The train to Adamstown was long, it seemed to take at least a week in Scarlett’s mind when it was really only a days worth of traveling. But, when the train finally stopped in Adamstown, Scarlett was overwhelmed with joy!
Colum had told Scarlett that she was going to stay with Andrew and Martha’s daughter, Maureen. Maureen was married to Henry and they had eight children, most of which lived in the house. “It’s a fine house and I think you will enjoy staying there,” Colum had told her. But, it was actually seeing Maureen and henry that made this dream become reality.
Adamstown was a small town, but it was a very busy town, filled with Irish superstitions and legends that have lasted for hundreds of years. Scarlett loved it. Her first impression of the town was that it looked like something from a fairy-tale, filled with the small cottages that Scarlett had imagined only existed in those fairy-tales.
“Who’s that waving at us Colum?” Scarlett asked as she waited for her luggage to be unloaded.
“Why that’s Maureen and Henry?”
“Colum,” Maureen said coming over. “we are so glad to see you and this must be cousin Scarlett, come all the way from America to see us. I’m your cousin Maureen and this is my husband Henry.” Maureen was tall and rather chubby with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun and fastened with only a few hairpins. Henry was tall and commanding, but he had comforting blue eyes. He had a brown beard, neatly trimmed and he was wearing working clothes.
“Hello,” he said before gesturing to the wagon.
“All the children wanted to come, but the wagon wouldn’t hold all of us so I left Sean, that’s the oldest, in charge while Henry and I went to pick you up.”
As it turned out, Maureen and Henry lived right outside of town, in a brown cottage that reminded Scarlett of ones she had seen in picture books when she was little. It was just the perfect house for the family, and from the moment that you set foot inside you could tell that a large irish family lived there. With all of the children in the house, every one running to the door the moment they heard it open, Maureen and Scarlett were completely overwhelmed with greetings. But Scarlett still managed a quick peek around before she was pulled into the other room. Everything in the house was very simple, and very worn out. From the floors which had so many scratches on the wood from family gatherings, to the blankets on Scarlett's bed that were faded from so much wear. It was quite a change from the upper-class fashionably expensive decorations that adorned her house in Atlanta, but in Scarlett's opinion it was a change for the better. For once, she was tired of living the rich life, she was ready to see the other side of things, and now she had the chance.
After settling down in her room, Scarlett went downstairs to officially meet the people that would later become her best friends in Ireland. Sean was the oldest of the eight at twenty years old, just as Maureen had said. He was extremely tall and looked almost exactly like his father except that he didn’t have a beard. Sean was married to Cathy, a very pretty brunette with beautiful blue eyes, who was pregnant with her first child.
“Scarlett,” said Cathy after dinner that evening “I want for us to become great friends while you are here with us. We have all been very excited, ever since we heard you were coming. We’ve never seen anyone from America except those merchants, and we want for you to tell us all about America!”
“Well...” Scarlett began. Before she knew it, it was time for Cathy and Sean to go home. But, Cathy begged Scarlett to come and see her the next day, and after many promises, Scarlett finally went to her bedroom and went to bed.