Dublin
Jane bristled in her seat as she strained to hear her mother’s story about the latest neighbourhood gossip back home. She either said Mrs Johnson’s son got the deed, or was dead, and Jane didn’t think it was appropriate to ask. The violin music pumped through the speakers placed in each corner of the restaurant, and although Jane had ensured to book a table equidistant from any speaker, the din was ringing through her ears. What was the point in making a spreadsheet if restaurateurs weren’t going to be honest about the data they provided. She could fulfil most of the categories on her spreadsheet with her own research; distance from the graduation ceremony, a specific menu offering a gluten free option for Mum and a no fuss steak for Dad, opening hours, an early bird menu, drink prices, seating options. Then there were the things she had to call and ask about; the lighting, Dad would complain if it was too dark, the standard dress code, Mum would hate to be under or over dressed and had been sending Jane pictures of outfit options for weeks (“do people wear hats to graduations? Would I look a bit mad wearing a fascinator?”), and finally, how loud is the music. And Amoretti’s, with their gluten free cacio e pepe and steak and chips, on the early bird menu no less, with their smart but casual atmosphere, being only twenty minutes away from the graduation venue, had guaranteed, neigh, promised that their music was a very subtle background noise. Tell that to Jane’s eardrums. She tried as hard as she could to tune out the incessant violins. Today was her day, the day she looked forward to more than she probably would her wedding. Jane summoned the image of her afternoon in her mind to calm herself. Sitting amongst her fellow classmates and a cohort of other students she’d never seen. Waiting patiently as name by name was called and each student took their thirty seconds on the platform in their stride, shaking the dean’s hand and receiving their hard earned diploma. Her stomach had jumped when she heard the announcer call “We’ll now ask the students for the masters in library and information studies to stand.” They listened to the latin induction, which Jane mouthed along to, having learned the words off in preparation. They were led to the side of the platform to queue up in order. Jane took immense pleasure in a well ordered queue. She took a step forward with each name that was called, her two inch heels well-worn from the practice she had been doing around her apartment for the past month.
“Jane Murphy.” Jane took a deep breath, settled her shoulders back, and took her faithful steps onto the platform, walking with confidence and the pride that she deserved this. She shook the dean’s hand as he handed her the diploma, and she thanked him with a smile she restrained. She glanced out into the crowd and nodded at her parents, her Mum already weeping and her Dad with his phone stuck in their air recording the whole thing. She had made them proud.
And now this restaurant was ruining it. Okay, that was probably an exaggeration. But Jane could not abide by things not going to plan. Which is why her family thought her post-graduation interrail trip was a terrible idea. Jane had been on family holidays, and the occasional girl’s trip with her best friend Allie, still, her idea had blind-sighted everyone. But it made perfect sense to Jane. After years of school and college and serious studying, she wanted to do something seriously spontaneous before she settled into her five year plan. Tomorrow morning she’d be taking off on a plane to Amsterdam, with a fifty litre rucksack, a backpack, and an interrail ticket for the next month.
“Do you have everything packed?” Jane could just about make out her Mum asking over the ting of the music. It was easier to catch that than other snippets of conversation because this was probably the fifth time she had asked it.
“Yes. I’m all packed. I have my passport, I have all my tickets, I have adapters, I have enough pants and socks,” Jane listed off, finding it both amusing and irritating that even after she had proven how organised she was, her Mam still found it necessary to double check. “And I’ve emailed you a spreadsheet of where I’ll be and when, as well as the numbers for all of my hostels.”
“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” she asked, her doe eyes batting at Jane across the table as if Jane herself wasn’t Ms careful.
“I’m not doing anything crazy, Mam. Museums mostly. And Allie is meeting up with me in Prague,” she reminded her. “I’ll text you every day.”
As a taster for her new spontaneous life, Jane had agreed to meet her best friend Allie for drinks after dinner to celebrate, instead of going straight home to get a good night of sleep before her flight. She headed down the road to Martini, a bar that specialised in cocktails that Allie assured her was the place to be. Place to be usually meant sweating crowds, but Allie knew her well enough to assuage her concerns before she voiced them.
“It’s a super chill vibe, very upscale,” she had said before describing the semi-private booths created by high backed couches. “There’s an intercom system you press when you want to order, and when the light goes red, you just speak in and the waitress brings over your drinks in like ten minutes. It’s the next big thing.” Allie was always talking about the next big thing. The next big thing had been, over the years, jade skin rollers, vulva friendly bathbombs, and heelies for adults. Allie always said it was a consequence of the job, as if being ahead of the latest trends was a burden she was faced to bear. She worked in advertising, at an independent, yet quickly growing marketing firm in the city as one of the only female marketing analysts. The firm was, incidentally, the next big thing. Jane followed google maps on her phone to Martini, tucked away on a side street that Jane swore only a few weeks ago housed nothing but industrial wheelie bins and the occasional rat. But as she rounded the corner this evening, she saw a queue of twenty somethings spread down the whole lane, corralled in with makeshift rope. She consulted the text Allie had sent her again.
Enjoy your meal with the folks, can’t wait to see you! I managed to snag us a table in advance so just come straight to the door when you get here. And congrats on the graduation babes! X
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long,” Jane said, slipping into the opposite side of the couch once she'd been led to Allie's booth.
“Jane!” Allie gasped, abandoning her phone to envelope Jane in what could be dubiously classed as a hug across the table.
“Hey!” Jane said, slightly strangled by Allie’s deceptively strong arms. “This place is perfect, thanks for organising this.” In truth, leaving the planning of the evening up to Allie had terrified Jane. They’d gone on a few unplanned night outs in their early uni days, and that had often ended in long queues in the cold, high charges at the door, and clubs that were either too empty or too full. Though, she was learning to have a little more faith in Allie’s choices. Courting clients and researching venues meant that Allie had a far more expansive knowledge of the club and bar scene than she did.
“So, tell me everything you have planned, this trip is so exciting!” Allie prompted once they had gotten their drinks delivered to their table. Jane wasn’t a big drinker, but she did like to have a drink with Allie every so often, because it reminded her of those days camped out in the student union bar, drinking cheap pints of cider before hopping on a bus to somewhere they could dance the night away. Allie ordered for them, she knew exactly the thing Jane would like, apparently. When the drinks arrived, Jane was half-bashful about the ostentatious display, and was grateful for the seclusion of their pod. What arrived on the table in front of her was an oversized balloon class filled with something unnaturally red. On top was a half sphere of ice, and nestling inside were a collection of matching red boba balls. Yet somehow, Allie’s drink was even more ridiculous. It was acid green and came in a glass beaker.
“Well, you know I’m going to Amsterdam, then onto Berlin, then you’re going to meet me in Prague,” Jane paused as Allie gave a little cheer, “then after that I’m heading onto Vienna, then Budapest, Zagreb, Lake Bled, Venice, Barcelona, and finally Marsielle,” Jane said, taking a deep breath once she finished. The planning had been both cathartic and a nightmare. She had it planned down to the minute, so she wouldn’t have to worry at all, she would always know exactly where she needed to be and exactly when she needed to be there.
“It sounds so dreamy, Jane. I’m so jealous. If I could get the time off work I would go on the whole trip,” Allie sighed.
“Oh,” Jane said after sipping from her cocktail. “I checked out that travel blogger you mentioned. The tips are great. My pinterest board is basically filled with the those articles.”
“Back to packing? Oh my god isn’t he fab?”
“Absolutely. Thanks to his post on Amsterdam, I know exactly how to find the secret library in the Rijksmuseum,” Jane explained with glee. Allie laughed.
“Only you would go to the sex and drugs capital of the world and go to a library.”
“Don’t worry, I’m going to get the full Amsterdam experience,” Jane smirked. Allie’s face dropped as she gasped.
“Shut up, no way! You mean you’re going to—"
“I’m going to try, like, half a brownie,” Jane said before Allie got too excited.
“Wow. I guess this trip really is about finding your new self, huh?”
“I just want to experience everything before settling into my job,” Jane explained. Ah, the job. The dream job that was already set up and would be waiting for her once she got home. She’d been volunteering at Marsh’s library since her final year of undergrad, and it felt like home. And while she’d been given more and more responsibility than a volunteer really should have been given, she couldn’t do the things she really wanted until she got her qualifications. As competitive as it was to land a job at the oldest library in Ireland, Jane felt like a member of the family there now, and with the hard work she’d shown over the years, on top of the grades she graduated with, the team offered her a job the day she received her results. Jane would have been happy to jump straight into working the next day, but with their visiting research interns finishing up their posts for the year, there just wasn’t a role ready for her yet. That’s how this trip came into fruition. Even if she didn’t want one last chance to be free before settling down, she knew there was no way she’d be able to sit around for a month just thinking about her dream job that was just outside her grasp.
Jane and Allie finished up their last drink just after eleven. Allie begged Jane to stay out a little longer, but after reminding her about her flight, Allie conceded. By the time the taxi dropped her off at her damp one-room flat, Jane calculated she would get about six hours of sleep. She glanced at the rucksack propped up beside the front door. This was the start of her journey.
