My phone buzzes. Patrick's calling. Months since I last heard from him. Probably bad news. Maybe weird.
But then his Irish accent rolls through the speaker: "Hey, want to come to Ireland for Christmas?"
Christmas? Like it's that easy?
Days later, I reply: "Yeah, why not."
Buying my ticket feels like stepping into someone else's life. The airport is chaos. Customs gives me a weird look. *"What's your relationship to this... Patrick?"*
My throat goes dry. What is our relationship?
Ireland lets me in, but I have a good week to explore deeply, what our relationship actually is.