The Only Two Things

Blaa

Soph walked toward the markets, one hand holding Kerry's leash, one hand laced with Ciaran's. She was almost a little surprised at how many people seemed to be staring at them. It certainly wasn't everyone, but it was certainly more than she'd expected. She wasn't quite sure why, though.

But after the initial surprise, she stopped caring, contenting herself in leaning on his shoulder as he

They stopped outside a small bookstore, telling Kerry to stay in a nice shady spot. But as soon as they stepped inside, Soph felt multiple pairs of eyes fall on her. She spotted Tommy behind the counter, scowling at her, and she felt a sudden urge to drop Ciaran's hand. But she didn't.

Caitlin rushed over, hugging them both, welcoming them in, and they chatted for a while before the store suddenly got busy, and Caitlin waved them off.

"I'll see you guys at the wedding if I don't catch you before then, yeah?"

Soph and Ciaran nodded, and Caitlin leaned in. "Oh, by the way... I'm bringing a date"

She winked at Sophie, who beamed excitedly back at her.

As they went to leave, Soph spotted a few decks of cards, and pointed them out to Ciaran. She picked up a set with dogs on them, and he nodded, grinning at her. As they approached the counter to buy them, Tommy greeted them with a scowl.

"Morning, Ciaran and Sophie. How are you today?"

"Yeah, great thanks, Tommy. Yourself?" She smiled sweetly at him as she handed him the money for the deck of cards.

His scowl didn't change. "I'm just great. Ciaran, did you hear that Caitlin has a date for the wedding?"

Soph and Ciaran both froze. She'd told Tommy?

"I'm surprised she told you?" Ciaran said.

"She didn't. Jess asked if she was bringing someone, and she said yes. And obviously, Conor let me know, because he thought it was odd. Up until a few weeks ago, I think we'd all assumed that she'd be going with you... But... obviously not. "

Soph's smile didn't falter, as she silently hoped that one of the thousands of books above him would suddenly drop itself on Tommy's head. Preferably a dictionary. An entire set of encyclopedias.

"Yep, I'm well and truly taken now" Ciaran said, smiling knowingly at Soph.

Tommy stood silently, as he handed the deck of cards back to Sophie.

"So who is this AJ , then? Have you met... them ?"

Soph smiled, realising the trap that had been set, carefully avoiding any references to she, her, girlfriends, women... "No, not yet. We've heard great things, though. AJ sounds cool."

Ciaran smiled down at her. "Same. And Caitlin seems really happy. And that's what matters, right? "

Tommy frowned at them not falling for it. "Alright. Well... Have a wonderful day, both of you."

They stepped back out of the store, sighing with relief that they'd both picked up on what Tommy was trying to do, and relaxed as they made their way back around the markets.

Ciaran got her his favourite type of fresh juice, they giggled at some oddly phallic pottery, and let a whole heap of people pet Kerry, much to her enjoyment. Soph even found some handmade chew toys, and bought one for Kerry, much to Ciaran's approval.

All in all, a fucking fabulous morning.

They wandered around for far longer than they'd expected, eventually meeting up with Kelly, who'd had the brilliant foresight to bring a picnic blanket with her. The three of them sat on the grass in the park, having a makeshift picnic with the cheese, and drinks they'd bought from the markets.