Chapter 2 #2
‘Come in before they see you,’ Mairead whispered as she opened the kitchen door.
‘But they’re meant to see us, remember?’ giggled Sorcha.
‘Yes, of course they are,’ Mairead laughed. ‘I’ve had to pay my brother Johnny not to tell. He’s coming to the concert with some of his friends.’
‘And he won’t say anything?’
‘No. He’s after liking Katherine, so he’ll not tell,’ said Mairead, smiling. ‘Did you bring something to wear?’
‘Yes. My mass dress.’ Sorcha followed Mairead up the stairs to her small bedroom.
‘No! You couldn’t.’
‘I’m teasing. I’ll show you in a minute.’
Katherine was sitting in her underwear on the floor amid heaps of clothing.
‘It’s no good! Everything looks dreadful! I’m going home to spend the night in bed.’
‘Don’t be an eejit!’ scolded Mairead. ‘You look grand in your riding jodhpurs and black sweater. They show off your figure.’
‘I can’t wear my riding breeches to a concert!’ wailed Katherine.
‘Of course you can. You know it said jodhpurs are the new fashion in that magazine Maureen got from her aunt in London.’
Sorcha dumped her bag on the floor. ‘I don’t know why you’re worrying,’ she said. ‘You know how the boys all swoon when you walk past. You don’t even have to try with that lovely long blonde hair and your big blue eyes.’
‘Get along with you,’ said Katherine. ‘You’re the envy of every girl in the class with your red curls and long legs. You’re just as pretty as any of those models in Maureen’s magazine.’
‘When each of you has finished telling the other she should enter a beauty pageant tomorrow, perhaps we can get down to business.’ Mairead raised an eyebrow. ‘Maureen’s late. She said she’d be here by half past four. It’s gone five o’clock now.’
‘She’ll be here,’ said Sorcha, nodding. ‘I saw her in town earlier.’
‘Right. Well.’ Mairead picked up a brush and comb, brandishing them at the girls. ‘Who’s first in my salon?’
An hour and a half later, the transformation was complete. Sorcha surveyed her reflection with wonderment.
‘I can’t believe it’s me.’ She made an exaggerated ‘O’ with her painted scarlet lips.
Her eyelids felt heavy with the false eyelashes her friend had applied.
Sorcha touched her hair, which Mairead had teased into a neat twist, then fastened with kirby grips onto the top of her head.
The old kilt she’d found languishing at the back of her wardrobe had taken well to being shortened seven inches.
She’d altered the side seams so that it hugged her thighs and showed off her long, slim legs.
Katherine was also admiring herself. ‘Mairead, you ought to open your own salon. You’re a genius,’ she smiled.
Mairead shrugged modestly and folded away the picture of the model from the magazine she’d been copying from. ‘It was nothing. Now, it’s time for me. Will you ring Maureen while I’m in the bathroom?’
Sorcha hardly took her eyes off the mirror. ‘If she’s not here in ten minutes, I will.’
‘Grand. Tidy up a little, will you?’
‘We’ll try,’ sighed Katherine, sitting gingerly on the bed so as not to disturb her golden locks, which Mairead had brushed until they shone. ‘You know, I don’t think our mammies would recognise us even if they found where we were tonight.’
‘No. I can only imagine what my daddy would say if he saw my painted face and short skirt.’
‘Do you think it will happen tonight for one of us?’ asked Katherine.
‘What do you mean, “it”?’ asked Sorcha.
‘That we might get kissed.’ Katherine tucked her long legs under herself.
‘Who knows?’
The two girls sat in silence, pondering the enormity of such an event.
There was a knocking from downstairs. Katherine jumped up. ‘That’ll be Maureen. I’ll go let her in.’
Two minutes later, Katherine appeared back in the bedroom with a flushed Maureen.
‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph! I thought I’d never escape. Shane is sick and Mammy made me mind him while she was out. How much time have I got to get ready?’
‘Plenty if we all help you,’ Katherine reassured her.
Half an hour later, the four girls were sitting on the bed nervously contemplating their deception.
Maureen, looking uncomfortable in an emerald-green dress she’d stolen from her mother’s wardrobe, shook her head. ‘I don’t know whether we shouldn’t forget this, make some sandwiches and put our pyjamas on.’
‘Just stop panicking. Here.’ Mairead produced a small bottle of whiskey from under the bed. ‘We all need some courage.’ She took the top off, put the bottle to her lips, threw her head back and drank.
The other girls watched as Mairead’s eyes began to water.
‘Quick, your mascara will run.’ Sorcha offered her a handkerchief.
‘Who’s next?’ Mairead offered the bottle as she dabbed at her eyes.
The three girls looked at each other uncertainly.
‘Jesus, well, you three are full of the spirit of adventure, aren’t you!’ Mairead shook her head and rolled her eyes.
‘Give it here.’ Sorcha grabbed the bottle and took a sip. ‘You next, Katherine.’
Katherine closed her eyes and took a healthy slug. Her eyes shone as she passed the bottle to Maureen. ‘I like it.’
‘Do you now?’ laughed Maureen, taking a swig. She had to be slapped hard on the back as she coughed and spluttered helplessly.
‘Right, are we ready?’ asked Mairead.
The other three nodded solemnly.
‘Then we’ll put on our coats, get on our bicycles and go.’
‘What if we see anyone we know?’ asked Katherine.
‘We wave at them and smile. We’re only out to enjoy an evening bicycle ride.’ Mairead shrugged.
‘What, in the dark?’ giggled Sorcha.
‘Come on, let’s go.’
The four girls filed out of the bedroom.
It was a fifteen-minute cycle ride up to the GAA hall. Breathing a collective sigh of relief that most folks were huddled inside by the fire on this cold January night, the girls hid their bicycles around the back of the hall and went to take their places in the short queue that had formed outside.
‘Give me your money and I’ll pay for all of us,’ said Mairead.
Sorcha turned around and saw a handful of boys studying them appreciatively. She nudged Katherine and winked. Mairead paid for the tickets and the four girls filed into the ladies’ for a quick repair job.
As Sorcha carefully replenished her lipstick, she could hear the band warming up in the hall next door. A shiver of excitement ran through her.
‘You’re growing up at last,’ she whispered to her reflection.
By nine o’clock, the hall was full to bursting.
‘See, they’ve come from other villages. It’s so crowded we’ll never be spotted,’ Mairead reassured the others as they pushed their way over to the bar. ‘Now, what’ll we order?’
‘Lemonade.’
‘Shall I make that four?’
There was a collective nod.
An amplified voice echoed across the crowd. ‘And now, ladies and gentlemen, will you all give a big hand for Con Daly and his band!’
The announcer left the stage. The girls stood on tiptoe to watch as the five members took their places. Con Daly strolled casually forward to the microphone.
‘Evening, all, and a big welcome from me and the boys. We hope you’ll enjoy yourselves. Let’s rock!’
Con turned around, counted his band in, and suddenly the hall was filled with the sound of a rich, deep voice, backed by a languorous guitar rhythm.
The girls stood watching him.
‘You know, I would hardly recognise him. He’s handsome when he cleans himself up, isn’t he?’ whispered Mairead.
‘Now I look at him, he is a fine figure of a man. That black hair and those big blue eyes remind me of Elvis. Don’t you think, Sorcha?’ said Katherine.
Sorcha didn’t answer. She was staring, transfixed, at Con Daly.
‘What a grand voice,’ put in Maureen. ‘It’s as good as anything you hear on the radio.’
‘Sorcha, take your lemonade. Sorcha!’ Mairead nudged her.
‘Yes, sorry.’ Sorcha took the bottle, put the straw in her mouth and sucked without taking her eyes off the stage.
‘Er, I . . . would you be wanting to dance, Katherine O’Mahoney?’
A tall, painfully thin young man with a bad case of acne was standing behind Katherine. They all knew him. He was in the same year as Johnny, Mairead’s brother.
‘Well now, I might want to dance,’ nodded Katherine, turning around, ‘but not with you, Ryan O’Sullivan.’
The girls giggled as Ryan slunk away, his head bowed in embarrassment.
‘Ah, now, you shouldn’t be so cruel,’ admonished Maureen.
‘Maybe I’m waiting for Johnny to come over and ask me,’ smiled Katherine.
The girls found an empty table on one side of the hall and sat down. They watched the band and those who had begun to dance. Sorcha could hardly drag her eyes away from Con Daly.
The group finished a lively number to rapturous applause, and Con spoke gently into the microphone.
‘You’re a grand audience, thank you. Now, we’ll lower the tempo. Take your partners, girls and boys. This is a ballad I wrote as I was looking over the beautiful bay of Ballymore.’
Johnny sidled up to the table.
‘Do you fancy a dance, Katherine?’ he enquired confidently.
Katherine blushed and nodded. She stood up and took Johnny’s outstretched hand.
‘And you, Sorcha, would you have a dance with me?’
It was Angus Hurley, a young man whom Sorcha had known since childhood. His parents ran the cotton factory outside the village.
Sorcha nodded and Angus led her onto the floor. He put his arms loosely round her waist and Sorcha hooked hers over his shoulders. They swayed awkwardly to the music.
‘I’m surprised your parents let your group come tonight,’ he said.
‘They don’t know we’re here. And if you breathe a word, Angus Hurley, none of us will ever speak to you again.’
‘I’ll say nothing, Sorcha, you know I won’t.’
Sorcha put her head back over Angus’s shoulder and watched Con Daly. As she looked at him, his eyes seemed to focus on her. For a good ten seconds the two of them stared at one another. She reluctantly dragged her gaze away.
‘Sorry, Angus. I was miles away. What was it that you were saying?’
‘I . . . well, I was asking you . . . That is, I . . .’ Angus blushed. ‘I was thinking maybe we could go to the flicks in Bandon next week. You . . . you look beautiful this evening, Sorcha. And I’ve always liked you, as I’m sure you know.’
‘It’s kind of you to ask me. Could I think about it and let you know?’
‘Okay,’ Angus nodded.
The ballad finished and Sorcha returned to the table. Maureen was sitting there alone, looking dejected.
‘Where’s Mairead?’
‘Oh, some gorgeous man came and whisked her away. Katherine’s still dancing.’
Sorcha looked to the dance floor and saw her friend’s arms wrapped tightly around Johnny’s neck. She smiled. ‘It’s grand to see those two together after all this time. They’ve liked each other for months.’
‘And what about you and the handsome Angus?’
‘Oh, he asked me to the cinema next week and I said I’d think about it.’
‘You did what? Sorcha, you know very well that Angus is the catch of the town. He’ll have that factory one day and the big house on the hill. Plus, he looks like a film star.’
‘Well now, that’s your taste, Maureen. Personally, I think Con Daly is better looking.’
‘No!’ Maureen baulked. ‘He’s probably not had a bath for months!’
Sorcha rolled her eyes. ‘You’re terrible.’
‘Well, all I can say is that you should be grateful you have a boy who likes you. I don’t know why I bothered coming. Who’d want to dance with me when I’m so fat and ugly?’
Sorcha looked at her best friend’s heart-shaped face, her nose sprinkled with freckles, and the small curls of ginger hair escaping from the pleat Mairead had painstakingly pinned on the back of her head.
‘You’re beautiful, Maureen, so you are,’ Sorcha replied honestly.
‘Then why am I sitting here like a wallflower while everyone else dances?’
‘You won’t be for much longer, I promise. Excuse me, I need to go to the ladies’. Back in a minute.’
Sorcha stood up just as the band announced they were taking a ten-minute break. She headed for Angus, who was standing by the bar at the back of the hall.
‘Angus, I’ll go to the flicks with you next week.’
‘You will?’ He broke into a relieved smile. ‘That’s grand altogether, Sorcha!’
‘On one condition.’
Angus held his hands up. ‘Anything.’
‘That you buy my friend Maureen a lemonade, talk to her for a while, and when the band starts up, you ask her to dance.’
Angus shrugged. ‘All right. I’ll pick you up from your house at seven next Friday. We can go in the new car I’ll be getting for my eighteenth birthday.’
‘Grand. I’ll see you then, as long as you keep your promise.’
‘I’m on my way for the lemonade now.’
Sorcha smiled, then headed in the direction of the ladies’, tucked inside the entrance hall. She stood in front of a small cracked mirror, tidied her hair and replenished her lipstick. She was just coming out of the door when an arm caught her and pulled her outside, causing her to audibly gasp.
‘Hush! I won’t hurt you, I swear.’
She recognised the voice and smelt the pleasant aroma of manly aftershave. An electric tingle fizzed through her as Con Daly’s body pressed close behind hers.
‘Sorcha O’Donovan, I’ve seen you and your friends hanging around the beach from my place and I’ve always thought you were beautiful.
Tonight, you are the loveliest sight I’ve ever seen.
In all honesty, I want to marry you right here and now .
. .’ He swung her round to face him. It was dark but she could see he was grinning widely at her.
‘Or at least, come for a hot drop at my place next week.’ Sorcha stared up into his eyes, words failing her.
‘Will you?’
‘Will, will . . . will I what?’
‘Come to my place next week?’
‘I—’
‘Of course you will. You know where I live?’ She nodded. ‘Then I’ll expect you. Now, come here and kiss me.’
He pulled her gently towards him and planted a small kiss on her lips. Then he took her lightly by the shoulders and stared down at her.
‘Sorcha-porcha.’ He winked. ‘I’ll be waiting for you.’
Sorcha watched as he made his way inside. She leant against a wall, breathing heavily. Her legs felt like cotton wool and her head was spinning.
Con Daly was no better than a tinker living in his shack on the beach. Before tonight she would have probably crossed the street to avoid him, and never would have dreamt that she’d accept his physical affection . . .
Sorcha blessed herself and asked God to forgive her – not only for the kiss, but because she had enjoyed every moment of it.
Would she go to see him next week?
Sorcha pushed herself away from the wall as the band began to play.
Walking inside, she observed Angus dancing with Maureen, Katherine smooching Johnny and Mairead being held very close by a boy she’d never seen before.
Then she looked up to the stage.
He smiled at her.
She knew something had begun tonight that could change her life completely.