Page 46 of On The Edge

Cat was very impressed. Andrew looked smart, strong, and was clearly already very fond of Jess. He smiled at Cat, and asked her if she wanted to dance.

“Take your partners for the Gay Gordons!” announced the fiddler and plunged immediately into playing a fast-paced jig.

Cat agreed, and left a smiling Jess to her top-up. The dance was simple, and Andrew guided her with strong hands, so that it was impossible for her to get the steps wrong. The beat became quicker and quicker, and Cat lost herself in the movement. Then as abruptly as it had begun, the dance came to a trumpeting end. Everyone applauded, and scrambled to find their drinks as the musicians drank away their sweat, and chatted amongst themselves once again.

“Great, eh?” said Andrew, breathlessly. “You’re a good dancer!”

“Yes!” Cat, exhausted from the dance, could hardly form words through her dry lips. “I need a drink though!”

Before they made their way back, Andrew asked if Jess was single. Cat was thrilled for her friend, and confirmed that she was. Cat had hoped that Jess would find someone special. Maybe, just maybe this was him? Before Cat could grasp her drink, she was approached by a younger man who looked a little nervous.

“Would you like to dance?” With his open, earnest baby-face, Cat put him at about eighteen, and was flattered.

“Yes, why not!” She fanned her face, trying to recover from the previous dance, ready to launch into another. This one was different, still with a deal of twirling, but with variations involving kicks and a burst of graceful hopping. Cat laughed as she missed a few steps, trying to keep up both with the music and her partner. She loved the movement and the strength of the steps; they made her feel so alive, like her stint swimming in the sea earlier that month. Her partner spun her around one last time, and the music stopped suddenly, and everyone clapped again. The fiddler started playing on his own, a much slower waltz to which Cat was about to start gliding with her partner, until a cough came from behind them.

“May I interrupt?” Patrick smiled, and looked down at them both.

“We’re just about to dance!” the boy said “Go find your own partner Paddy!”

“Come on now, Archie!” laughed Patrick, “you know I’m only good at the slow dances and there’s lots of girls lined up by the wall over there just waiting for you to ask them!”

The boy looked at Cat, then at Patrick, considering his prospects for a few moments. “OK then,” he finished reluctantly, handing his partner over without any more complaint, heading quickly in the direction of the waiting girls. Patrick took Cat’s hand in his and held her against him, leading her further onto the floor. The guitar and accordion joined in to bring the sweet sad song echoing out over the dim, crowded floor. Cat was now so close to Patrick, that she could hear him humming along to the music under his breath, and smell a warm, woody musk on his clothing.

“You know this dance?” he asked gently in her ear, making her body stand to attention.

“No, of course not!” she laughed. “Can't you tell? I’m stepping on your feet!”

“I hadn’t noticed...” he muttered in sarcastic tones.

Cat pinched him on the shoulder.

“Oi!”

“Well I’m trying my hardest!” she defended. “And it’s not getting any easier, with the drinks I’ve had!”

He laughed and held onto her tightly as they moved to the notes of the swaying fiddler. Cat was now so totally confused of what there was between her and Patrick, her mind seemed to be on pause, hearing only the music, and feeling Patrick's hand on the small of her back. She looked over to Jess, who was sitting in deep conversation with Andrew.

“You look very pretty tonight,” Patrick offered with an awkward air, making Cat unsure of what to say.

“Oh, erm thanks?” Cat looked down at her attire. “I actually didn’t plan on coming out...”

“What made you?”

“Or who made me?” Cat laughed, “That wee blonde over there who’s now getting chatted up!” Patrick followed her gaze to see the couple giggling, then all of a sudden kissing enthusiastically before the entire room.

“I call that shifting!” Patrick nodded with a glint in his eye.

“Eh?” Cat couldn’t take her eyes off the happy couple.

“Shifting, snogging, kissing, all that good stuff. That’s what they'll be doing the rest of the night,” he explained, in a matter of fact way.

“I’m sure you'd know...” Cat muttered bitterly.

“What?” Patrick squinted at her for a moment, then carried on dancing.

The music had stopped and Cat excused herself. She had said something about getting more drinks, but on making her way to the bar she felt the dizzy effects of the alcohol already consumed, and decided some air would be a better option.

She walked out into the chilly evening air, welcoming the cold that surrounded her. As usual, it brought everything into focus again. She headed down onto the main village street, with a few street lamps above lighting the way. Continuing walking past the cars that lined the road, she adjusted her eyes and could soon see all around her almost as clear as day, the moonlight was so bright and the sky so clear.