"How did you know where Connolly's was?" Abbey asked they got out of the car in the parking lot behind a large pub.

"I had Charlie check it out while you were having a shower. They've got an internet connection in their cottage."

"So where exactly are we? I didn't recognise the road."

"About half way between Galway and Ballykane actually – we just cut across country to get here."

"My, we are getting confident with our driving, aren't we? And in the dark too! Hey!" she laughed as Jed aimed a playful blow on her rear,

"Stop mocking me!" he said with a grin.

As they went in through the double doors at the back, they both looked round appreciatively at the typical Irish pub, with its old world atmosphere. Old enamel advertising posters, photographs, framed newspapers and bric-a-brac crowded the stone walls, and wooden panelling separated the bar area into small cosy nooks and crannies. On their right they could see a more formal dining area.

"Good evenin'." A young waitress in short Irish tartan skirt and white blouse approached them and then faltered for a moment. 'She's recognised us,' Jed thought immediately, and then admired her aplomb as she went on quickly. "Er – would ye be wantin' to eat?"

"We would indeed," Jed replied. "Do we need to go through to the restaurant?"

"No, no, ye can sit anywhere, sir – it's the same menu whether ye're in the bar area or the restaurant."

"Then I think we'll stay in the bar area," Jed replied. "Okay?" he asked Abbey.

Abbey nodded and smiled, knowing just what was going on in his mind.

"So will this table be all right for ye then?" the girl asked, leading them past the bar to a table for two in the corner near one of the windows, partly shielded from the rest of the bar area by the wooden panelling around the front door of the building.

"This will be absolutely fine," Jed smiled.

"I'll just bring ye the menu. Can I get ye some drinks?"

Jed ordered an iced mineral water himself and a white wine for Abbey. "One of the disadvantages of not having a driver any more," he commented. "Why didn't I ask Charlie or Andy to drive us here?"

"Because you wanted to show off your cross-country driving skills?"

"I think I might just ignore that remark," Jed replied, narrowing his eyes playfully at her, then, "Do we still have some wine at the cottage?"

"Yes, plenty."

"Good, I'll make up for it later then."

When the girl returned with the drinks and menus, Jed put on his glasses and studied the list for a few minutes.

"Oh my," he said, "this really is something! The website that Charlie found about Connolly's said it specialised in fish and seafood – but I didn't expect this! I'm spoilt for choice!"

In the end he ordered the seafood chowder while Abbey decided on the crayfish timbale and then after ascertaining that the seafood linguine consisted of salmon, cod and smoked haddock in a white wine sauce, Abbey chose that and Jed went for the salmon and cod en filo with a prawn cream sauce.

Sipping his drink, he glanced around the bar. "I wonder if this place was the same when my mom met Eddy here?"

Abbey too looked around. "I guess it's probably not changed very much – maybe the restaurant at the back is a newer extension, but this part has got a real traditional feel about it, hasn't it?"

Jed reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the photo that Mary had given him that afternoon. He put it down on the table in front of Abbey.

"Can you imagine her behind the bar? – and maybe the four American officers at that table over there near the fireplace?"

"Yeah – though I doubt that she was in a tartan skirt as short as the girls are wearing today," Abbey commented.

Jed laughed. "And I doubt that the officers had the same menu that we've just seen. Though I suppose that once the war was over the fishermen would be able to go out into the Atlantic again, safe from the threat of U-boats."

The girl brought their starters. "All the seafood on your menu – is it locally caught?" Jed asked.

"Er – I'm not sure, sir, they bring it from Galway City every morning. D'ye want me to find out?"

Jed held up his hand. "No, no, it doesn't matter."

Abbey had taken the first forkful of her crayfish. "This is delicious – so delicious that I don't really give a damn where it was caught!"

"Actually, I don't either," Jed said, sipping his chowder. "Mmm, this is excellent too!"

"So stop bugging the girl then!"

"I was just curious, okay?"

Abbey smiled. "Eddy probably bugged your mom in just the same way!"

"Yeah." Jed smiled, his eyes softening. "Yeah, probably." Then, "You know, that was interesting, how Mary picked up on things I said and did that reminded her of him."

"And I guess John Bartlet saw that too."

Jed stopped, his spoon in mid-air. "Can we leave that for the moment? I'd rather just think about Eddy tonight."

"Okay." Her instincts told her that Jed still had to sort out his feelings about John Bartlet but it was enough for the moment that Eddy had become a real person to him. Here at Connolly's she had to allow him that, time enough later to deal with that other issue.

When they'd finished their starters, Jed looked across at her. "It occurs to me that I haven't said thank you."

"For what?"

"For making contact with Mary when I was in shut-off mode."

"It could have been a wild-goose chase – but we hit pay-dirt, didn't we?"

Jed laughed. "And that's a wonderful mixed metaphor, if anything is! But yes, you're right. The letter – and what she told me today – well, that was more than I could ever have hoped for…" He paused and gave a short sigh. "When I think back to – oh, whatever day it was we first went to Ballykane–"

"Saturday."

"Okay, I've lost track of the days at the moment – but on Saturday I felt I was sinking in some deep morass, trying to grab at any memory I could find about Eddy. He just seemed like a total stranger."

"And now he's real?"

"A lot more real than a few days ago – and that's because of the letter, and because of today – and it's all because of you." He reached into his pocket and brought out a small box. "This is just to say thank you," he said, his voice suddenly husky. "And not just for today, but for every day that you've been part of my life."

Abbey took the box and opened it, then gasped.

"It's a Claddagh ring," Jed went on. "The design originated in the village of Claddagh –remember, the little harbour where we walked along the quayside? The two hands represent friendship, the crown loyalty and the heart of course is love."

"Jed, these are diamonds–"

"Yeah, and the heart's an emerald – to remind you of the Emerald Isle."

She looked at him curiously. "When did you get this?"

"Yesterday afternoon. After I'd met up with Alan, I stopped off in the city and went to Dillon's – they were the original manufacturers of the Claddagh rings. So I guess I bought it about the same time as you were first meeting with Mary. Oh, and it's engraved inside–"

Abbey pulled the ring out of the box and turned it to read the inscription inside the gold band. "Mo anam cara." She looked up. "What does that mean?"

Jed's blue eyes met hers. "My soul mate," he said quietly.

Abbey felt her eyes suddenly filling. "It's beautiful – thank you," she whispered, her eyes never leaving his.

He gave her a small smile and she could see that his eyes were shining too. "I hoped you'd like it." Then he had to clear his throat. "Oh, and you do know the right way to wear it, don't you?"

"The right way?"

"Traditionally, if you wear it with the heart facing outwards, away from your body, it means you're single and free and possibly looking for a relationship. But if you wear it with the heart facing inwards, it means that someone has captured your heart."

Abbey took the ring and slipped it on the third finger of her right hand, with the heart facing inwards. "Like this?"

Jed took her right hand in his and looked down at the ring. "Yeah," he said, "just like that." He brought her hand up to kiss it. Then his other hand reached out under the table to her knee. He looked at her from under his eyelashes. "Do we have to wait for the main course? Because I want to go to bed with you – right now."

Abbey suppressed a laugh. "Jed, behave yourself! Besides, I still want my seafood linguine."

"More than you want me?"

"Later, boyfriend, later."

"Is that a promise?"

"Could be – you gonna eat your all your green beans?"

"No, you can't get me on that one, I ordered the salad, not the vegetables."

This time Abbey did laugh out loud. "Okay then, I think we got ourselves a deal."

Jed raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Thank you, God." Then, lowering his eyes, he gave her the seductive look that she knew so well. "How quickly can you eat your main course?"

"Jed, stop it." But the look had already sent a powerful quiver of desire coursing through her.

"If you give me your hand under the table, I can show you how quick you need to be."

Abbey had to take a deep breath "Jed, please stop it!"

"Getting hot, babe? Me too, I could jump you right now."

Abbey smirked. "Not unless you want to get dragged off to the local police station and then hit the headlines in tomorrow's Galway newspaper."

"Garda station," Jed said.

"What?"

"Garda, that's what the police are called. Garda Siochana – I've probably not pronounced in correctly, but it means 'Guardians of the Peace'."

"Whatever." His hand was still on her thigh, and she was trying to stop it from moving higher and arousing her senses even more. "And you're going to need that hand in a minute, Jed, she's bringing our meals now."

Jed took one look at Abbey's seafood platter and laughed. "All right, I guess I'll have to calm down – it's gonna take you more than five minutes to eat all that – that's an American size portion!"

Half way through the meal, he suddenly looked across at her. "I just got it," he said.

"Got what?"

"You were handling me, weren't you?"

"When?"

"When you were pushing me to call Alan at NUI. You were already planning to go back to Ballykane."

"Maybe."

"Maybe nothing. Don't give me that. You said you wanted time to do your own thing."

"Yeah, well, it was my own thing."

"You lied, Abbey."

"I didn't exactly lie – I just didn't tell you the whole truth. I do that from time to time. You know that. And it works most of the time."

Jed gave her a comical frown. "There are times when I think that you have me twisted right around your little finger."

Abbey laughed. "Just believe it, babe."

After they'd finished their meal, the girl came to ask them if they wanted dessert. Jed had to suppress a smile when Abbey said, "I really don't think I can eat anything more."

"Can I get ye any coffee then?"

He glanced at Abbey and then said, "No, we're done. Can we have the check – uh-oh, I mean the bill, don't I?"

They waited a few minutes until the girl came back with their bill. Jed peeled off a few Euro notes from his wallet, added another twenty note and put them on the plate. The girl picked up the plate. "Thank you very much, sir – and please would you sign this menu for me?"

"Sign it?"

"I –um – I'd like to have the autograph of the President, sir."

Jed's eyebrows shot up then he grinned at her. "I knew it – I knew you'd recognised us!"

The girl smiled. "I was in America two years ago. I did a semester at Georgetown in Washington."

"Did you indeed? Did you enjoy it?"

The girl smiled. "Yes, I did – very much. And I was in some of the same classes as Zoey, I got to know her quite well."

Jed smiled. "Small world then! Is that why you recognised us?"

"Yes, Zoey invited me to the White House one afternoon – and we were standin' talkin' to Charlie when you came out of the Oval Office, and she introduced me to you."

"Yeah – yeah, I do remember that now. But I'm sorry – I can't recall your name."

"He's hopeless with names!" Abbey laughed.

"It's Kate – Kate O'Leary."

"Okay, Kate," Jed said as he wrote quickly on the menu: 'Kate – Thanks for a memorable evening at Connolly's – Jed Bartlet." He smiled up at her. "And of course we'll let Zoey know that we met you here."

"Thank you, sir. And now the other staff are just going to have to believe me that it really is yourselves!"

"Do us a favour, Kate," Jed said, giving her a wink as he stood up. "Give us a few moments to make a quick exit before you tell them, huh?"

"I'll do that, sir," Kate smiled back, "and enjoy your stay in Ireland."

Jed caught hold of Abbey's hand as they walked across the parking lot. "I think our cover's blown," he said.

After opening the car door for her, he headed towards the agents' car. Charlie opened the window. "Everything okay, sir?"

"We were recognised in there, Charlie. I don't think it's gonna be a problem, but just check that no-one's following us, will you?"

"Will do, sir."

"Oh, and I'll come and talk to you in the morning about some flights home."

"Yes, sir."

As he got into the car, he looked round at Abbey. "I think we may need to avoid villages, towns and cities tomorrow," he said.

Abbey nodded. "Maybe we just have a lazy day at the cottage then?"

"Sounds okay to me." Jed grinned suddenly. "We might need it."

Abbey shot him a sideways glance. "Meaning–?"

"We have a deal, remember?"

"Oh, and there was me thinking you'd be feeling very sleepy after all that good food."

Jed grinned. "Not a chance!"

TBC