I arrived in Ireland yesterday. My first stop was Dublin, which is where I’m at now. Castles, cathedrals, and museums made up my entire day yesterday. The history in these places is inspiring. I’ve never seen anything like it. Every now and then, I’ll get a pang in my stomach and wish Stone was here to share this experience with, but this is what I asked for. And if he were here, there’s no way I would be getting any writing done. I spent most of my day at the Phoenix Park today, feeding deer and pouring my heart and soul into my manuscript.

The food and drinks in every place I’ve been to have been nothing short of spectacular. All the authentic food. Not at all processed like back home. The Guinness headquarters are here in Dublin too, which I was able to tour today too. I’m getting back to my hotel now. It’s late—after eleven—but I can hardly wait to FaceTime Stone and see how his day was yesterday. If my math is correct—which these time-zone differences fuck me up—it should only be about five in the morning for him. He’s watching Houston for me while I’m gone. Even though I don’t teach summer classes, the university is still open, so he’s had to work this entire time. He should be getting ready for work now.

After a quick shower, I climb into bed and FaceTime him. It rings twice before his face comes into view. Fuck, I miss him.

“Hey!” he gushes, a wide, genuine grin on his face. “I was wondering when you were gonna call. How are you?”

“Hey, you. I’m good. Got back to the hotel about fifteen minutes ago. Today was insane. I got so much writing done. I think it was the most productive writing day I’ve had so far on the trip.”

“That’s incredible, baby. You’re in Dublin today, right?”

“Yeah. I’m staying here for the next four nights, then I’m going to Galway. I wanna visit the Cliffs of Moher before moving on to Amsterdam.”

“That sounds exciting! I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I love all the pictures and videos you’ve been sending. I’ve been showing everyone in the office.”

Right before the school year ended, we finally took our relationship public. We didn’t for a while simply because neither of us knew what the future held, plus while there’s no direct policy against personal relationships between faculty and administration, it’s still pretty frowned upon in some institutions. Thankfully, everyone has been supportive—at least to our faces.