After the Dance by Sydney Blackburn

Author:Sydney Blackburn [Blackburn, Sydney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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FRANK SLEPT LATE ON Sunday, because he could. His parents had attended church like good Christians, but the other six days of the week, they didn’t bear much resemblance to said good Christians. After his father beat him and threw him out on the street, Frank had sought help in a church and been kicked out again. He’d no use for church.

He wanted to stay in bed and mope, but his nose insisted on following the rich scents of bacon and coffee filling the apartment. It was a siren song he could not resist.

Bert didn’t say anything, just fixed Frank a plate and handed him a mug. When they’d cleared the plates, Bert asked, “Feeling better?”

He probably thought Frank’s broken heart was like his own—easily mended by a good night’s sleep and the possibility of someone new. Frank decided to keep his uncharitable thoughts to himself. Bert was trying to help. “Not really.”

“I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

“I know. Thank you, Bert. I don’t know what more there is to say, though.”

“True enough,” Bert replied brightly, rising to his feet and clearing the table with enviable energy. “Let’s get Miss Vivian’s dress packed up then, so I can take it to her tonight. The soonest that beaded beauty is back in her hands, the better I’ll feel.” Bert’s bright smile belied any trepidation his words might have invoked.

Frank mustered a smile in return, and stretched before making his way to this room. He had hung the dress up carefully last night and now he inspected it for any inadvertent food crumbs or stains, any picks in the fabric. How more wretched would he feel if he’d damaged this fine gown so generously lent him? To his relief, it was as flawless as the first day he’d tried it on.

He carried it gently to the living area where the box it had come in still sat, half under the sofa. “I took great care of it,” he told Bert.

“Take no offense, doll,” Bert began as he knelt to inspect the gown, “but Vivian would take it out of my hide, so I must confirm for my own self.”

Frank’s smile was genuine. Bert was a maverick with clothes, and meticulous with the details. Far from offended, the foible reminded him how much he genuinely liked Bert. Someone who knew all the details of how they’d met might wonder if one or the other was being used, but Frank never felt that way, nor, he hoped, did Bert.

Bert folded the dress gently into its tissue paper and shot a sharp glance at Frank. “Where’s the cape?”

Frank’s hands clenched as he felt light-headed with horror. “I left it. At the cloakroom.”

“At the Grand?”

Frank nodded. He reached blindly behind him, still feeling as if all his blood had fled to his toes.

“Not to worry, doll,” Bert said, though he looked worried. “We’ll just pop by and claim it from the lost and found. I’m sure it’s safe.” The worry vanished as if it had never existed.

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