Kitty

Moving Home

Moving Home

Kitty towel-dried her hair and pulled a soft navy V-necked jersey over her shirt. She felt fully refreshed after her shower and flicked on the radio before gathering the pile of leaflets and newspapers by the side of the bed. She decided to sort them into the trash or the recycling, part of her great clean-up, pack-up day. She smiled as the strains of Fat Larry’s Band ‘Zoom’ wafted from the speaker, taking her back to the summer of 1983 and the night of the leavers’ ball. As a fifth former, Kitty was not allowed to attend, no matter that her boyfriend was inside the main hall where laughter and music floated from the open windows. She had crawled along the garden wall to avoid detection and now sat beneath the window with her ear cocked, trying to hear any clues that might help her understand what was going on inside. She pictured Angus looking fine in his dinner jacket and the swarm of sparkly blonde girls gathered around him, all trying to usurp her. She hated the insecurity that plagued her. After all, if she found it hard to cope with him attending the leavers’ ball without her, how on earth would she cope when he took up his place at Birmingham University?

‘Kitty?’

She spun around to see Theo, standing on the path with his hands in his pockets.

‘What are you doing here, Theo?’ she whispered, wary of giving away her position.

‘What am I doing?’ he laughed. ‘I have snuck out and I’m going for a walk and it’s not me who is hiding in the shadows beneath the window. Do you want me to give you a leg up so you can see inside?’ He nodded towards the high window.

‘No! Shhhh! Stop talking so loudly, if we get discovered we are in so much trouble.’

Theo crossed the grass and slunk down by her side. ‘Are you spying on Angus?’

‘Trying to.’ She confessed. As ‘Zoom’ seemed to rise in volume, wrapping them in a sweet cocoon.

Theo turned to face her. ‘You know, Kitty, you really have nothing to worry about. Angus I am sure knows that he is very lucky to have you and he would be crazy to do anything to jeopardise that.’

‘Thank you for saying that, Sweet Theo.’ She ran her fingertips over his arm and felt him tremble beneath her touch. He jumped up as if scalded and straightened his blazer. ‘We should dance!’ he proclaimed.

Laughing at this uncharacteristic display of confidence, Kitty stood and put her hand inside his, as he placed his other hand on her waist. The two waltzed inexpertly with clumsy steps along the path. Kitty laughed, dizzy in the moment of abandonment and quite giddy at the sensation of joy that filled her up and there they twirled, in the dark, on the path with Fat Larry booming out into the night air.

‘So long ago.’ Kitty sighed at how quickly the years had been erased.