Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122206 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 611(@200wpm)___ 489(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
CHAPTER SIX
Ina
* * *
I had always heard of the saying expect the unexpected, but as I prepared myself for a job interview at Collins Auto Repair, I knew I could have never expected it in a million years.
True to his word, Dante slid a piece of paper under my door for me to find at ten o’clock that morning. I awoke late, and when I read his note and saw he got me an interview for noon with his father, I nearly collapsed. I rapidly showered and dressed in plain clothing because it was all I owned. I donned an old peach-coloured sundress I got in a charity shop when I was twenty. It wasn’t fitted or flattering to my figure in the least, but it was all I had. Part of how controlling my father was meant he had the final say on what I wore. All I owned were used baggy dresses, never jeans or trousers of any kind.
It was hot as hell outside, so I was just thankful that I had something light to wear.
I didn’t own a hairdryer or straightener, so I parted my hair into two sections, and French plaited them, leaving them to drape over my chest. I had sample-sized makeup, just not a lot of it. I applied my primer, foundation, and concealer, then set both with powder before I filled in my eyebrows, swiped on some mascara, and added a little contour and blush to give my face some definition and colour. I promised myself that if I got the job at Dante’s garage, then I would use some of my future wages to buy makeup that wasn’t a sample size.
And jeans, I was definitely buying myself a pair of jeans.
Once I left my apartment, I took the bus to The Square, a large shopping centre that serviced Tallaght’s residents. In there, I found a phone shop and got myself a pay-as-you-go SIM card for ten euros. I loaded it with a score worth of credit and opted to use that credit to avail of a month’s worth of unlimited calls and data that my provider offered. Afterwards, I popped into the shop next door that sold phone cases.
They advertised that they fixed phone screens amongst other things. The man checked my phone and told me that he could repair it for fifty euros because it was an old model, and he could have it done in twenty minutes. Though it killed me to do so, I paid him the money because I needed the phone fixed. Once I had charged it, I found that the screen’s crack meant some of the touch features weren’t operational.
The man handed me a practically brand-new smartphone, and he threw in a free phone case and screen protector to go with it. Counting my lucky stars, I placed the screen protector onto the phone and slipped it into its new copper-coloured case. I hurriedly dialled Dante’s number that I had programmed into the phone that morning. I sat down on a bench outside of the shop, placed the phone to my left ear, and waited. I was so nervous to speak to him. He was incredibly attractive, and I thought about how chiselled his torso was all night. I may or may not have had a dirty dream where my tongue did things to that torso.
I woke up mortified because I had never imagined doing such a thing to Finn, and he had been my partner for nine years. I never fantasised about Finn, not in all the time we were together. After such a short amount of time in Dante’s company, I imagined a lot of dirty things I had never done before, let alone thought of.
“What’s the craic?”
I jumped when the voice answered my call, and my cheeks reddened as if I had been caught. “Dante?” I cleared my throat. “Hi, it’s Ina.”
“Who?”
My heart sank.
“Ina O’Shea,” I repeated. “Your n-neighbour. We spoke early this mornin’?”
“Date!” The man on the phone suddenly shouted, making me flinch. “There’s a woman called Ina O’Shea on the phone. Yeah, Ina. Yeah, your phone, ye plank. Ye left it on the trolley, and I answered it when it rang. Sue me. Who’s Ina? Is she good lookin’? She sounds like a cracker … sounds like a culchie, too.”
My face was on fire.
“Gav, gimme the phone, or I’ll break your fuckin’ hand!”
I was silent as male laughter, shouting, cursing, then rustling filled my ear.
“Ina?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “It’s me. Ina. Hi.”
“Hey.” Dante sounded a touch out of breath. “Sorry about that. Me little brother is a prick.”
“I resent that!”
I found myself smiling at his brother’s shout.
“It’s okay. I just wanted to let ye know that I’ll be there for the interview. I’m in The Square right now. I got a SIM card and got the screen of the phone ye gave me fixed. The man who fixed it even gave me a free phone case to protect it.”