Word: Brogue

       

Definitions for brogue

1. an Irish accent in the pronunciation of English.
2. any strong regional accent.

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        Ashley drummed her fingers against the thin metal table.  The day had been a total bust so far.  Nothing but guys who didn’t know how to get a date any other way.  Some of them she actually felt a bit sorry for.  Not enough to give her info to, but still.  She would, at the very least, respond to them if she saw them on the street at some point in the future.  She thought that was something, even if they didn’t.

                The next guy who came and sat at the table looked promising though.  Well maintained face, and looked like he knew his way around a gym.  Not the best looking guy she had ever seen, but certainly the best so far that night.  As soon as he sat down, they got started.

                “Hello, there miss.”  He said with a thick Irish accent.  It was easy to guess what part of the world he was from.  Ashley hid her disappointment.  She didn’t have anything against the Irish per say, it was just that she didn’t really like their accent.  She would’ve loved a nice French or Italian man, but Irish was not her favorite.  Still, it wasn’t the worst either, so she could deal with it.  “Name’s Peter.”  He continued. 

                “Ashley.”  She replied. 

                “Pleasure to meet you miss.”  He said.

                “Same.”  She said.  She was still debating that, but it didn’t hurt to at least be polite.

                “So, where’re you from?”  He asked. 

                “Here” She said simply.  “I actually live a few blocks from here.”

                “Must be convenient.”  Peter said.

                “You have no idea.”  She said.  It was the truth, really.  In fact, her apartment was located very near the middle of the city, so she could get just about anywhere on foot without much trouble.  “I don’t need to guess where you come from.”

                “Ah, yeah, guess it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?  Although if you’re about to ask how Dublin is, I couldn’t tell ya.  I’m from Galway.”

                “Oh, uh.”

                “Pretty much complete opposite side of the country, if you were wondering.”  Peter said.  That didn’t help as much as it probably should have, but she went with it.

                “Ah.  That’s nice.”  She said.

                “Oh, don’t worry about it.  Can’t really blame ya for not knowing about it.  Truth be told, it works the same for me.  I probably wouldn’t know any American cities other than the big ones myself.  I’ve found that’s how it is in most of the world.”

                “Oh.  I, uh, I guess that means you travel a lot?”

                “I wouldn’t call myself well traveled, but I’ve been a few places.  Just looking to find where I want to settle down mostly.  How about you?  You ever been abroad?”

                “Not really.  The farthest I’ve ever been outside the US is Canada, and that was for a middle school field trip.”

                “Ah.  That’s a shame, that is.  There’s lots f nice things to see in the world.  You should take a trip some time.”

                “Yeah, I know.  But it’s so expensive to travel like that.  My job barely pays enough for rent, student loans, food, and all that stuff.  I can’t really afford to travel right now.”

                “That’s too bad.  Maybe someday in the future when you’ve got a bit more money it your name.”

                “That would be nice, sure.  But for now, I’m just trying to do what I can.”

                “Aren’t we all?  Speaking of, why’re you here?”

                “Huh?”

                “Why go speed dating?  A pretty lady like you should have your pick of the gents.  I’m here because I don’t know any of the best places.  But you shouldn’t have that problem.  So why here?”

                Ashley actually had to think about that one.  She had mostly done it on a whim without a real solid reason.  She debated just saying that, but figured it sounded kind of silly.

                “I’ve just had some bad dates that came out of the usual methods.  I thought I’d try something new.”  It wasn’t a total lie.  It wasn’t exactly true either, but still.

                “I see.  And have you met any good fellas yet?”

                “Not really.  So far nobody’s been really terrible, but just none I’m interested in.  How about you?  Why are you here?”

                “To meet people, of course.  I’m actually not looking for a girlfriend right now.  I mean, I wouldn’t say no to one either, but I’m not looking hard.  This is mostly just to meet people while I’m learning to area.”

                “Huh.”  That wasn’t quite the reason she thought he’d give.  But at least it seemed honest enough.  “You know, there’s lots of places that are better for that than here.”

                “I’m sure there are, but I don’t know them yet.  Maybe you could show me some later on.”

                “Maybe.  We’ll see what happens.” 

                “Sounds good to me.  Now then…”  Peter’s question was interrupted by the host ringing the bell.  “Well then, time to move on I guess.  Maybe I’ll see you later?”

                “Mm hm.”  Ashley said as Peter stood to move to the next table.  She just wondered if she had been talking into a date with him.  She hadn’t actually agreed to anything, but she had implied it pretty strongly.  Well, either way, he seemed nice enough, and was fairly good looking, so she could deal with it.  Even with the accent.    

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I've never been speed dating before.  I don't think it's my thing.  I usually need some time to think of things to say, so the limited time that kind of event has is too restrictive for me.  I'm sure it works wonders for others though.