Arewyn

Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue, and the road was full of mud

I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.

"Come in," she said, "I'll give you, shelter from the storm"

Bob Dylan

~~~~~~

Hi, my name is Michael James Henson, Mike to my friends. I'm six feet, three inches tall and weigh two hundred and twenty-five pounds. I have dark brown hair, blue eyes and have been told by more than a few women that I was good looking.

I have no memory of my father, as he ran out on Mom and me when I was just six months old. Still though, with a lot of love from Mom, life was good and when I was five, Mom met a man named John Edwards, whom she eventually married.

John was very good to me, and was always a positive influence on my life, not to mention that he was an excellent male role model for me to follow. He was a Green Beret who served for three tours during the war in Vietnam, and taught me a number of things, including not only how to fight, but how to survive in harsh environments, making me a better, more confident man in the long run.

I also knew that he loved Mom very much, because I never saw her happier than she was after meeting him, and even I grew to love him as a father. I mean, hell, he was really the only father I ever knew so, why not?

Sadly, he and Mom were never able to have any children together and maybe that's why he lavished so much of his attention on me. And solely by the grace of God, it was John who indirectly saved me from...Oopps; I'm getting ahead of myself.

~~~~~~

Chapter One

I went to college after high school at a university that was well over seven hundred miles away and this would be the first time I'd been away from home by myself for any extended period of time. It was the fall of 1975 and the war in Vietnam had just ended the previous spring, and the moment I arrived on campus I felt as though I'd been transported to a place that existed on a different dimension.

We, as freshmen, were required to live on campus and that was okay, because my roommate was a great guy named Jeff Donnelly. Like me, he was an engineering major, and we immediately hit it off and soon became fast friends. As a matter of fact, he played a role in what you're about to read, but I'm getting ahead of myself again so, I'll get back to the story.

~~~~~~

After the first couple of weeks on campus, I began to catch on to the routine of collegiate life fairly quickly. Of course there were the fraternities, none of which interested me in the least. I refused to become one of the many obnoxious jerks that belonged to those supposed brotherhoods...brotherhoods my ass...jeez, what a bunch of jerk-offs.

The sororities were just as bad, if not worse in many ways. I mean shit, the things that they made people do to gain entrance was total bullshit, hence the reason Jeff and I both scoffed at the absurdity of such an idea.

~~~~~~

TWO YEARS LATER

It was during the spring semester of 1977 that I met, and was immediately smitten by, a girl named Wendy Hughes. She stood five feet; six inches tall, weighed a hundred and fifteen pounds, and had long auburn hair with riveting sky blue eyes. Her skin was the color of fine porcelain, her body measurements were proportionate to her height and weight, and I thought she was a living doll.

"Holy shit, Jeff," I said, when he and his girlfriend, Elaine, introduced us, "She's gorgeous..."

She seemed to be as taken with me as I was with her, or at least she acted that way. Imagine my surprise when she told me that she'd seen me on campus during the previous fall semester of that same school year, and been wanting to meet me ever since. And when I asked her to marry me a year later, we did so right after we graduated.

~~~~~~

Two years after Wendy and I married she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl whom we named Isabella. She was the most precious and beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and when they laid her in my arms for the first time, I cried my eyes out. Still though, I thought my life was now complete, feeling that God had truly blessed me with everything I'd ever wanted in life.

All of that went to hell in a hand basket when I came home early one afternoon to find little Isabella crying in her cradle and Wendy laying in the middle of our living room, dead from what the medical examiner said was a brain aneurysm.

~~~~~~

TEN YEARS LATER

Isabella, or just plain old Izzy, which is what I called her, was ten years old now and I was raising her on my own. We did okay by ourselves, and because of not only my parents, but also Wendy's family, there was more than enough love to go around where Izzy was concerned. I missed Wendy very much, but I knew that she would always be alive as long as Izzy was around, because she looked just like her mother.

At first it was very hard on me having to be reminded of Wendy every time I looked at my daughter, but I knew I had to swallow my pain because another little life depended on me...just like my heart depended on her.

~~~~~~

Bob and Sue Anderson, our next-door neighbors and good friends, had a daughter named Amy who was the same age as Izzy, and they had been best friends since their first memories of one another. They were so very kind to us and allowed Izzy to stay with them on the nights I had to go out of town, or on one or two extended trips abroad, as well as looked after her when she got out of school until I came home from work. And when the girls began to seek the wisdom of womanly matters, Sue, God love her, was right there to take on the responsibility of informing my daughter of the facts of life.

~~~~~~

It was not too long after she turned thirteen that Izzy came and cuddled up next to me on the couch right before going to bed, just like she's always done since she was little.

"Daddy," she said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of, course, sweetie, "I replied, hugging her, "You can ask me anything you want, you know that."

She sat straight up, and looking me in the eyes, asked, "Do you miss Mommy, and does it hurt when you think about her?"

"Yes," I truthfully answered, "But it doesn't hurt as bad as it used to."

" You loved her very much," she sadly asked, "Didn't you?"

"I still do," I replied smiling, "But as long as I can look at you, I'll always have a part of her here with me. I've always told you how much you look like her."

"I know," she smiled, "Uncle Bobby and Aunt Sue say the same thing, too."

Then she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and purred, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you more," I teased.

"Nope," she giggled, "I love you more."

"Okay, you win this time," I smiled, hugging her, "Now march your little self down that hall and get to bed, girlie."

"Okay," she continued giggling, "Nitey-night, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetie..."

~~~~~~

She went to bed that night, content with information that she had apparently been seeking and didn't mention my relationship with her mother any further, well...at least not for another two years...

~~~~~~

TWO YEARS LATER

After Wendy's death, I clung to Isabella like she was a precious gem; of course I think she is, regardless, but anyway, we basically grew up together, Izzy and I. And in the time went spent living around one another for what had now been fifteen years, I'd say we knew one another quite well, at least as much as a father and daughter could know one another. It didn't matter though.

We had come in from a day at the beach one evening, and after we'd both eaten supper, which I had become a very good cook by this time, Izzy looked at me from across the table and matter-of-factly- said, "Daddy, I think you need to start dating."

"What the hell," I swore; having burned my lip on the hot coffee I was drinking when she suddenly decided to cast her little opinion about my social life, "Where did that come from, young lady?"

"From me," she impudently replied, her little bottom lip beginning to tremble, "I don't want you to be alone, Daddy, and I don't think Mom would have either."

"Is that right?" I zealously, almost sharply asked, "Let me point something out to you, Isabella, (I only called her by her full name when she had pissed me off) first of all, you never knew your mother, and secondly, my social life is none of your concern. Do I make myself clear?"

"No," she suddenly cried, "It's bullshit," and then she jumped up from the table and ran down the hall to her room.

"Shit," I said, after hearing Izzy's bedroom door slam shut.

~~~~~~

I hadn't meant to be so sharp with her, and it wasn't Izzy's fault that she spoke the truth. For about a year or so now, I'd been experiencing sensations that demanded my attention, and I was just now beginning to masturbate again, finally being able to give in to the feelings of sexual release without feeling guilt. To tell the truth, I longed for the feeling of being held in the arms of a beautiful woman. Maybe my daughter was right, but the first order of business was to patch up things between Izzy and me...and I knew just what to do.

~~~~~~

I used to make her chocolate shakes when she was little and I knew that it always made her smile when she was feeling blue. I only hoped that it still had the same magic as before when I knocked on her door with a shake in each hand.

"Izzy, honey," I gently asked, "Can I come in and apologize...please?"

"It's open," she sniffled.

Izzy was fifteen now, and the older she got, the more she grew to look like her mother. And seeing her sitting there at her vanity combing her hair reminded me of not only the fairness, but the innocence of youth, bringing a smile of paternal pride to my face.

"Hi baby," I smiled, "I brought you something."

"Thank you, Daddy," she smiled, looking at me in her mirror as I sat her shake down in front of her, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier; you know, when I said the word bullshit."

It was all I could do to keep from laughing, but I knew she was trying to be sincere so, I relented and said, "It's okay baby."

Hell, let's face the truth...my daughter has had me wrapped around her little pinkie finger since the day she was born, but I think she was coming to realize it by that age. Still though, I was not about to be manipulated by a fifteen year old, regardless of how mature she was for her age.

"I want to ask you something, Daddy," Izzy said, "And I want you to tell me the truth. You promised me when I was a little girl that you would never lie to me, remember?" I nodded my head as she continued, "You're going to be forty soon, and I think you should find somebody to love. After all, I'm going to be leaving the nest in a couple of years ya know."

I couldn't help but laugh this time and that's exactly what I did. "You silly girl," I chuckled, throwing my arms around her, "I'm only thirty seven and you're fifteen. I think it's gonna be a while before you leave the nest, my little sweetie."

"I know," she giggled, "But I meant what I said about not wanting to see you alone."

"I'll tell you what," I replied smiling, "I'll start thinking about it, alright?"

"Okay," she smiled, taking a sip of her shake, "But don't take too long."

~~~~~~

The following year was very prosperous for my business to the point that I was able to make my old friend from college, Jeff Donnelly, a full partner. In doing so he brought in some major business from overseas in the United Kingdom, primarily Ireland.

His grandfather's brother, who was also a builder, Jeff's great uncle Aedan Donnelly, had just landed a major contract to build a high-rise office building in downtown Dublin, and he wanted to employ the services of Henson & Donnelly.

And after many hours of negotiations over the phone, Jeff and I were invited to come over to Ireland for a few days to take a look at the sight and discuss designs with his great uncle.

~~~~~~

After fourteen hours in the air, we finally touched down at Dublin International Airport in Dublin, Ireland. We were told before departure that a driver would greet us at the airport, and after meeting him, his name was Sean O'Neill; we were taken down Harcourt Street to our guesthouse, which was being leased by the Donnelly family, a place called Harrington Hall.

"The house staff will carry yer luggage to yer room," Sean smiled, with a wonderfully thick Irish accent, "Mister Aedan himself is waitin fer ya now, lads, And I'm supposed to drive ya to him."

"Are we going to his office?" Jeff asked.

"More or less," Sean laughed, "But ya can see fer yerself when ya get there."

~~~~~~

It took no more than twenty minutes of driving before Sean pulled up and stopped in front of an old Irish Public House with a sign atop of it that read: "Sullivan's Pub".

"I thought we were going to Uncle Aedan's office," Jeff inquired.

"He spends most of the day doin business right here," Sean laughed, getting out of the car, "C'mon, lads, himself is waitin fer ya."

~~~~~

"Top o' the morning to ya, gentleman," Aedan Donnelly smiled, standing to greet us as Sean brought us to his table. Then placing his arm around Jeff's shoulder, he proudly smiled and said, "Glory be, lad, but my, haven't ya grown up to be a strappin young man. It's good to see ya."

"You, too, Uncle Aedan," Jeff warmly replied, then continued as he introduced me to his family, "Uncle Aedan, I'd like you to meet my best friend in the whole world who just happens to also be my partner, Mister Michael Henson."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," I smiled, extending my hand, "I look forward to working with you."

Aedan Donnelly was a man in his seventies and looked and dressed as though he'd just stepped off of the screen from the John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man". While he was very friendly, I sensed a keen and savvy businessman behind the red hair, green eyes and friendly spectacles he wore.

"It's good to meet ya, young Michael," he laughed, as we shook hands, "Me great-nephew has told me a lot about ya."

"I hope it was all good," I chuckled.

"Most of it was," he smiled, "And the rest was a load of shite."

Both Jeff and I laughed and were then urged to take a seat, and, as Aedan said, "Enjoy a bit of the drink."

I got a good feeling as we visited with Jeff's Uncle Aedan, but for some reason, he seemed a little overly interested in my personal life. I didn't worry about it, as Jeff had already informed me that he'd told his Uncle a lot about me, including the fact that I had become a widower at a very young age. However, I didn't fault him for it, as I knew he'd always had by best interest at heart.

We sat with Aedan for another three and a half hours before not only the strength of the drink hit us, but the jet lag as well; making us bid him farewell to catch up on some much needed sleep.

"Get yer rest, lads," he heartily grinned, "We'll get started in the mornin."

~~~~~~

Harrington Hall is one of Dublin's original Georgian Townhouses and was meticulously refurbished to retain its former splendor of the Victorian era. The staff is renowned for the individual and personalized attention they offer their guests, which ensures that the guests have a comfortable and enjoyable stay in its calm and relaxed atmosphere; and this day was no different either.

The moment we walked through the front door, a very kind and polite older gentlemen, who introduced himself as Kevin Flanagan, smiled and said, "Yer beds have been turned back fer ya, gentlemen. Get some rest and we'll wake yas fer breakfast in the mornin."

"Thank you, Kevin," I wearily smiled, making my way up the stairs and into the suite I was informed was mine. Then once I was inside and in the bedroom, I took off my clothes, climbed into the bed and covered up; and then the moment my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

~~~~~~

As I slept that night, I felt myself being gently catapulted backward to a time long gone. I found myself riding on horseback, with a long blade secured in a scabbard to my waist, and a long deep dark green cloak tied around my neck and shoulders that flew like a cowl behind me as a rode across the land.

Everywhere I looked I could see people building thick stonewalls that ran up and down the hillsides. Suddenly a dark wind blew and the last thing I remember was hiding my face from it before I woke up from the dream. Of course I was happy to find myself in bed, in my suite, with the sun shinning its warm and gentle morning rays, easing my transition from dream to reality.

~~~~~~

I had no sooner put on a pair of blue jeans and tee shirt than there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to find a kindly Kevin standing there with a coffee service tray in his hands and a smile on his face.

"Top o' the mornin to ya," he jovially grinned, "I hope ya slept well, Mister Henson."

"Please," I smiled, gently taking the tray from him as he followed me to the coffee table in front of the couch, "You can call me Mike. Why don't you sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee, no, I'm sorry. You folks in Ireland drink tea, yes?"

"That, and a bit more, lad," Kevin lightly chucked, pulling a small metal flask of what I'm sure was probably some good old Irish Whiskey from within the confines of his coat; he looked at me right before he tipped it up, and said, "To your health, Mike," and then he took a short swig, releasing a gustful exhale, smiling as he did so.

~~~~~~

After a very nice breakfast, which was filling, but not too much so, Jeff and I were picked up by Sean and taken to the offices of Donnelly & Son Construction Company.

~~~~~~

"So, what do you think about the designs we've shown you, Uncle Aedan?" Jeff asked, near the end of our meeting with Aedan and his son, Jeff's second cousin, Kieran.

"Very modern," Kieran replied, "Don't ya agree, Da?"

"Yes, very modern," Aedan agreed, "But I want more, somethin different, somethin that'll stand on its own, but not take away from the Dublin skyline."

"How about this?" I asked, pulling a rough sketch from out of my briefcase and laying it on the table in front of everyone.

After studying it for a moment, Aedan looked up at me from the table smiling and said, "Saints be praised, lad; I think you've done it, young Michael."

"How long will it take fer ya to get yer blue prints back here?" Kieran asked smiling.

"I haven't got them drawn up yet, as this was something I've just begun," I explained, "But it shouldn't take any longer than three months to have them complete."

"That's good then," Aedan heartily replied, "Because its gonna take that long fer that lazy lot I've got working on site to have it ready fer ya."

"Jeff will be back with them in ninety days then," I grinned, "So, do we have an agreement, gentlemen?"

"On one condition," Aedan grinned, "I want you here to supervise every phase of construction, Michael."

"I can handle this, Uncle Aedan," Jeff smiled, "Trust me."

"Oh, I don't doubt ya one bit, lad," he smiled, patting Jeff on the shoulder, "But this is Michael's design. Besides, I'll up your company's end another two million pounds if ya do this fer me, Michael."

"I've got a fifteen year old daughter to raise," I objected, "And this is at least a two year job. I'm very sorry, sir, but I can't be gone that long."

"Don't worry about it, lad," Aedan chuckled, "We'll work somethin out."

~~~~~~

When we got back to Harrington Hall, Jeff and I sat down in my suite for a discussion.

"I simply can't stay here for two years, regardless of how much money your uncle throws us," I told him, "I just can't."

"Why can't you bring Isabella here," he smiled, "For the money we're going to make from this job, you can hire a private tutor for her, Mike. Besides, I think being here will do the both of you a world of good." I went to speak but he raised his hand to silence me and said, "Just think about it after we get home. We'll talk about it when it's time to come back, old friend."