The first time Holly met the man in the store, Rob, she was going through a lot. It was shortly after Gerry’s death and she was upset about her movie debut of “Girls in the City.” She dropped all of her purchases out of her bag and Rob bent down to help her. They had a friendly little conversation before Rob asked her to get some coffee. Holly hesitated after he asked this question which gave him enough time to see the ring on her finger. “…When he glanced down at her hand and his smile faded” (Ahern 169). The situation was awkward and Holly’s unsure and depressed attitude did not help. She did not make any initiative to explain herself either. She just let him walk away. Months later when Holly was in the same newsagent, she ran into Rob again. They recognized each other and began to talk. Holly actually got up the courage to ask him to go for that coffee they missed last time. “Rob, is there any chance you would like to go for that coffee today?” (Ahern 469). This time when he looked at her finger and saw the ring, she explained herself. “Oh, don’t worry about that. It only represents a lifetime of happy memories thee days” (Ahern 469). The second time that Holly and Rob met was different than the first time. It was longer after Gerry’s death and she was dealing with it better and not letting his death hold her back any longer. She had a better attitude and her confidence was better. She knew that this is what Gerry wanted and she was going to be happy with whatever happens next. “Whatever lay ahead, she knew she would open her heart and follow where it led her. In the meantime, she would just live” (Ahern 470).
When Holly returns from Lanzarote with her friends, they all decide that they are going to take a break from each other because it was clear they had spent too much time together. She decided to lay low for a few days and one of those days she goes to the store to get a newspaper. She knocks over the whole thing and as everyone is watching her she grabs a chocolate bar from the front of the registers and proceeds out. As she is walking, she ends up dropping everything in her hand and a man helps her. The very good-looking, friendly man helps Holly pick everything up. She is very shy and of course is blushing because she feels very embarrassed and they proceed to have a conversation. The entire conversation she is very nervous and unattached. However, the man still asks her out. “Holly stared after him, confused. Had she said something wrong? Had she taken too long to decide? Had she broken on of the silent rules of this new meeting-people game? She looked down at the hand that had caused him to run away from her and saw her wedding ring sparkle back at her” (Ahern 170). The first time she met him, she was still very uneasy about meeting new people. However, at the end of the story, Holly runs into this same man at the same store where she had a made a fool of herself previously. “Holly stared at him in a daze. Finally she walked over to him, ‘Rob, is there any chance you would like to go for that coffee today? If you can’t, that’s fine…’ She bit her lip” (Ahern 469). This time she meets Rob, she has finally started to realize that her life with Gerry will be different, but that he wants her to be happy and that her meeting new people is not something bad, and that in doing so she is not forgetting him. She is also much more confident in herself with everything she has gone through she was still able to make it this far, and she knew it was time to move on. Unlike the first time when she couldn’t believe he was gone, even though it had been a while.
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The first time Holly met the man in the store, Rob, she was going through a lot. It was shortly after Gerry’s death and she was upset about her movie debut of “Girls in the City.” She dropped all of her purchases out of her bag and Rob bent down to help her. They had a friendly little conversation before Rob asked her to get some coffee. Holly hesitated after he asked this question which gave him enough time to see the ring on her finger. “…When he glanced down at her hand and his smile faded” (Ahern 169). The situation was awkward and Holly’s unsure and depressed attitude did not help. She did not make any initiative to explain herself either. She just let him walk away. Months later when Holly was in the same newsagent, she ran into Rob again. They recognized each other and began to talk. Holly actually got up the courage to ask him to go for that coffee they missed last time. “Rob, is there any chance you would like to go for that coffee today?” (Ahern 469). This time when he looked at her finger and saw the ring, she explained herself. “Oh, don’t worry about that. It only represents a lifetime of happy memories thee days” (Ahern 469). The second time that Holly and Rob met was different than the first time. It was longer after Gerry’s death and she was dealing with it better and not letting his death hold her back any longer. She had a better attitude and her confidence was better. She knew that this is what Gerry wanted and she was going to be happy with whatever happens next. “Whatever lay ahead, she knew she would open her heart and follow where it led her. In the meantime, she would just live” (Ahern 470).
When Holly returns from Lanzarote with her friends, they all decide that they are going to take a break from each other because it was clear they had spent too much time together. She decided to lay low for a few days and one of those days she goes to the store to get a newspaper. She knocks over the whole thing and as everyone is watching her she grabs a chocolate bar from the front of the registers and proceeds out. As she is walking, she ends up dropping everything in her hand and a man helps her. The very good-looking, friendly man helps Holly pick everything up. She is very shy and of course is blushing because she feels very embarrassed and they proceed to have a conversation. The entire conversation she is very nervous and unattached. However, the man still asks her out. “Holly stared after him, confused. Had she said something wrong? Had she taken too long to decide? Had she broken on of the silent rules of this new meeting-people game? She looked down at the hand that had caused him to run away from her and saw her wedding ring sparkle back at her” (Ahern 170). The first time she met him, she was still very uneasy about meeting new people. However, at the end of the story, Holly runs into this same man at the same store where she had a made a fool of herself previously. “Holly stared at him in a daze. Finally she walked over to him, ‘Rob, is there any chance you would like to go for that coffee today? If you can’t, that’s fine…’ She bit her lip” (Ahern 469). This time she meets Rob, she has finally started to realize that her life with Gerry will be different, but that he wants her to be happy and that her meeting new people is not something bad, and that in doing so she is not forgetting him. She is also much more confident in herself with everything she has gone through she was still able to make it this far, and she knew it was time to move on. Unlike the first time when she couldn’t believe he was gone, even though it had been a while.
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