"Hey! I was wondering… Could you tell me how I can get to Phoenix Park?"
"Why me lass… It's a long way from here!"
"Is it? That's okay… I can take the public transport and walk."
"A brave lass we've got here! What's yur name, lass?"
"I'm Jasmine."
"Brave lass – Jasmine, I'm Pete. You hold on a minute while I go get me map."
Jasmine nodded and sat down on the high stool, in the quaint Irish bar, as she waited for Pete, the owner, to come back with the map. Just as she was swiveling her chair around, a huge cheer erupted as the door opened.
"There's our fella!"
"How's it going, Stephen!"
"Welcome home, Stephen!"
Jasmine turned to look at the guy that came in and was pleasantly surprised to see the 'Sheamus' from WWE, standing about 30 steps away from her. To maintain her composure, she turned her chair back to face the bar. Thankfully, Pete came back with his map, just in time.
"Alright. I got me map." Pete said
"Yer' goin' somewhere, Pete?"
"Stephen, me boy! Yer' back!" Pete exclaimed
"Yeh, I'm glad to be back in me hometown." Stephen said
"Well, what can I get yer?" Pete asked
"A Guinness, please." Stephen replied
Just then, Pete remembered Jasmine, who was sitting there, looking at the map.
"Oh! Silly ol' me! Sorry, Stephen. I've got to help this brave lass first." Pete said, referring to Jasmine.
Jasmine smiled at Pete as he walked over to her.
"I'm sorry, lass. Stephen is our pride and joy here in Ireland so I get a bit carried away." Pete said
"That's okay." Jasmine said
"Well, okay, Phoenix Park is over here. You might need to take a bus up there but it is pretty late so it might not be safe for you to go alone. I heard that a banshee dwells in the woods at night…" Pete said
"Really? Aw, crap. How far away is Grand Lake Hotel?" Jasmine asked
"Well I'm sorry lass… That is much farther up." Pete said
"Hold on, Pete. Maybe I can help." Stephen said, "I've got me dad's car and I'm ridin' back home."
"Oh! How's about it, lass? Yer can ride with Stephen to the hotel." Pete said
"Uh, that would be great. Thank you, She- I mean, Stephen." Jasmine said, correcting herself as she nearly used his wrestling name.
She said goodbye to Pete before heading out the bar with Stephen. The two of them got into his car and were on the road in minutes.
"So yer a WWE fan?" Stephen asked
"Hmm? What? How did you know?" Jasmine asked
"Yer were going to call me Sheamus." Stephen replied
"Ah. Sorry… You're not going to Brogue Kick me right?" Jasmine said
Stephen laughed, "No… But, I am amazed that yer didn't ask me for me autograph."
"Well… I wanted to but I was afraid if I did, it might be a little weird. Or, it might seem like I came all the way to Ireland to stalk you." Jasmine said
"Yer not serious, are yer?" Stephen asked
Jasmine laughed, "No, no… I'm not here to stalk you. I'm here on a vacation."
Stephen smiled and pulled in to the driveway of the hotel. He followed her towards the hotel reception.
"Good evening. Welcome to the Grand Lake hotel. Do you have a reservation?" the receptionist asked
"Yep." Jasmine replied
"May I have your confirmation slip?" the receptionist said
"Sure." Jasmine said
She unhooked one arm of her backpack and proceeded to dig through her backpack to find the confirmation slip. After a few seconds of digging, she was starting to worry that she may have lost her slip.
"Crap." Jasmine said
"What's wrong?" Stephen asked
"I think I may have lost my confirmation slip." Jasmine replied
Stephen looked at the receptionist and said, "If she lost her confirmation slip, can she still check into her room?"
"I'm sorry, sir. It's a policy that we see her confirmation slip to give her the room. We simply can't go by identification and credit card information because of some recent cases of fraud in this hotel." The receptionist said
"Well, are there any other rooms available?" Jasmine asked
"I'm sorry, miss. Our hotel has been fully booked. Maybe you could come back in 2 days' time?" the receptionist replied
"What? Sigh, never mind. Thank you." Jasmine said
She walked slowly towards the sofa chairs in the lobby and sat down. Stephen, however, stood in front of her, still holding onto her luggage.
"Thanks Stephen. You can leave my luggage with me. You've been a great help sending me here." Jasmine said
"Are yer gonna sleep here tonight?" Stephen asked
"I think it's okay if I slept here for a while, right?" Jasmine said
Stephen shook his head and said, "Of course not. Yer comin' with me."
"Huh? Where to?" Jasmine asked
"Me house. Me mum likes having guests over. Yer'll make her happy." Stephen replied
Jasmine looked at Stephen in shock and said, "I don't think that's a good idea, right? I mean… I just met you like half an hour ago!"
"Relax. I feel like I can trust yer. And, me mum and dad are home all the time. I won't do anything to yer. It's much safer and better than sleeping here." Stephen said
Jasmine thought for a while and knew that this was her best option. She couldn't possibly find another hotel that easily. So, she nodded. Stephen smiled and wheeled her luggage back to the car as she followed him.