Barry kept me from running yesterday. Which is ironic, since he`s a runner himself.
In fact he`s a former runner who has rediscovered the joys of running, as so many of us have in mid-life.
I caught up with Barry first, last Wednesday and he brought me back to my earlier days in running, those tentative first steps when I wavered between quitting and believing I could do it. Unlike me though, the younger Barry was a star athlete in his running club, and it hasn`t taken too long for that talent to come to the fore again.
I found myself with him again while standing at the check out in Lidl. Honestly, I was glad of his company in that darned long queue and thrilled to make the acquaintance with his two daughters. In those few minutes, I caught up on another little piece of my friend`s life and, while the running is going well, it seems so many other things are not.
Oh, it`s the usual mix from mid-life-marital woes, job instability and dealing with the shock of everything that seemed stable and familiar, suddenly being ripped from your life. But the girls certainly seem fine. They`re oblivious to all that troubles their parents, they`re full of hopes and dreams, and Barry is aiming to keep it that way.
Naturally, there wasn`t a whole lot Barry could divulge in the shopping queue. And anyway, this is Smalltown, Ireland so I was kinda conscious of what my fellow shoppers were thinking as I stood there maybe a looking a little too intently at Barry. I have the sort of face you can read like a book and anyone could have noticed that I am getting rather too fond of him.
Oh, he has a wife. Lara. She is lovely, and I wouldn`t dream of interfering with anything like that. I am not that sort of woman. Barry is more a friend, than anything else. He just makes me laugh, that`s all. Don`t we all need that kind of lightheartedness in our lives?
Of course I should have gone for a run last night. I know Barry would have no matter what was happening in his life. But yesterday was a day of one thing and another and before I could help myself I was lying in bed with Barry.
Honestly, I don`t know how he`s going to figure his way of this muddle. And somehow, I am getting sucked into the whole thing myself. And of course, twit that I am, I didn`t even notice until Teen Son barged into the bedroom.
“Gosh, Mum, you`re glued to that Kindle App these. What`s the book?”
“Barry”
“Barry” by Roy McCarthy. Kindle edition is available here (US) and here (UK).
Or read more about it on Roy McCarthy`s blog here.
I like the sound of virtual Barry !! But next time switch the Kindle off and run it’ll be there when you get back !
Barry downloaded, but ssh don’t tell hubby, hope he’s as good as you say or I will be coming to you for that download fee!
Hey, my taste in men may not be the same as yours and that`s okay, because, really, I`d rather not share 😉
PHEW! I wasn’t sure what was coming at the end of that! Well done!
Ah, thanks. It was fun writing it. And there isn`t a word of a lie in it! 🙂
This made me laugh…at the end anyway 🙂
Yep, Barry is such a fun guy! 🙂
🙂
You had me too… I love how you write! I’m going to have to have a read of Barry 🙂
The whole ebook thing is a bit of fun too. I`ve the kindle app on my phone and just one click with Amazon sends me these really fun,good value reads.
Ha ha, very, very good RH 🙂 Barry was my very first MC and I’m quite fond of him. I hope you enjoy how the story unfolds, with a bit of an Irish twist in there. Thank you for the plug.
Oh, I love it. And am learning lots about running to boot. Think Lara is a bit too cool and not really Barry`s type. But I would say that, wouldn`t I? 😉
Well you had me there! Totally fell for it. I shall go and investigate it now – sounds good! 🙂 I just had to re-read your piece again, to work out how you’d caught me out.
There`s not a word of lie in it anywhere! 😉
This is a lovely and unusual review of Roy’s book – I bet he’ll be dead chuffed!
Honestly, Barry got me out of a blogpost tight spot. I had a post lined up that I simply couldn`t get finished.It just didn`t flow. And then Barry became, well, my blog post knight in shining armour!
Ha Ha Very funny ! Thanks for an early morning laugh – must check this guy out soon!
Roy has a fondness for history, and for Ireland, so I know you`ll love his blog.
I follow his blog and am looking forward to being enchanted by Barry in a couple of weeks when I can access my sister’s Kindle 🙂 . Unfortunately I wont be able to test his magnetic personality in Lidl as I will be out of the country but I will look for a suitable location to see if he can distract me to the same extent as he did you!
Twists upon twists… well told! 😉
Thank you! It`s all true, you know.
Barry is a lucky fellow… 😉