Come Away With Me

by Maddie Please

  ‘And so, ladies and gentlemen, Paula and I are delighted to welcome you to our World of Dance.’

  Peter span and twirled Paula around in front of him and she smiled as though only gelignite would stop her.

  ‘Dance is our life, ladies and gentlemen. We met through dance; we love to dance. We can think of no better exercise or hobby. You can dance in anything, anywhere. In leisure suits and T-shirts. In slacks and sweaters.’ Peter’s eyes glinted with something akin to frenzy as Paula carried on pirouetting. He gestured with one hand to the young men lined up against the wall. ‘Some of the crew are here to assist if there are ladies without partners. All of them are competent dancers – you need have no fear. Dance, ladies and gentlemen, dance for pleasure and health!’

  ‘He’s freaking me out,’ India muttered. ‘Is he on something?’

  ‘Now who’s being grumpy? They’re just filled with the Joy of Dance!’ I said. India trod on my foot making me yelp.

  ‘Ah, a volunteer!’ Peter said, holding out a hand towards me.

  ‘Oh, thanks so much,’ I muttered to my sister out of the corner of my mouth.

  I stepped forward to take Peter’s outstretched hand and he tried to whirl me round, but unfortunately I didn’t spin as well as Paula in her satin dance shoes. The rubber soles of my trainers stuck to the floor and I ricocheted off on to the bunions of a stout Army veteran, baseball cap jammed over his eyes and standing a little too close to the action.

  ‘Hey, lady, watch it!’ he grumbled, hobbling out of my way.

  ‘Sorry,’ I gasped.

  Peter grabbed me and held me in a rigid dance hold, one hand flat against my back, the other holding my hand up above shoulder height. I hoped I wasn’t too sweaty.

  ‘This is the basic frame. I want you all to find yourself a partner and copy us. Paula will help you.’

  It was really weird standing with everyone watching us, in close proximity to a man I’d never laid eyes on before. It felt oddly intimate and yet at the same time Peter was ignoring me, shouting instructions over my head to the others. I wondered if he could feel any rolls of fat escaping from under my bra and I took a deep breath and tried to stand up properly. I bet Paula didn’t have a spare ounce of flab.

  I sneaked a look up his aquiline nose.

  India had been paired up with one of the other men in the room who looked oddly familiar. Someone in crisp chinos and a clean white shirt with his blond hair smoothed down into some sort of order. It was Liam.

  I sent India a questioning look and she grinned and shrugged.

  ‘And so. Listen to the music; the waltz is the easiest of all the ballroom dances. Just listen to that lovely beat. And one two three, one two three. Make that box, make that box.’

  Peter shoved me back in a rigid line, his knees clashing against mine. I tried to follow him, make myself dip and sway like he did. I must have looked like a sack of spuds as we moved across the floor, close to the open doors at the end of the room.

  Peter suddenly saw something that irritated him enough to let go of me and I trotted on alone for a few moments, hopping from foot to foot with the vector force Peter had left behind.

  Suddenly Paula appeared and thrust me towards a spare man. I looked up, completely red in the face, and gasped; it was Gabriel, looking as flustered as I was.

  ‘Making new friends? You might not be the right height, but you should be fine to waltz. Come now, no time to waste, join in.’

  Paula wove off, luminous in her orange outfit, adjusting an arm here, an elbow there; flashing around the dance floor like Donald Trump in a frock.

  Gabriel was struggling not to laugh and I could feel my red face heading towards beetroot.

  ‘I’m sorry about this,’ I said, feeling a complete fool. It would have been one thing if Gabriel had sought me out, but quite another for me to be foisted on him. I mean, look at him – all six gorgeous feet of him …

  ‘Why?’ He chuckled as we tried to follow the steps together. ‘I’ve been up for hours trying to get through some new work, and then I thought, sod it. So I came to see what all the fuss was about – not that I anticipated this though.’

  I blushed furiously and was looking around for my sister when Gabriel suddenly turned us around and I found myself glancing back up at him. Gosh, he was pretty incredible to look at.

  And that was when I realised that while I couldn’t waltz, he could. Gabriel steered me out from the central maelstrom and into the calmer waters where we could make the box. I fixed my eyes on his grey sweater and tried to count. I wondered where my feet were in relation to his. It would be too embarrassing if I trod all over him.

  ‘Don’t look down,’ Gabriel said, laughter in his voice. ‘Look at me.’

  Now we all know how hard it is to look at someone when you fancy them but don’t actually know them that well. He was certainly over six feet tall to my five feet four, and in the end I fixed my eyes on his chin and wondered if I had in fact died and gone to heaven. It might have been an accident that we ended up dancing together, but oh my, he even smelled wonderful, of warm wool and expensive aftershave. We moved around the room to the rather cheesy music – I think it was Engelbert Humperdinck at one point – and suddenly I realised I was actually waltzing. Well, I hadn’t seen that coming!

  I looked around to find India so I could make a funny face at her and share my triumph. She was still with Liam. They stood looking at each other’s feet and giggling. I thought Peter had assured us the male staff could dance? There seemed to be a lot of silliness going on over there.

  ‘I didn’t have you down as a dancer,’ I said at last.

  ‘No? Why ever not? I love dancing,’ Gabriel said, edging me expertly over to an empty part of the dance floor. I was beginning to enjoy myself. Now was that because of the dance or the partner?

  ‘You seem far too serious. I didn’t think this would be your sort of thing at all.’

  ‘Well, you did say you’d be here,’ Gabriel said.

  I felt rather giddy at this point and bit my lower lip to stop myself squeaking my delight.

  He was here because he knew I was going to be here too?

  Really? I didn’t think I’d ever been so flattered in my life. Not to mention thrilled and astonished. But maybe he was just saying it? I tried to tamp down my excitement.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, sneaking a glance. He was looking down at me, a smile on his lips. He seemed pretty sincere.

  ‘Wait till we get to the Argentine tango,’ he said, a chuckle in his voice.

  ‘That’s not going to happen any time soon,’ I said firmly. ‘I’ve seen Strictly.’

  He laughed.

  For a moment I tried to imagine myself in a scarlet beret and tight black satin dress, split up to my knickers. I’d have a cigarette drooping from one lip and one high-heeled foot on a chair as I tried to be a sultry gaucho chick.

  ‘The opportunity to do you serious damage with a load of unguarded ganchos and kicks would be frightening.’

  ‘Perhaps we could attempt the Charleston?’

  ‘Well, I could do the funny faces and falling over I expect.’

  He laughed again. ‘I bet you could too! It’s almost worth trying.’

  Over on the other side of the room, India was at least dancing now, not fooling around laughing with Liam. In fact, as they swept past, they seemed to be doing rather well.

  ‘Having fun?’ India yelled over the noise of many shuffling feet and Vera Lynn and ‘The Anniversary Waltz’. ‘You naughty thing!’

  ‘I don’t think your sister approves,’ Gabriel said after a few moments.

  ‘Approves of what? Of me? I stopped caring what India thought years ago,’ I said, wishing it was true.

  ‘What are you doing after this?’ Gabriel asked. Was it my imagination or had he slowed down a bit.

  ‘Towel folding,’ I said.

  ‘You’re joking?’

  ‘No. Haven’t you got back to the cabin to find a couple of towel swans on t
he bed?’

  ‘Well, yes, but it doesn’t mean I want to do the same back home!’

  ‘Wouldn’t your wife be impressed?’

  Clumsy or what? I’d seen him hanging around with Marnie and, to be honest, there was no evidence anything was really going on. But maybe that was because he had a wife at home … or a girlfriend. I really didn’t like to think he could be a cheater too … not after Ryan the Bastard.

  ‘Possibly,’ he said, and my heart plunged. ‘If I still had a wife.’

  If I still had a wife. So there had been one at some point.

  Peter and Paula were now dancing in the middle of the whirling couples, showing how it should be done and shouting advice. At that moment there was also a public announcement about someone who had missed the lifeboat drill and Peter had to shout to make himself heard over that as well as Elvis and ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’

  ‘My right hand here, you see? Hand flat against the lady’s shoulder blade,’ he bellowed.

  Everyone was gradually slowing to watch until only Peter and Paula were dancing. They ended with a triumphant flare of Paula’s skirts and an extravagant wave of one arm as Peter dipped her backwards. We all applauded.

  ‘So, next time we will be doing the quickstep,’ Peter said. ‘We hope to see you all here. Paula and I will be giving an exhibition of the American Smooth this evening before the dancing.’

  ‘Well, we can’t miss that,’ Gabriel murmured, and I swear my insides sort of flipped over. His arm was still around me and the feel of him was making me light-headed. I didn’t understand; I barely knew the man and already my stomach was doing cartwheels.

  India was pushing her way through the crowd towards me, Liam hot on her heels.

  ‘Liam says he can get a pass for me to go on the bridge,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you at the towel folding?’

  ‘Yes, fine,’ I said, a bit startled for a moment.

  I watched as she hurried out after Liam, snaking their way through the group of Army veterans who were blocking the doorway and talking about their time in Germany when Elvis was there. I wondered what to do. Should I follow her? Should I go back to our cabin? Go to the bar?

  Gabriel ran a hand through his hair.

  ‘Fancy grabbing a drink?’

  ‘Would I? You bet,’ I said. Spending time with the unmarried Gabriel Frost wasn’t something I was going to miss. ‘If you’re sure?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t,’ he said with a grin.

  Was this actually happening? Men didn’t generally ask me out in daylight or when they were sober.

  I followed him to a small, informal wine bar, yet another place I’d not found before. It was on the top deck with a wonderful view over the stern of the boat. There were just a dozen or so tables with blue leather chairs and crisp white napkins.

  We were shown to a fantastic seat overlooking the sea, where I could watch the wake of the ship swooping away in a continuous foam-topped wave many feet below us. The sky was a dull grey with the threat of rain in the clouds. I could see another huge cruise ship far out to sea, heading in the other direction. I expected it was filled with tourists like us, enjoying their journey back from Halifax, eating too much, going to talks about the Titanic.

  Don’t mention Marnie, I thought, repeating it to myself like a mantra.

  I would not spoil the moment by asking where she was.

  I wouldn’t even talk about her lecture.

  Don’t mention Marnie.

  Don’t even think about her, or her next talk, or ask what he was to her.

  Or what she was to him.

  Talk about something else.

  Don’t mention Marnie.

  The waiter pulled out my chair and I sat down.

  ‘So, how is Marnie?’ I said.

  Doh.

  Gabriel shrugged. ‘I think she’ll be okay.’

  ‘She’s enjoying the trip?’

  ‘She does a lot of these things – it’s a passion of hers. Ships and cruises.’

  ‘Lovely. And her husband? Doesn’t he ever join her?’

  Oh, for heaven’s sake, woman. Shut up!

  Gabriel didn’t reply but handed me a menu card. Behind him the waiter stood, pen poised.

  ‘What shall we have? What do you fancy?’

  Well now, there’s a question.

  What do I fancy?

  All sorts of rude thoughts whirled round my head. I said the first thing I saw on the menu.

  ‘Just a glass of red wine. And some olives. Please.’

  ‘Good choice. I’ll have the same.’

  Gabriel handed back the menus and poured me some iced water from the jug on the table.

  ‘So now then, towel folding? Tell me about that?’

  I laughed. ‘Don’t you think it would be fun?’

  ‘I suppose so. I’ve not thought about it.’

  ‘Well, come along then, join in.’

  The waiter arrived with our drinks and there was a bit of napkin flourishing and bowing before we could carry on the conversation.

  ‘So why don’t you?’ I said.

  Gabriel hesitated. ‘I have work to do.’

  ‘Yes, what is this work that keeps you so busy?’ I said, suddenly bold.

  ‘Oh, just paperwork.’

  ‘So are you a writer?’

  ‘Well, yes and no.’

  I frowned. ‘Fiction or non-fiction?’

  Gabriel tilted his head and his eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘Now that’s a very good question!’

  ‘Huh?’

  He laughed. ‘Sorry, Alexa, I’m teasing you. I’m trying to make it sound more interesting than it really is. I’ve been working as part of Marnie’s team for a few months. I’m doing some of her legal work. She has a lot of different areas where she needs to protect her interests. Books, magazines, interviews, this trip. And … well, never mind.’

  Ah, a lawyer. I couldn’t think what to say. I mean it wasn’t as though he was going to start discussing juicy cases he’d known or naming people he’d successfully sued.

  ‘You sound a bit American,’ I said instead, steering the conversation wonderfully again. Really, I was getting into this flirting business for once.

  ‘No, I was born in England, but my mother is married to an American. I spent a week with her here at their house in Maine before this trip. It’s a beautiful state. And you? You’re enjoying a break from work?’

  I nodded my head. ‘Oh yes, but I enjoy work too. I always knew I would follow in my dad’s footsteps. He took over my grandfather’s company and, well, from the moment I left school – even before then – I helped him in the office.’

  I tailed off. No one, not even Ryan at the beginning, had asked me about work. But Gabriel nodded his head, encouraging me to continue.

  ‘That moment when you know you’ve helped a couple or family find their perfect home. You can’t beat it. That place they’ve been searching for. Perhaps wondering if they can afford it or whether they’ll sell their own house in time. It’s nice to be part of their journey. The young couple starting out, the retired lady wanting somewhere easier to manage, the couple expecting their second baby. They’re all different but they all want the same thing. Somewhere to call home.’

  ‘You make it sound very rewarding, and you’re so enthusiastic. I love that.’ Gabriel had a look on his face I didn’t really recognise.

  I was surprised at myself. I never really talked about work like that to anyone. To everyone else I just pretended it was any old job, nothing important … but really, well, I did kind of love it.

  ‘What else do you do? Do you write?’

  I laughed. ‘No, despite what India said, I’m not in any way cut out for that.’

  ‘So what do you do in your spare time?’

  I took a sip of my wine to avoid answering. Let’s be honest, these days I had a lot of spare time. The longer I thought about it the more I realised I couldn’t think of a sensible answer. I also realised I had a bi
t of olive stuck between my front teeth, which was of course elegant and attractive in the extreme.

  I didn’t have a husband or family to look after. I didn’t even have a home of my own to decorate or tweak. There wasn’t much need to fold towels into swans at the moment.

  ‘I read, I cook.’

  Well, that might have been stretching the truth just a bit. I used to cook when Karen and I were sharing a flat and we had a proper kitchen with an oven and induction hob and actual cupboards and worktops. Now I was living at the end of my parents’ garden in the granny annexe, I had what might politely be called a kitchenette. And who bothered actually cooking for one anyway? Plus, going out with ‘friends’ was an old memory. Most of my friends had kind of disappeared off the radar now they were married and had kids. I couldn’t remember the last time I met up with any of them – there was always something they were rushing off to. I shook my head, to brush away the creeping feeling of failure. Still, there was one area where I was a success.

  ‘What I’d really like to do is expand the business,’ I said, voicing something I hadn’t mentioned to anyone. ‘We get a lot of enquiries about smallholdings and places people can keep chickens or live the good life. I’d like to start a department just handling those things.’

  ‘That sounds fascinating. People really want to do that?’

  ‘Oh yes. They have plans to buy somewhere big enough to keep a few sheep or goats. Perhaps a rescue donkey. It’s all good stuff and very well intentioned. I do wonder sometimes if they really know what they would be taking on. Perhaps we could advise on that too?’ I added thoughtfully.

  ‘And planning the wedding,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, the wedding,’ I said.

  I looked out at the waves and thought about the wedding. There was still a lot to do, stuff that, as bridesmaid, I should be sorting out. I gave a heavy sigh.