'CROSS ST. GEORGE'S CHANNEL:

Beep, beep, beep, beep….

Jess surprisingly smiled as she looked at her alarm flashing 6pm. She laughed, because what person in their right mind sets their alarm clock when they're on vacation…epecially for one at 6 in the evening? Well a person, who's love of her life is picking her up in two hours. They had to catch a ferry in Wales. In order to make the most of their time in Ireland, they were taking the ferry leaving at the obnoxious hour of 2:45am. However, that meant that they would land in Rosslare at 6:30 in the morning. It was going to be about a four hour drive to Pembroke, so they had to leave tonight. Of course they still had the drive to Joe's family's house outside of Blarney.

"Jessminder." called her mom. "Jessminder, wake up silly girl. Otherwise Joe will leave for Ireland without you,"

Not likely, Jess thought to herself. She sat up in her bed, and looked around her room. She had packed the small bag of stuff she needed for her trip to Ireland before she took her long nap. All she had to do now, was take a quick shower, make herself beautiful, have a quick bite, and wait for Joe. "Well, you better get moving." Jess said to herself, smiling.

After her shower, she braided her jet hair into a single plait. She would take it out of the braid when they got to Ireland…..it would be soft and wavy by then. She had no idea of what to wear. In this sort of emergency, she called Jules.

"Hello?" asked Jules as she picked up the phone. She wasn't expecting any calls, especially not from her lucky friend.

"Jules, you have to help me." exclaimed Jess. "I don't know what to wear."

Jules laughed at her friend. "Oh, is that all? Well, I would suggest since you're traveling tonight, I would keep it simple…jeans and a sweater. However, make it that stunning red sweater you bought in America shortly before we left. Joe won't know what hit him when he sees you in that sweater."

"A sweater? Are you sure?" asked Jess.

"Yes….besides, it gets cold on the ferry, even in the summer time. Sweaters are a must."

"Thanks." answered Jess.

"Are you excited?" asked Jules…who very well knew the answer.

"Excited and nervous." responded her friend. "I'm afraid of meeting his family. I'm afraid of going to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. I'm a-"

"STOP." cried her friend. "You'll be fine. And you'll have an amazing time."

"Well, I should finish getting ready." laughed Jess. "Joe should be here in about an hour. Thanks again, and have a good Christmas. I'll see you in a few days, okay?"

"Okay….and Jess, have the best of times." replied her friend.

Jess put on a pair of jeans with "the" red sweater…..it was extremely soft to the touch, and hugged her body. She completed the look with a pair of black leather boots with just a bit of a heel. Jess looked in the mirror, and thought that she didn't look half bad. Jess grabbed her small suitcase and went downstairs. Her mom had dinner waiting for her. She had a hard time eating, because even though she was hungry and knew she had to eat, she was very nervous.

"Mom?" asked Jess.

"Yes, Jessminder?"

"Do you think his parents will like me?" asked a worried Jess.

"Of course they will like you." answered a confident mom. "And if they don't, well that's their problem and not yours. Besides, why would they not like you? Joe likes you."

"I'm just afraid they won't like me." answered a scared Jess.

"Just remember butai, that we love you. And no matter what, we will always love you." said her father reassuringly.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Even though Jess knew who it was, it was if she was somehow glued to her seat. Her father went to the door.

"Ah, Joe," said her father. "Come on in. Jess is just finishing up her dinner. Would you like something to eat yourself?"

"Thanks, but I'm fine. I made myself a sandwich before I drove over." answered an almost giddy Joe.

"Come and join us at the table, while we finish up our dinner." replied Mr. Bhamra. And with that, Joe joined his second family.

"So Joe, do you know where you're going?" asked a curious Mrs. Bhamra.

"I sure do ma'am." answered Joe. "I can't tell you how many times I've taken this very route as a kid. When I was still playing football myself, my dad and I came to London many times for various tournaments. Although this is the first time that I've made this trip where England is my point of origin."

"Do you have any plans while you're in Ireland?" asked Mr. Bhamra.

"Not really." answered Joe. "For the most part, we're just going to hang out with my family. I haven't seen them in four years, so there's a lot of catching up to do. My sister Fiona is now the same age I was when I left. I have a feeling that a lot of stuff has happened in those four years. The only set plans we have, are going to midnight Mass with my family on Christmas Eve and a huge dinner with my extended family at my Nana's house on Christmas Day. Besides, I promised Jess that I wouldn't plan too much stuff since she's suffering from some jet lag."

"I'm not that tired." said a yawning Jess.

With that, everyone broke into laughter. Joe looked at his watch.

"Jess, we should get going. We have a long drive, and it takes a lot of time to check in once we get to Pembroke." Joe said, interrupting the fun.

"Okay." replied Jess. "Oh hey, I left my coat upstairs, let me go grab it, and we can be on our way." With that, Jess ran up the stairs.

While she was in the relative seclusion on her room, Jess' parents reminded Joe to drive carefully, take care of their daughter, and to enjoy themselves. Mr. Bhamra also insisted on giving Joe some traveling money. Joe of course didn't want to take it, but you can't argue with a concerned father. Joe reluctantly took the money, thanking both of them for their hospitality, and for allowing him to steal their daughter for a few days.

When Jess came downstairs, she had on her black, fitted, wool pea-coat. She hugged both of her loving parents, and told them that she would see them in five days. She promised she would call them when they got to the home of Joe's family. Mr. Bhamra firmly shook Joe's hand, and with a knowing nod he told them to enjoy themselves. Joe grabbed Jess' suitcase, and they were out the door. He quickly put her suitcase in the trunk of his car, turned to wave at Jess' parents, and then got in his car. He started the ignition, and they were gone.

When Jess didn't say anything, Joe broke the silence.

"Are you okay?" asked a concerned Joe.

"Yeah." answered Jess. "I'm just excited and nervous…..and I've never been to Ireland. This is an adventure for me. I was quiet like this when I got on the plane to America. Just thinking, that's all."

"Good. I was afraid you were going to tell me you didn't want to come with me."

"No, it's not that at all. In fact, I'm looking forward to this time here in the car, where it's just you and me. No one to watch us or listen to us, no computer or phone line between us. Just us." answered Jess.

"Well, I'd much rather we weren't stuck in this car to spend that time. At least when we get to Wales, and get the car loaded onto the ferry, we can relax." Joe said with a smile. Only he knew of the surprise he had waiting for them when they got to the ferry.

Even though they were both tired, they managed to stay awake. They had much to talk about. The four hour drive went quickly, so quickly they had to look at their watches when they pulled into the dock area. It was about 12:30 in the morning when they arrived. However, that was the time they needed to be there. Joe still had to pick up the tickets at the ticket counter, and deal with checking in his car. Because they were early, there was no rushing. And the had the easiest, stress free ferry boarding ever.

By the time that was all done, it was about 1:30 in the morning. Jess was starting to drop off. Passengers were starting to board the large ship, so he grabbed her hand.

"Let's go get a coffee in one of the on board restaurants," said Joe.

"Oh, Joe….I just want to go to sleep."

"You can, but not now, okay?"

They grabbed their coffees, and brought them back to the lobby area of the ferry. Their boat's name was the Isle of Inishmore. Jess was amazed by the size of everything. In fact she said to Joe while they were sitting in the lobby, that it looked like a hotel. Joe smiled at that.

"Sit here." Joe said. He got up, and went to the reception desk. The lady behind the counter handed Joe something, and he sat back down.

"Are you ready?"

"Ready for what" asked Jess.

"To sleep." responded Joe.

"Sleep, yes. Can we find a quiet corner somewhere…..if you don't mind if I lean on you that is." said a groggy Jess.

"I can do you one better." said a smiling Joe. "Come with me."

They went up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. All of the sudden, Joe stopped in front of a door, inserted a key card, opened a door, and pulled Jess inside. Joe had reserved a private room for them when he booked their tickets. He knew they needed real sleep, not the inefficient sleep one gets if they sleep in a chair with people all around them.

"Joe, what's this?" asked a suddenly awake Jess.

"Our private corner of the ship. You said you wanted to sleep, and now you can. We both can." answered a suddenly emotional Joe.

"Thank you. Will you hold me until I fall asleep?" asked Jess.

"I will hold you until you fall asleep, and I will hold you until you wake."

They both quickly got rid of their shoes, and laid down on the double bed. Joe took Jess into his arms. She looked into his eyes, and he was lost. They shared the most intimate kiss of their lives, hands reaching out to pull the other closer. They had to force themselves to slow down. When they finally broke their kiss, it was Joe who spoke first.

"Jess……get some sleep. We have to wake up in about 3 hours."

"You need some sleep as well. Thank you for this bed Joe……I love you."

"I love you too…more than you know."

Joe pulled Jess back into his arms, and he thought to himself, that this must be heaven. And with that they slept. They slept until the alarm went off at 6am, and they awoke in each other's arms. Joe woke first, and couldn't believe how peaceful she looked. He looked forward to more moments just like.

They put their shoes back on. Jess went into the bathroom in their room. When she came back out, she had brushed her teeth and had brushed out her hair and left it down. Joe pulled her into his arms again, and kissed her gently. Her simple beauty always amazed him. They grabbed their things, left the key at the reception desk, and went to get a quick breakfast. Just as they got up from their seat, Joe looked out one of the many huge windows on the ship…

"Welcome to Ireland, love."

Jess took one look at the beautiful scene in front of her, and couldn't wait to truly experience Ireland.