When We Danced at the End of the Pier by Sandy Taylor

Author:Sandy Taylor [Taylor, Sandy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-78681-154-7
Publisher: Bookouture

Thirty-Five

Monica and I were sitting on a bench opposite the Royal Pavilion, waiting for a better class of person to walk by. Well, Monica was waiting for a better class of person to walk by.

‘So tell me again,’ she said. ‘How exactly did he say it?’

‘He just said it, why?’

‘Because it’s important. Was the emphasis on the word my or the word love?’

I closed my eyes and thought about it. He’d said, ‘Yes, we will, my love.’

‘I don’t think he emphasised either word, he just said it kind of softly,’ I said.

‘Softly is good,’ said Monica. ‘And you’re definitely sure that he said the word “my”?’

‘Definitely.’

‘Because if he’d just said “love”, it wouldn’t have meant as much as “my love”.

‘Wouldn’t it?’

‘No, you can say “love” to anyone. You can say “love” to a shopgirl or a clippie or a girl that works in a factory with you and it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a friendly thing to say.’

‘Bloody hell, Monica, how complicated can two words get?’

‘You swore,’ said Monica, looking shocked. ‘You haven’t sworn for ages. When you were a kid you used to swear all the time.’

‘I stopped.’

‘Why?’

‘Two reasons. The first was that Daddy said that if I was going to be a doctor’s wife I might have to stop swearing and the second was that Brenda had started to copy me.’

‘Do you miss it?’

I nodded. ‘Yeah, I love the word “bloody”.’

‘Me too,’ said Monica.

‘So do you think it meant something, what Jack said?’

‘I think it’s a start,’ said Monica. ‘But I don’t want you to get your hopes up too much because he might not say it again any time soon. That’s not to say he won’t, but be prepared for a long wait.’

‘I’ve been waiting eight years already.’

‘Which means you could be waiting another eight before he gets round to proposing.’

‘Thanks, Monica, that’s very encouraging.’

‘You’re very welcome.’

Monica and I sat watching the better class of people walking by. I was beginning to think that we were wasting our time. I didn’t much like it there. The Royal Pavilion was too sort of majestic and big and man-made. I preferred the sea and the Downs, the places I’d been with Daddy. Me and Daddy had never come here. We hadn’t needed a better class of person to make us happy.

‘I think I’d like to light a candle,’ I said suddenly.

‘What, now?’

‘Yes. I want to ask our Blessed Virgin Mary for some help with Jack.’

‘I think you might be better off going to the main altar, Maureen, and asking God for a miracle.’

I made a face at her and she grinned. ‘We might as well go now,’ she said, getting up from the bench. ‘I think I’ve given up on a better class of person stopping to talk.’

‘I gave up weeks ago,’ I said.

I hadn’t been to my old church for ages on account of the fact that I was finding it hard to forgive them for not burying Daddy. It felt lovely to be back though. I loved the stillness of the place.

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