan," Mickey said in faux politeness.
    "Why thank you very much," I politely replied. "You look like you’ve just been at the gym or something."
    He wiped a faint veneer of perspiration from his forehead.
    "I wish, no time for that here. Maggie had a leak in the sink in her kitchen; I was just up there taking a look at it for her. She’s on her own since her husband passed. I try to do what I can for her".
    From our limited conversation, I knew the bar was Maggie's home as well as her livelihood. I’d been told that the pub had two storeys above it. The top housed a large apartment where Maggie lived. The middle story was separated into a small flat and office space; from what I could gather Sean and Mickey currently lived there. I hadn’t wanted to pry too much on the first night, especially as it involved talking about potential bed space. That could have got into a territory that I was generally uncomfortable with. Nice, gentle flirting is one thing. Discussions on sleeping arrangements could lead to double or even single engenders, both of which would lead to the embarrassing problem of stammering and blushing.
    Mickey asked for my drinks order and I took an executive decision that both Tracy and I would have a Guinness each. While he poured, we exchanged pleasantries. We discussed how busy the bar had been at lunchtime, the sights we had seen, the shopping we had done and the fact that the enormous handbag in my lap wasn’t mine.
    "The sparkly-ness did give it away," he beamed.
    I had to admit he was right; the patchwork of multicoloured leather wasn’t my thing at all and don’t get me started on the glass gems which adorned it. My plain black leather bag, slung loosely across my body, looked dramatically different. Nevertheless, I clutched her purse without any consideration of my personal appearance. I didn’t want to risk someone knocking it over and her knickers falling out. That could definitely give people the wrong idea, especially about me as I had been dumped with the bloody thing.
    I looked over my shoulder to search for Tracy, hoping that she would be ready to take custody of her handbag. She wasn’t hard to find as the bar wasn’t that crowded. Most of its patrons happily occupied seats. Kieran was adding the final adjustments to his tuning while Tracy sat on the edge of the stage watching him in a trance-like state.
    Sean was kind enough to offer to take her drink over to her, which was fine with me. I suspected that Sean fancied her a little and I thought it would give him an excuse to go up and talk to her. She had ten years on him, but who was I to judge? His face lit up when she thanked him, although she quickly snapped her attention back to Kieran.
    While Mickey and Sean went about serving the waiting customers, I contented myself with reflecting on my day and enjoying the feeling of