Rachel sat awkwardly, not sure how to react to the little heart to heart that her friends were having. Eventually, their embrace ceased, and Heather looked much calmer. "Sorry bout that, Rachel," Heather said, "I'm just really stressing out."
"No, it's fine," Rachel assured her, "I was the same way when I got my first period." She motioned her friends over to the middle seats so they wouldn’t have to speak over the aisle.
Heather sighed. It was obvious that Rachel was nowhere near grasping the weight of the situation. “So what did you think when your mom told you?”
Rachel nodded, “I was kinda freaked out to say the least, but she told me that I’d never lose her, except to an accident. That being the case, I think I can handle her not being human every day of the month.”
Dita grinned, “And what about your best friends?”
Rachel thought a moment, “No matter what happens you two are my friends. Heather could be right, even when you’re born to a werewolf, there is always the chance it could skip a generation, or maybe the whole werewolf genes idea is just folklore. I think everyone in the group has been bitten”
Heather and Dita looked across at each other and giggled. “Um, no,” snickered Dita. “There are other ways of becoming a werewolf that don’t involve biting.”
“Let’s just say that our mother’s relationships have been very close over the years,” agreed Heather.
“Anyway Rachel, lets forget about movie monsters for the time being. What are we doing when we land?” Dita thought it would be best to get Heather’s attention on having fun in Ireland instead of the prime reason they were going there. Dita had to admit that Heather had been right; the possibility of becoming a beast did excite her.
It also scared the hell out of her.
Rachel grinned. “First thing we do after getting through customs is find a nice hotel and make reservations for Galway. Then we do the bus tour. After that, well, I’m betting that we’ll be so jetlagged that we’ll want to collapse into bed but trust me when I say that you’ll be better off just pushing through the day. “We’ll spend the night on a pub crawl; you’ll find that Guinness is an acquired taste.”
“Oh yeah, you don’t have to be twenty-one here, do you?” “Eighteen. Sorry Dita, you’ll have to wait till Thursday,” Rachel patted Dita on the head as she said this. This was greeted by Dita sticking her tongue out at her. “Let’s get some sleep,” said Rachel, “it’ll be easier when we land.”
The Airbus continued northeast over Goose Bay Canada, then turned slightly east as it reached the Atlantic. Aer Lingus 124 was cleared to Shanwick via North Atlantic Track Whiskey.
The cabin was still dark as the girls found themselves awakened for breakfast. “Take lots of caffeine,” said Rachel groggily.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking, we’re about an hour from landing, and we expect to touch down in Dublin about a quarter past eight. It’s a cool day, right around 20 degrees Celcius with a slight rain. We do hope you’re enjoying your flight and we thank you for joining us on the St. Laurence O’Toole.”
Twenty minutes later, the sun was rising and Heather thought she could see the Irish coast, but it soon disappeared under thick clouds. The twin engines slowed to idle as the plane began its descent into the murk.
Heather and Dita squeezed each others hand in excitement as they landed on Runway 28 and the reverse thrust screamed. After a brief taxi, the doors opened and the girls, still a bit groggy, stumbled out the plane.
They collected their luggage and made their way to customs, a simple process that resulted in a stamp on their passports noting that they were entitled to free passage through Eire for three months.
“We’re HERE,” squeaked Dita. “Wanna call my mom and say hi?” Rachel checked her watch. “It’s just after two in the morning Deet, sure she won’t mind?” “She said not to worry about the time zones.”
“Hello?” “Mom, hi it’s me!” “Dita honey! Thank you for calling. How was your flight?” “It was good mom, great service all around.” “Dita, I need you to get to Galway straight away and check in with Rachel’s grandparents. Sharon has been kidnapped.”