Galway Girls (Romance)

There was always something about getting out of Mullingar that would get me somewhat excited. Not that there is anything wrong with Mullingar. It’s just good to see and do something different now and again.

You see my name is Paul and I have a condition called cerebral palsy. My speech is unaffected but if I stand, I can only take a few steps at best. Hence, I use an electric wheelchair. It really is a lifesaver. I have good coordination in my arms but they lack strength. So, I wouldn’t be the best of bricklayers. Yes, I have a job and work full-time in an office selling stationery. Most of the time, it’s pretty boring unless something goes wrong with the system. That’s never good.

Well anyway, a few months ago, I and my besties Ronan and Sean made plans for a night away in Galway on the fifteenth of October. This was something we had done a few times previously taking in a comedy gig and then going for a few drinks. Ronan also lives in Mullingar and is my occasional chauffeur. Sean lives on a boat. More about that later.

That was last Friday and it turned into a night to remember.

The drive to Galway from my hometown took about an hour and a half. All via a motorway through an Autumnal landscape. Some leaves clung to existence on now mostly barren tree branches. I was sitting in my electric wheelchair, which was clamped to the bottom of the van close to my driver Ronan.

On the way, we discussed what was happening in our lives. With me, nothing much. My life in my thirties had become somewhat stale – get up, work, watch TV, repeat. For me, this trip was a chance to refresh my mind and break up the monotony. Ronan’s life was progressing at least. His second child was on the way, and he was a firefighter. For God’s sake, a hero. Not that I was jealous or anything, but more that it was an inspiration for what my life should be like. And, anyway coming across car crashes, drownings, and suicides, not my kind of thing.

About half an hour into the trip, our conversation had quietened somewhat and the radio went on. There’s nothing quite like driving and rocking away especially when you have done it for a while. A bit of Queen there and then some Prodigy.

It was raining heavily on the way up but the forecast said that it would clear. I hoped they were right. Nothing worse than being in wet clothes and in a wheelchair for getting a cold.

As we approached the city, Ronan turned on his satnav. Galway’s a maze of one-way streets for those who don’t know it intimately. Our destination was called the Imperial Hotel on Eyre Square right in the beating heart of the city.

The traffic grew as we approached our destination. Galway is full of quaint, narrow streets. They give it a sense of place and improve walkability. But, they can get gridlocked during busier times.

It’s now that we start looking out for a parking spot, preferably a wheelchair spot but we’ll take what we can get. We’ve done this journey a few times previously so we know where to look. Incredibly, the rain stops and a parking space is free just as we approach the hotel. I hope this is a good omen for the night.

We are staying in the Imperial Hotel, its location is ideal for someone with limited mobility, with everything of importance close by. It is also the only hotel in a central location with a lift where wheelchair users can stay. The reception area is rather plain and dull, with just non-descript chairs for people who wish to sit. We are met by a smiling receptionist who says, that she hopes we will enjoy our stay in a strong Galway accent.

We head up to our room, which is very spacious but clammy. I tell Ronan that I call dibs on the double bed. Part of me wants to lie down for a while but Ronan is anxious because we running late for the comedy gig so it’s just a quick trip to the toilet and spruce up for me.

The first part of the night was to go and meet Sean in a pub called Roisin Dubh (Dark Little Rose) where we will see a comedian. It’s a ten-minute walk from the hotel, mostly along pedestrian-only streets. Buskers line the streets giving the busy streets a vibrant sense of festivities.

We’ve been to Roisin Dubh before. I want to use my brain to see if I remember the route but Ronan has much more confidence in his phone. And let’s face it, when it came to the crunch there was always going to be one winner.

The Corrib was in full majestic flow as we crossed over it. It wouldn’t want to rise any higher or it might take the bridge with it. We were getting close now and it wasn’t long till we reached the pub. There was a step up into it, so the barmen went to get a wooden ramp. Still, the footpath was narrow and it took some exquisite driving to get on the ramp to get up the step. But there was no way I would fail with the taste of vodka now so close.

There was no sign yet of Sean inside. The bar area is very small so there was nowhere for him to hide.

I try my best to pull into one of the corners to avoid the surge of people while we wait for Sean to arrive.

“Do you want a vodka?” Ronan asked.

“I sure do.”

He knew the way I liked it, with an equal amount of orange thrown in as he took the few steps over to the bar to order.

A few moments later, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. Instinctively, I know who it is.

“Hey Sean, you got here.”

He walked around in front of me.

“Indeed, that Ronan over there? Better tell him to order me a pint.”

With that, I was briefly alone again before they both came back.

These are the best of nights. Old friends and lively banter in a city I love.

After a few minutes, Sean pointed out that we should enter the gig area and get good seats. Always a good idea when one of the members of the group is in a wheelchair.

A tall dark-haired woman was checking the electronic tickets on people’s phones before stamping their wrists. She was at the narrow conjunction between the small bar area and the larger gig area where seats were already laid out in a much larger room with a higher area where comedians would enthrall their audiences.

However, I simply drove through.

Does she think like I do, that people in wheelchairs are invariably honest or is it that I don’t need to be stamped cause I stick out anyway?

Ah well, c’est la vie.

The warm-up act was an Australian woman with long blonde hair and a very strong accent. She regaled us with the stories of her love life. She had slept with men from all over the world and was somewhat upset that she might end up getting around to every country. She was middling, a few laughs and not much more.

Still, I was content with the lads ensuring that I had a constant supply of liquor, which made even simple jokes sound hilarious. Every chair was taken giving the place a cramped, jovial atmosphere. The smell of Guinness pervaded the room. I couldn’t but help notice all the pretty women around. There was definitely a higher percentage than my hometown where you would be lucky to spot more than one on any given day.

After half an hour, her act came to an end to much applause. Some, like Sean got up off their seats to look for a refill.

“Well, what did you think of the act Ronan?”

“A bit crude, what did you think?”

“Ah, it was okay,” I replied.

Then I noticed a woman staring at me out of the corner of my eye. Now that wasn’t something that happened to me every day. I looked over and gave her a smile, which was reciprocated. She had short curly brown hair, with a somewhat heavy build dressed in a black jacket and dress.

“Here’s another one.”

Our brief eye contact was broken as Sean handed me a drink. Damn, I thought to myself.

A few moments later, the main act appeared on the stage. He was a thirtyish Irish bloke from Cavan of all places. It didn’t take him long to get the crowd going. He interacted much more with them, asking them where they were from and what their jobs were; hitting the jackpot somewhat when he came across some nurses. They had fascinating tales about body parts getting stuck in very strange places, which the crowd found very amusing.

All the time, the drinks kept flowing After about 40 minutes, the gig came to an end.

“Well, what did ya think of that Sean?” I asked. They had gotten up from their seats and were standing in front of me now.

“Yeah it was good,” he replied.

“Where now?” asked Ronan,

Sean was the guy from the area, so we were following him with the expectation that he would bring us to the best spots that the city had to offer. He had yet to let us down.

After glancing at his watch he said, “Well, there is an alternative type spot quite close to here. It can be very packed but we should be able to get in if we leave now.”

Alternative, I thought to myself. I wasn’t really sure what he meant exactly but it did sound like somewhere I should be going to. 

“Yeah, let’s go there. It sounds cool.”

With that Ronan concurred and off we went.

Just as well, Sean was with us because I would have no idea where I was going with all the side streets. Turn left, turn right there, like a maze in a labyrinth of possibilities.

“Just across the road now. Can you get up that path?”

Looking across the road, I see that it is an aging, degraded footpath with only a small bump required to get up onto it.

“Yeah, I’ll be grand,” I replied.

A few moments later Sean was pointing down a narrow laneway, which led to a relatively large but narrow smoking area. I found a suitable spot to park. It was a beautiful sight to behold, more women than lads in what felt like a crowded, raucous outside garden with hanging flowers here and there. Sean really knew the best places to go.

I also gathered what he meant by “alternative”. There were all colours of hair and piercings. All very exotic for the likes of me. Most were smoking away on their vapes and in boisterous, jovial form.

But priorities, priorities. We had our priorities and drink was top of the list. This time Ronan was entrusted with the responsibility. Sean said he would check if there was any space inside as it was at a premium where we were.

This gave me a minute or two to collect my thoughts and survey my surroundings. The place was electric with everybody seemingly in good spirits. There also seemed to be a great sense of camaraderie, with some of the women going from group to group chatting away.

A few moments later the two lads had returned. With a quick shake of Sean’s head, I was informed that there was no space for a wheelchair inside. Not that I minded.

“A lot of talent around here,” I said loudly to Sean over the din of music.

Sean was somewhat of a connoisseur.

“Yeah,” he replied, “it’s all the universities, tourists and the like. It’s unbelievable around here. You can just be walking down the street and see so many good-looking women.”

I took another slug of my vodka and took in the atmosphere the two lads talked for a while.

Then while I got lost in my thoughts.

“Say hello to Irene,” Sean said to me.

She was one of the girls that had been going from group to group earlier.

“Hi, lovely to meet you,” I replied.

“Hi,” she replied with a warm smile.

“She’s a musician, very good too.” Sean continued.

She had shoulder-length curly jet-black hair and was wearing a brownjacket.

“And Paul is a writer,” Sean said somewhat proudly.

“Yeah, what do you write?”

Of course, I’m not one of those who like to boast but for pretty girls ten years younger than me I can always make an exception.

“Yeah, have you read or heard of Anderson’s Quest?”

“I have, are you the author?”

“Indeed, I am.”

“No way, and are you rich now?”

I briefly thought about trying to explain that it wasn’t about the money for me. But about the joy of writing, that it was a release and a form of self-expression. After, a few drinks though, I decide it’s better just to go with the flow.

“Not yet, it was big in Ireland but not much outside. Hopefully, next time.”

It was then that I noticed how she was glancing at Sean. Not that I blamed her. He was well built, muscular but not overly so, with a square jaw. And he was charming too.

It was just that I wished a woman would look at me like that. It had been years since I had last been with a woman and it was something that I wished to explore further.

Then Ronan began to speak and my focus switched back to the present.

The drinks were flowing freely now but I knew the importance of pacing oneself after many nights of overindulgence down the years. It was important to be still able to talk to people at the end of the night or so my friends would tell me.

There were other ladies I got to chat with too. I always loved female company even if it was to just try and get a laugh out of them. Rachel, in her mid-twenties, was a fashionista, owning her own brands. She had exquisite long red hair and was wearing a black jacket. She was affable and easy to talk to. Not the kind of girl that you would get chatting to in Mullingar.

And then there was purple-colored hair Rose, with a large ring on her nose. She knew everybody including myself by the end of the night. I would describe her as eccentric and presume she must have been snorting some cocaine at some point. If anything, she was a bit too chatty and I was relieved when the lads told me it was nightclub time.

“Where are you from?”

“What do you do?”

And she told me all about herself. An Arts student wanted to be a social worker. My voice had gone hoarse.

“So, where to now Sean?” I asked enthusiastically on getting outside.

“Back to Roisin Dubh.”

This was somewhat of a novelty. Heading back to somewhere I had already been and it was right back into the same room too. In fairness, they made a good effort to transform the place. All the chairs had been removed leaving a good-sized dance floor. It was now dark with strobe lighting. By this time I had enough drink and instead just enjoyed the music, which was a mix of modern songs and some classics. The loud songs vibrated through me.

We took up a position beside one of the walls and I took in the atmosphere. It felt alive like anything in the world was possible. As I watched the elegant dancing, part of me wished I could just stand up and join them.

It was getting towards the end of the night now and I had run out of things to say to my friends. Then there she was. The woman whose eyes I met during the comedy gig and they were meeting again. She was staring right at me from across the dance floor. Then she started to walk towards me. Suddenly, my heart started to race and I felt wide awake once again.

She leaned down and said something to me but it was too hard to make out. She smelled of perfume and whiskey. I remember thinking – you only live once and I kissed her cheek.

She looked at me and grinned. She leaned towards me, putting her arms around my back, and kissed me on the lips. It was gentle at first but quickly escalated to her moving around my mouth.

I felt like heaven and never wanted it to end. It was like there was nobody else on the dance floor – just me and her. All thoughts of my two friends quickly went out of my head.

Then the background music stopped. This was not good news. A few moments later all the lights were on. The nightclub was over. Just like that and all too soon.

We broke off our kiss. She had such beautiful blue eyes.

“So, where to now?” she whispered.

“My hotel room is close by,” I replied trying to feign conference.

“Oh, you are sure of yourself. Come on so, let’s go.”

Everything was going to plan except, of course, I hadn’t planned for this event whatsoever. For, a second I even had to think about whether or not I had the key to the room. Phew, I had. Time to just run with the flow and hope for the best.

So, off we went.

“Hey horse, where are ya going? Running off without your mates. You were telling us you loved us only an hour ago.”

It’s true, I had. A drunken tendency to tell my friends I loved them. And I did. But things change. I had a woman and my reptilian brain was telling me to lose the friends and fast.

“Oh, you don’t want us now. Forgotten about for some woman,”

It was Sean and he loved it, grinning with a wide smile across his face.

“Are you even going to introduce us?”

Fuck no, I thought to myself.

But then I realized I needed help getting down the step.

She took the initiative.

“It’s Leslie.”

Remember Leslie, Leslie is her name.

“Sean.”

“Ronan.”

And with that, they shook hands.

“And what am I to do with Ronan,” Sean asked as he helped me down the step.

“He’ll be grand. Shur, he can stay on the boat.”

That’s right, Sean had a boat and would occasionally stay the night.

“Oh, thanks. The two of us in a little boat.”

With that, we went in different directions. Myself and Leslie going in one direction and them in the other.

“Nice friends.”

“Yeah.”

“No really, I can see they really care about you.”

She must still be drunk.

It took us only a few minutes to reach the hotel. It was starting to feel cold.

I knocked on the door of the hotel and waited. A few moments later the door opened.

The valet looked at me and then at her.

“Residents?”

Fuck, he’s not going to let her in. This can’t be happening.

“I am and she needs to help me get to bed.”

There was a moment of silence, well apart from the drunks shouting at each other in the distance.

“Otherwise, someone in the hotel will have to help me.”

That did the job.

“Come on in.”

As I went down to the lift I was relieved to feel her holding onto the back of the wheelchair. I quickly pressed the button in case the valet had a change of heart.

Once safely inside the lift, we both started to laugh.

“So, I’m your carer now, am I?”

“I think assistant is the more pc term for it these days. It was quick thinking though, wasn’t it?”

“It sure was, not just a pretty face.”

The lift opened and we continued down the narrow corridor to my room. A quick turn of the keys and we were in.

Now came the challenging part, transfer onto the toilet, then back on the wheelchair, and then into the bed. All the time hoping she didn’t fall asleep waiting.

As I made my way to the bed, I was happy that she hadn’t fallen asleep in the darkened room. I drove my wheelchair up parallel to the bed, pulled back the sheets, and using my hands and arms stood up. Suddenly, I felt nervous, realizing I had to pull down my pants in front of her but what the hell. Then I swiveled and fell back into the bed.

“God, I thought you were never going to get in here.”

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

“Guess it’s up to me,” she whispered.

Then she got on top of me and started to rub my firm chest with her soft hands. She opened her top and then her bra leaving her breasts dangling in front of me. Slowly, I move my hand up and touch them. They are soft and tender.

She is in total control. I feel strangely vulnerable, an unexpected feeling.

She begins to lick my nipples before sucking them, sending me into ecstasy. My pulls down her pants, and my heart races. Then I enter her. She grinds back and forth as I close my eyes. I feel her sweat drip onto me.

Then I climax and a few seconds later she falls off me. There is so much I want to say and yet nothing comes out. Just a feeling of extreme tiredness as my eyes slowly closed.