Chapter 2
Back in Killarney: Owen sat alone on Innisfallen thinking of the days when Kathleen was by his side sitting on this very island, looking at the same sun, the same mountains, and the same foggy lake. He broke down crying, and the thought that there was nothing else to live for ran through his head. "That's right," he said outloud, "there isn't anything to live for." With that, he found a large stone on the island and put it in his boat, then climbed in himself. He rowed to the middle of the lake, tied a rope around the stone and his ankle, threw the stone in the lake, took one last breath and jumped in.
When Kathleen woke, it was daytime again and there was only 15 minutes before the plane was going to land. She sat patiently and waited for the landing, and tried not to think of the day before in fear of crying again. After crying that much, how could any tears be left?
When the plane landed, she made her way out through the seemingly never-ending sea of people. She retrieved her luggage and stood where she was told her aunt and uncle were to pock her up. Suddenly, a middle aged looking woman with stringy brown hair and tired blue eyes approached Kathleen. The woman studied her and looked down at a photograph she had with her. "Are you Kathleen Siobhan Connelly?" She asked rather abruptly in an American accent. "Y-yes ma'am. But you may call me Kate or Kitty." The woman merely gave her a look of disgust and began to walk, expecting Kathleen to follow. The woman, who Kathleen assumed to be her aunt led her to an old beaten up looking truck and both of them got in without a word. On the way to her new house, Kathleen looked down at her hands, not daring to look up at the woman she was afraid of.
The neighborhood they were driving down did not look at all inviting. The houses were all run down, and Kathleen spotted a group of about six rough looking boys playing football in an empty lot. Where was she? She had to know, so she got up the courage to ask. "Um, excuse me ma'am, but might I ask where we are?" Her aunt snorted. "Waddaya mean where are we? We're in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Didn't that no good brother-in-law of mine tell ya!" "No ma'am." Well, that was the last time she would ask any more questions. She desperately hoped her uncle was nicer than her aunt, but soon she would find out that she had no such luck. The truck parked in the driveway of a small one-story house with wooden stairs leading up to a front door that looked like it needed repairing. "Get out," was the only thing her aunt said.
Upon entrance to the house, she was greeted by nothing more than the loud yelling of a man yelling from the kitchen. "Maeve!" He shouted "where the hell have you been! I told you I needed the truck to go to the bar!" Kathleen's aunt shouted back, "I was pickin' up the girl you lazy bitch!" This shocked Kathleen. Never had she heard such yelling. "Your room's the last one on the left down the hall. Go put your stuff in there and find somethin' to do. I don't care just stay outta the way." Kathleen hurried down the hall and into her new room- which was nothing more than a bed, a desk, a window with no curtains, and a closet. She put her suitcase on the bed, and when more yelling came from the kitchen, she decided maybe now would be a good time to go for a walk. After all, her aunt told her she didn't care what she did as long as she stayed out of the way.