Where Old Ghosts Meet - Kate Evans [70]
“Maybe it’s time you learned about things like that,” she said with a firm but gentle air of finality.
“There’s always Pat,” he began.
“I’m asking you,Matt.” With that she rose from the chair and left him to make his decision.
“It was the end of the line for me, Nora. I had to look out for myself and if he wasn’t prepared to help me, then that was it. He could take off if he wanted. I didn’t care no more.”
A loud knock on the door made them both jump. A voice called out, “Anybody home?” Gerry Quinlan stood in the doorway of the kitchen. It was then Nora realized that the sun had disappeared altogether and that they were sitting in the semi-darkness, oblivious to the world outside.
“Not a stir in the house,” he said, “and the two of you sittin’ in the dark.” He took the chair at the other end of the table. “Is this Irish woman leading you astray by any chance?”
“More like me leadin’ her astray. My Lord, what time is it at all? It’s almost dark.”
He glanced at his watch. “Going for nine o’clock.”
“Imagine, the day slipped away and we never noticed. Sit down, Gerry. Fetch yourself a glass and we’ll have a drink.”
“I thought you’d both be above to the supper and dance tonight.”
“My blessed Lord, I forgot all about it and I’m supposed to take a plate tart for the supper. You go on, Nora girl, you’ll enjoy the dance. Gerry will take you along. Won’t you, Gerry?”
“Not without you. We don’t want tongues waggin’ now, do we?” He winked at Nora.
“Go on with you now, you knows I’m too old for that racket.” She scratched her head aggressively as if to shake it clear of such nonsense.
“Maybe you are, but now Aunt Josie Nash from St. Brides is above and is askin’ about you, and Treese is about too.”
Peg thought for a moment. “Well, all right. Maybe I’ll stir myself. This time next year I might be pushin’ up clover to the churchyard and then I’ll be right poisoned with myself.”
18
The doors to the church hall were wide open and held in place by a couple of chairs wedged tightly beneath the handles. Outside, the night air was cool and inviting, but inside, it was suffocating with the smell of overheated bodies and leftover food. Everyone seemed to be on the move, the women hurrying to and fro, carrying stacks of dishes, laughing and calling out to each other as they went. The men, their stomachs full, were heading outdoors, some lighting up as they went.
To Nora, it looked like total chaos but nobody seemed bothered. The crowd was in high spirits, all dolled up and ready for a good time. There were a few familiar faces around, people she vaguely recognized from earlier on in the day, but no one spoke to her nor could she see anyone she knew by name, but the odd nod from a friendly face made her feel better. A young girl standing off to one side looked her over carefully but a smile from Nora sent her fleeing for the door. Nora looked around for Gerry. The last she had seen of him, he was making his way across the hall with Peg by the arm to where Treese sat by an open window with another woman. Along the far wall there were long tables spread with white paper cloths and strewn with the messy scraps from a meal. Chairs had been pushed aside or tipped over. A vigorous clean-up was underway. She decided to move closer to the small stage at the front of the hall where an elderly fiddler sat knee to knee with a young woman who had just slipped the straps of an accordion over her shoulders. Oblivious to the racket all around them, they began to play softly, dipping and swaying into the music, coaxing their instruments to find the tunes that would see them through the night.
“You had your supper, m’love?” A large woman with a frizz of mousey hair and kindly eyes stopped as she went by with a stack of plates. “There’s all kinds out back.”
“Thank you, I’ve eaten.”
“Okay, m’love.” A nod and she was gone.
Over the tops of heads Nora could see Peg settled in her spot. She was in deep conversation with the women. There was no sign of Gerry. A long loud drone from the accordion gave the signal